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For two decades, Marcel Duchamp fooled the world into thinking he had retired, while quietly creating his last great work. My colleague from the NEA International Arts Journalism program and a terrific writer Rachel Wolff contributes to The Daily Beast on the multiple love affairs that inspired it.

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FLC play gives voice to activists for human rights

Director Felicia Meyer speaks with Fort Lewis College students during rehearsal for “Speak Truth to Power” on Oct. 10.

Ariel Dorfman’s play “Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark” is not subtle. Nor should it be.

This is a play about human rights. About standing up for truth. About taking a stand against violence, starvation, torture and rape.

This is an important, timely and politically relevant performance, based on the book Speak Truth to Power by Kerry Kennedy. It pits the voices of human-rights activists from around the world against the blue-suit and red-tie corporate man and woman.

Fort Lewis College adjunct professor Felicia Meyer directs a simple production and brings out the best in her 11 student actors. All of them did a fabulous job. Amelia Charter really shined in her performance, allowing her elocution to resonate the emotion.

There were moments during the production when I wondered if I was watching young people act or simply young people deeply moved and affected by the play itself. It was an appropriate response to the work. These actors are channeling the emotional stories of actual human beings. Photographs of the activists are projected larger than life on a screen center stage.

This is not a play that leaves you happy.

This is a production that makes you stop and think about standing up for what is right. That one night this week, we should turn off the television and go volunteer with a community organization (handy list provided in the playbill) or at least write a letter to government officials asking them why they are authorizing torture or suggesting to them that poor children need medical coverage.

No matter your political affiliation, the facts presented are staggering:

• 3 billion people in the world live in poverty.

• 40,000 children die each day from preventable diseases.

• The world as a whole consumes $24 trillion worth of goods and services each year.

• 1.3 billion people in the world live on incomes of less than one dollar a day.

• The three richest people in the world have assets that exceed the combined gross domestic product of the poorest forty-eight countries.

The night I attended the performance, the house was filled with students. Many were required to attend and read the play. As we waited for the house lights to dim, they sent text messages to their friends on their cell phones. They snapped their chewing gum. They complained that the play was just talking. No big sets. No musical numbers.

When the lights dimmed and the performance began, it was silent. As we walked out of the theater, there was no more complaining. The room was filled with reverence.

“I’m really glad I came,” a girl said, as she exited into the Durango night.

A line of dialogue repeated itself in my mind: “Courage begins with one voice. It’s that simple. I did what I had to do. Anything else would have tasted like ashes.”

Artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer.

Pure Prairie League, Firefall Acoustic to play FLC Concert Hall

Country rock band Pure Prairie League has mastered a formula for success in the new millenium: combining nostalgia with fresh passion for that old, familiar music.

“We try to make our audience feel young and old at the same time,” said Craig Fuller, the lead singer and songwriter.

This should be easy to accomplish when the band performs its 1970s hits “Amie” and “Falling In and Out of Love” on Friday at the Community Concert Hall with Firefall Acoustic.

Fuller, who formed Pure Prairie League in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969, wrote both songs. But he left the band after its second album was released in 1972, seven years before Vince Gill joined the group in 1979 and sang the hit “Let Me Love You Tonight.”

Fuller and longtime bass player Mike Reilly brought Pure Prairie League together again several years ago.

“We were curious how many people would come for nostalgia’s sake,” Fuller said.

They played 15 dates in 2001 and have expanded to playing 35 dates in recent years.

“The audiences (today) are more zealous than they were. More assertive,” he said.

There is another difference between then and now, Fuller said: “Back then we would do anything to see our name on an album cover. Even if it meant we only earned 2 cents a record.”

Today, the band is more interested in artistic control, cultivating its grass-roots fan base and taking its music to those fans, rather than hearing it on the radio.

“We’re more interested in making a living, rather than making a killing,” Fuller said.

And Pure Prairie League remains true to its country rock roots with rich three-part harmonies, strong lead vocals, acoustic guitar and pedal steel along with invigorating musicianship and melodic songs with meaningful lyrics.

“The band was lucky in finding a few songs that were direct and accessible lyrically,” Fuller said. “Songs you can sing along with.”

Pure Prairie League will be joined by another dynamic country rock band from the same era – Firefall Acoustic.

Firefall has deep roots in Colorado. The band formed in Boulder in 1974. Co-founders Jock Bartley and Rick Roberts met in New York City.

“I was playin’ with Gram Parson, Emmy Lou Harris and The Fallen Angels,” Bartley said. “Rick was playing the next night as a soloist, having recently left the Burrito Brothers, where he’d replaced Gram as lead singer.”

Like Pure Prairie League, Firefall has had its share of band members come and go, but the music remains timeless with songs like “You Are the Woman,” “Cinderella” and “Just Remember I Love You.”

“The songs are still great. They have withstood the test of time, and today when we play them, they are still great songs that people love hearing again.” Bartley said.

What continues to inspire Bartley after 30 years with the same band?

“It’s very much fun on stage. That’s one of the absolute main reasons. The crowd reaction and the genuine enthusiasm and warmth we get back every night on stage and in the meet-and-greets after the show.”

Firefall also will perform Beatles songs from Bartley and Steven Weinmeister’s critically acclaimed new album “Colorado to Liverpool: A Tribute to the Beatles.”

Both bands are looking forward to playing in Durango. They toured together with the Legends of Country rock show last year, but it has been more than a dozen years since they’ve been to Southwest Colorado.

“We are glad we are able to come to a secondary market, a more rural community,” Fuller said. “We get to reach people that we wouldn’t get to see in Denver or San Francisco.”

Artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer.

Boots Brown’s pit-fired vessels “Star Lighting,” “Super Nova,” “Fire Cloud” and “Fire Runner” appear in the David Hunt Ceramic Invitational at the Fort Lewis College Art Gallery.

Lisa Pedolsky’s work is in the foreground, and extruded porcelain lamps by Jennifer Neff are in the background.

The David Hunt Ceramic Invitational at the Fort Lewis College Art Gallery is an annual exhibition and sale of work created by Fort Lewis College alumni and regional artists.

Annual? Do we really need to see the same work by the same artists every year?

Why should anyone make the effort to attend an exhibit that features the same beautiful, bulbous, pit-fired vessels of Boots Brown; the same polka-dotted, terra-cotta works of Lisa Pedolsky; the same majolica birds, fish and animals of Leon Arledge; and more of the ho hum, traditional, functional works that round out this exhibit?

Enough, already. Give us something new.

How many times can we feature the same artist, the same work, the same show over and over and over?

The Fort Lewis College Art Gallery is part of an educational system. Their mission is to not only show the work of local, regional and student artists, but to expose these students and the public to art being created around the world. Why isn’t that happening?

Pick up Ceramics Monthly, American Style, Sculpture or any of the many art publications available, and you will find phenomenal, unique, creative work being made in stoneware, terra cotta and porcelain.

This show is an invitational. Why aren’t ceramic artists from outside the region invited to show their work? Is there anything we can do to help ratchet up the level of art exhibited at the college gallery and the Durango Arts Center, where many of these artists are also regular, frequent exhibitors?

Peter Karner’s lovely wax resist, geometric glazed vessels are available regularly at the DAC Gift Shop. Judy Brey’s “Blue Boat” was just exhibited at the DAC within the last few months. Brey’s “Horse” and “No Place Else to Be” in the David Hunt Exhibit are intriguing for their narrative elements. “Accessorized Doves” is an interesting installation. I like the black hoods over the dove’s eyes, but the birds themselves are poorly crafted and the application of metallic gold beaks to cover the yellow glaze that didn’t quite turn out right, detracts from the work. Where is the pride in craftsmanship? Where is the attention to detail?

Jennifer Neff shows something a bit different in her extruded porcelain lamps with their matte aqua glazes. Too bad she didn’t put as much effort into getting the right lampshades for the work as she did in creating the lamps. These lamps need contemporary shades, not old-fashioned pleated shades picked up at a garage sale.

There are redeeming elements to this show. Scott K. Roberts “Tea Caddy” features an elegant hint of metallic glaze, as if dusted with micaceous powder. Cole Taylor and Trevor Dunn’s large wood fired vessels are elegantly licked by fire. I particularly liked Taylor’s almost figurative vessel with its pinched in middle. Lorna Meaden’s soda-fired porcelain works are all functional, yet feature architectural flourishes like spindles and ornate cornices. Her “Lidded Jar” and “Double Spouted Sauce Boat with Ladle” are perfectly elegant.

Teapots are also a hit in this exhibit. Meaden has a wood fired teapot with a spherical side handle that begs to be picked up and poured. This contrasts nicely with her elegant porcelain teapot and a white, lidded pitcher. Pedolsky’s dot pattern and black wire wrapped handle contrast nicely with her angular shaped pot. Trevor Dunn has an earthy wood fired teapot and Peter Karner’s has a spindled lid, the shape of which is echoed in his rich jewel toned glaze.

It all leaves me thirsty and longing for a richer brew.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a member of the International Art Critics Association.

Ekaterina Harrison’s “Still Dreaming of Tomorrow” sits before Kathleen Holmes’ “Autumn Arbor” with Pip Howard’s “What Time Is It?” in the background. Pip Howard’s “Cityscape.”

“There is no more beautiful color than a bar of steel at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit glowing in the sun,” sculptor Kathleen Holmes writes in an artist statement. She is one of four artists – Kathleen Holmes, Aztec.; Ekaterina Harrison, La Sal, Utah; Pip Howard, Aztec; and Rachael Anderson, Farmington, who are showing their work at the Durango Art Center. The show is called “Women Do Iron.”

Their work shows that metal can be turned into objects of fragile and delicate beauty.

Holmes’ elegant, scrolled, gate samples hang on a wall above one of her simple, highly polished end tables creating the appearance of a throne.

Holmes has been working with metal for more than 30 years, and she and her husband have their own business: Rustwater Forge. The show-stopping “Autumn Arbor” a copper garden arbor filled with metal vines and calla lilies shows attention to detail. It replicates nature in metal that endures the changing seasons. It is an arbor always in bloom.

Ekaterina Harrison’s “Still Dreaming of Tomorrow,” is a seated female figure with flowing hair. The body is rough with visible joints, while the hands and feet and face are smooth and real. It’s a gorgeous study of the human form, capturing the mood of a moment.

Another piece by this artist also captures a moment: the split second before a rattlesnake eats a mouse. Oddly, the snake is hungry although his midsection is already bulging with mouse. His mouth is wide open, his fangs bared, his split tongue reaching.

Harrison explores in metal classical imagery that is often only seen in traditional lost wax sculpture. But here, she wields a torch and hammer instead of just molding in plastiline.

The two other artists, Anderson and Howard, admit to being new to the medium, and that is evident in some of their work.

However, Anderson’s “Hearts Journey” and Howard’s “City Scape” would be dramatic as large works of public art.

A well-executed and thought-out work by Howard is “What Time Is It?” a nonfunctional clock in four fan-shaped pieces of metal with pseudo roman numerals cut out along the edges. The numbers are one through 12, but not in standard clock position, and the hands move, so you can decide what time you want it to be. Everything is off kilter.

Howard also creates hanging wall labyrinths that are abstract yet evoke the traditional lizard and thunderbird of the Southwest.

Most of her metalwork is created using recycled materials and scrap metal from the oilfields.

Metal is a strong medium. It is heavy, durable and strong. It is touchable art. If you knock it over, it probably won’t break, and you can’t poke a hole through it like canvas.

These women prove that a heavy, static medium can be infused with life and motion.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts. She was recently invited to become a member of the International Art Critics Association.

InfoBox(” Review “,”

"Women Do Iron," through Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave., 259-2606.

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John Mumaw’s photographs are about light and composition. As a surveyor by trade, Mumaw has access to places people don’t normally travel, and he has plenty of time to study the way the light plays across the southwestern land.

Never without a camera, he photographs in the tradition of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston: dreamy narrative landscapes with large Western skies, the storied faces of children, otherworldly botanicals.

The Cortez-based artist is featured at Image Counts gallery through October. His photographs hang from a portable wall in the middle of the gallery, seemingly nondescript against the larger images of local National Geographic photographer Larry Carver and those of gallery owners John and Eileen Baumgardt. Mumaw’s images fight to be seen among the larger, more flamboyant work.

But they fight well.

Mumaw’s images of South America contrast against images of the Southwest. In “Ake Atitl`E1n Sunrise,” three rickety wooden docks angled into a Guatemalan lake. The pink and orange light of morning reflects in the water and on the volcanic peaks that seem to rise from that lake. “Storm over Muling Point” captures a lightning strike in the midst of a canyon- lands sunset.

In “Moonrise over Chimney Rock,” Mumaw captures a pearlescent full moon hung in a purple sky above the thick, red rock that casts its own large shadow. A freshly paved asphalt highway winds its way through “Comb Ridge,” the evening light illuminating the cliffs and rocks that appear to be a bank along the highway river. And in “False Kiva Ruin,” the ripples in the sand and rocks in the endless valley below the kiva are echoed in the clouds above.

It is the endlessness of the West that Mumaw portrays best. His photographs have roomy depth of field.

And his composition is elegant. In “Sleeping Ute Mountain Sunset,” he sets up his shot so that the water in the foreground is shaped almost identically to the mountain beyond. A full cloudy sky is ablaze with fluorescent yellow, orange and salmon reflected in the water, the middle ground of the photo dark green and leafy and the Sleeping Ute mountain periwinkle in the midst.

His photographs of children are some of the best work on his Web site, although Image Counts selected only one for this show. The image of two brown-skinned boys in a fishing boat, one holding a twig pole over murky water, captures a moment in the life of South American children. Both gaze nonchalantly, uninterested in whatever is taking their focus away from the fishing. The photo is called “Brothers.”

“Hope” is one of those otherworldly botanicals. The image, which the gallery chose to represent the artist and his show, is of coils of razor wire against a white sky, a clump of fuchsia thorny bougainvillea in the left foreground. It’s a more abstracted shot than anything else in the show and while strong, doesn’t seem to represent the light, composition and depth of field that Mumaw captures so well with his digital camera.

Mumaw’s work is well executed; his composition and layout are classic. The photos should be larger – 16 by 24 inches or 24 by 36 inches – this would make the viewer pay attention.

And, while I prefer the classical white-mat, black-frame presentation for photographs, the gallery does support itself through its custom framing section, and it seems appropriate that the work would be shown in colorful matting with diverse frames .

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Marj Hahne, left, and Emily Wortman-Wunder, recipients of artist-in-residence awards from the Durango Art Ranch, spoke about their work Wednesday at Maria’s Bookshop.

For Emily Wortman-Wunder, a biologist and author, her science and her fiction use similar tools of observation. “Though I’ve never radio-collared a character,” she said Wednesday night at Maria’s Bookshop.

Wortman-Wunder and Marj Hahne, a poet, are in Durango for a month as artists-in-residence with the Colorado Art Ranch. They read from their work and discussed writing with a dozen people at our local bookstore.

Both talked of removing the ego from writing, nurturing the dark issues that most people reject and being aware of the key thing to focus on while discarding details.

Neither talked about mapping, the theme for the Durango Art Ranch program that brought them to town. Hahne, however, read from the project she came to Durango to work on, prose poems for every element in the periodic table.

Colorado Art Ranch brought three writers and three visual artists to Durango for a month-long residency. They were given a house and studio space to share and attended this month’s Durango Artposium, which was staged by the Art Ranch.

Wortman-Wunder, Hahne and B.K. Loren are the writers of the group. Only the first two remain in Durango. A computer problem forced Loren to return to her home in Broomfield. But all came with a specific project.

For Wortman-Wunder, it was completing a novel set in a fictional town like Durango. For Loren, it was working on a food book she is writing with a celebrity chef.

Hahne explained why she chose to participate when she saw the project.

“It was a body/gut hit,” she said. “I like that it inquires into something in a multidisciplinary way.” Hahne attended the first Art Ranch event in Salida in May.

When asked about Durango, Hahne said she didn’t yet have a sense of the people but added that it’s “easy to meet your kindred here. Not because they are few and far between, but because they live here.”

Wortman-Wunder said this residency was different from others she’s attended because it was more community centered. Residents are required to give back to the community one day. Several have worked with students at Fort Lewis College and attended a local artists’ group meeting. See box at left for the visual artists’ open house.

“There was a lot of effort put into us getting to know people and interact,” she said. She added that each resident was assigned a local art buddy. The art buddies were Katie Clark, Jules Masterjohn, Mary Ellen Long, Carol Ozaki, Joan Russell, Carol Martin, Maureen May and Paul Pennington.

For Wortman-Wonder, who is a mother with two children, the time she had here in Durango to focus on finishing her novel was “gorgeous.” And she got to return to the town she lived in 15 years ago.

Loren also has loose ties to Durango.

“I resent that most residencies are on the East Coast,” she said. “There are few in the West and very few in Colorado, so I want to support them.”

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts.

InfoBox(” If you go “,”

Open Studio with Roberta Smith and Julia Karll, visual artists-in-residence from Durango Art Ranch, 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Art Building, Room 170, Fort Lewis College.

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Regional artists’ works plus free food, drink highlight annual tour

Courtesy of Ellis West Gallery Local painter Krista Harris’ new pieces were showing at the Ellis West Gallery during Friday’s Gallery Walk. These paintings,including “Asheville,” shown here, represent for Harris amove into modernism.

It’s September. The air is crisp, and on the third Friday of the month local galleries stay open late. The streets are filled with people checking out the art, eating free hors d’oeuvres and sipping wine.

The Gallery Walk symbolizes a lot that is great about Durango: local businesses coming together to promote creative industry, giving back to the community, bringing in artists from around the region and springing for free food and drink.

This year was no different.

Jonathan Frank, a Denver watercolor artist, and Sasha Scully, a painter from Los Alamos, met visitors at the Rain Dance Gallery. Frank and Rain Dance formed their relationship a few years ago during the Durango Arts Festival. His beautifully executed watercolor and ink paintings of the West fit nicely with the work at this gallery. And there’s a playful edge to his work: the buffalo rolling around on its back, the bison calf trotting away from the herd. Scully paints aspens in a thick, impressionistic style with impasto leaves that literally festoon off the canvas.

At LimeBerry, Becky Finn played bluegrass on her fiddle while guests checked out the fun collection of art created by friends of Melissa and Joe Carroll. New large canvases by Joe Carroll were the biggest surprise. Joe took to painting to explore spatial relationships for his large found and recycled object sculptures.

His colorful works are layered field over ground over field. His experience with patina in metal pours over onto the canvas. His colors are vivid, perhaps inspired by the work of Navajo artist Leland Holiday, whose inexpensive canvases are stacked against the walls of the gallery. Large and unstretched Holiday canvases hang from the ceiling at the gallery and are some of the strongest work this young artist has produced.

“Otters” and “Little Howlers” are two amazing new pieces by brilliant wood sculptor J. Chester Armstrong. Armstrong, whose Oregon studio burned to the ground, recently sent these new works from his rebuilt studio. What a surprise to see a small 1968 pot created by famed San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinez – a new edition to the offerings at the gallery . And Karyn Gabaldon focused on Silverton artist Kathleen Lashley and her “Haiku Collages.”

At Toh-Atin, visitors mingled with Santa Fe Indian Market prizewinner Dennis Ross. Ross is Hopi and creates gorgeous corn maiden kachinas. Also mingling with visitors was Robert Rivera, a gourd artist and Lance Mumma a landscape painter from New Mexico.

Next door at the Earthen Vessel, Nick Blasedale showed off his high-fired stoneware in vivid red glaze and his subdued incised work.

Sorrel Sky, where I work part time, featured jewelry artist Kai Gallagher, whose Kaizen line means “ongoing process involving everyone.”

At Ellis West, local painter Krista Harris and Vermont glass artist Randi Solin were the featured artists. Harris presented new canvases that are a combination of Joan Miro and Hans Hoffman. Solin’s gorgeous glass is weighted and organic in its shape, but vivid and painterly in its color, like molten silk. And I love looking through the cases here, checking out the contemporary jewelry by artists from around the country. The collection is the finest within 100 miles.

Up on East Second Avenue, the Durango Arts Center continued “Portraits and Masks,” a sparse show of mixed quality. The upstairs library gallery features the work of New Mexico book artists and life partners Nancy Culemone and Paul Maurer of Serafina, N.M. Culmone’s work is more refined and detailed. Maurer’s style is loose and expressive, hence the title of the show “Opposites Attract.”

At Open Shutter, “Spirit of the West” opened, an annual event that coordinates with the Durango Cowboy Gathering. Not to be missed is Jenny Gummersall’s “Chewy,” a photograph that has been featured in Cowboys & Indians and Colorado Homes & Lifestyles .

The leaves are changing. The days are shorter. Local businesses will begin paring back their hours, but we can still create our own gallery walk at any time.

Walk around, check out the art, talk to the gallery owners. You might be surprised at what you find.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

I recently finished a 40 page book for Chris Richter, an artist from Santa Fe. I met Chris at SITE Santa Fe in February 2006 and have watched his career blossom. In May, Hahn Ross Gallery featured him as one of three artists in a terrific show. Chris sold nearly every painting on display. This is the full wrap cover of his book.

Authors Note: This review was never published. I wrote it about the juried art exhibit at Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts in Fall 2006. I was going through documents on my computer and felt that this was a well-written and insightful review of the show and that it should be shared on my blog.

Images, top to bottom: Ronald Gonzalez sculpture “Pincushion Man;” Jean Gumpper woodcut print “Wetlands;” Amy Wendland graphite drawing “Kelp;” Marcie Lenke acrylic painting “Untitled #63.”

Entering the back exhibit space at Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts I continue to feel overwhelmed. My eye has no place to rest. More than 50 works of art are crammed into 1,000 square feet on four walls. I felt this way the first day the art lined the walls, before it was even hung. I felt this way the day the hanging was complete. I felt this way on opening night and I continue to feel this way about the show. It is just too much: there is too much art and definitely too much mediocre art.

I couldn’t write this in The New York Times and I can’t write this in The Durango Herald. You see; I’m a member of the Creative Development Team at Shy Rabbit. I spend hundreds of hours volunteering my time to bring contemporary art to Southwest Colorado and provide a venue for contemporary artists to show their work and soon a place for artists to continue learning techniques through workshops, classes and seminars. I am also one of a handful of writers who focus on the arts in this region. Working for and writing about Shy Rabbit is taboo. Conflict of interest they say. Biased.

Perhaps. However, I feel compelled to write about this show just as I’ve written about others. I feel compelled to be honest in spite of the perceived difficulties. I like Gerry Riggs, the juror of this show, and I value what we are trying to create at Shy Rabbit, but I have an objective side, too.

I first saw the chosen art for “Forms, Figures, Symbols” hours after Gerry Riggs finalized the selections. I saw them as he did, digital images in a slide show on a wide-screen Mac. Much of the work seemed intriguing, but even then I saw work that did not seem to be of the quality or standards Shy Rabbit had just set with “Mind’s Material.”

But it was exciting. Entries had poured in from around the country. Submissions came from New York, Indiana, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois. Shy Rabbit was bringing art to Pagosa Springs from thousands of miles away. Some of the excitement waned as the work began to arrive: Fifty-nine works of art from 43 different artists. Denise Coffee logged in each submission; each box was opened and the artwork checked for damage, then repackaged for storage until hanging. The boxes were all marked with entry numbers, which correlated to each unique artist and work. The boxes are stored and the work will be repackaged and shipped back to the artist. No simple task.

It was when the work was unpacked and leaned up against walls that I had my first reaction—Too much art. Some of the Creative Development Team had already realized the need for additional walls and built an extra, hinged form to cover the large roll up garage door in the warehouse space.

As the art was unpacked, I realized that jurors have an incredibly difficult task. Work arrives that does not look like the photograph or slide. It is bigger, smaller, taller, shorter, messier, more amateurish, or poorly framed.

I expected Amy Wendland’s “Kelp, 10 pm” drawing to be larger. I thought Jean Gumpper’s prints would be smaller. I expected Lal Echterhoff’s “The Joshua Tree” sculpture to stand in the limestone base securely and not wobble around. I wanted Marcia Lenke’s “Untitled #63” and “Untitled #71” paintings to be bigger. I assumed Daisy McConnell’s “Figment—Botanical” intaglio print would be larger.

And there was work that seemed of such a poor quality that it shouldn’t be included in the show. I campaigned to have items removed because I felt they detracted from the great art—the work that blew me away in person.

The great art still intrigues and challenges, even after five weeks.

Which art in this show do I consider great?

The woodcut prints by Jean Gumpper are technically superior. “Wetlands” captures grasses and reeds standing in water, some are bent down, lying across the top of the water. The print is created with multiple shades of yellow, gold, grass green, spring green, moss green, pale blue. The swirl in the grain of wood perfectly aligned as ripples in the black water. “Aspens” captures the golden, orange and reds of aspen leaves and contrasts them with aubergine branches on a periwinkle background.

The paintings by W. Howard Brandenburg are intense and thought provoking. “Release” a painting of a man chewing off his own leg is a brilliant work of art. The painting captures movement in the style of Duchamps “Nude Descending a Staircase,” but Brandenburg uses that movement selectively, only the head seams to go back and forth. The figure is frantic to escape and will do anything for freedom. The painting brings to mind Aaron Ralston who cut off his arm to save his life. The passionate creature in the painting is willing to do anything to survive. “Rapacious” is a disturbing look at the avarice and greed of our society. The painting is divided into equal quarter panels in shades of blues with rodent type creatures eating each other—A reflection on capitalism and America’s insatiable appetite.

Ronald Gonzalez sculptures, are miniature marvels. “Mournful Drum” and “Pin Cushion Man” are simple, mixed media constructions. Masterfully created abstracted figures.

Amy Wendland’s drawing “Kelp, 10 pm” is brilliant and captures the knotted up sea plant, swirled and twisted by the tides. It is almost moving, slowly floating across the page. Wendland’s toys are whimsical. “Circle One,” a spinning eyeball surrounded by dark gray river rocks all with a white line through them, encircling the eyeball, is kinesthetic. I play with it each time I walk by. “Object Two,” a pull toy with the teeth is equal parts cree
py and playful.

Additionally, I enjoyed the work by Mary Ellen Long, “From the Forest Library,” her nature altered books and “Winter Pressing 2003/04” nature altered paper, are simple, yet elegant. Sarah Comerford paints her life in “Self Portrait as Resurrection,” with the passion of Frida Kahlo. Patrick Linehan photographs architecture, capturing the angles, geometry, shapes and shadows of buildings and structures in “Chicago #4” and “Milwaukee #8.”

Paul F. Morris’ “Stony Arcuated Ewer 2006” is a brilliant functional work in stoneware created in an amorphous shape with thick layers of moss green and goldenrod glaze all thick and crumbling on the surface.

The majority of the work in this show is average. It is well executed, but doesn’t challenge me in its subject or form. It doesn’t seem to do anything beyond be a painting or photograph or work of sculpture. It disappears and I can walk past it and not turn my head, go in for a closer look, see something new I hadn’t yet discovered.

And far too much work in this show is student quality, amateurish and not up to the standards I’ve come to expect at Shy Rabbit.

I think Gerry Riggs tried to be inclusive with this show. Even though he only selected one-third of the submissions, he said he tried to include something from almost every artist. In this case (and in most cases) this tactic does not produce the best show. It would have been a better show with about ten less works. Those ten works could have been weeded out when the artwork arrived.

Riggs even admits to selecting a lot of work.

“I’m certain I pushed the number of selections right up to [Shy Rabbit’s] limit. I recommended that particular related works be hung stacked in order to accommodate more work than is usually shown,” Riggs stated.

Shy Rabbit did their usual fine job of lighting the work, but the stacked salon style presentation and limited space between images does not benefit any of the work, least of all the quality work that deserves to have breathing room.

Because when it comes to art, you can definitely have too much of a good thing.

Photos clockwise from top: Works on paper by Kate Petley; “Sand Lots” by Monica Goldsmith; The Cloyde Snook Gallery at Adams State College with a print by Ron Fundingsland on the wall and a floor installation by Mary Ellen Long; “Genome” by Shan Wells and “Greenbelt” a diptych by Monica Goldsmith.

Gerry Riggs, the former curator for the Gallery of Contemporary Art at CU Colorado Springs, has been in hot pursuit of regional artists since he moved to the Four Corners two years ago. So when he was asked to curate an exhibit at the Clyde Snook Gallery at Adams State College in Alamosa, it was a fairly easy task.

“Hot Pursuits: 8 Southwest Colorado Artists” features the work of Shan Wells, Mary Ellen Long and Monica Goldsmith, all of Durango; Kate Petley, Shaun Martin, D. Michael Coffee and Gerry Riggs, all of Pagosa Springs; and Ron Fundingsland of Bayfield.

Petley’s recent resin, film and acrylic panels literally reflect her pursuit of light, atmosphere and reflection. Her meditative, abstract work is like liquid, merged with startling detail. Three large panels are mounted on one wall: “Striped Aura,” “Inner Topography” and “The Pearl Shirt.” The titles bring the viewer from abstract to concrete. Ah, yes, I see a pearl shirt in this panel.

Her resin process is complicated and involves photographing reflections and printing them on large sheets of film. The film is placed on acrylic and attached with liquid resin, an unforgiving medium. The artist can then draw in the resin. The lumps and bubbles are part of the process. The result is hypnotic, like snapshots of mutable flat screens. Petley is capturing brief moments that we take in unconsciously from the corner of our eye.

Another wall features nine of her mixed-media works on paper, drawings that are intricately detailed and amorphous. Some are colorful, others muted and many include writing in English and Sanskrit. With titles like: “Breathing Through the Hole in My Head Makes Me Happy,” “Seven Powers Speaking All at Once” and “Amputated Icicles,” Petley gives the viewer clues to her ideas.

Titles also provide a clue to Goldsmith’s hard-edged, color field painting. The acrylic paintings are about the environment and physical topography. Think land-use planning, open space and the environmental impact of unchecked development.

In “Greenbelt,” a diptych of vivid green and purple gray, the geometric abstraction is like looking down on the plans for a subdivision, complete with divided lots, roads and the greenbelts that developers incorporate. The subtle lines and beads remind one of an abacus, raising the question of who is keeping track of the houses, the greenbelts, the cars on the road.

“Circa,” and “Offset” are more abstract renditions in shades of turquoise blue. The colors of both paintings suggest water and our demand for it in the West. The lines bring to mind not only the abacus, but the buoyed ropes that string across swimming pools, and the markings along river banks that tell us how low the water levels have sunk.

Elements of nature are the preferred material for Wells. “Artifact,” is a limb from a pine tree, cut into sections and mounted on steep poles. The title suggests that he is also exploring the impact humans have on the environment. “Genome” is a large string of Mancos and Lewis shale fragments coiled into a snaking form. It intimates that we are all connected, made up of the same elements as the rocks.

Wells makes a humorous political statement with “Right Wing Sense Beating Tool,” a Styrofoam cylinder on a wood and steel handle, a giant club.

Riggs has curated a provocative show that is worth the drive to Alamosa.

Review: Hot Pursuits: 8 Southwest Colorado Artists, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, through Sept. 14, Clyde Snook Gallery, Adams State College, 208 Edgemont Blvd., Alamosa, (719) 587-7823.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

InfoBox(” Review “,”

Hot Pursuits: 8 Southwest Colorado Artists, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, through Sept. 14, Clyde Snook Gallery, Adams State College, 208 Edgemont Blvd., Alamosa, (719) 587-7823.

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Photos left to right: “Sea Signs” by Susanne Carmack; “Pine Top” by D. Michael Coffee; “Water/Distance/Ash” by Nina Tichava. The works on display in “Suddenly This Summer” exhibit in Pagosa Springs are influenced by abstract expressionism, color-field painting and textiles.

“The work grows under my hand as I respond to previous marks I have made,” artist Susanne Carmack of Bluffton, S.C., wrote in the biography she sent to Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts in Pagosa Springs.

“I think of these paintings as excavations. I discover the image as I dig into the rough terrain,” she continued.

The gallery has been digging into the rough terrain of the art world. It has excavated the work of six artists from across the United States for an exhibition that is ironically titled “Suddenly This Summer.”

Ironically, because art exhibits don’t come together suddenly.

Carmack’s work is part of the show. Her paintings are rooted in abstract expressionism. Their hushed colors are both opaque and transparent.

Her “Sea Signs,” a mixed-media work on paper is hanging freely, without frame, against the wall. It’s held in place with large magnets. The work features swirls and drips of multi-layered paint in a muted green that nearly blends with the color of the walls. To the left is a muted swirl of orange, red and yellow. The upper right hand quadrant is scrawled with indecipherable writing.

There is an element of nature in all of Carmack’s work. Nature is where we often find ourselves in the summer. Writing is the human element, naming and claiming the natural experience. The juxtaposition of Carmack’s work and a sculptural ceramic piece by D. Michael Coffee, one of the gallery’s owners, called “Pine Top” continues the human versus nature dialogue.

“Pine Top” is a tall cylindrical vessel, primarily in a yellow ash glaze. The lower portion of the sculpture is vivid blue. Atop the ceramic cylinder is a v-shaped piece of pine tree.

Coffee’s high-fired stoneware is created using glazes that incorporate elements from nature. In contrast, the symbolism he uses – written in glaze, stamped in clay or built up from the form – echo symbols of human communication.

Another artist in the show who explores forms in nature is Nina Tichava, a painter from Santa Fe. Tichava’s work is also influenced by abstract expressionism, color-field painting and textiles. She is a process painter, developing each work intuitively over a period of time.

Her most recent work hangs in the front gallery. “Minnow & Kite,” a triptych, and “Entanglement Principle,” a diptych, are oil and mixed media on panel. Her earlier work centers upon the four-petalled flower. Her paintings are fluid and patterned, yet rigid and structured, recognizable and symbolic.

The show also features floral paintings by Jill Sykes of Los Angeles, which are like the prints of Japanese fabric; earthenware shard vessels and plates by Patrick Shia Crabb of Tustin, Calif., which suggest a patchwork quilt of broken pottery; and the ethereal pastel drawings of Karl Isberg of Pagosa Springs.

Review:

“Suddenly this Summer” through Sept. 21, 10 a.m.-4p.m., Thursday-Sunday, Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts, 333 Bastille Drive, Pagosa Springs, 731-2766, shyrabbit.blog spot.com.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

She once served on the board of Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts, but has not been involved with the organization since 2006.

Taos museum chronicles painter’s student years

Photos clockwise from top: Plate 73 (RD 1086)
Untitled (Albuquerque), 1952. Oil on canvas, 68 ¾ x 60 inches (174.6 x 152.4 cm). The Buck Collection, Laguna Beach, California; Plate 49 (RD 1084); Untitled “M,” 1951. Oil of canvas, 43 ⅛ x 52 ¾ inches (109.5 x 134 cm). San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Gift of Rena Bransten in memory of Mason Wells (86.88). Photograph: Ben Blackwell; Richard Diebenkorn and a lost mural he painted on a plaster wall for Joan Evans in Albuquerque from 1950-52. It is 5 feet by 10 feet and is now painted over.

Richard Diebenkorn, one of the most celebrated abstract expressionist painters of the 20th century, said that his two and a half years in New Mexico were a time when everything came together for him as an artist.

The Harwood Museum of Art of the University of New Mexico honors the role the state played in the artist’s growth through a brilliant exhibition, a beautiful book and a scholarly symposium held Friday in Taos.

For Diebenkorn (1922-1993), abstract painting was not just a style; it was a conviction. According to scholar Gerald Nordland, a friend of Diebenkorn’s, the artist was certain that his role was to render deeply felt experience, divorced from objects, figures, stories and nostalgia for the daily world.

Influenced by Cezanne, Matisse, Gorky and cubists, he also took inspiration from his contemporaries De Kooning, Rothko and Clyfford Still, with whom he taught at the California School of Fine Art.

As Nordland pointed out during the symposium: “All artists are influenced by others. It is what one does with the influence that is important.”

What Diebenkorn did was focus on spontaneity and improvisation, attempting to work below the level of the conscious mind. He rejected drawing though he was an accomplished draftsman. He rejected academic mythology though he was an academic and teacher. For Diebenkorn, the challenge was the exploration of himself.

As an abstract painter, he got rid of anything he recognized and believed that every element – form, line, color and texture – must serve the painting materially.

Nordland told me last week that he had stacks of notebooks filled with quotes, interviews and observations about Diebenkorn (the artist would never allow his interviews to be taped nor would he allow himself to be photographed while painting).

Nordland said that painting for Diebenkorn involved a frenzy of emotional activity followed by quiet study from across the room and that Diebenkorn admitted that he was forced to strive to an extent that embarrassed him.

The exhibit at the Harwood Museum includes more than 50 paintings and works on paper, loaned from museums and private collections around the country. All work was created between January 1950 and June 1952 while Diebenkorn was a graduate student in the art department at the University of New Mexico.

The work is mature and powerful. Diebenkorn told Nordland that “Albuquerque 3, 1951″ was his breakthrough work. Diebenkorn said he painted it with the paint remaining on the brushes from the day before. The painting came after Diebenkorn had returned from his first flight over the desert.

“The aerial view showed me such a variety of ways of treating a flat plane, like flattened mud or paint,” Diebenkorn said to Nordland.

The flight took Diebenkorn to San Francisco where he visited the memorial exhibition for Arshile Gorky. As Nordland said, Diebenkorn knew what to do with the influence.

One can see influences in the work of Diebenkorn, but what is so compelling about his paintings is the unique expression of himself. The vigorous searching expressed in the work. There is something unexpected and surprising in each painting – be it a line, a color or a texture.

There is clearly a New Mexico landscape influence on the work in this exhibition, but these are not landscapes.

“Temperamentally, perhaps I had always been a landscape painter, but I was fighting the landscape feeling. In Albuquerque I relaxed and began to think of natural forms in relation to my own feelings,” Diebenkorn said.

Nordland describes the New Mexico paintings as “abstract improvisations in color and line,” in Richard Diebenkorn in New Mexico, the book that accompanies the exhibition .

He added that they have “intuitive reflections of landscape elements which slipped into the work. `85 In later years, he responded similarly to light and color wherever he worked but tended to recognize his new awarenesses only after weeks of effort and adjustment.”

At a time when most curators choose to focus on an artist’s later work, it is inspiring that the Harwood and UNM chose to bring together these early works. The artist is best known for his Ocean Park Series (1967-1988), but viewing these early, often masterful paintings, is worth a trip to Taos or San Jose or New York.

This is clearly a show of international importance launched by a small museum in the Southwest. Kudos to them.

If you go: Diebenkorn in New Mexico, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday Noon-5 p.m., through Sept. 9, Harwood Museum of Art, 238 Ledoux St.,Taos. Call (505)758-9826 or harwoodmuseum. org. The show will move to the San Jose Museum of Art, Oct. 15-Jan. 6, then to Grey Art Gallery at New York University from Jan. 23-April 15.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Photos: Ellie Goodman, owner of Goodman’s Art Bin, displays the children’s art materials she will sell at 600 East Second Ave., Suite C, on Wednesday afternoon.

Seventy-three-year-old Ellie Goodman is starting a new business. At an age when many people are thinking about retiring and spending time in their gardens, Goodman is exercising her entrepreneurial spirit. She’s opening a 5,000-square-foot art-supply store at 600 East Second Ave., Suite C, on the corner of College Drive and Second Avenue. “I had a dream,” she said when asked why she was opening a new business. For the last six months, she’s been turning that dream into reality. It’s taking longer than she anticipated, but she plans to host a grand opening Sept. 10.

Goodman’s Art Bin will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. The store has a broad, rounded-out selection of supplies including an area filled with children’s art materials and a book section with a comfortable sofa.

Goodman’s Art Bin will carry a wide selection of brushes and brush cleaner and the most popular lines of paints, pastels, drawing pencils, charcoal and graphite. She wants to specialize in papers from Thailand, Egypt, India and Japan, and she will carry a wide range of sizes and shapes of canvas. She also will have a framing department.

“I know I’m going to be busy,” she said. “I just know it.”

Goodman has set up round tables in the back where people can gather. She wants to provide coffee and be a gathering place for artists and the community.

“I want this to be a fun place,” she added.

Goodman is no stranger to the retail business. She worked with her husband at Goodman’s Inc., the family store that had been in operation since 1879. In 1979, they opened Gallery Marguerite. Both stores were sold in 1993.

Goodman also worked for 10 months at what will be her chief local competitor, the Art Supply House in Town Plaza, when it opened in July 2003.

Her business philosophy is simple. Wait on people, and they will come back. Her management philosophy is equally uncomplicated. Camaraderie is important. She wants her employees to enjoy their jobs and want to come to work. She already has six people working for her.

“I have the best help in the world. They laugh with me, and they cry with me. They are there when I need them, and they are just doing everything to make this place ready for opening day,” she said.

Additionally, they have set up two classroom areas in the large warehouse space for art classes. Goodman has scheduled teachers for classes in oil painting, tole painting, watercolor, calligraphy, drawing and sculpture. She is looking for someone to teach acrylic.

Goodman believes so passionately in her new business that she has financed it herself, though she does admit that it would be nice to have additional investors to help pay for advertising. But she is confident that with all her years of experience, she knows what artists want. Even a sales rep, she said, was impressed by her knowledge of the product catalog.

And though the store is not yet open, the easel in the window and the opening soon sign is tempting for many. People come and go and check out the progress.

“People are just flooding in here. A lot of people are waiting for me to open,” Goodman said. “I know a lot of people in town, and my customers are my friends.”

If you go: Goodman’s Art Bin, 600 East Second Ave.,Suite C, will open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, 382-2588.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

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Goodman’s Art Bin, 600 East Second Ave.,Suite C, will open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, 382-2588.”); sizeInlineBox();

Photographers shine in Pagosa Springs annual show

Photos, clockwise from top: Barbara Rosner’s digitally captured inkjet print “Morning Fence and Bench” won second place in the Pagosa Springs Arts Council juried photography show. “Ribbons of Dew” by Linda Pampinella won first place and “Rubrum Lily” by Al Olson third place. “Traces” by Al Olson.

The annual photography show at Pagosa Springs Arts Council was juried this year by Amy Wendland, chairwoman of the Fort Lewis College art department. She said at the opening last week that she had selected the work from digital images she viewed on her computer.

It’s always a challenge to do so, and Wendland’s reaction to seeing the images matted and hung was typical of every juror I have interviewed. A certain red seemed brighter, the image appeared different on the screen or the image was cropped differently in digital version. Yet, all in all, Wendland felt the 25 pictures she selected were the strongest of the 41 images submitted.

The pictures were shown with colorful baskets by Pat Jeffers, which were vibrant and textural.

Awards were given to the top three photographs. Third place went to Al Olson for “Rubrum Lily,” a silver gelatin print ($245). Second place was awarded to Barbara Rosner for “Morning Fence and Bench,” a digitally captured inkjet print ($175). First place was bestowed on Linda Pampinella for “Ribbons of Dew,” a digitally captured inkjet print ($200).

Pampinella’s image may seem familiar to some; it was recently published in Arts Perspective magazine’s photography issue and won second prize at the magazine’s “Published Works” exhibit at Open Shutter Gallery. The image is of a rusted canoe and features horizontal layers of greens and golds with a ribbon of shiny varnish running through the middle; at one point, the ribbons are vivid red.

Olson captures the veins on the leaves of his lily and the speckled dots on the petals of the flower. The heavily flocked stamens are velvety black. But I would have given the prize to Olson’s other entry “Traces,” a landscape featuring a geyser spewing water into the air from a silky black lake.

The ground is covered in snow, but the trees are not flocked. Snow-capped peaks highlight the middle ground. The image is all about the sky. The geyser is shooting up into the sky filled with sheer clouds and jet trails.

Jet trails cross in an X, and the geyser juts up into that X like a line crossing it at its midpoint – a mathematical symbol. More linear clouds mark up the sky and then spiral off into the upper left edge of the image.

Rosner has three images in the show and was surprised when she received her award for “Morning Fences and Bench.” Rosner and others thought “Adobe Textures,” an abstracted image of adobe walls would get her the honors. And while the color and design of “Adobe Textures” is powerful, the image almost seems overworked.

In “Morning Fences and Bench,” the intense colors seem real, and there is a depth of field in the layers of fence and bench and shadow that provide a lot of interest. I admire the way the contrasting design in the fence and the bench keeps the eye moving and how the shadow and light allow the eye to rest.

As a requirement, all of the work had to be matted in white and framed in black. The presentation is elegant, and each work benefits from the classic display technique. The images are allowed to speak for themselves. And speak they do.

Artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Santa Fe family of jewelry artists make splash at arts festival.

Photos by Leanne Goebel
Left: Best of Show winner Mitch Berg creates sculptures like “Enough for Everyone” from recycled metal, wire and glass.
Right: Pendants created by Ravelle Robertson.

I like art fairs. I like meeting the artists face-to-face. I like that art in a tent is less intimidating than art in a gallery. And I like to see people buying art because it touches them, moves them or makes them laugh.

This year, the 14th annual Durango Arts Festival unfolded along four blocks of Main Avenue with 108 artists displaying their work. One-fourth of the exhibitors were jewelry artists, so it wasn’t surprising that the Best of Craft award went to a jewelry artist. Not just one jewelry artist, but a family of jewelry artists: Humberto, Denise and Ravelle Robertson from Santa Fe.

I first saw the work of the Robertsons at the Contemporary Hispanic Market in Santa Fe a few weeks ago. The jewelry stood out then, and it stood out again in Durango. The work is textural, layered and made from mixed metals like silver, brass, copper and gold.

The Speakingrock collection is designed by Humberto and incorporates ancient Mimbres and petroglyph symbols. Humberto is half Hispanic and half Navajo. Silversmithing is in his DNA, and he learned from his parents. Denise has been making jewelry for 16 years and was taught by Humberto. He calls her the “saw woman” for her masterful ability to saw thin and curvy lines in metal. The Happy People Collection is a collaboration between Denise and the couple’s almost 17-year-old daughter Ravelle. The images are mainly from Ravelle’s drawings, and Ravelle does all the texturing and riveting.

Ravelle Robertson has been making jewelry since she was 8 years old. She already has sold her jewelry in two galleries. She paints jeans, makes dolls, knits hats and sold her drawings as bookmarks before incorporating them into jewelry. It is difficult to distinguish the work of this “art goddess” from the more experienced work of her parents. It takes a trained eye and knowledge of traditional jewelry-making techniques.

Until recently, Ravelle was home-schooled and allowed to pursue each of her interests fully, exploring and merging her passions and ideas. She loves animals, Egyptian philosophy and art.

“Ravelle prefers not to photograph petroglyphs,” Humberto said. “She wants to make her own history.”

Best of Show winner Mitch Berg is also making his own history.

Berg creates fused glass and metal sculptures. His work is playful, satirical and fun. Berg is a self-taught artist. He started out as a journalist with a passion for writing but he struggled to earn a living and worked other jobs to make ends meet.

Six years ago, his wife, Shannon (the family member with the bachelor of fine arts), started making glass beads. She taught Mitch how to use the torch and make the beads. He admits that his never turned out quite right; they always had a bump that looked like a nose, and so he turned them into faces. It was therapy for him – a way to play and deal with the stress of a bad job selling doors and his frustration with journalism.

When he chose to take a month-long kayak trip through the Grand Canyon and lost his job, it changed his life. When he returned from the river, there was an invitation in the mail to participate in a craft show in Berkeley, Calif. Mitch made his figurative glass pieces and took off for Berkeley. He sold everything and has made a living playing with glass and metal ever since, even developing a technique for fusing metal into glass.

“The people who buy my work have that same dream of being a creative person,” Berg said. “Some of it is goofy, and it makes you laugh. I consider myself an artist, but art is serious, you know? And my work is anything but serious.”

Berg’s work is figurative. He sees the figure in found objects, glass, rocks, just about everything. And now, all he writes are the great titles for his work. “The body does what the head tells it to.” “Making friends with Windmills.” “Can’t stop it, but I’m starting to enjoy it.”

Yes. I enjoy art fairs.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Photo by Leanne Goebel

Donna L. Lish’s synthetic cotton, glass beaded and knitted “Subtext: Eruption” is part of the Fiber Celebrated show at the Durango Arts Center through July 31.

For centuries, art has been created by counting. Counting stitches, beads per row, rows per inch. Knit one, pearl two.

Weaving, tapestry, crotchet and needlepoint have been used to create blankets, wall coverings, clothing and containers. Some consider these traditional methods blas`E9, not visionary enough for the contemporary art world. Yet artists who use the traditional methods to create avant-garde work produce intriguingly fine craft.

One example is Jane Sauer’s Thirteen Moons, one of my favorite galleries on Canyon Road in Santa Fe. It’s a feast for the eyes and tantalizing to the touch, filled with amazing creations in metal, fiber and basketry.

While Durango has fine establishments selling traditional weavings and baskets, we don’t find contemporary fiber work displayed regularly. Yet, nationally recognized fiber artist Ilze Aviks has called Durango home for 25 years. Aviks teaches workshops around the world and her finely stitched creations are modern yet traditional.

Aviks is the juror for “Fiber Celebrated,” an exhibition on display at the Durango Arts Center as part of the biennial Intermountain Weavers Conference. The exhibit is textural, filled with rugs, tapestries and wearable arts.

“I wanted to pick work that showed a range of approaches, and I hoped that viewers unused to seeing art textiles might be educated and surprised,” Aviks wrote in her juror’s statement.

The most surprising work in the show is by Donna L. Lish. Her synthetic cotton, glass beaded and knitted works are suspended sculptures in black, white and silver-gray. “Subtext: Eruption” and “Present Text” ($1,000 each) are beautiful examples of creating nontraditional work with a traditional medium. She explores boundaries and challenges viewers to see things in a new way.

This is book art abstracted, focusing on splayed pages and giant beaded bookmarks. It’s methodical, yet not preconceived.

“I consider the spirit of a book the essence of a container – functional purpose subsumed by intellectual impression. A book is the splay of pages, the drape from a binding, the script like looping of stitches” Lish wrote in her artist statement.

A small surprise is found in Peggy Love’s “Blues” ($600) a framed work of embroidery and French knots. Differing shades of blue, varying patterns and textures all created with six-strand DMC embroidery cotton.

Another surprise is Susan McGehee’s wire-and-copper bobble-weave work. “Sartori Sunset” ($800) looks like a scarf ruffled in the wind, hanging on the wall. McGehee wrote in her statement: “I enjoy when the viewer assumes a piece is fiber and then is surprised upon discovery that it is entirely metal.”

A combination of photo transfer and quilting techniques allowed Sue Johnson to create “Headers and Footers” ($475). The wall piece is made with cotton, hand-dyed fabric, machine embroidery and fabric pens.

According to Johnson’s statement, the work is part of a series exploring relationships and new freedoms in her life. The narrative is evident.

Other work is more expected. There are lots of rugs and tapestries, quilts and fabric paintings, and beautiful wearable art: raunas, scarves and long coats.

Count the days until this show ends, and make time to be surprised by what artists are doing with traditional fiber methods.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Photo by: JERRY McBRIDE/Herald

Rain Dance Gallery owners Lori and Bob Curtis, sitting in their Main Avenue store on Thursday, look for work that has a Colorado feel, an ethnic feel or an indigenous feel.

When Karyn Gabaldon opened her fine art gallery three-and-a-half years ago, she hosted an exhibition for local artists each month that first year. She lost money.

“Everyone waited until the exhibit ended and went direct to the artist to buy, even though I spent $3,000 on postcards and wine and food for the reception,” Gabaldon said.

Today, Gabaldon, like most of the other fine art galleries in town, represents a fairly consistent group of artists.

“People like consistency and quality, and to be honest, the local shows were all over the place in quality,” Gabaldon said. “The artists I represent today are quality artists that I enjoy working with and writing checks to.”

The gallery representation process is as subjective as everything else in the art world. When I asked several local gallery owners how they selected the artists they represent, the answers were fairly consistent.

“We have to like it, it has to fit in the gallery, it has to work,” Lori Curtis from Rain Dance said, then added: “And ultimately you have to listen somewhat to the market.”

Lori and Bob Curtis have been gallery owners for 12 years, four here in Durango. They are passionate art collectors. At Rain Dance, they represent many artists included in their own personal collection.

“We are familiar with a lot of artists. People find us by word of mouth. It isn’t too hard to find people to represent,” Bob said.

All galleries seem to be looking for a balance: The gallery owner has to love the work, the artist has to be interested in selling through the gallery and buyers have to be present in the market.

What makes it more challenging is that the product is a luxury item, not a necessity.

“We aren’t selling units or commodities. We are selling unique pieces,” Bob said.

At Rain Dance they are looking for work that has a Colorado feel, an ethnic feel or an indigenous feel.

At Karyn Gabaldon Fine Art, the focus is on contemporary landscape.

“I totally go by intuition. I’m looking for something different. If it doesn’t wow the customer, they aren’t going to buy it. It has to flow with the rest of the gallery. It has to resonate with me or I’m not going to be able to sell it,” Gabaldon said.

Ellis West is the only contemporary art gallery in Durango. Monica Ellis selects the painting and fine art in the gallery while Diane West chooses the jewelry. Both have a say on the glass and ceramic work they represent.

West, herself a jewelry artist, knows other jewelry artists and is familiar with some of the bigger names in the field. She and Ellis attend large art fairs in Baltimore and Philadelphia put on by the American Craft Council. (The Curtises also attend these shows).

“We both have veto power,” West said. “We both have to personally like it. We have to feel it’s well done. We have to feel it’s sellable. It might be artwork that we love, but we have to keep the doors open.”

“The paintings shown are my personal taste,” Ellis said. “I talk to the artists personally about what they expect and what they are looking for. If they are difficult to talk with, then I will pass on representing them.”

Most of the local galleries receive submissions, though they don’t post a submission process on their Web sites. But all agree that the standard process they prefer is to see digital images from the artist, a biography, a r`E9sum`E9, a list of their retail pricing and some idea of where the artist has shown his or her work in the past.

“Artists have actually asked me to represent them just so they can say they are in a gallery. That doesn’t work for me,” Gabaldon said.

Many galleries find artists via referral from a current artist they represent. At Ellis West, most of their artists are mid-career, pretty well-established and have won awards or are in museum collections. The same could be said of the artists represented at Rain Dance and Karyn Gabaldon.

“We do consider emerging artists. If we think they are fantastic, we are willing to give them a try,” West said.

Ellis West is the only gallery that has a contract with its artists not to sell within 100 miles of Durango. Gabaldon said she doesn’t do contracts, instead she prefers to lay all the cards on the table. If an artist isn’t selling, she has to move on and find someone else. But Ellis West said that it spends time developing a market for an artist. Sometimes an artist will hang in their gallery for a year before they begin to sell.

Lime Berry has a different approach.

“I don’t work with artists I don’t know. My gallery is filled with the work of my closest friends and family. We are completely different,” Melissa Carroll said. “This store is first and foremost about relationships.”

I think every gallery owner would agree.

lgoebel@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs.

This collage of portraits, created by members of Kindred Spirits program, will be sold at auction tonight to help fund exhibits at the Durango Arts Center.
ELI RUBEL/Herald photos

Tonight’s auction of collaborative sculpture, painting, poetry and dance won’t compare to sales at Sotheby’s or Christie’s. No Rockefeller Rothkos for sale or Monet water lilies, but if you fancy a glow-in-the-dark mermaid or an ode to wine corks, head to the Durango Arts Center.

A mystery auctioneer will auction 14 works created by 77 artists; all money raised will fund exhibitions at the DAC. A performance by Laurel Schaffer’s ballet troupe and a basket woven by visitors to the gallery also will be for sale.

Groups of artists either agreed to collaborate or had their names drawn from a hat and were thrown together. Each team approached its collaboration differently. Some worked on the piece then passed it to the next artist. Others planned in advance what each person
would contribute. Still others did not speak or share.

A group of Barbara Tobin Klema’s painting students collaborated on three paintings, each getting a turn to take a painting home and add to it. The classmates are Aline Schwab, Susan Koonce, Leslie Talmon, Allison Andersen and Catherine Wagner.

“Spring Blossoms” is the best of the three. It incorporates collage to capture the cotton-like texture of blossoming trees. The mat and frame detract from the work and give it a dated appearance, but the painting is effective.

Dave Sipe, Nancy Segal and Amorina Lee Martinez created the bug with the illuminated tail. The wooden sculpture features a female torso, arms extended, elaborately painted, with lace-covered wings, wearing an expression of joy. The funky sculpture hangs from the
ceiling.

Only one collaboration uses a literary component. “Waiting for a Perfect Planet” includes a large abstract collage made with photographs by Claude Steelman and painted by Adele Kurtz. A companion piece is a poem by Kaibab. The collage is a spiral of bird-like shapes in a metallic swirl.

One of the more intriguing pieces is a digital collage of 25 portraits (mostly self portraits) by participants in the Kindred Spirits program. Kindred Spirits is a program for adults who are physically or mentally challenged.

Some of the drawings are remarkable in the emotion they express, their use of color, and even their use of line. Each work was scanned and placed in a patchwork format by artist Adele Kurtz.

The work was printed on a heavy stock and is presented as an unfolding accordion of color and imagery beneath an acrylic frame. I would have preferred to see the original drawings in a traditional collage. For me, the digital reproduction sucks some of the life from the artwork.

DAC accepted silent bids all week and the live auction happens today from 5 to 8 p.m. No minimum prices are listed, and the artists donated their time and materials.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Marona
Preston Parrott’s “Transition Point” ($4,300) is steel and copper and is made to hang from the ceiling.

Preston Parrott has never considered himself an artist. In fact, he resisted the term.

“Painting doesn’t make sense to me unless there are numbers on the canvas,” he said with a smile from his Durango studio on Redman Lane, a converted garage filled with scraps of metal, tools and containers of chemicals.

What does make sense to him is line, color, texture and form.

Parrott was born in Virginia and grew up in Oklahoma and Mississippi. With an affinity for math and science, he spent a significant portion of his life in Austin, Texas, working in the computer industry.

Because his corporate work was so concentrated in the left brain, Parrott looked for right brain activities to help him achieve balance. He began taking art classes: clay sculpture was interesting, but when he took his first metal class working with wire and sheet metal, he knew that this was his medium. He set up his studio with a bench and a torch.

Next to the metal working studio where he took classes, a silversmith was working. Parrott took silversmithing classes and thought that it, too, was really cool. So he bought the tiny tools to do delicate work.

When he moved to Durango in 2004, Preston taught himself to work with large sheets of metal and to weld steel. He started his own small business, Blue Gemini Productions and created sinks, countertops, tables and range hoods.

But Parrott realized that making functional things was not as much fun or as stimulating as he thought it would be.

For the 2006 Home & Ranch Show, Parrott created an artistic piece from welded steel and copper called “Transition Point.” The work, which is more than 5 feet high, was designed to hang from a ceiling. The piece is a snapshot of energy as it reaches transition. On one side the patina is blue, the color of truth; on the other side, the patina is green, the color of growth. When green yields to blue, the transition is complete.

The truth was revealed to Parrott when “Transition Point” received gratifying attention at the show.

The creative process for Parrott is intuitive. He is not emulating artists he admires. He begins with an idea, perhaps born from metaphysics, physics, Gi Gong (Chinese body work) or sacred geometry, and says let’s see what happens.

“It’s not like I wanted to make something that represents integration,” Parrott said of one of his recent works, “Integration,” which will debut at Denver’s Cherry Creek Arts Festival.

“It started with cubes and a pipe. Then another piece of the picture comes into view. It’s like putting together a puzzle. When I’m done, I look at it and say ‘what is it?’”

The more than 5-feet-high cube sculpture features a delicate silver center with a focal piece of purple sugilite.

Parrott’s application to the Cherry Creek Festival was as instinctive as his art. He started looking for art fairs in Colorado and found one with an emerging artist program, so he applied. It was only after his acceptance that he realized how competitive the show is.

“Who knows what happens next,” Parrott said. “But I’m making the art for me, and I have to believe that what I am expressing in my work is going to provide for me. Making money for my art means I can make more art.”

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

ELI RUBEL/Herald photos

L to R: Rebecca Barfoot’s “Serena and Me 1917-2007″ won Best of Show at the 31st annual juried art show “Emotion.” Prizes were presented at a reception at the Durango Arts Center on Friday, June 8. Judy DeVincentis Morgan received an Honorable Mention for “Chili Pickers.” Rod Craig’s pastel “Songs in the Evening.”

A stunned Rebecca Barfoot won Best of Show at the Durango Art Center’s 31st annual juried art show reception Friday night.

The young artist held back tears of joy as Exhibits Director Susan Andersen presented her with a check for $500 for “Serena and Me, 1917-2007,” a collage painting representing the artist’s connection to her female ancestors.

The theme of this year’s show (through June 23) is “Emotions,” and Barfoot’s sensitive depiction of women sharing inspiration through time was a likely choice, as was Mary Ellen Long’s “Bonnets of Aging.” Awarded the Juror’s Choice Award of $150, “Bonnets of Aging” is an installation of blue-and-pink satin baby bonnets trailing ribbons of handmade paper books filled with comments about life and growing older.

“It’s a work that showed tons of emotion and sensitivity,” said juror Gregory C. Gummersall, a contemporary painter and collage artist, who whittled down the 124 submissions to 65 with the help of his wife, Jenny Gummersall, a photographer.

The Gummersalls selected a quote by Josef Albers, the Bauhaus artist and former Black Mountain instructor, to summarize their approach to art.

“Art is revelation instead of information, expression instead of description, creation instead of imitation or repetition. Art is concerned with the HOW, not the WHAT; not with literal content, but with the performance of the factual content. The performance – how it is done – that is the content of art.”

The jurors selected work that spoke to them on an instinctual level. They also valued artists who did not let a lack of materials stop them from creating. Their merit and honorable-mention awards went to artists Marsan (Susan Andersen), who created “Feeling
peek-id” from found objects, bone, shell and porcupine quills, and to Karen McIntyre for her wire sculpture “Mis Hijas Roxie and Murphy.”

The most poignant moment came when Mike Austed was awarded an honorable mention for a pencil drawing called “The Actor.”

Austed has a disability and is part of the Kindred Spirits program at the DAC. His grin expressed the emotion he captured in his drawing. Austed told the crowd that the drawing was not for sale because he had given it to his mom for Mother’s Day.

Several members of the Plein Air Painters of the Four Corners have work in the show featuring people working in fields or figures integrated into landscape. Judy DeVincentis Morgan received an honorable mention for her oil “Chile Pickers.” And Sharon Abshagen reveals a completely different side with “Blue Line,” a painting that features several female forms, darkened faces and a blue line of barbed wire running across the painting, seeming to restrain the figures.

Barbed wire is literally wrapped around a canvas by Maryellen Morrow, who strapped bark over a painting of a figure. The effect doesn’t work for me, and I’d like to see Morrow create more abstracted landscapes as she did for the last juried show at DAC.

There is a playfulness to this show evident in work like “Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Ain’t No Moe” by Howard Searle that also received an honorable mention. A folk-art narrative is also evident as expressed by artists Thaddine Swift Eagle, Tirzah Camacho and Dave Sipe.

But it is the more serious work that stands out for me. Durango artist Rod Craig submitted three large, pastel paintings. “Songs in the Evening” hangs prominently at the entrance of the gallery. It features a repetition of angles, doors and walls, with light coming through into a room, each wall a different, vibrant shade. It’s a play of color and shape and form and light. The emotion? For me it seems to be inspiration.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

New owner focusing on art inspired by the Southwest

Photo courtesy of Leanne Goebel
Wild Spirit Gallery closed this spring but re-opened May 1 under the ownership of Madeline Lyon, a teacher from Lumberton, N.M.

The downtown gallery scene in Pagosa Springs is limited. In February 2005, Taminah Gallery & Gift Shop closed its doors. (Its framing division was reincarnated and still exists today under its third owner.)

A handful of local artists represented by Taminah were thrilled to learn later that year that a new gallery would open: Wild Spirit.

Originally owned by Ken Patterson, an emergency room doctor from Texas, Wild Spirit opened on July 1, 2005, with nearly 30 artists, but no gallery director.

Jean Magnelli, a former sales associate and framing consultant at Taminah Gallery, had been enlisted to help invite artists to exhibit at the new gallery. On opening day, she was helping Patterson hang lights, when he hired her as the gallery director.

Magnelli was the sole employee at the gallery for a year. She worked tirelessly without a break, with only local artists as volunteers to help give her a needed day off until July 2006, when Lizz Baldwin was hired.

Patterson asked Baldwin, a local jewelry artist, to create a jewelry department within the gallery where she sold her work and the work of other artists.

It all seemed to be working. The gallery had strong sales in the fall of 2006, said Magnelli and Baldwin, and then out of the blue, owner Patterson e-mailed them to say he was closing the
gallery.

Enter Madeline Lyon, a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher from St. Francis School in Lumberton, N.M. She was a patron of Wild Spirit before buying the gallery this spring.

“About a year ago I bought a painting,” Lyon said. “I heard from Jean that the gallery was doing well, then – boom – it closed.”

Lyon is an experienced businesswoman. She and her former husband owned an anodizing company in Ohio for 14 years. After having spent the last 23 years as an educator, Lyon had a yen to get back into business.

“I have no art experience,” Lyon said. “Therefore, the first thing I determined was is Jean willing to stay. And she was. She is totally committed to this gallery.”

But there were other business decisions to consider.

“I looked at the numbers and realized that we had to make adjustments,” Lyon said. “The gallery was losing money, but we are restructuring.”

By restructuring, she means that Magnelli is taking a pay cut, Baldwin has decided to leave the gallery and commission payments to artists have been redefined. Lyon herself doesn’t expect the gallery to provide her an income or a salary.

“Basically, we want to disseminate art because it is something that inspires people, and it’s a peaceful thing,” Lyon said.

The gallery hosted a grand re-opening May 26 that was attended by about 200 people. Twenty-four of the 56 artists represented by the new Wild Spirit were present, a bit shy of the 62 artists represented when the original Wild Spirit closed. Several artists chose not to return under the new commission terms and some were not invited back.

The gallery will remain focused on Southwestern art, and gallery director Magnelli makes all artistic decisions, which is quite a change from her former career as a certified dietary manager for a multi-million dollar retirement community in Naples, Fla.

When asked how she got interested in art, Magnelli said her grandmother inspired her artistic interest and taught her to draw and paint at a very young age.

“You can tell an artist by how they look at the world,” Magnelli said. “I look at the world and say how can I paint that?”

“I am very happy with where we are,” Lyon said. “I hope to see the gallery thrive.”

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts. She lives in Pagosa Springs.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Images (clockwise from top left): Best of Show, “The Channel Swimmers,” by George M. Schoonover; First Place, “Arithmetical Anecdote,” by Kim Olden; Second Place, “Brushes with Halo Objects #1,” by Ken Oehlen; Third Place, “Solitary,” by Ken Van Brott; Honorable Mention, “Mean Little Rattle,” by Amy K. Wendland.

David Edgar has differentiated himself through plastic.

Until 2004, he created amorphous figures merged with iconography made of steel rods. Today, he sculpts marine life from recycled plastic bottles that have been displayed in 30 exhibits across 18 states. He credits his wife with coining the word “plastiquarium” to describe his decorative art.

“The general public is intimidated and uncomfortable with fine art like I used to make,” Edgar told a crowd of 20 during a preview lecture for the Gateway to Imagination national juried art competition at the Farmington Museum. “I think it’s important to have the work be joyful
and still provide artistic content.”

Edgar acted as juror for the 10th annual Gateway competition. An associate professor of art at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Edgar has a background that includes stints with the Walt Disney Co., chairman of the art department at Ashland University in Ohio and running the nonprofit Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.

He said that work having a narrative quality was important to him when selecting art for the exhibition. Iconography, symbolism, quality of craft, compositional skill, insightful content and contextual success also counted. But in the end, he said, he chose work that moved him on a gut level.

Honorable mention awards went to Durango artists Amy K. Wendland for “Mean Little Rattle,” a sculptural form made from found wood that looks like a snake’s head, fitted with teeth and a long horse-hair tail, and John Grow for “New Worlds,” an oil painting of girls playing with beach balls that happen to be planets. Last year’s Best of Show honoree, Gil Bruvel, was also awarded an honorable mention for his sculpture “Dream of Earth.”

Wendland received a Special Recognition Award for “Kelp, 10 p.m.,” a graphite drawing. Sandra Butler of Durango, Shirlen Heath of Mancos and Sandy Applegate of Pagosa Springs also received Special Recognition Awards.

“Hive” by Butler is a sculptural piece with a honeycomb-shaped end covered in wax. “Navajo Peak” by Applegate is a mixed-media painting that looks like a Japanese woodcut print. Heath’s large, turned aspen wood vessel inlaid with malachite is prominently positioned at the museum entrance.

George M. Schoonover of Yachts, Ore., won Best of Show for his watercolor, “The Channel Swimmers,” three women in bathing suits sitting around a covered porch. His painting meets all the qualifications for technical prowess: composition, context, execution and narrative quality, the iconography of life. It’s clear why Edgar chose this work as Best of Show.

First place went to Kim Olden of Farmington for “Arithmetical Anecdotes.” Second place to Ron Koehler of Cleveland, Miss., for “Brushes With Halo Objects #1.” Ken Van Brott of Gallup, N.M., was awarded third place for his black and white monoprint of a single feather, “Solitary.”

Grow’s second painting in the show, “Left Behind,” featuring Noah’s ark against a tumultuous sky and longneck dinosaurs wading up to their necks in water, was selected for the Farmington Museum Purchase Award. The museum purchased the $2,400 painting for its permanent collection.

Other regional artists featured in the show include: Amy Vaclav-Felker, with “Rufus the Western Box Turtle,” a papier-m`E2ch`E9 sculpture with a colored box for the turtle’s shell; Howard Rachlin, with “White Sands at Sunset,” a panorama photograph; Karen Godblod, with “Moon over Bondad,” a digital image; Judy Brey, with “Blue Boat,” a ceramic sculpture; and Lora Davis, with “Why Cupid has Wings” and “Barnyard American Idol,” two gorgeous needle-felted fiber sculptures.

Gateway to Imagination features 107 works by 86 artists from 26 states.

As Edgar writes in his jurist statement: “This exhibition has something for everyone.”

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

If you go

• Gateway to Imagination, 107 works of art
by 86 artists from 26 states, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Monday-Saturday, through July 14,
Farmington Museum, 3041 East Main
Street, Farmington, (505) 599-1174.

• Views from the Plastiquariam, David
Edgar, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Thursday,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, through June 29,
Henderson Fine Arts Center, San Juan
College, 4601 College Blvd. Farmington
(505) 566-3464.

Phil Borges photos showing at Open Shutter Gallery

photos clockwise from top left: Humeria, 11, from Kabul, Afghanistan, sells eggs on the street to help her family survive.

Asgeli is a midwife to the Afar people who has
performed hundreds of female circumcisions. Now
she leads a campaign to end the practice among the 1.3 million Afar people.

Akhi from Bangladesh was sold as a sex worker at
the age of 13. Within three months she had bought
her freedom and started an organization to strengthen the rights of sex workers.

“My photographic projects are devoted to the welfare of indigenous and tribal people. My intention is to help bring attention to the value these cultures represent and the challenges they face,” writes Phil Borges on his Web site.

The photographer is trying to change the world.

His current exhibition at Open Shutter Gallery coincides with the release of his book Women Empowered. The book is a result of his partnership with the organization CARE to bring attention to the necessity of empowering women to eliminate poverty.

For more than 30 years, this former dentist has lived with people of indigenous cultures. He often enters a village and begins handing out Polaroid images to the children. He stays among the people for many weeks, earning their trust and respect, and then he begins to capture their portraits with a medium-format Hasselblad camera. The chosen negative is then scanned into a
computer, and early images in the series were printed with a high-end inkjet printer.

However, Borges found that the black ink metamerized. So he brushed platinum onto the paper before printing, to stabilize the ink, then he created a negative in the printer and made a contact print. Later, he sepia-toned some of the images and printed the color.

The effect is magical. Each image is framed with gentle brush strokes. The women in his portraits are focal. The background is faded, yet subtle tones draw the eye away from the portrait and back again to the woman or the child.

The images are printed on gorgeous paper, and the story of each woman or girl is written along the bottom of the page. The person’s name and age, along with her village and country are identified.

Empowered Women is the fourth book Borges has compiled from his photographs. A portion of the proceeds from the book goes back to CARE.

“While the women’s movement in the West has made much progress, I continue to be shocked by how women’s rights are compromised in the developing world,” Borges writes in his introduction.

He goes on to tell the story of Abay, a 28-year-old woman from Awash Fontale, Ethiopia. As a 12-year-old girl, Abay refused to be circumcised. Her mother insisted, telling her she would be ostracized and unable to marry.

The girl ran away and then returned to her village as a CARE station agent. Five years later, she convinced one of the women to let her film a circumcision ceremony.

The male leaders of her village had never seen a circumcision and were horrified. Two weeks later, the men voted to end female circumcision in their village.

The photograph of Abay shows a confident, beautiful woman in a diptych with a camel. The details of the grasses and the sand at her feet and the gorgeous color of her skin draw the viewer into the eyes of a woman who dared defy her mother and her culture to change a tradition of mutilation.

In a world where 80 percent of refugees and displaced people are women and girls, and where one in three women has been beaten, abused or raped, Borges turns his Hasselblad into a vehicle for compassion.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Editing is a beautiful and fascinating process. Space in a newspaper is limited. Every now and then I like to post the original draft of an article along with the published version. Subtle stylistic changes and eliminated sentences often don’t change the meaning of a piece, but do change the voice. I leave it to the reader to decide which version they prefer. Below is the text for a recent article in the Durango Herald.

“My photographic projects are devoted to the welfare of indigenous and tribal people. My intention is to help bring attention to the value these cultures represent and the challenges they face,” writes Phil Borges on his website. The award-winning photographer is trying to change the world—One photograph at a time.

His current exhibition at Open Shutter Gallery in Durango coincides with the release of his most recent book: “Women Empowered.” The project is a the result of Borges partnering the organization CARE to bring attention to the necessity of empowering women in the global campaign to eliminate poverty.

For over thirty years, this former dentist has traveled the world, living with people of indigenous cultures, spending time in the depths of the Ecuadorian Amazon or the heights of the Tibetan Himalayas. He often enters a village and begins handing out Polaroid images to the children. He stays among the people for many weeks, earning their trust and respect and then he begins to capture their portraits with a medium format Hasselblad camera. The chosen negative is then scanned into a computer and early images in the series were printed with a high-end inkjet printer.

However, Borges found that the black ink metamerized. So he brushed platinum onto the paper before printing, to stabilize the black ink, then he created a negative in the printer and made a contact print. He then sepia toned some of the original black & white image and printed the color.

The effect is magical. Each image is framed with gentle brush strokes that look Sumi-esque. The women in his portraits are focal. The background is faded, out of focus, yet subtle tones and shading draw the eye away from the portrait and then back again to the woman, the girl, the child, who seems to be gazing into the viewer’s eyes. Borges maintained the look even after halfway through the project he upgraded to a new 12-ink printer with archival ink that doesn’t metamerize and the platinum brushing was no longer necessary.

The images are on gorgeous paper and the story of each woman, each girl is written along the bottom of the page. Below each picture the persons name and age, along with her village and country are identified. These also look handwritten, though they are printed.

“Empowered Women” is the fourth book Borges has compiled from his photographs. A portion of the proceeds from the book goes back to CARE and the book brings awareness to the mission of CARE to help empower women around the world.

“While the women’s movement in the West has made much progress, I continue to be shocked by how women’s rights are compromised in the developing world,” Borges writes in his introduction.

He goes on to tell the story of Abay, a 28-year-old woman from Awash Fontale, Ethiopia. As a 12-year-old girl, Abay refused to be circumcised. Her mother insisted, telling her she would be ostracized and unable to marry. The girl ran away and then returned to her village as a CARE station agent. Five years later she convinced one of the women to let her film a circumcision ceremony. The male leaders of her village had never seen a circumcision and were horrified. Two weeks later, the men voted to end female circumcision in their village.

The photograph of Abay shows a confident, beautiful woman in a diptych with a camel. The details of the grasses and the sand at her feet and the gorgeous color of her skin draw the viewer into her eyes. The eyes of a woman who dared defy her mother and her culture to change a tradition of mutilation.

In a world where 80 percent of refugees and displaced people are women and girls, and where one in three women has been beaten, abused or raped, Phil Borges turns his hasselblad into a vehicle for compassion. If only more artists were as humanitarian as Borges, perhaps our world would be a different place.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

If you go:

Through May 23
“Empowered Women”
Open Shutter
755 East Second Avenue
970-382-8355

Computer a tool to take work beyond the familiar

Photo Left: Gerald Wells, a Southwest Colorado resident for 37 years, says using a computer to create art has returned a sense of discovery to his work.

Photo Right: “Mothership” created using 3-D scanning and computer plotting.

In 1963, Gerald Wells went to Vail to start an art school. He taught for five summers, envisioning an art utopia. He evangelized about an art school that would encourage students to do what they wanted to do without interference – a school that would promote inventiveness.

The Vail art school never became a reality, but Wells was determined to relocate to the Southwest. His studio partner at that time at Western Carolina University was Al “Doc” Sarvis, a member of the Monkey Wrench Gang. Sarvis’ friend was a guy named Edward
Abbey.

“Abbey said: ‘If you really want to drop out, there’s this little school in a place called Durango,’” Wells said from his studio at Fort Lewis College, where he spent the last 37 years teaching and making art.

According to Wells, both Sarvis and Abbey applied for jobs at FLC, but were turned down.

“That’s Fort Lewis history. They turn down every opportunity. Can you believe it? They wouldn’t hire Edward Abbey to teach in the English Department?” Wells said.

Wells planned to leave Durango after his first year at Fort Lewis. He decided to stay because he thought that as the community grew, the new residents would be more forward thinking and make a difference.

But nothing has really changed, he says.

“The Southwest is focused on its history,” he said. “The people who come here are tied to the past. The tourists who visit are looking for the Old West. It is something we keep perpetuating through the handmade crafts that we call fine art.”

“Good art isn’t regional,” Wells said. “We don’t have a Southwest doctor or a Southwest physicist, but we have a Southwest artist? People use the label for personal legitimacy, but it’s not something you simply elect to be.”

For Wells, art is innovative and unfamiliar. He thinks Southwestern artists are re-doing the same old things, focusing too much on history.

“It chokes new ideas and prevents them from getting started,” he said.

He acknowledges that his own representational images are about his anger at the decaying human condition. They are not art he claims.

His art is the work he creates on the computer.

“The computer changed me and changed my life. There are no rules. I can get away from representation and get back to discovery.”

His computer-based art is created using 3-D software such as Lightwave and Cinema 4D and vector programs such as Moto. The work “Mothership” features a crescent-shaped image floating against negative space and is printed with archival inks, looking almost like
pastel. It took two days for the computer to render the graphic, which shows a photograph compressed into hatch marks and shapes that are far beyond the familiar.

“The most deadly thing for creativity is control, since – improperly imposed – it merely drags what might have been a new discovery back into the scissors of history, and that is the end
of the creative outcome,” Wells wrote in an e-mail detailing his philosophy. “So I work with the process in order to preview as many options as possible before introducing elements of structure that will guide and preserve an image.

The process is never over, from a conceptual standpoint, and there is little to say about the image that gets hung on a wall, except that it might provide a clue about something far more important: the next image that I hope I will be able to make.”

Wells, who earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Mississippi, said his art education was about what he thought.

People such as David Smith taught him to look at the way art changed everything around it. To look through it at what it defines.

“Anyone can paint and draw, but I want to know what you think,” Wells said.

Then he went on to lament about local amateur artists painting flowers.

“I know these people and what goes on in their personal life. They aren’t telling the truth. Artists have to tell the truth. Art is about interaction of people. It has very little to do with pretty pictures.”

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer focusing on the visual arts.

Jeremy Moore won best of show in the 46th annual
Juried Student Exhibition at the Fort Lewis College Art
Gallery with “Similar Disparity.”

Fort Lewis College art students score hit after hit

I didn’t have high expectations for the juried student exhibition at Fort Lewis College gallery. Student work is often filled with imitation and mimicry, aspirations to be like a favorite artist.

A young artist’s craft is still developing; the aesthetic is only coming into tune. It can be miss after miss with the occasional hit.

Not the 46th annual Juried Student Exhibition. It scored hit after hit with only the occasional misstep.

The painting in this exhibition was strong and clearly inspired by Assistant Professor Kevin Bell. His work is often sparse, exploring tension in the mundane in-between places of the contemporary western American landscape. Bell explores what we have created, not what is necessarily beautiful.

Paintings by Keith Dale, Eirick White, Ami Dore, Krista Mickelson and Jeremy Moore seem influenced by Bell’s work. Dale’s oil paintings “19th Street” and “Arroyo” show images of hauntingly vacant-looking buildings, black asphalt painted with yellow stripes and mobile homes illuminated by a single streetlight.

White’s “The Decision” is a painting of the men’s room, a toilet on one side, a urinal on the other. Dore’s “Waiting Out Your Philistinism” features an oddly illuminated turquoise bucket chair suspended in strong, angular shadows. And Mickelson’s nicely crafted watercolor “Gurt se Dank,” which literally translates as “belt is thanks,” is a painting of a German billboard at a highway intersection with fluffy clouds in the background.

“Best of Show” went to Jeremy Moore for his acrylic-and-oil painting “Similar Disparity,” a painting of a red-headed girl sitting on the transformer box of a power pole at the same level as a raven who is perched on the line. The sky is tangerine and the girl is slouching, staring at the raven whose head is turned in her direction. They watch each other. Moore is a senior, and his work has narrative his drawing skills are strong.

Rebecca Barfoot’s painting style and technique stood out as unique. “Annie Swynnerton & Ellen von Unwerth: The Impasse Between Pleasure and Decadence” is a large oil-and-acrylic mixed-media work of an illuminated Victorian Swynnerton-esque figure surrounded by erotic von Unwerth images.

Strong ceramic and sculptural work appeared in the show. Jessica Davis’ animated and amorphous teapots were awarded the juror’s choice award. Lydon Wilkinson’s “Memories at Peace” is an interesting bowl filled with what appears to be a ceramic sea anemone. Too bad the bowl is cracked; it might have won more than an honorable mention. Wilkinson also won an honorable mention for his cement-and-chain creation, “Unchained Spirit.”

Colin Spear earned honorable mention for his slab-constructed ceramic vessel “Tipping Point,” a leaning house with its roof flapping open. And Joel Morgan won an honorable mention for his untitled sculpture of three wooden cubes made from twisted tree limbs.

Terry Gasdia should have won more than an honorable mention for his bas-relief sculpture in white Colorado Yule marble “Rain Dancers.” This sculpture of what appear to be Hopi rain dancers is a very fine work with lovingly carved details in the feathers, corn and beaded jewelry the dancers wear.

Juror Laurel Vogl has selected and awarded strong and inspiring work by students in a wide range of media. In fact, I believe this is the strongest student show at Fort Lewis this year.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Seven fellows were selected to participate in the 2007 USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship program. This impressive and select group will spend three weeks together in Los Angeles exploring ways to strengthen the role of arts journalism.

The Fellows and Senior Fellow for 2007 are:

• KURT ANDERSEN, novelist, radio host, columnist. Andersen is author of the new novel “Heyday,” host and co-creator of “Studio 360,” America’s only national arts-and-culture magazine program, and writes a column for New York magazine, of which he was previously editor-in-chief. Andersen also has been a columnist and critic for Time and the New Yorker, and was co-founder of the legendary Spy magazine.

• BRETT CAMPBELL, Wall Street Journal, West Coast performing arts
  correspondent. From Portland, Oregon, Campbell has written about music, theatre and architecture for West, Salon and The Oregonian. He’s been an editor of Oregon Quarterly and The Texas Observer magazines, and music columnist for Eugene Weekly. His biography on composer Lou Harrison is forthcoming.

• CELESTE HEADLEE, National Public Radio, freelance reporter and producer, and Detroit News, freelance reporter. Headlee produces features for NPR and regularly writes for the Detroit News. Her show “Front Row Center” is an award-winning weekly radio program dedicated to cultural events and issues.

• VICTORIA INFANTE, La Vibra, the weekly arts magazine for Los Angeles’ Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion, editor. Three years ago, Infante helped re-launch La Vibra, the No. 1 entertainment guide for young Latinos in the U.S. Infante also writes for Espectaculos, the daily entertainment section of La Opinion. Before coming to the U.S., Infante worked as a journalist in Mexico.

• ESTHER IVEREM, SeeingBlack.com, founder, editor and film critic, and BET.com, film and arts critic. Iverem worked as a staff writer for the Washington Post, New York Newsday, and New York Times before taking a leap of faith and joining the world of Internet journalism. Her book “We Gotta Have It: Twenty Years of Seeing Black at the Movies, 1986-2006” will be published in April 2007.

• CAROL KINO, New York Times, regular freelance contributor. Kino, a journalist and cultural critic living in Manhattan, is also a contributing editor at Art & Auction and has written about visual art for Slate and The Atlantic Monthly. Her investigation into Costco’s selling of apparently forged Picasso drawings prompted the New York Times to move the story to the front page.

• EDWARD LIFSON, Chicago Public Radio, senior editor of arts, architecture and culture. Lifson hosts a one-hour, weekly radio program dedicated to the arts, “Hello Beautiful!”. Every week, he also hosts “Three to See,” wherein he illuminates three not-to-be-missed cultural events. In 1996, Lifson established the NPR Berlin bureau and reported on the city’s rebuilding and the war in Kosovo.

• KAELEN WILSON-GOLDIE is an American journalist working as an editor and writer for The Daily Star, an English-language newspaper based Lebanon and distributed to 12 countries in the Middle East. Since 2006, Wilson-Goldie has been a correspondent for Artforum. Before moving to Beirut, she worked for the pop culture magazine Black Book.

A committee of six journalists selected the seven Fellows from an international pool of nearly 100 applicants. The committee received applications from 14 countries.

Directed by Sasha Anawalt, the 2007 USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism plans for the Fellows’ three weeks in Los Angeles include possible meetings with curators Stephanie Barron and Julie Lazar; museum directors Michael Brand and Michael Govan; journalists Cory Doctorow, John Horn, Douglas McLennan, Barbara Isenberg , Marty Kaplan and Sharon Waxman; artists Chris Burden, Mister Jalopy, Thomas Leabhart, John Outterbridge, Nancy Rubins and Esa-Pekka Salonen; and critics Christopher Knight, Peter Plagens and Mark Swed, among many others.

Anawalt wrote me the nicest letter to inform me that I had not been selected as a Fellow for this year’s program. This is the second year that I’ve applied and seeing the names and credentials of the selected journalists, makes me feel all the more honored to have received such a kind letter from Anawalt.

In her letter she writes:

“This letter is so hard for me to write, because I admire your work and have nothing but good feelings for the possibility of you being a Fellow.”

She explains how they seek a balance of editors, reporters, writers, and produceers in various media and from diverse geographic areas. Then she adds:

“Turning away great applicants is the hardest act for me as director, especially truning away those in whom I have invested an abiding professional curiosity. You are one such person. I follow you as best I can. It is journalists such as you who convince me that we need to expand and find ways to include more people.”

She encourages me to apply again next year, which of course, I will. And who knows, perhaps the third time will truly be the charm for me.

She closes her letter by saying: “Continue to produce good stories and to think about the arts with the passion, integrity, depth and imagination you already possess. We greatly appreciate your interest and hope very much to keep it. Stay in touch!”

Finally, she signs her name and writes that perhaps they will expand the size of the Fellowship. “Your work deserves attention,” she adds.

Left: “Anasazi Stairs,” by Tim Davis from Colorado Springs. Right: “Fiddler on the Roof,” by Barbara Rosner of Pagosa Springs. Two of the 30 images by 26 local photographers that will be on display at the Open Shutter Gallery
from Wednesday through April 11.

Art is meant to be seen. Even photography, a form that we are accustomed to seeing in publication, is best viewed in the original. Particularly when the images are in color and the magazine only publishes in black and white. It’s interesting to see the size of the work; images one expects to be large are actually small and vice versa.

Open Shutter Gallery is hosting “Published Works,” an exhibit of finalists from the Arts Perspective magazine photography contest.

The exhibit opens Wednesday with an opportunity to meet the photographers from 5 to 8 p.m.
Thirty images by 26 photographers from Colorado and Northwest New Mexico are featured in the exhibit. The submissions were by category: abstract, architectural/structure, alternative process/technique and portrait.

While most of the photographers are from Durango, Cortez, Pagosa Springs, Bayfield, Silverton, Hesperus and Mancos, one is from Aztec, N.M., another from Colorado Springs and a third from Alamosa.

One photographer, Leslie Raffelson is traveling from as far away as Peetz, a tiny Colorado town just south of the Nebraska border and north of Sterling. Raffelson submitted her image “Protection” in the portrait category. The image is of three horses huddled behind a bale of hay during a blinding winter blizzard.

According to Arts Perspective editor Sonja Horoshko, “Protection” is an image from a documentary series Raffelson did during the blizzard that buried the eastern plain in 15 feet of snow last December.

Former Telluride resident Liz Lance submitted her pictures from Portland, Maine, where she is studying. Lance is a finalist in the portrait category for “Washing Dishes in Langtang, Nepal,” an image of a boy squatting and scrubbing dishes.

The vivid color and size of Pagosa Springs’ photographer Barbara Rosner’s “Fiddler on the Roof,” surprised me. The image is 24 inches x 36 inches in a heavy black frame, the fiddler’s hair blowing in the wind, the rich terra cotta adobe highly contrasted against
a sapphire-blue sky.

In the landscape category, I was drawn to Durango photographer Claude Steeleman’s “Animas River Trail” in the magazine, but flipping through the as-not-yet-hung images at Open Shutter on Monday, the small “Storm’s Retreat,” by Mancos photographer Patricia Burk struck me for its elegant detail. The image would be more powerful as a larger print, but don’t overlook it for its size.

Arts Perspective would not tell the Herald how many submissions it received, but an additional 34 images are found in the pages of the magazine, including one image from each of the jurors.

Jurors were: Lou Swenson, fine-art photographer; Margy Dudley, owner of Open Shutter Gallery; Hal Gould, owner of Camera Obscura in Denver; and Loretta Young-Gautier, associate director of Camera Obscura Gallery and a fine-art photographer.

Awards will be given at the reception for prizewinners in each category. Perhaps they’ll also give an award to Raffelson for driving nine hours to be at this event.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reservedCourtesy of Tim Davis

“Anasazi Stairs,” by Tim Davis from Colorado Springs,
is one of the 30 images by 26 local photographers
that will be on display at the Open Shutter Gallery
from Wednesday through April 11.

Barry X Ball

Images courtesy of Barry X Ball Studio and
Salon 94, New York

Left: torture prevalence compels victim-as-wounded-yet-resolute-iconoclasm-survivor portrait
(Lucas Michael, soldiering on – 3mm)
2000 – 2006
Mexican onyx
10-5/32 x 5-3/8 x 6-9/16 inches
Courtesy: Barry X Ball Studio and Salon 94, New York

Right: Plucked from The Standard Model and elevated again, The Holy Shroud of Nature calls into question The Creator it summons, as authentic as the original, yet altogether more remarkable for the image it preserves, from Rock to rock.
2002 – 06
Mexican onyx
41 1/2 x 22 x 14 inches

Stone portraits eerily lifelike at SITE Santa Fe

A portrait of artist Mathew Barney is skewered with a 24-carat-gold-plated stainless steel pole. A draping of flesh hangs from Barney’s neck and an eruption forms around the spike. The head is stretched vertically and layered in a Victorian Baroque relief pattern. His portrait is sculpted in Mexican onyx, a white stone with blood red inclusions. Suspended from the ceiling, the sculpture hangs alone in a gallery at SITE Santa Fe.

The sculpture took three-and-a-half years to create and is one of 12 heads by Barry X Ball on display at SITE along with two works from his new series of “Scholars’ Rocks.” SITE is hosting the most significant presentation of Ball’s work to date in a three-person show that includes paintings by Stephen Bush and video installations by Darren Almond.

Most of Ball’s sculptures are hyper-compressed at 85 percent scale, with patterns that play up the exaggerated features of his models. Ball merges elements from ancient Egypt, classic Rome and 13th century West Africa with 21st century technology.

The stone somehow doesn’t seem like stone, but something pliable, stretchy and sagging. The viewer is baffled by the realistic likeness of the portrait, the weird striations in the stone, the markings and their placement, the overlaying of lace patterning and the
minute bands of fluting.

Ball’s process is incredibly complex. It begins with a plaster life cast of a face. All of the portraits on display at SITE are of artists, curators and critics. Ball has cast about two dozen faces of people in the art world.

He selects faces with exaggerated features. Working from the life cast, he makes a plaster positive, which he sculpts by hand. A completed positive is scanned using a three-dimensional digital laser scanner to create a virtual model. The virtual model can be stretched, shrunk and decorated.

The computer file is sent to a computer-controlled milling machine that does the initial stone shaping using progressively finer diamond bits to mill the stone.

“The milling of one portrait can take up to 58 hours nonstop,” SITE curator Laura Heon told an audience on Feb. 22. This milling allows the artist to work with hard stones like lapis lazuli that were previously impossible to sculpt.

The sculpture is hand finished in Ball’s studio using dental tools. The lips, eyes, inside of mouth and back of neck are polished. The portrait is masked, sandblasted and oil-impregnated.

In one portrait of art historian and critic Laura Mattioli Rossi, Ball uses rare Belgian black marble. One eye is open, gleaming and hand polished, while the other is closed. The result is unsettling and captivating.

A sculpture of Lucas Michael is done in Mexican onyx a “wounded” stone with inclusions that become attributes of the portrait.

Another Lucas Michael is in sodalite and lapis lazuli. The most arresting work hangs alone in a second gallery and feheads of Matthew Barney and the screaming Barry Ball, overlaid with patterning inspired by Italian metalwork.

The scholar-rock sculptures, created using similar milling techniques, are beautiful and contemplative. Ancient Chinese scholar’s rocks – found rocks, worn by wind and weather into meditative forms – are the inspiration for these works. Chinese scholar’s rocks have been repeatedly copied and sold as “originals.”

“Ball’s deformed version (of the scholar’s rocks) address the notion of connoisseurship and the cultural and monetary values that we assign to notions of artifice and authenticity,” says the SITE gallery guide.

His sculptures are as authentic as the classic works of traditional stone sculptors, yet altogether more remarkable.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Photos courtesy of Open Shutter Gallery. Michael A. Shapiro’s work in “Oui” at the Open Shutter Gallery is all untitled. His work captures the connection between Paris and its people. Shapiro’s and Deborah L. Nelson’s work take an intimate look at Paris. The show runs through April 12.

Photographers bring view of France to Open Shutter Gallery

“Oui,” a photography exhibit of works by Deborah L. Nelson and Michael A. Shapiro at the Open Shutter Gallery, brings a bit of Paris to Durango. In fact, a visit to the gallery is like a stolen
moment in Montmartre – an intimate glimpse into the lives of Parisians.

Nelson’s soft and quixotic works are all black-and-white, limited-edition prints. She captures the tones and depths of Paris in shades of gray. Her works are not intense in high-contrast black and white, but instead filled with spectrums of light and shadow.

Many images evoke the romantic Paris, such as “Montmartre avec bicyclette, Paris 1997,” a view down herringbone brick steps, the black iron light posts and railings typical of Paris under the mottled shadows of large trees; “L’Econte, Paris 1999,” a large sculpture of a head resting against a hand, on a patterned brick plaza, an encrusted Rococo style building in the background; and “Solitude, Paris 1997,” a man sitting alone in a park, reading beneath a classical sculpture.

Other images capture Paris at night or in movement. “La Rotonde, Paris 2001,” shows a café on a rain-wet street, after hours, chairs stacked up, the customers gone. “Champs de Mars, Paris 1997″ shows a view through the lit base of the Eiffel Tower. “Le Carousel, Paris 1997″ brilliantly captures the sweeping motion of the lit carousel, a small boy standing alone in front, small and still before the eternally moving merry-go-round.

The artist began photographing Paris in 1983 and sojourns annually to the City of Light. Many of her photos balance the soft and delicate with the crisp and vivid. My personal favorite is “Les Mots, Paris 2000″ capturing projected words onto a brick wall, the words swirling in an abstract manner. Another vivid image is “Musee d’Orsay, Paris 1999,” which looks through the backside of the large museum clock.

Nelson’s work is shown with Shapiro’s carbon pigment prints, a digital printing process that uses four tones of archival carbon-based pigment. The work has a velvety blackness directly related to the printing process. Particularly evident is the image of a woman, all dressed in black, merging into a shadowy background. As she reaches into her handbag for a lighter, a very white cigarette hangs from her lips. Everything else in the image is tonal, but the cigarette is white.

Shapiro provides no titles for his images, no biography, no artist statement. His work captures a slice of life, a narrative moment in time and an intimate connection between people in Paris.

One image is of two women, greeting on the street, in front of a large billboard advertising a Boticelli expo. Another captures a couple leaning together over a table at a busy cafe, a single glass of beer between them.

The most poignant and powerful works are that of a woman’s hand caressing the back of a man’s head, and a cafe scene where Shapiro caught the moment a woman looked up from her book, hand to her mouth, deeply contemplative and the woman at the next table, still looking down, into her book, hand to her mouth.

There is story in Shapiro’s work and one feels voyeuristic in viewing these life moments, stolen and captured and shared.

“Oui” is a feast for the eyes and for the soul.

lgoebel@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs.

Contents copyright, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Conceptual art at DAC makes social statement

“Pleasure Saddle,” by Annie Strader, is part of the
show “Intersections: Artifice & Matter” at the
Durango Arts Center. The traveling show features the
work of four female artists.

A “Pleasure Saddle” adorned with ruffles of pink ribbon hangs from the center of the gallery at Durango Arts Center. Pink pantyhose are pinned to the entry wall in what looks like hearts or leaves or the wings of birds. The overall shape of “Love as it Flies” is circular, with linear bands and individually abstracted shapes in differing shades of pink.

These sensuously charged works by Annie Strader are part of a traveling group exhibit called “Intersections: Artifice & Matter,” featuring the work of Strader of Wichita, Kan.; Christine Owen of Wappinger Falls, N.Y.; and Julie Wills of Crested Butte.

The show opened with a performance by The Bridge Club, a group made up of the artists and Emily Bivens of Knoxville, Tenn., and her piece “Ceaseless & Solitary.” DAC Exhibits Director Susan Andersen said in an e-mail that the women were dressed in waitress garb, wearing clear plastic hair covering, high heels, stockings and wigs styled in that ’60s flip hairdo. They stood in intersecting corners sanding, peeling and pulling threads out of the wallpaper, excavating bone or plaster and methodically rearranging items found in their environment. They did not speak.

“For people coming into the exhibit, watching them pull strings out of the wall paper was disturbing,” Andersen said.

At the end of the performance piece, they hung up their aprons and tools, some left their shoes and all left their plastic rain bandannas. The floor was littered with white powder, porcelain teacups, cream pitchers and broken plates.

This is what is left for the duration of the exhibit. There is something haunting about the remains of an excavation site: the walls picked at and the decorative wallpaper peeled away. The group’s finds were left to litter the floor – a single shoe, some bone, a teacup – reflecting the way women are still discarded and dismissed.

“Some men commented at the performance, ‘Are the women for sale?’” Andersen said. “This lent credence to the exhibit and to their point.”

Their point, according The Bridge Club blog, is this: “The spaces these women inhabit reference both the decorative comforts of the domestic and the confined austerity of a cell.
Though not confined, the continuity of their activity indicates that they are unable or unwilling to see the possibility of leaving. This is a ceaseless individual pursuit, mirrored unknowingly by others engaged in similar pursuits – something between working and waiting.”

The rest of the show is made of domestic objects and bones – materials that expose the social expectations of items.

“Old Bones” is a broken rocking chair by Wills. The spindles point jaggedly like arrows into the sky, a bit of lace is snatched and impaled on several spindles. On the seat of the chair lies more lace, some dirt and fragments of vertebrae. A pair of white gloves is folded over the arm.

“Exhausted Prospects” by Owen is made up of piles of dirt, five stacks of decomposing gold pans and an empty wooden step stool, worn and weathered. “Ritual Sacrifice,” a mixed-media sculpture by Wills, is made of brushes, cloth, lace, staples, nails, wax, cord, latex and hair.

This is art created by four relatively young women commenting on the role of women in society and sexuality. The work says that we haven’t come all that far since our mothers burned their bras. Since the feminism movement, we seem complacent with the lack of progress and equality that is blatant within the art world.

Women make up half of all art students, but galleries devoted to emerging art in New York show 80 percent more men, according to a group of artists called Brainstormers. Yet as curators and scholars, women make up the majority in the field, but they are not selecting female artists. It’s a clever trick, yet women are still deceived.

Ben Davis, associate editor of Artnet magazine summarized the situation in a recent article:

“What is deemed ‘hot’ new art must pique the interest of playboy European heirs, Japanese capitalists, newly rich Russian robber barons, American i-bankers and the like – all of whom are predominantly male, and arguably less prone to buy overtly ‘feminine,’ let alone feminist, work …”

“Intersections” is the type of exhibit I wish we saw more of at the DAC – sensual, thought-provoking, conceptual art that tackles important issues.

lgoebel@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs.
JERRY McBRIDE/Herald

“Spirit Mother,” by Michael Naranjo sits at the entrance of Mercy Regional Medical Center

Mercy Regional Medical Center has won one of four annual awards from the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts.

Mercy was chosen for the Workspace Award recognizing “exceptional design that advances business objectives.” The center was chosen over finalists Pinnacol Assurance and the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center.

The award was presented before an audience of more than 750 on March 8 in the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

“Mercy has a healing environment that incorporates artwork in key areas of the hospital and is themed to support patients ranging from the critically ill to new mothers,” said Deborah Jordy, executive director of the CBCA. “Mercy’s workspace reflects pride in regional cultural diversity, creates a beautiful working environment, energizes staff, and contributes to the health and experience of clients.”

Mercy’s Chief Nursing Officer, Nancy Hoyt, accepted the award.

“Through the creation of our house of healing with the arts as its cornerstone, all who enter our walls -patients, staff and others- will leave with a nurtured spirit,” Hoyt said.

Shanan Wells, owner of Sorrel Sky Gallery and SCW Art Consulting, chose and placed the art for Mercy in consultation with hospital representatives.

“Mercy was recognized for using art to advance its business objective, and that objective is healing,” Wells said.

The judges were:
• Mark Hellerstein, president and CEO, St. Mary Land and Exploration.
• Kate Paul, CEO, Delta Dental of Colorado.
• Pelham Pearce, executive director, Central City Opera Association.
• Flo Hernandez Ramos, CEO and general manager, KUVO.
• Elaine Torres, manager of community affairs, CBS 4.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Alan F. Houston wrote to me today pointing out what he perceived as mistakes in yesterday’s article on the Classic Landscapes.

“There is mistaken identity in the review (Herald, March 9, 2007) of the traveling exhibition now at FLC’s Southwest Center. In no way was Moran’s Mount of the Holy Cross related to the designation of Yellowstone as a national park. That legislation occurred in March 1872. Wm. H. Jackson first visited and photographed the mountain in 1873, and Thomas Moran first saw it and sketched it in 1874.

Also, Holy Cross Creek is not imaginary (although waterfalls probably are), but is not seen as the Mountain is viewed. Moran, as well as other artists, simply rotated the creek (or the mountain) into the foreground. This is also the view painted by Helen Chain in the same exhibition. Moran’s earlier versions of the Mount of the Holy Cross indeed show a creek or river (from about 1875).

Jackson’s photographs of the Mount AND Moran’s sketches, drawings, and his truly “grand” painting of the Grand Canon (Canyon) of the Yellowstone, the petitions of Dr. Ferdinand Hayden, the Northern Pacific RR, and others, all contributed to Yellowstone’s National Park status.

Finally, Yellowstone is in Wyoming while Holy Cross Mountain is in Eagle County, Colorado, about twenty miles SSW of Vail, Colorado.”

Mr. Houston is correct in one instance.

I mistakenly included the Holy Cross painting with the sketches and yellowstone paintings that Moran did that were instrumental in helping to preserve yellowstone as a national park. It was the original 1875 painting of the “Mount of the Holy Cross” that was exhibited in Philadelphia during the nation’s Centennial. Moran wanted to exhibit “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone” (1872) and “Chasm of the Colorado” (1873-74) together to represent the sacred landscapes of the West, but Congress would not loan the other two paintings for the Philadelphia Exposition. The image of Mt. Holy Cross was instrumental in the progress vs preservation battle.

However, Mr. Houston is not correct in suggesting that Moran didn’t visit Yellowstone until 1873. According to the National Gallery of Art, Thomas Moran first saw Yellowstone in 1871 and then returned with Jackson to sketch the land.

Moran did paint his first image of the Holy Cross in 1875 and the creek and falls flow off to the left of the canvas in that image. Moran freely admits that he manipulated the location of the waterfall and creek in his paintings. There are many creeks and falls, but this one is technically “made up” in the painting and doesn’t exist as he depicts it in the image. In the image on display at CSWS, the water flows off to the right of the canvas. The Yale library suggests that Moran may have used a montage of Jackson photographs to create his paintings. In chromolithographs, Moran shows the Mountain with no waterfall or creek at all. I did not intend to suggest that the mountain does not exist, only that the rest of the painting is not as it exists in nature.

I grew up in Colorado and viewed the Holy Cross in Eagle County every summer. I didn’t think it necessary to mention that the mountain was in Colorado since the exhibition is about Colorado landscapes. All the images are from Colorado.

Images Clockwise from left: “Mountain of the Holy Cross,” Thomas Moran (1890); “Aspen Trees,” Gordon Brown (2007); “Ruins of Central City,” Vance Kirkland (1935); “Autumn Eve, Buckley Lake,” John Encinias (2007)

“Topography in art is valueless,” said Thomas Moran, a landscape painter who specialized in the West. “I place no value upon literal transcripts from Nature. My general scope is not realistic; all my tendencies are toward idealization.”

Moran is included in “Masterpieces of Colorado Landscape: A Rich Legacy of Landscape Painting,” which opened at the Center of Southwest Studies on Feb. 25.

Well, it partially opened. The show was conceived to include more than 60 works of art, but only 40 are on display in Durango, which is unfortunate. Works on loan from the El Pomar collection and the Denver Public Library collection are missing.

In “Colorado Landscape,” curator Rose Glaser Frederick brings together works by late 19th and early 20th-century artists, combined with the work of 16 living artists: Clyde Aspevig, Joe Arnold, Gordon Brown, Len Chmiel, Mark Daily, Joellyn T. Duesberry, John Encinias, Tracy Felix, Chuck Forsman, Ned Jacob, Karen Kitchel, Michael J. Lynch, Jim Morgan, Daniel Sprick, Don Stinson and M.W. Skip Whitcomb.

Frederick suggests that the exhibit begins with Moran’s “Mountain of the Holy Cross” (1890) hung at the left of the first gallery and that following the paintings clockwise through time, viewers will end with Vance Kirkland’s “Ruins of Central City” (1935). The second gallery should display all of the contemporary work alphabetically by artist. However, the work is not hung chronologically or alphabetically.

The Moran clearly is a masterpiece. The granite mountain, with its cross-shaped crevices in which snow accumulates, rises from a mist of clouds. The waterfall in the foreground is an imaginary feature that Moran added to the composition and does not exist in nature. It also is a historically significant painting.

This painting was instrumental (along with the photographs of William Henry Jackson) in convincing Congress to preserve Yellowstone as a National Park, launching the progress vs. preservation battle that has shaped the American West.

“In the 19th and 20th centuries, landscape painting went from ‘photographing’ scenes to advertising to creating art based on the land,” Frederick wrote in an e-mail this week.

“Today, landscape painting is about expressing concerns as well as awe. It’s about conservation. Most importantly, it’s about helping viewers see,” she said.

Frederick selected contemporary artists who help the viewer see more than just the land.

“I feel that landscape is often overlooked for the latest fad in art, and, conversely, since a lot of people like to paint landscape, there is much that is not worthy of a show,” Frederick wrote.

She chose contemporary masterpieces to show the evolution of landscape painting, taking the viewer from what it was to what it is, skipping all of the “isms” of the mid- to late- 20th century.

I found all of the contemporary work impressive, but here are a few of my favorites:

Encinias’ “Autumn Eve, Berkeley Lake,” captures the quiet feeling of being alone in nature, surrounded by the bustle of the city. The fading light and the fading season seem to reach out from this beautifully executed painting.

Brown’s “Aspen Trees” are twisted and nearly abstracted. The artist seems focused on the layers of botanical life at the base of the trees, the place the light touches and the depths it cannot reach.

Felix’s “Twin Peaks,” a painting of two blue-green mountains draped in snow and clouds. For me, this work expresses the jovial emotion of an amusement park. This landscape is one of pleasure and enjoyment.

For Kirkland, who completes Frederick’s 20th century selections, design was more important than subject.

“I had to change nature in order to be more concerned with the importance of the painting, rather than the importance of the landscape,” Kirkland wrote, echoing Moran.

This is the difference between a masterpiece and a just another landscape painting. A masterpiece doesn’t only capture the beautiful scenery; it manipulates nature until the viewer’s reaction is not realizable only as an experience, but as something more.

If you go:

“Masterpieces of Colorado Landscape” will be at the Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College, through April 22. Contact Interim Director & Curator Jeanne Brako, 247-7494. The show will move to the Foothills Art Center in Golden, from May 12-July 8; Western Colorado Center for the Arts in Grand Junction from July 28-Sept. 23; Fremont Center for the Arts in Cañon City, Nov. 9-Dec. 15; El Pomar Carriage Museum in Colorado Springs, Dec. 22-Jan. 31; Denver Public Library, Feb. 4 – May 31.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer who specializes in the visual arts.

InfoBox(” If you go “,”

"Masterpieces of Colorado Landscape" will be at the Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College, through April 22. Contact Interim Director & Curator Jeanne Brako, 247-7494. The show will move to the Foothills Art Center in Golden, from May 12-July 8; Western Colorado Center for the Arts in Grand Junction from July 28-Sept. 23; Fremont Center for the Arts in Cañon City, Nov. 9-Dec. 15; El Pomar Carriage Museum in Colorado Springs, Dec. 22-Jan. 31; Denver Public Library, Feb. 4 – May 31.

“);

Durango artist curates exhibit at Lost Dog in search of ‘fearless’ art

Images:
“What?!” by Thaddine Swift Eagle; “Winter Pressing 2003-04″ by Mary Ellen Long; “Black Cloud” by Mary Ellen Morrow.

February 23, 2007
By Leanne Goebel | Special to the Herald

The painter Tirzah Camacho is frustrated by the redundancy of stylized western art and what she calls “safe” contemporary art in Durango. So, the local artist decided to curate an exhibit that would prove Durango is filled with high-quality artists capable of producing fearless, conceptual art.

Lamenting that Durango lacks progressive venues to display such work, Camacho enlisted the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge to provide its space. She invited a committee of unidentified local artists to jury the show. Why not say who they are?

All submissions were supposed to be in response to Camacho’s article “A Response Ability” in the fall 2006 issue of Arts Perspective magazine.

My reaction?

There is little new under the Durango sun.

“Show Reaction” features the work of 16 artists, most with recognizable names.

Mary Ellen Long’s “Winter Pressing 2003-04″ was shown at the Shy Rabbit Gallery in Pagosa Springs.

Mary Ellen Morrow frequently exhibits at the Durango Arts Center. A traditional, plein-air painter by training, Morrow won “Best of Show” at the Four Corners Commission show at DAC. At Lost Dog, “Little Black Cloud,” an oil on canvas of golden treetops, mountains, sky and a black cloud shows Morrow’s ability to explore shape, color and form in landscape.

Rebecca Koeppen has three pastels in this show; she has shown similar work at Shy Rabbit and DAC. Ron Fundingsland has shown his prints at Shy Rabbit and briefly at Karyn Gabaldon Fine Arts.

A small lithograph by Kristina Butler from El Paso, Texas, explores perception and how we interpret what we see. “Anala & Montezuma at the Fair” provides two views of a gypsy woman and a snake. On the left, the snake is touching her forehead, on the right she seems to be swallowing the snake. It’s a decent print; unfortunately, the mat is uneven and the print is not centered in its frame.

Thaddine Swift Eagle steals the show with her two acrylic paintings. “Well?!” features three abstracted figures staring at the viewer as if to say “What are you looking at?” The painterly style, truncated arms, exaggerated hands and simple clothing of these dark-skinned figures conveys attitude, emotion and life. In “Welcome to Durango,” a vibrant female figure dominates the canvas. It tells the story of a woman who jumps into the river after her baggage and hangs on to every bag with her head barely above water.

Welana Fields is in the viewer’s face with “Let’s Make Her an Indian, Let’s Put on Her Osage Clothes” a mixed-media piece of giant paper-doll clothing, complete with beaded jewelry.

Camacho disappoints with her predictable painting so tied into the theme of the show that it leaves no room for reaction. “This Is Only the Beginning” features railroad tracks and a heart, symbols seen repeatedly in Camacho’s paintings.

Much of the work in “Show Reaction” is mediocre. It’s not fearless. It’s not revolutionary, and some is not even well executed.

Art should move the viewer, not briefly, but over and over.

I, like Camacho, long for art that affects, that isn’t old-fashioned, that makes me nervous and uncomfortable, that makes me laugh and perhaps even smile. I didn’t find it at the Lost Dog.

“Show Reaction,” the work of 16 artists, through March 16, Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, 1150 Main Ave.
artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts.

State arts council offers more grants

Dan Appenzeller from Folkwest, Inc. talks with Colorado Council on the Arts education consultant Sheila Spears after a free workshop on applying for grants from the Council. Folkwest organizes the Four Corners Folk Festival and Indiefest, both held in Pagosa Springs. The organization has been supported by CCA grants for several years.

February 20, 2007
By Leanne Goebel | Special to the Herald

The grant budget for the Colorado Council on the Arts doubled this year. And the agency anticipates that grant applications will jump dramatically.

To help artists and arts organizations interested in applying for state funds, the Council sent consultants Maryo Ewell, Sheila Sears and Ronna Lee Sharp to Durango earlier this month to provide tips on how maneuver the grant process successfully.

Close to 20 people from Cortez, Ouray, Pagosa Springs, Dolores and Durango showed up for the free session.

The session was practical and went step-by-step through the online application. Most of the information is readily available on the grant Web site and through the tech tips section.

Following instructions is key to applying for a grant. Answering each question posed is also important.

Grants are reviewed by panels and ranked based upon the standards of excellence available under the grant application tools section of the website.

Best tips of the day were:

• Write as if no one has ever heard of the organization, because it is likely that they haven’t.

• Use the red save button frequently while filling in the online application.

• Draft the narrative in a word processing application and then cut and paste the text into the online application.

• View the document as a PDF file to see how it will print out.

• Don’t overwhelm the panel with too much support material, but highlight specific information.

A grant application should be passionate, literal, easy to understand and easy to read. It should show the reader what the organization intends to do with the money, share data and stories and provide a clear idea of how the organization will evaluate the difference their program makes. Evaluation techniques can be as simple as an usher counting the number of empty seats at curtain and then after intermission to see how many people leave a performance early.

Tips on support material included:

• Have several people sign a single support letter rather than submitting multiple letters.

• Send live video of theatre work rather than still photos.

• Be sure the quality of the films or DVDs and the quality of the performance being recorded are compatible.

• Place the highest impact images in the first few minutes of a video.

The panel review process is open to the public and can be valuable in gaining insight on how the process works.

CCA Grants to artists and organizations are available to fund the following programs:

• Learning in the arts for children and youth.

• Increasing cultural participation in communities.

• Preserving and promoting cultural heritage.

• Professional development services for artists and organizations.

Ewell, Sears and Sharp are all available online to help and answer questions during the application process. The deadline is March 15 and all applications require use of the online form.

Visit: Coloarts.state.co.us or call (303)892-3802.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts.

Durango Arts Center exhibit reflects female lives

“Sarina, the Boreal Toad (Bufo Boreas Boreas)” by Amy Vaclav-Felker. Papier Mache and celluclay mixed media sculpture.

“Woman in the Windowsill” by Bethany Bachman. Soft pastel on paper.

“Camisa de Frida (Frida’s shirt)” by Perla Kopeloff. Mixed media collage.

February 13, 2007
By Leanne Goebel|Special to the Herald

Vibrant. Playful. Quirky. Words that describe the weirdly titled “Women at Work” exhibit at the Durango Arts Center, featuring the work of: Bethany Bachmann, Amy Vaclav-Felker and Perla Kopeloff.

I hesitate to call this work feminine, but the subject matter reflects the lives of women and will appeal to women.

Perla Kopeloff is an artist born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Currently working in Alamosa, Kopeloff’s collage and mixed-media work is about textiles and clothing. Her work is ethnic with a hint of Inca. I was particularly interested in her large, cone-shaped vessels: “Cono Norteamericano” ($800), “Nido #1″ ($350), “Nido #2 ($350) and a woven paper rug titled “Rug for the New Millenium,” ($1,000).

Some of Kopeloff’s work includes handwriting, and she writes in her artist statement that these written words “represent letters to myself in which I’m reminded to keep in touch with far away friends and family.”

Two collages hang together, one titled “Camisa de Frida (Frida’s shirt)” ($850) and the other “Me Gusta Escriber (I like to Write)” ($850). These are layers of warm-colored handmade papers, fabrics and found objects hanging from red willow, the second with metallic script.

Kopeloff’s work brings together fragments of cultures and attempts to integrate them into a garment. She writes that this work is about “traditional and untraditional vestments that cover our naked self.”

Bachmann’s female figures often are naked. She uses soft pastel to create images that are rich and vibrant in oranges, purples, blues, greens and yellows. The work on display is a collection of abstracted female figures in moments of contemplation and solitude. Bachmann explores how women relate to themselves, others and their environment.

The elongated, slouching form of “Woman in Windowsill” ($875) captured my attention. Her curved position, closed eyes, looking away from the window captures a protective, melancholy mood. “Garden” ($625) is in vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow and captures a woman amid flowers, long arms clasped, knees bent and open, head tilted as if prayerful, thankful, basking in the warmth of the sun.

Bachmann’s figures are reflective, yet no matter the emotion conveyed, the work is positive and warm, a colorful expression of time alone in quiet contemplation, something our society doesn’t seem to value.

Vaclav-Felker’s papier-mâché and celluclay sculptures of animals make up the trio.

“Sarina the Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas boreas)” ($425) is a red frog with turquoise spots carrying a scepter and wearing a jeweled crown, necklace and bracelet, sitting atop a velvet pillow. “Lurlene the Lynx” ($625) is an orange lynx wearing a black radio collar, encrusted with crystals. “Myra the Striped Skunk (Mephitis Mephitis)” ($375) is an orange skunk with rows of green and orange silk flowers defining her stripes.

Felker’s work is fun, playful and doesn’t take itself seriously, yet the artist, who is a biologist by training, captures how an animal relates to its habitat, its personality per se. Most of the animals in this exhibit are native to Colorado, and Felker expresses how they interact with humans and how humans affect them.

A fourth artist, jeweler Peggy Maloney, was supposed to be part of this exhibit. According to Durango Arts Center Exhibits Director Susan Andersen, Maloney chose to withdraw from the show. Perhaps it was meant to be, because the exhibit is complete without an additional artist.

Art compels us to see things in a new way, or a way we may not have considered. Each of these women suggests through her art that we look at culture, clothing, solitude and wildlife in a new way.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

“Women at Work," through Feb. 26, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tues-Sat, Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave., 259-2606, durangoarts.org.

“); Contents copyright, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Award-winning GeeGuides’ art game goes to New York

This week, Durangoan Eric Guaglione, founder and CEO of GeeGuides, will be creating chalk drawings at the American International Toy Fair in New York to let people know about geeART16, the company’s “art game.”

GeeGuides started in Florida in 2003 among Disney animators such as Guaglione, but the company moved to Durango at the suggestion of Wayne Sabbak, now a Geeguide director, who had moved to town several years earlier.

GeeGuides is an online educational program that teaches art to children. Using a penguin named Tickles, her sister Ruby and a polar bear named Furnace, GeeGuides aims to make learning fun, either on the computer or using traditional methods.

“We would like to be seen as a company reinventing education,” Guaglione said. He added that educators are taking to the experiential aspects of GeeGuides and have asked for more subjects: math, science and history.

A passion for education and 18 months of research solidified what Guaglione and his wife, Lynne, an educator, already knew: Education should be fun, it should be challenging and it should be meaningful.

“If you nurture a child’s imagination, that turns into innovation and innovative thinkers are in high demand in the workplace. Innovative thinking comes from using your imagination,” Guaglione said.

The innovative geeART16 has been awarded an “Award of Excellence” from Technology & Learning, an industry award that recognizes outstanding education technology curricula as chosen by teachers across the country. GeeART16 also won the Flashforward Film Festival award for their use of Adobe Flash software for educational purposes.

GeeGuides launched geeART16 online last July and is now selling to schools. Guaglione said that the company would know whether it reached its sales goals by midyear.

During the past six months, they’ve listened to feedback and adjusted their pricing to help schools afford the product.

A Core School site license is now $995 and GeeGuides will help with that by providing information on grant funding. GeeGuides also offers a fundraising kit to help a school and PTA raise money.

Two schools in Colorado are using geeART16: Riverview Elementary in Durango and a virtual school in Branson.

As for the challenges of doing business in Durango, Guaglione said the biggest issue is travel.
“It’s very challenging when you can’t count on reliably getting out of town because of canceled flights,” Guaglione said.

Another challenge in the beginning was finding employees.

“The nature of what we do is talent specific,” Guaglione said. “But the majority of our staff is now locally recruited.”

And the staff of 15 enjoys the atmosphere of working at GeeGuides. They ski and hike in groups. They even take easels and markers and head to the park or the woods to have a meeting. Not something Guaglione did when he worked in Florida.

“The level of community support here in Durango is unmatched,” Guaglione said. “It’s been amazing.”

If only the community could do something about those canceled flights.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

“Complimentary Relationship” an installation by Kate Petley is half of the two person show “Similar Differences” at the Art League Houston through March 2. Each component is 8 ft. high x 12 inches wide x 12 inches deep. T he entire piece is 26 ft. long.

“Similar Differences” is a collaborative effort between Sheila Klein and Kate Petley who are both known for their site specific work. The title of the exhibition refers to the combination of materials and ideas that the two artists work with, as well as their artistic approach. Thanks to Petley for providing the press release I’ve culled from below.

When Petley first saw Klein’s work several years ago, she noticed a similarity in materials but with a fundamental difference. While Klein used materials such as fabric to create soft forms, Petley took similar materials and hardened them through the use of resin. Furthermore, while there is a decidedly architectural component to Klein’s work and a more conditional or atmospheric approach to Petley’s, both artists are process oriented and technically experimental.

Transparent materials have dominated Petley’s work for over a decade. She first became drawn to light and reflection while working with artist Dave Carpender on his farm in Huntsville. At the time Kate was making large fiberglass “vessels.” One very dark night, Carpender projected light and pattern into Petley’s pieces, resulting in something that Petley describes as “stunning and weird.”

Many Houstonians are familiar with O House, created by Petley and Houston artists Dean Ruck and Dan Havel in 1995. O House was a large- scale installation that transformed a small bungalow in Houston’s Westend. Through the use of an interior circular room, earth floors, and pinhole projections, O House broke down the perceived barriers of reality, creating a fluidity between the inside and outside world, psyche and experience, spirituality and consciousness.

Petley’s latest work is created out of transparent materials such as resin or vinyl, combined with photographic films derived from reflected light patterns, transparent colors, and hand drawn elements. Central to the work is an emphasis on reflections instead of the actual object.

For Similar Differences, Petley has created a site-specific installation and a suspended sculpture. “Complementary Relationship” consists of fifteen 8-ft. high “tubes” that are covered in rich organic imagery, originating from a photographic process Petley uses to capture reflections projected from a handmade scrim. The reflections created by this installation will transform the simple structure of the gallery, as well as beautifully explore our fundamental expectations of objects in space. Nine Mala is created from plastic materials and beaded lace, and was modeled after Navratra Mala used in India to attract beneficial protection by the nine planets. A sacred instrument used for counting repetitive mantras, the mala predates the Catholic rosary as an integral component in spiritual disciplines. Each square of Nine Mala approximates the color of the semi- precious gemstones found in the original.

Sheila Klein lives in Bow, Washington, and has been creating work for 30 years. In the early 80’s, Ms. Klein practiced architecture; since that time she has been involved in creating major, high- profile art installations that defy any single categorization, combining elements of architecture, sculpture, conceptual art and design. She has been awarded over twenty major public art commissions, including Leopard Sky (2005), a dramatic transitional environment at the International Arrivals curbside at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, that has been lauded as one of the best projects of the year by Art In America (2005.) Klein’s “Comfort Zone,” created for Harborview Hospital in Seattle and woven from stainless steel yarn, was chosen for the 2005 Year in Review Award by Americans for the Arts.

Inspired by a trip to Asia in the 1970’s, Klein became interested in the sculptural and architectural aspects of jewelry, and was impressed by the connection between the different ways people adorn themselves and decorate their buildings. In 1983 Klein began creating photomontages which combined architectural landmarks adorned in jewelry. In 1989 she was chosen to participate in Sculpture Chicago with a monumental outdoor piece entitled “Commemorative Ground Ring,” which allowed her to test her ideas on a much larger scale. Since then she has build a gigantic Traffic Necklace as her contribution to Antoni Miralda’s Honeymoon Project, an on-going conceptual piece in which the Statue of Liberty in New York ‘marries’ the statue of Christopher Columbus in Barcelona; created XX Marks the Spot, a three-dimensional graphic made from 250 runway lights and based on the imagery of air traffic coupled with an abstraction of the endangered El Segundo butterfly, for a F.A.A. air traffic control tower at Los Angeles International Airport; and Bonnet Nave, a nearly room sized ‘rain bonnet” made of polyester organza and nylon mesh over an aluminum armature, to name a few.

For “Similar Differences,” Ms. Klein is creating a number of works designed specifically for the Art League Houston site. These will include a garter belt for the exterior of the gallery/office building, and a series of fabric columns which will hang within the building itself. Known for her urban-based site specific pieces that are both witty and beautiful, Sheila describes her main motivation in creating art as a desire “to dress the world.”

An artist wrote to me asking for clarification on my use of the term red herring in the introduction to the article on Ron Fundingsland.

“I don’t think it is always a given that: ‘Earning a living by making art is a red herring.’ ” The artist wrote.

He went on:

“I agree that money motivation is the lowest form of motivation and making money/ making a living can side track people from their dreams & compromise their integrity. One should certainly not alter their fine art in order for it to sell. At the same time, I’ve seen potentially good artists abandon the arts to become doctors, lawyers, and such in order to have a real job.

The artist then went on to mention Time magazine’s art critic, Robert Hughes and his book: Nothing if Not Critical.

“The idea that money, patronage and trade automatically corrupt the wells of imagination is a pious fiction, believed by some utopian lefties and a few people of genius such as Blake by flatly contradicted by history itself. The work of Titian and Bernini, Piero della Francesca and Pousin, Reisner and Chippendale would not exist unless someone paid for them, and paid well.
Picasso was a millionaire at forty and that didn’t harm him.” (Page 388)

The artist goes on to say that he is: “Proud of never having ‘sold out.’ I certainly know that lack of funding can take attention away from creating (lack of materials and food cancertainly limit the production of Art) (and creating art is what it is all about…the more one can create = the better). And, as you know, I hate the cute commercial crap that sells for Art and seek to prevent myself from selling through crappy commercial galleries.”

The artist said he wanted to make sure that we encourage as much supportof artists as much as possible.

“In a perfect world,” he wrote “all artists would be making a fine living and creating without restrictions of any sort.”

I wrote back to him the following:

Here here! I agree completely. To me, a red herring is a diversion–something misleading or distracting. I think too many artists get misled or distracted by the idea of making money, whether they give up their creative career for something more practical or they “sell out” to the marketplace.

Perhaps it would have been more precise to say that for most artists, earning a living by making art is a red herring. It is linked to the statement that such small percentage of artists actually earn a living. And there is this new celebrity fueled, Vanity Fair art market out there that is enticing people to get rich by collecting art. Too become a celebrity by being an artist. It’s more than Pop art. It’s a frenzy. Art students are plucked from art schools and people with too much money and not enough appreciation of art are buying work by some artist from a gallery in New York via digital picture because the gallery has made this new star. Are these kids “great” artists? No. Most of them are not.

My favorite comment from a recent article in Vanity Fair came from collector Ingvild Goetz: “Art should move you, it should make you think more than only one minute, and it should remind you again and again. The problem is that there is so much bad art on the market. I would say there’s very little that’s great. I would say 80 percent is not. It has been done, it’s a deja vu, it’s old-fashioned, it is boring, it doesn’t touch you anymore, it doesn’t make you nervous, it doesn’t make you hate it. Let’s say there is a lot of nice art around. I don’t like to collect nice art.”

There are too many artists in this area who take their work to market too soon, paint more of what sells and never move into creative exploration with little thought of the marketplace. And as you point out, too many who give up because they have to earn a living. Neither is good. You and Ron and others are finding their way–being true to the work and selling what they can.

I have not read Robert Hughes book, but now will look for it. But I could give an equally impressive list of artists who starved and were never famous until after their death, or later in life, who never gave up their art and just kept doing their work. It has to be first and foremost your primary passion.

I agree with Klaus Ottman who said at SITE Santa Fe on December 12: “This confluence of art and commerce is troubling.”

Ottman admitted to being an idealist and finding the recent “Art Issue” of Vanity Fair “troubling.” Troubling? I found it nearly appalling. The only glimpse of truth came from Ingrid Sischy in her telling article “Money on the Wall.” The art market is out of control and has become what Andy Warhol presciently predicted when he suggested that instead of hanging a $200,000 painting on the wall, one should just hang the money instead.

“Artist’s need to stand outside of the apparatus of celebrity,” Ottman said. “I believe in the autonomy of artists and art.”

Ottman acknowledged that it was Warhol who began this confluence of art and commerce, but that it didn’t become full-fledged until Jeff Koons. And Ottman laments the loss of what was in the 60s and 70s an inspiring crossover between art and science and dance and theatre.

“The crossover now is with fashion, movies and Hollywood,” Ottman said. “Artist’s today are producing merchandise–not art. If you make a handbag that is three foot by five foot, that is art. If you make a handbag and paint some little pictures on it, it is still a handbag.”

Ottman talked about the young artists being plucked from art schools and given solo shows at galleries in New York. Shows selling out and drawings being auctioned for $800,000 before the artist is even 30.

It’s an evolution, Ottman told the crowd at SITE.

“It think its a development that has happened as our society became more and more affluent.”

Ottman blamed auction house, art fairs, and hedge funds (which he added had been a bad influence on many things–like real estate).

“Art has always been a commodity, art has never been innocent or completely autonomous. What has changed is the way art is being marketed and the reasons people buy art has changed. They buy art for investments. For the wrong reasons. You don’t buy art like you buy a car or clothes or furniture, but people do now. They buy it, get sick of it and sell it and buy something else.”

Saatchi comes to mind.

“The rules of the game have changed. The game has always existed, but the rules are different now,” Ottman said.

And there is a rampant case of amnesia in the art world. In art school, young artists learn by copying and mimicking their heroes. Plucked too early from school, few have developed their own style, their own unique vision.

“I’ve been around for thirty years,” Ottman said. “I remember. It’s been done before and not just once.”

Ingvild Goetz, a Munich-based collector echoed Ottman in Sischy’s Vanity Fair article. “Art should move you, it should make you think more than only one minute, and it should remind you again and again. The problem is that there is so much bad art on the market. I would say there’s very little that’s great. I would say 80 percent is not. It has been done, it’s a deja vu, it’s old-fashioned, it is boring, it doesn’t touch you anymore, it doesn’t make you nervous, it doesn’t make you hate it. Let’s say there is a lot of nice art around. I don’t like to collect nice art.”

What about the Biennial’s role in creating art stars someone asked from the audience. Didn’t Ottman perpetuate the art star movement by including Wangechi Mutu in the SITE Biennial?

“I’m not sure biennials create art stars,” Ottman said. “Some artists chosen for the Whitney or Venice biennials have never really lifted off and others do. It certainly helps to have a biennial on your resume, but it doesn’t make you an art star.”

How to be an art star? Sell your work for a record price at an auction house or have a mega-collector buy your work. Critics and curators have little influence on making art careers.

“It’s not really fun to be a curator right now,” Ottman said.

Fundingsland printed 25 copies of “Reeking” and sent them to the Red Herring portfolio exchange where he is showing his work.

Bayfield artist and jazz DJ Ron Fundingsland works on a project in his studio Jan. 30.

Earning a living by making art is a red herring, sometimes a necessity, but often a diversion that lures creative people away from their true vision.

Bayfield printmaker and jazz DJ Ron Fundingsland has not fallen prey to the fickle art market but has focused on his passion for traditional printmaking.

“The percentage of artists who actually make a living from their art is so small,” Fundingsland said as he sat in his carriage house studio in Bayfield last week. “I’m in it for the end game, the long term. I’m not concerned with making money from my art. I have to be true to myself and not care about the marketplace. I care about the work.”

His work is a form of etching that dates to the 14th century, but his subject matter is contemporary and contemplative, providing a commentary on American society and politics.
“In 1984, I started out with a blank resume,” Fundingsland said. He spent four years refining his technique and creating work before he approached a gallery.

“I knew I wanted to be in legitimate contemporary galleries. When I got around to showing people my work, everyone liked it. They said it was really original. If I’d shown them my work in those first few years, I don’t think I would have had the same response.”

Fundingsland’s voice is more recognizable in the Four Corners than his art. He is the host of Tuesday night jazz on KSUT and plays music on Wednesdays. He loves his day job, which he’s held for 11 years, working an average of four days a week.

Music finds its way into his work. He listens to new releases while working in his studio and then plays his favorites on Tuesday nights. Jazz aficionados may recognize song titles in his prints or find musical notes in the design.

Fundingsland believes that the isolation of Bayfield has been good for him because he didn’t visit galleries and museums, and he wasn’t influenced by what other artists were doing and what was selling.

“For me, if you start doing work for other people, you cease being an artist,” Fundingsland said. “You become a craftsman or a tradesman when you make things to make money.”

Though he adds that he isn’t criticizing anyone who goes in that direction, it isn’t the path for him. And he acknowledges that it takes time to find the galleries and the people who will appreciate what he does. But he doesn’t worry about people not accepting his work.

“Rejection is a myth,” Fundingsland said. “It’s the wrong word. When you enter a juried show or approach a gallery, it’s one person, maybe two, that say the work isn’t going to work in their gallery. One person is making a decision about hundreds of pieces of work. How absurd to think everyone is going to like your work and how horrible would you feel if they did?”

It may not be everyone, but Fundingsland’s work has been chosen by an impressive list of people. His prints are owned by the Denver Art Museum and the Seattle Museum of Art.
This year, he’s been invited to participate in the Southern Graphics Council portfolio exchange exhibit in New York City. Its title is, appropriately enough, “Red Herring.”

For more about Ron Fundingsland, visit ronfundingsland.com

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Earning a living making art is a red herring: One of those diversions that often lure creative people away from their true vision. Bayfield printmaker Ron Fundingsland has not fallen prey to the fickle art market. Instead, he has focused on his passion for the traditional art of printmaking to create what Museums, galleries and collectors find to be some of the most original and technically superb work produced today.

“The percentage of artists is so small that actually make a living from their art,” Fundingsland said as we sat in his carriage house studio in Bayfield. “I’m in it for the end game, the long term. I’m not concerned with making money from my art. I have to be true to myself and not care about the marketplace. I care about the work.”

His work is a form of etching that dates to the fourteenth century, but his subject matter is contemporary and contemplative, providing a commentary on American society and politics.

“In 1984, I started out with a blank resume,” Fundingsland told me.

He spent four years refining his technique and creating work before he approached a gallery.

“I knew I wanted to be in legitimate contemporary galleries. When I got around to showing people my work, everyone liked it. They said it was really original. If I’d shown them my work in those first few years, I don’t think I would have had the same response.”

Fundingsland believes that the isolation of Bayfield was good for him because he didn’t visit galleries and Museums and he wasn’t influenced by what other artists were doing and what was selling.

“For me, if you start doing work for other people, you cease being an artist,” Fundingsland said. “You become a craftsman or a tradesman when you make things for other people in order to make money.”

Though he is quick to add that he is not criticizing anyone who goes in that direction. It just isn’t the path for him. And he acknowledges that it takes longer to find the galleries and the people who will appreciate what he does. But he doesn’t worry about people not accepting his work.

“Rejection is a myth,” Fundingsland said. “It’s the wrong word. When you enter a juried show or approach a gallery, it is one person; maybe two that say the work isn’t going to work in their gallery. One person is making a decision about hundreds of pieces of work. How absurd to think everyone is going to like your work and how horrible would you feel if they did?”

It may not be everyone, but Fundingsland’s work seems to be liked by an impressive list of people. His prints are owned by the Denver Art Museum and the Seattle Museum of Art. This year, Fundingsland has been invited to participate in the Southern Graphics Council portfolio exchange exhibit appropriately titled: “Red Herring.”

Fundingsland has built an impressive resume, yet he still feels like a black sheep. He’s the only artist in “Red Herring” who does not work for a University or head a print department at an art school. He was a visiting artist at the University of Nebraska last year and is pursuing more opportunities to serve in that capacity at other schools.

Fundingsland’s velvet voice is more recognizable in the region than his art. He is the host of Tuesday night jazz on KSUT and plays music on Wednesdays. Fundingsland loves his day job. He has worked for the radio station for eleven years an average of four days a week.

Music finds its way into his work. He listens to new releases while working in his studio and then plays his favorites on Tuesday nights. Jazz aficionados may recognize song titles in some of his prints or find musical notes in the design.

“None of us can take ourselves so seriously that we think we are special,” Fundingsland said as I prepared to leave his jazz and art filled studio.

I am humbled by his words and his work, but I know that Ron Fundingsland is special. Very special.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

For more on Ron Fundingsland visit http://ronfundingsland.com

Through March 3, 2007
Tues-Sat, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

“Colorado Gold”
Hagnauer Gallery
Business of Art Center
513 & 515 Manitou Avenue
Manitou Springs, CO 80829
719-685-1861

“Red Herring”
Through March 31
The Center for Book Arts
New York, NY

Feb. 5-March 8
Lewis Art Gallery
Millsaps College
Jackson, MS

March 21-24
Kansas City Art Institute

March 31-May 30
Southwest School of Arts & Craft
San Antonio, TX

Joel White’s “Art in the City” was taken in Hollywood
in 1984. The photograph is one of 28 of White’s
photographs showing in a retrospective that opens
today at the Fort Lewis College Art Gallery.

An epiphany gave Joel White the freedom to photograph what his vision led him to see. It is a vision the caliber of which is not often seen in Durango. See White’s vision in a retrospective of his photographs that opens today in the Fort Lewis Art Gallery.

A neurosurgeon who lived in Los Angeles for 30 years, White with his early photographs attempted to imitate his heroes: Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, Ray McSavaney, Michael Kenna and Max Yavno. He writes of his epiphany in his artist’s statement: “It was not necessary to photograph to earn a living or satisfy others. The images were for me.”

That freedom allowed him to capture “marvelous combinations of form, shape, line and tone” rather than picturesque, marketable landscapes.

Since moving to Durango, White said by phone that he hasn’t photographed as much. When asked why not, he replied, “Well, Durango doesn’t have a really great slum.”

The most powerful images in “Shape, Line and Tone,” a 30-year retrospective of White’s fine-art photography are the early images from California.

“Art in the City, Los Angeles, 1987″ shows a concrete bridge with phrases sprayed on the wall: “To live and die in LA,” “La vie” and “Art in the City.” Looking beyond the trash and the tagging, the viewer is left with shape, shadow, line and form – a tunnel of white.

“Paper Bag, Hollywood, CA, 1989″ is a black image with an elegant, flowing, white “W” shape reflecting light and shadow.

These are pictures in which the form relates to the subject, allowing the photo to raise questions in the viewer’s mind. White shows us things we look at but rarely see.

White’s landscapes provide more insight into his vision. They are no longer imitations of Adams and Weston.

“Canyon de Chelly National Monument, 1983″ features the texture of a rock, water marks, graffiti or ancient petroglyphs and a single-step twig ladder. The ground is littered with rocks and part of a crate.

“Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, 1981″ shows charcoal black tree stumps amid a foggy white mist. The trees are clumped with thick, heavy pillows of mineral. The fourth tree fading into the mist on the right looks like a spirit figure.

“Calla Lilly, Hollywood, CA, 1990″ is far from the typical image. No O’Keeffe, White’s Calla, perfectly centered among gray leaves and empty darkness, is vividly white, photographed from above, the swirled tip of the flower pointing down.

As for images from the region, “Animas Forks, Colorado 1999″ is of support beams from a crumbling mine or mill. The numbers “5,” “8″ and “BD-14″ are upside down and sideways on the beams. The floor, littered with debris, says more about the past, present and future of the area than any image that focuses only on the natural beauty.

White’s 28 photographs are framed in simple black frames with large white matting. All the photos are printed with Ultrachrome pigment inks on Moab papers. Simple. Professional. Elegant.

White’s vision is that of a true artist: a creative being who sees beyond the ordinary and manages to nudge the viewer to observe more than shape, line and tone.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

An epiphany gave Joel White the freedom to photograph what his vision led him to see. A retrospective of his photographs at the Fort Lewis College Gallery shares that vision with the community. And it is a vision the caliber of which is not often seen in Durango.

A neurosurgeon who lived in Los Angeles for thirty years, White’s early photographs were attempts to imitate his heroes: Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, Ray McSavaney, Michael Kenna, and Max Yavno. He writes of his epiphany in his artist’s statement saying: “It was not necessary to photograph to earn a living or satisfy others. The images were for me.”

That freedom allowed him to capture not beautiful scenes and landscapes, but as he writes, “marvelous combinations of form, shape, line and tone.”

Since moving to Durango, White says he hasn’t photographed as much. In fact, most of the recent works in this show are from Greece, Italy, Romania and Croatia. When asked why not, he replies: “Well, Durango does not have a really great slum.”

The most powerful images in the exhibit, “Shape, Line and Tone,” a 30-year retrospective of Joel White’s fine-art photography are the early images from Southern California.

“Art in the City, Los Angeles, 1987” a graffiti covered concrete bridge or structure with a receding pentagon opening. Phrases sprayed on the wall: “To live and die in LA,” “La vie,” “Art in the City.” Looking beyond the trash, the tagging, the viewer is left with shape, shadow, line and form. A tunnel of white.

“Lost Angeles, 1986” explores the texture and pattern of a brick wall, a chain link fence, a boarded up window and wide, white horizontal lines across the concrete. A graffiti sprayed figure and the words “lost Angeles” on the left.

“Paper Bag, Hollywood, CA, 1989” is a black image with a simple, elegant, flowing, white “W” shape reflecting light and shadow.

These are photographs in which the form relates to the subject allowing the photo itself to raise questions in the viewers mind. White’s vision is to show us the things we look at but rarely see.

Even his landscapes provide insight into his unique vision. They are no longer imitations of Adams and Weston.

“Canyon de Chelly National Monument. 1983” features the texture of a rock, water marks, graffiti or ancient petroglyphs and a single-step twig ladder. The ground is littered with rocks and part of a crate.

“Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, 1981” four charcoal black dead tree stumps stand amid a foggy white mist. The trees are clumped with thick, heavy pillows of mineral. The fourth tree fading into the mist on the right looks like a spirit figure.

“Calla Lilly, Hollywood, CA, 1990” is far from the typical image. No O’Keeffe or overwrought oversized image of a flower. White’s Calla, perfectly centered among gray leaves and empty obsidian darkness, is vividly white, photographed from above, the swirled tip of the flower pointing down.

As for images from the region, “Animas Forks, Colorado 1999” is of large wooden support beams from a crumbling mine or mill. The numbers “5,” “8,” and “BD-14” are upside down and sideways on the large wooden beams. The floor is littered with debris and says more about the past, present and future of the area than any image that focuses only on the natural beauty.

White’s twenty-eight photographs are framed in simple black frames with large white matting. All the photos are printed with Ultrachrome pigment inks on Moab papers. Simple. Professional. Elegant.

White’s vision is that of a true artist: A creative being who sees beyond the ordinary and manages to nudge the viewer to truly observe more than shape, line and tone.

If you go:

“Shape, Line and Tone”
A 30-year retrospective of Joel White’s fine-art photography
Opening reception
Friday, Jan. 26, 5-7 p.m.
Through Feb. 14
The Fort Lewis College Art Gallery
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
970-247-7167

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

“How to Explain Art to a Dead Horse,” was the title of Ottmann’s lecture. His basic premise? You can only explain Art to a dead animal because you cannot explain art.

“You have to experience art first before you can intellectualize it,” Ottman said.

Ottman defended his personal style and his choices for the SITE Biennial in a vibrant and lively lecture. Ottman limited his Biennial to thirteen artists in what many critics have suggested is a political statement on the future of the biennial. However, Ottman clearly denies having any motivation to make a political statement, claiming that every good curator has their own personal style.

“I’m a minimalist,” Ottman said. “I’ve never tended to overcrowd. It was very much a personal decision. I may or may not have been forceful enough.”

For Ottman, the role of a curator is that of mediator between the public and the artists.

“Often people only look at the art and not the presentation,” Ottman said. “But a succesful exhibition has to have the mark of an individual curator. Art made by committee is not a good idea. I’ve never seen it work. That’s why it is good to have a different curator every year.”

For the SITE Biennial, Ottman experimented by letting the artists present themselves with minimal oversight and control. He stepped back. A step that Art Forum criticized in their September issue: “…by putting himself so far in the background…he has not put forth a critical framework.”

“This is, of course, what I did not want to do,” Ottman said. “So they are right.”

Then he added: “I’ve learned from this and there are certainly things I would do differently.”

One of the things he said he wished he had done was insist that there be no title for the exhibition.

“I was concerned the audience would confuse a title with a theme and the artists would get influenced to work along the line of that title.”

He suggested that Patty Chang’s video for the Biennial, “Condensation fo Birds” was too influenced by the title.

And what of the suggestion by Zane Fischer in the Santa Fe Reporter that Santa Fe got second hand work from some artists while their better work was shipped off to the Whitney Biennial in New York and other shows around the world?

Ottman said he wanted all the work shown to be new or never seen before in the United States. “I didn’t want to show stuff at SITE that was already seen in New York, Venice, Los Angeles or Paris. I wanted to treat Santa Fe as an important sight and place and make sure people will come to Santa Fe to see something they haven’t already seen.”

Robert Grosvenor only makes one sculpture every three to four years and Ottman chose a piece that had never been shown before.

Peter Doig was another story. Doig who was also in the Whitney Biennial did not have as much available work, so Ottman chose a few older works, borrowed a piece from a museum in Holland and Doig sent two large paintings that were actually wet when they arrived. Ottman believes that the Doig paintings are representational of the painters new style.

Wolfgang Laib began his milk stones sculpture in the 1970s and continue to show similar work today. With Laib, Ottman did a retrospective, a very complete survey of his pollen fields, his beeswax and his newest body of work that Ottman felt looked like antique Burmese vessels that one might find in an antiquity shop in Santa Fe.

Wangechi Mutu, Ottman admitted, “was a bit of a problem.” She had her first one person show are her gallery in New York and participated in a simulatenous show in New York. Ottman believes that the solo show was “too big a show for a young artist.”

“I agree that she was overextended and it did influence this show.” Mutu’s video “Magic” had originally been a graduate student project and was shown at SITE with “Clepsydra” partially filled plastic bottles dangling from the ceiling.

“I like it, but I think she could have done something better,” Ottman said. “Young artists have not learned to pull back and limit themselves.”

Referring back to the Art Forum criticism that he was not forceful enough in exercising his curatorial vision, Ottman said:

“I still feel the exhibition was very successful and what I tried to do was successful. Could I have been more forceful? Yes.”

Ah, well, this is all old news. The Biennial is gone now. Lance Fung will curate the Seventh International Biennial at SITE. But it doesn’t open until July 2008.

February 10-May 13, SITE will feature the work of Darren Almond, Barry X Ball and Stephen Bush.

Lorraine Trenholm’s pastel “Yakin’ III (Animas)” won Best of Show Award and the Durango Chamber of Commerce “Reflections of Durango” Award at the Four Corners Commission Juried Art Exhibit at the Durango Arts Center.

Envision an art exhibit in which the Durango Area Tourism Office and the Chamber of Commerce both select work to use in promoting Durango. Imagine artwork that “celebrates the unique quality and diversity of the life, land and heritage of the Four Corners region.”

Now add to the mix former gallery owner and local jewelry artist Carol Martin, chairwoman for the Public Art Commission, who juried the work. Let simmer that the call for entries to this show didn’t go out until early December.

The Four Corners Commission Juried Art Show at Durango Arts Center is partly what might be envisioned: images of the landscape and wildlife.

I expected this show to be predictable and a bit of a clich`E9. Some of it is.

But unlike many recent juried shows, this one doesn’t seem overly crowded, and that is a good thing. When I looked past the predictable plein air paintings and Mesa Verde photographs, I was pleasantly rewarded with some different views of the Four Corners.

A mixed collage by Judy Hayes, “The First Winter” layers color and texture in a dimensional painting. A steel, wood and copper sculpture by Bryan Saren, “Readymade #4″ conveys simple elegance. Acrylic paintings by Tirzah Camacho, “Longing for Grace” and “Old House, New House” give viewers a glimpse into the contemporary vision of one American Indian artist living in the region. A vibrant Pyrex glass figurative sculpture by Grace Kruse, “Durango Mama” is a sashay of color. A digital photo by Linda Pampinella “Susie, Navajo Rug Weaver” captures multiple shades of vermilion and the reality of one artist’s life.

None of these won awards, but they aren’t banal, either.

Neither is “Yakin’ III (Animas),” winner of the Best of Show Award and the Durango Chamber of Commerce “Reflections of Durango” Award, a pastel drawing of a kayaker by Lorraine Trenholm.

Nor is “Meandering” a diptych by Mary Ellen Morrow, which won the Juror’s Choice Award. This is probably the most unusual work in the show. Upon first glance, the two oil paintings don’t seem to go together. Look again and it becomes obvious: The second painting is like zooming in and blowing up the river valley in the first small painting.

More commonplace, yet beautifully executed is “Blacksmith’s Song” a forged and fabricated steel sculpture of a violin resting against an anvil by Kathleen Holmes, which won the Merit Award.

Honorable Mention Awards went to: “Relics and Remains” a hand-coated silver emulsion shadow gram by Linda MacCannell (clever); “False Hellebore” a black and white photograph by Chet Anderson (gorgeous); “Dragonfly III” a found object sculpture by Susan Andersen (enthralling); “Hidden Arch” a watercolor by Barbara Tobin Klema (not your traditional watercolor); “Fall, Hermosa Cliffs” a pastel by Betty Jo Kilpatrick (pretty); “Winter Sage” an oil by Lori Walters (peaceful); “Spirit Rocker” a handcrafted wooden rocking chair by Doug Hunderman (impeccable).

The show may not be unique, but it is beyond banal.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Envision an art exhibit in which the Durango Area Tourism Office and the Chamber of Commerce both select work to use in promoting Durango. Imagine artwork that “celebrates the unique quality and diversity of the life, land and heritage of the Four Corners region.”

Now add to the mix former gallery owner and local jewelry artist Carol Martin, chairperson for the Public Arts Commission, who juried the work. Let simmer that the call for entries to this show didn’t go out until early December.

The Four Corners Commission Juried Art Show at Durango Arts Center is partly what might be envisioned: images of the landscape and wildlife.

I expected this show to be predictable and a bit cliché. Some of it is.

But unlike so many recent juried shows, this one doesn’t seem overly crowded–and that is a good thing. And when I looked past the predictable plein air paintings and Mesa Verde photographs, I was pleasantly rewarded with some different views of the Four Corners.

A mixed collage by Judy Hayes, “The First Winter” ($1,500) layers color and texture in a dimensional painting. A steel, wood and copper sculpture by Bryan Saren, “Readymade #4” ($1,100) conveys simple elegance. Acrylic paintings by Tirzah Camacho, “Longing for Grace” ($1,900) and “Old House, New House” ($700) give viewers a glimpse into the contemporary vision of one American Indian artist living in the region. A vibrant Pyrex glass figurative sculpture by Grace Kruse, “Durango Mama” ($300) is a sashay of color. A digital photo by Linda Pampinella “Susie, Navajo Rug Weaver” ($175) captures multiple shades of vermilion and the reality of one artist’s life.

None of these won awards, but they aren’t banal either.

Neither is “Yakin’ III (Animas)” ($900), winner of the Best of Show Award and the Durango Chamber of Commerce “Reflections of Durango” Award, a pastel drawing of a kayaker by Lorraine Trenholm.

Nor is “Meandering” ($1,400) a diptych by Mary Ellen Morrow, which won the Juror’s Choice Award. This is probably the most unique work in the show. Upon first glance, the two oil paintings don’t seem to go together. Look again and it becomes obvious—the second painting is like zooming in and blowing up the river valley in the first small painting.

More commonplace, yet beautifully executed is “Blacksmith’s Song” (NFS) a forged and fabricated steel sculpture of a violin resting against an anvil by Kathleen Holmes, which won the Merit Award.

Honorable Mention Awards went to: “Relics and Remains” (NFS) a hand-coated silver emulsion shadow gram by Linda MacCannell (clever); “False Hellebore” ($150) a B&W; photograph by Chet Anderson (gorgeous); “Dragonfly III” ($595) a found object sculpture by Susan Andersen (enthralling); “Hidden Arch” ($650) a watercolor by Barbara Tobin Klema (not your traditional watercolor); “Fall, Hermosa Cliffs” ($650) a pastel by Betty Jo Kilpatrick (pretty); “Winter Sage” ($450) an oil by Lori Walters (peaceful) ; “Spirit Rocker” ($4,800) a handcrafted wooden rocking chair by Doug Hunderman (impeccable).

The show may not be sui generis, but it is beyond banal.

If you go:

Four Corners Commission Juried Art Exhibit
Through January 30
Durango Arts Center
802 East 2nd Ave
Tue-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
(970) 259-6571

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the visual arts.

Holiday gift giving doesn’t have to be redundant and predictable. Unique, original gifts are available during Holiday Art Ole at the Durango Arts Center.

Holiday Art Ole is a juried show of fine arts and crafts, specifically selected for gift giving. The Barbara Conrad gallery is crammed full of folk art, jewelry, paintings, photography, ceramics, sculpture, scarves, clothing, candles, boxes, ornaments, jackets, purses, pens, teddy bears and Santa’s.

It’s difficult to describe the multitude of creative vessels and adornments available at the DAC. The gallery is overflowing with possibilities. I spent nearly two hours perusing the gallery to find these hidden treasures.

Lorraine Trenholm’s pastel drawings of kayakers are vibrant strokes of color on black paper ($150). Trenholm uses intense hues in her pastel work—haystacks are yellow and purple ($150) and a cloudy sky reflects that intense red hue we see here in the Southwest ($150). Trenholm also shows tiny oil paintings of cows, chickens, trees, horses and landscapes in big, gold frames. These small three and four inch paintings are only $75 and would make a perfect hostess gift for Aunt Mabel who agreed to let you crash at her house for the week while you ski Durango Mountain.

Dave Sipe’s folk art trees, Santas and totems ($45-$995) are hand-carved and finished to reflect a hip, fun vibe. They are not your typical folk art bears and sculptures seen around the region. Sipe’s work has soul and character. Heck, I’d prefer his carved wooden trees to the real fir in my living room. Less needles to sweep up come January.

Deborah Gorton’s collage and mixed media boxes are ideal for keeping all your wishes and dreams. “Travelers Box” ($220) and “A Special Place” ($200) are large footed vessels with an Asian design influence. “Traveler Box” features a female figure postage stamp over an idyllic European street scene. Gorton also creates shadow box collage with torn paper and found objects that are like dimensional paintings. ($75-$175) Women like Gorton’s artwork. There is a feminine aspect to her colors, objects and design. Give one to your mom, your aunt, your sister or your girlfriend.

Gorton’s work is displayed near, and compliments the Raku ceramics by Fiona Clark. A large vessel with spiral lid ($110) is white with a spiral crackle pattern. Clark’s small round vessel ($44) is nicely shaped and a bargain at that price. Buy it for your boss or favorite professor.

Artisan made jewelry by Rachel Davis includes silver leaves on earrings and necklaces ($46-$89). Davis’ large rectangular textured wave earrings ($79) are for the woman who wants to make a statement. Nancy Frederick Conrad creates Dichroic glass jewelry well priced at $24-$62 that is ideal for a young woman or your tween niece. At the higher end, intarsia and lapidary pendants, bracelets and rings by Brian and Stacey Maggard of Albuquerque provide Southwestern style art to wear. A red Hopi rug pattern pendant and bracelet set is $485 and would make a lovely gift for the wife who wears only Pendleton jackets with her jeans.

In Local Expressions, hand painted silk and velvet tops and jackets ($55-$165) by Lynne McGee are colorful additions to any fashionista’s wardrobe. Mary Ellen Morrow’s “Quite a Pair” ($250) is a beautiful still life of two pears painted in an impressionistic style. Take this home to grandma in Connecticut and she’ll remember you in her will.

Holiday shopping should be fun and at Holiday Art Ole they have something for even the most finicky and difficult person to buy for. If you go, leave plenty of time to really take in everything being offered. And go back more than once, because while I was there three artists came in bringing new items to add to the collection.

If you go:

Through Dec. 28
Holiday Art Ole
Durango Arts Center
802 East 2nd Avenue
970-259-2606
Tues-Sat, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts.

Photos: C. Greg Gummersall, #6-C24-7, Acrylic/Collage on Canvas 6 x 5 ft. (Muse Gallery, Jackson, WY); #8-C25-15, Acrylic/Collage on Canvas 5 x 4 ft. (Gallery C, Hermosa Beach, CA);
Jenny Gummersall, photo from Egg Series.

Painter Greg Gummersall committed career suicide by moving to Bayfield. That’s what an Arizona museum curator told him. He’s proved her wrong, but it hasn’t been easy.

“It’s a trade off,” Gummersall said from his 80-acre ranch south of Bayfield. “But living here is a lifestyle choice.”

The lifestyle chosen by Gummersall and his wife Jenny, a photographer, is simple and placid, amid rolling hills with views of the San Juan Mountains, dogs, a cat and a cabin filled with art. Cell phone coverage is mostly nonexistent and high-speed Internet has not arrived.

The couple spends a significant amount of time on the road, meeting with gallery owners who sell their work.

“Ideally, I like to be home for two months painting and then gone for two weeks,” Greg said.
But he and Jenny do more than paint and photograph when they are home. Both contact galleries, send out packages and set up appointments for their next trip to Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico or California.

The system seems to work. Greg is represented by six galleries in Hermosa Beach, Calif., Jackson, Wyo., Denver, Telluride, Scottsdale, Ariz., Miami, Fla. and St. Petersburg, Russia. His paintings are in close to 40 corporate and personal collections. And he was featured in the October issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine.

But it isn’t enough. He’d like to have 10 galleries consistently selling his work.

Jenny is represented by Open Shutter Gallery in Durango. She’s also in Jackson, Wyo., Aspen, Denver and Telluride.

“Culturally, you have to get out and visit the art centers,” Greg said. “The cool thing about getting on the road is that we see the art and meet the artists. We get a feel for the galleries because the reality is, there are some people you do not want to do business with.”

The relationship between gallery and artist can be challenging. Galleries need a body of work, so the more galleries that represent the artist, the more work she or he must produce. Greg paints 100-150 pieces each year; many are 5 feet by 7 feet canvases layered with acrylic paint, photographs, paper, string and other material reconciling abstraction and realism.

Jenny photographs clouds, eggshells, children, palms and most recently a toy horse in natural settings. She uses natural light to create her imagery.

“The challenge to working with galleries is to provide everything they need to do their job, but not be overly involved,” Jenny said. “Working with a gallery is like a marriage.”

Greg constantly monitors the galleries and their sales volumes. If a gallery isn’t selling, he pulls out and finds another. He admits to quitting a gallery too soon because they had a slow year.

However, he has seen amateur artists hurt themselves by acting unprofessionally. At a recent show in Los Angeles, the gallery owner complained that inexperienced artists were handing out their business cards to patrons, which defies professional etiquette.

And Greg has dealt with unscrupulous gallery owners shortchanging him on commissions, saying a painting sold for $8,000 when it sold for $14,000.

“People often ask why we live here,” Jenny said. “And it’s important for me to live where my eye is not stopped by skyscraping walls.”

The Gummersalls understand that traveling is part of their life. But the couple also gives to the community, donating paintings and photographs to KSUT, the Durango Film Festival and Mercy Hospital fundraisers.

lgoebel@centurytel.net
Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs

L to R: Artwork by Adele Kurtz; Earth paintings by Maggie Remington; Adele Kurtz uses her shoe as a hammer to hang a new painting.

Resourceful local painter Adele Kurtz is coordinating a project with eight other area artists, all women, to help themselves by setting up a seasonal gallery in the Durango Mall. The name of the gallery is Art Touche; it’s across from Sears between Mrs. Fields and Pier One Imports.

I sat down with Kurtz in front of Mrs. Fields to discuss her venture. She told me that since hanging her art on the bare walls of the remodeled section of the Durango Mall, the response has been overwhelming.

“People walking by respond differently than jurors and curators at art shows and fairs and in galleries,” Kurtz said. “The art that the academics like is not the art that my mom or my brother or my sister buys. People turn their nose up when I tell them Iselling in the Durango Mall, but I think we have to get our of our ivory towers, come down from our studios in the mountains and get in touch with people.”

Several weeks ago, Kurtz contacted John Dickey at the Durango Mall and asked if they’d considered hanging art on the new walls near Linens ‘n Things and Pier 1 Imports. He said yes, but he didn’t know how to coordinate art exhibits. Kurtz offered to help.

She put out a call to local artists on the Durango artists Yahoo group Web site, but only one other artist, Maggie Remington, was willing to take the risk.

“Art Touche pays the insurance and utilities. This is basic liability insurance. It doesn’t cover theft or damage,” Kurtz wrote to the Yahoo group on November 4. “We were concerned about that initially, since we were in unprotected space, out in the open. But in five weeks we have not had a problem,” She added that she was worried the first weekend. She pictured originals being destroyed. But people are looking out for the art.

Kurtz said that the shoppers’ response has been enthusiastic. Her first sale was to a teenager who went to the ATM machine to buy a small piece for $35. Another group of teenagers offered to buy her a Slurpee after watching her paint.

“An older lady came up to me and said thank you for bringing such beauty into the world,” Kurtz said.

Now the artists are moving to a 1,000 square foot storefront for a nominal rent, paying a 10 percent commission on sales to the mall, a 10 percent commission to Art Touche and a 10 percent commission to the sales person at the gallery, who will be one of the artists showing their work.

The artists are: Connie Mason Bennett, Niara Isley, Kathy Steventon, Lisa Harrison, Heidi Schaiberger, Maggie Remington, Lisa Marie Jacobs, and Molly Childers. Isley encouraged others to get involved on the Yahoo group site.

“Remington shows originals,” Isley wrote. “But others of us will be hanging up giclee prints of our work rather than originals. Then it is not so critical if something happens.” A giclee print is created using an 8-color or 12-color inkjet printer. An original work of art is scanned or photographed and then digitally printed on paper or canvas.

For Kurtz, Art Touche is a labor of love.

“I’m never going to get rich doing this,” she said. “It’s more of a headache than me just making art, but it’s for exposure and I don’t like working alone.”

If the Art Touche pilot program for the Christmas season is a success, Kurtz hopes to continue the co-op concept.

“I want to create a community where we work collaboratively. I tell artists, if you are serious when you complain that you have no place to show your work, then come and hang your art at the mall.”

artsjournalist l@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Courtesy School of American Research Press Painting the Underworld Sky: Cultural Expression and Subversion in Art by Mateo Romero with a foreword by Suzan Shown Harjo, School of American Research Press, 100 pages, 50 color illustrations, $60 hardback, $29.95 paperback.

Courtesy School of American Research Press
“Four Worlds, Four Tides,” Mateo Romeo’s acrylic on canvas from 2000 measures 48 by 72 inches. It appears in his book Painting the Underworld Sky: Cultural Expression and Subversion in Art.

Mateo Romero writes of his art and his Pueblo heritage with the same bold, muscular style in which he creates his paintings. His words and images are thick and expressive, forcing the reader to pay attention to Painting the Underworld Sky: Cultural Expression and Subversion in Art.

As a non-Indian person, the book exposed me to the fault lines and tragedies afflicting American Indian people today, but more importantly, the fault lines and tragedies afflicting all human beings: conflict, love, war, despair and our need for compassion.

The book begins and ends with poetry, and in between are 50 images of Romero’s paintings and his reasons for creating each work, whether it was the influence of his father’s stories and experiences, the observations of his peers or the exploration of his return to Pueblo culture
and religion. The work is personal and yet universal.

Romero is eloquent, intelligent and passionate. He shares his tragedies and blessings with equal aplomb, expressing them as an objective observer.

Romero describes himself as a plein-air painter of the metaphysical. “Painting the
various stories and parts of the underworld sky is, in essence, a landscape painting,” he writes.

A member of the Cochiti Pueblo, Romero lives with his wife and children in her village at the Pojoaque Pueblo. As an American Indian artist engaged in the process of cultural diaspora and the return to native land and culture, there is anger, frustration, enlightenment and beauty in his words and work. As a person of mixed heritage, I found myself envious of American Indian people’s ability to reclaim their culture. I have no culture. I have no cultural home to which I
can return; it has been destroyed in this melting pot called America.

Romero seems to recognize this as well, and his painting “Cowboy of Troy” from 2002, a mixed media on aluminum flashing on panel, features a red line along the left side, somehow knotted together.

“The vertical red line in the left portion of the piece symbolizes the shared common mortality of all mankind,” Romero writes.

The painting lists all the casualties from the war in Afghanistan – dead, displaced and refugees – the number of casualties from the Sept. 11 attacks and from hate crimes against ethnic minorities. It is the red line that ties us all together. We must come to see that we are all connected.

This, too, is an idea that Romero mentions, borrowing from art historian Bruce Bernstein: “A more complex approach to the contemporary indigenous experience across the globe would be to realize that all native communities have constantly been interacting with other native communities throughout time in a state of cultural synergy, idea exchange, technology exchange and flux.” He goes on to say that in the last 500 years, the mix has included Europeans and the number of indigenous players has become increasingly scarce.

For Romero, some experiences are culturally unique and do not translate into other perspectives or experiences. He explored this idea in an exhibition called “Divergent Worlds.” A painting from that series in 2000, “Four Worlds, Four Tides,” acrylic on canvas, juxtaposes a Pueblo deer dancer against a background of Tide detergent logos. For the artist, “the logo
becomes a signifier for mainstream, corporate, postmodern experience.”

Romero goes on to say that a common misperception about and among American Indian people is that the experience of their ancestors was somehow more authentic, real and culturally relevant than their own current experiences. The mainstream world values the past more than the Indian people value the present.

This is particularly true in the art world, where the work of the past is ensconced in museums while those who create art in the present are discounted.

Painting the Underworld Sky challenges readers to construct meaning by free association with Romero’s words and images. He captures birth and death, war and love, rebirth of culture and dances in his book. He tells intricate, nuanced stories of human existence; these moments and stories are documented in his artwork as well.

“Mateo paints and it is ceremony,” Suzan Shown Harjo writes in her foreword to the
book. I would add, that he writes, and it is ceremony.

lgoebel@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

I spent the last Thursday of October at Jess Leggett’s home in Durango talking about art with Leggett, an abstract painter and collage artist, Niara Isley, a mixed media artist, and Maggie Remington, an earth painter.

The three women are relative newcomers to the Durango arts scene, having all moved here within the last five years. For more than a year, Leggett has talked about getting artists together to support each other. She met Isley at the Durango Arts Center. In September, they invited artists to Isley’s home studio for an inaugural salon to discuss the topic: “Does your art heal?” Six artists attended.

“I have a mission to create a community,” Leggett said. “It takes work. It’s a birthing.”

Leggett and Isley were inspired to start the Last Thursday Arts Salon by a similar group, formed in Pagosa Springs in late 2004. Like Leggett’s group, the Pagosa salon began meeting in homes, but was soon based at Michael Coffee’s ceramic studio and featured monthly speakers.

In February 2005, Coffee started a Yahoo group called ArtsNetwork, to encourage community and collaboration between artists, writers, musicians, performers, arts leaders and people of artistic vision. A few months later, Leggett started DurangoArtists, a Yahoo group site. “Where Durango artists meet to discuss topics related to art and art-making, and help to make Durango a great place to be an artist.”

The Internet group sites are virtual communities where artists can dialogue and share ideas, successes and even disappointments between, or in place of, physical meetings without restrictions of geography and physical location.

I asked the women what they were getting out of their monthly meetings.

Leggett answered: “The knowledge that other artists have similar struggles and problems.” She added that seeing another artist’s studio and exploring their working process was “really neat.”

“We have love, passion and problems in common,” Isley said. “And we are helping to support each other living and selling art. We are all wondering, ‘How do you do this?’”

I value the idea of supporting one another, but I wonder how struggling artists can help each other make a living at selling art?

Supporting and encouraging each other is only one aspect of the process. Honest evaluation and critique of work are important elements, too. Getting advice from those who have already achieved the goal is critical.

Leggett and Isley want to create a group different from the monthly artist gathering at the Durango Art Center. They both enjoy that group, but want something less formal, without a speaker, that allows artists the opportunity to talk freely with one another.

In the future, they’d like to have 10 artists who meet and share regularly from the heart. They want to continue to meet in homes and share their studios at least part of the time. They want to share marketing ideas and concepts with each other and learn from each other how to run the business of art.

“We want to make money at art,” Leggett said.

The Last Thursday Arts Salon is a valuable addition to the Durango art scene. But it shouldn’t take the place of the monthly artist gathering at Durango Art Center where experts talk to artists about issues important to their careers.

As for learning about business and how to make money as an entrepreneur, artists should look to the Small Business Development Center at Fort Lewis College.

The Last Thursday Arts Salon is a place to discuss ideas, feed off the collective creative energy and to be part of a group of artists who will nurture and support your work.

For more information about the Last Thursday Arts Salon, contact Jess Leggett at 259-8998 or e-mail her at leggetts@sis na.com.

To sign up for the Durango Artists Yahoo group send an e-mail to: Durangoartists-sub scribe@yahoogroups.com.

lgoebel@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

“Winter Fences,” computer generated art by Anna Ursyn

The work of Anna Ursyn is graphically intense. Her cityscapes are busy and forceful with movement and color. Rural landscapes provide resting places for the eye, splotches of intense green or sky blue color. Call it digital collage or high-tech art or even algo writs, as the artist does. Each of the 24 works tells an informational story.

I met Ursyn, a petite woman with black hair perfectly parted down the middle, when she
lectured at Fort Lewis College on Friday. She has a background in painting and printmaking. This is evident in the two-dimensional work on display at the Fort Lewis College Art Gallery.

“I was interested in precision and intrigued by the computer,” Ursyn said. “Using the computer, I could achieve a perfection in my work that I couldn’t get with paint or printmaking.”

It is unfortunate that this perfection is not seen in the matting and framing of her artwork. Mats are jagged, and inexpensive frames split at the corners.

Ursyn programs her art using Fortran and other programming languages. Originally, she
output the work on giant plotters. Today, the work is printed on an Epson inkjet printer.

Some of her initial explorations with computer graphics were created using traditional
media. She shows examples of what she calls photo silkscreen, where she creates a silkscreen print of a computer-created image. “City Neighborhood,” stands out because of its thick, earthy colors, the grid of houses seen as if looking down from the sky, with birds flying across the page.

Ursyn’s art explores the repetition found in nature, the structures that make up line, shape and texture. She finds similar structures and repetitions in man-made forms, then tries to capture the messiness of paint with the precision of the computer.

The resolution in her prints is not crisp, but perhaps that is intentional. From a distance, they look hard-edged, not unlike a traditional painting where up close you see the beauty of the human brush stroke. In Ursyn’s work, up-close you see fuzzy digital resolution, the result of software interpolating the pixels in complex computer files.

As computers have advanced, Ursyn’s work has become more complex. Her more recent work is urban. “Ideas & Dogmas” is filled with repeating frames of black and white buildings, angular overlays of reds, yellows and oranges. The repetition and coexistence of these elements weakens as we look at the image. The first glance tells us everything. This is a city where one is bombarded with images, smells, sounds, buildings, cars, people, movement. The eye cannot rest, we must take it in all at once, and we are overloaded.

I chose to live in the Southwest to get away from the city. This is why I am drawn to Ursyn’s rural landscapes that use technology to reflect that natural world. “Two Skies” is a bold, graphic design with intense blood red color.

Ursyn writes on her Web site about this work: “The significant characteristic of the Western range is its legend of severe nature and austere cowboy life contrasted with the beauty of red rocks and changing sky. Computer-generated artwork fits in the very essence of today’s lifestyle, as it alleviates technological impact on our surroundings and links the beauty of man-made technical products and the aesthetics of painting.”

I see the link between man-made technical product and the aesthetics of painting. I see beautiful use of line and form and shape and color in Ursyn’s work. But the inkjet prints leave me cold. I want the squiggle of imperfection from a brushstroke, the layering of paper and photos and the buildup on a canvas that one cannot get with a flat print out.

“The computer is the perfect artistic tool,” Ursyn said at the end of her talk. “But very often it is not enough.”

lgoebel@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Earlier this summer, cosmetics-heir-turned-art-collector Ronald Lauder paid $135 million for a portrait by Gustav Klimt: Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Obviously collectors like Lauder are willing to pay that amount for a painting for other than economic reasons. Perhaps it is prestige, status, ego or even a passion for collecting. In Lauder’s case, he has spent huge sums of money creating a museum for German and Austrian art in New York called Neue Gallerie.

I read two articles in July about the trend, one in Slate magazine by Daniel Gross who determined that yes, indeed art is a good investment and a Bloomberg article by London based writer Linda Sandler that concludes art is not a good investment.

Gross focused on the Mei Moses Fine Art Index compiled by two professors at New York University’s Stern School of Business, Michael Moses and Jiangping Mei, who compile data and track the long-term performance of fine art. The Mei Moses index focuses on mature artists whose works command significant prices and have been sold repeatedly at auction. Mei and Moses then compare their indices to the S&P; 500.

The Mei and Moses All Art Annual Index 2005 shows that over the last 50 years, stocks (S&P; 500) returned 10.95 percent annually, while the art index returned 10.47 percent per annum. Between 200 and 2005, the art index dominated stock performance returning 7.27 percent per annum while stocks dipped into the negative -2.40 percent.

The hottest sector in art performance is American art created before 1950, which is up 25.2 percent in the last year. Masterpieces like the Klimt and old masters haven’t done as well. They are like the blue-chip stocks, limited in quantity, safe and stable. In art, as with stocks, the greatest opportunity for growth comes in finding a hot new sector or artist.

Unlike stocks, art is not liquid. And like stocks, art is susceptible to exuberance.

A few investment wizards have tried to create art investment funds, but most have failed, including Fernwood Art Investments, which was created by a Merrill Lynch executive.

The Bloomberg article utilized a Merrill Lynch study, which concluded “art is one of the worst ways for investors to try to make money.” Merrill Lynch says that art investors “Have a 17 percent chance of losing money over five years.”

In London, they did create the Fine Art Fund, which is still in business but according to Gross “it hasn’t made much of a mark.”

Sandler points out: “Modern art prices have more than doubled since 1998.” But she clarifies that “modern and contemporary prices are being buoyed by a narrowing group of the most expensive paintings.”

According to the Merrill charts, Sandler concludes, that real estate and small U.S. stocks are performing best in the current decade and that art, foreign stocks and the S&P; 500 are the worst performers.

That narrow group of expensive paintings is by artists who most likely died poor. Most artists do not benefit when their work appreciates in value over time. One art fund is hoping to change that.

The Artist Pension Trust allows artists to donate a work of art to the fund and then over time the fund will sell the works and the member artists will receive an income stream from the trust. Currently, this mutual assurance society is available in seven cities around the world and is curated by highly experienced professionals. By giving their art to the fund the artists hope to make money in the future.

While most artists continue to struggle to make ends meet and most art buyers are not billionaires with deep pockets, it seems silly to discuss art as an investment, but working in the art world I see regular people buying art they love while hoping that someday it will increase in value. (That, or god forbid, they are buying art to match their sofa).

The average art buyer should not consider buying art as an investment. Buy it because you love it.

More critically, if you want art you can pass down to your children and grandchildren then buy a real painting and not a giclée or signed and numbered print. Only a real work of art will hold its value.

Don’t confuse a signed and numbered etching with a print. The traditional art of printmaking is the only true way of knowing that you actually have print 5 of 30 because the printmaker destroys the copper plate they used to make the print. There is no way to know that an artist who is printing giclée prints on their inkjet printer at home has only printed 100 of them and will not print another 100 because the image has sold well.

Most galleries offer lay away and it is better to invest in the real work and pay over time than to take home the giclée because it is more affordable.

If you do chose to purchase a giclée find out about the pigments used in the printing and the sealant to protect the work. Certain pigments will only work with certain papers or canvases and there is no guarantee that the work will last without fading. Be sure to use a reputable dealer when buying giclée.

“Undulating Vase,” Peter Karner; “Continuum 3-D” and “Continuum 042004″ Intuition Markers by D. Michael Coffee; “Yell Fire,” ceramic and wood by Judy Brey; “Moonhouse,” “Labyrinth,” “Echo Canyon,” and “Spirit Walker” by Boots Brown; “In-Situ” Intuition Marker by D. Michael Coffee.

Review:

Ceramic art is born in fire. The work of Boots Brown in the fifth annual David Hunt Ceramics Invitational at the Fort Lewis College Gallery also is born of technical skill and careful craftsmanship.

Without meticulous technique such as Brown’s, the art will be marred.

His bulbous vessels are large, yet the walls are thin and burnished to a luster. Copper, iron oxide and salt mixed with hay, sawdust and wood fuel the patterns created by the reduction of oxygen during pit firing. The artist has limited control over what emerges from the pit; the aesthetic pattern in “Echo Canyon” ($300) a platter with a thick gray area contrasting with the rust orange and charcoal black markings is my favorite of Brown’s four pieces.

D. Michael Coffee also shows bulbous vessels: “Continuum 042004″ ($695) and the smaller “Continuum 3-D” ($495). Both are vivid lapis blue and metallic pewter. Coffee also shows “In Situ: Intuition Marker” ($695) three pillow-shaped ceramic rocks, one large, iron-oxide red and atop that a medium, speckled yellow and next to them a small, lapis blue. A Zen art garden.

Lisa Pedolsky’s work is small and elegant. “Canister I” ($120), “Canister II” ($95) and “Canister III” ($68) are pyramid-topped boxes with aligning black semi-circles joining the lid and the vessel. The canisters are ivory with terra-cotta squiggles and marks like Arabic written in the glaze.

I found glaring mistakes in Pedolsky’s work. The semicircles did not line up on the canisters. A smudge of ivory glaze bled onto the terra-cotta line dividing the lid from the vessel. This mistake was right in front next to the focal point. Over-wiped edges on the smaller canister leave terra cotta streaks showing through. Hairline cracks are visible on “Dandelion Platter” ($195). These mistakes detract from Pedolsky’s otherwise interesting aesthetic.

One work that merges aesthetics, color and craftsmanship is “Undulating Vase” ($350) by Peter F. Karner. The wavy construction of the vase is echoed in the scalloped layers of turquoise, green, orange and copper glaze, created using wax resist.

J. Burnite creates texturally intriguing work, scratching into the clay and using scraps and strips of clay. He says he is motivated by questions of what is possible in designing a shape. “Introspective View II” ($700) has a zigzag base with a doughnut-shaped vessel balanced on top. A glob of glue appears to be holding the work in place, and made me wonder if this shape wasn’t possible without the glue. Like Pedolsky, Burnite’s craftsmanship did not seem equal to his aesthetic vision.

Chyako Hashimoto’s “Mori” ($450) vessel reminds me of corrugated Mesa Verde pottery on steroids. I’m not sure what the accompanying organic shapes are supposed to represent and they detract from the large vessel. Hashimoto explained that Mori is a forest in Japan and describes the work as fire cured. A pungent scent of smoke radiates from the vessel.

Ceramic figures by Judy Brey round out the exhibition. “Yell Fire,” ($150) a ceramic figure atop driftwood legs hangs on the wall. The sculpture moves. There is tension in the arms. There is the sense of leaping, flying and wondering where one might land. “Always There” ($300) is a seated figure holding flowers in her hands and “This World Held” ($350) is a male figure with a blue baby tucked casually under his folded arm. Brey’s work is edgy and filled with tension.

” the piece represents our current world situation held in such a negligent and careless manner,” she writes in her artist statement.

I wish less of the work in this show was presented in a negligent and careless manner.

Jackson Clark at Toh-Ahtin Gallery has spent the last year putting together a collection of pottery for the Fall Colorfest Gallery Walk this Friday. Other gallery owners and managers also have diligently prepared to highlight new artists and new work from represented artists.

Toh-Ahtin will feature work by the legendary potter of San Ildefonso, Maria Martinez, an artist whose reputation and matte and shiny black-on-black works are easily recognizable. Additionally, the work of two contemporary artists, Terry Gasdin, a Hopi-Akimel O’Odahm sculptor and Kachina carver, and John Tissaw, who creates engraved sandstone tables and wall hangings with traditional petroglyph designs, will be highlighted.

Sorrel Sky will emphasize the work of local watercolorist Pat Howard. Howard has a background in design and illustration and has been a painter for 19 years. Her work is bright in color and she is attracted to pattern and texture as reflected in the subject matter of her paintings: flowers, rugs, landscapes, rocks and fruits.

Rain Dance is focusing on the colorful paintings of Peruvian painter Juan de la Cruz. Cruz, who began painting when he was 6 years old, creates vibrant pastoral paintings of his native country.

Open Shutter unveils “Spirit of the West,” an exhibition of work by Shane Knight, Robb Kendrick, Jenny Gummersall, Larry Price, Janet Woodcock, Tony Stromberg, Adam Jahiel, Chip Thomas, Emilio Mercado, Dean Conger and Paul Boyer. All are photographers specializing in images of the Western lifestyle.

Lime Berry continues to highlight its collection of work by local artists, including the dynamic work of Navajo folk artist Leland Holiday, the fun sculptures of Amy Vaclav-Felker and the creations of Deborah Gorton, Amy Schwarzbach and Angie Steinberger. All artists will have new work on display during Gallery Walk.

Karyn Gabaldon Fine Art will focus on metal and bronze works by Jeff Brown, Karin Schminke and Julie and Ken Girardini. These metallic, three-dimensional items will contrast nicely with Gabaldon’s own watercolors and landscapes, which are on sale Friday and Saturday only.

Ellis Crane highlights “Process,” a new series of mixed-media work by local artist Krista Harris, and new encaustic work by Albuquerque artist Sally Condon.

The large silk-screen works of Edward Lambert are still on display at Durango Arts Center, and Local Expressions features the work of local potter Rebecca Barfoot and pastels by Bethany Bachmann. Jim and Eileen Baumgardt will show their work and that of other local photographers at Image Counts. Earthen Vessel will host the work of potter Randy Bowens and Angels and Lights features a new line of dichroic jewelry.

A new gallery, located at Habitat Home Supply, will introduce visitors to the work of 15 local artists who are donating 50 percent of their sales to support the mission of Habitat for Humanity.

Participating galleries are:

• Angels and Lights, 726� Main Ave.

• Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave.

• Earthen Vessel, 115 West Ninth St.

• Ellis Crane, 934A Main Ave.

• Habitat Home Supply Art Gallery, 600 East Second Ave., Ste. E

• Image Counts, 835 Main Ave. No. 108

• Karyn Gabaldon Fine Art, 680 Main Ave.

• Lime Berry, 925 Main Ave.

• Open Shutter, 755 East Second Ave.

• Rain Dance, 945 Main Ave.

• Sorrel Sky, 870 Main Ave.

• Toh-Atin, 145 West Ninth St.

artsjournalist@centurytel.netLeanne Goebel is a freelance writer focusing on the arts.

“Spiritual Sentinel,” “Deco Dude,” and detail from “Tattoo Totem,” all screenprint on cotton canvas by Edward Lambert

How do entrepreneurial business owners balance the passion they have for their product and the demands of the consumer? Savvy, successful enterprises manage to achieve equilibrium. Many small businesses fail because they cannot strike this balance.

I live in a small town with a tourism-based economy. Summer is the busiest season in spite of our proximity to a ski area. We have very long shoulder seasons. During March and April many local businesses wonder how they will survive. I’ve seen a lot of business come and go—for lack of vision, lack of funding, lack of planning, lack of customers.

Lack of customers is an illusion. It is blaming the customer for the failure of the business to do its homework. There are things we need in this small town. Things the residents would like to have access to, but do not. Perhaps we didn’t really need a truck accessories store or an artisan jewelry boutique or a flower shop. With a limited population it is difficult to support the overhead that many retail businesses require. Or perhaps, these businesses didn’t do enough.

I am actively involved in a local contemporary arts center. For two years we have launched exhibitions, sold artwork, sponsored workshops and lectures and done some very active market research—learning what people like and don’t like, defining our audience, attracting like-minded associates. It’s research that has required tens of thousands of dollars. Today, we know what the numbers look like. We have a clear idea of what we can do to make money and what endeavors we undertake that are loss-leaders and what are incredibly valuable and meaningful events for the community, but do not make money that will require sponsorship and grant funding. We have shifted our priorities to focus on the money-making enterprise that will fund the valuable community endeavors.

Which is what a small business owners must do, as well. Shanan Campbell Wells started her Sorrel Sky gallery thinking that she would provide Western art, fill a niche that she saw was missing in the Durango art scene. Today, four years later, her gallery has morphed into a balance of art she likes, artists she enjoys working with and what her customers will buy.

It comes down to market research.

Market research can be as simple as collecting zip codes from customers, asking them to fill out a comment card or as complex as purchasing $4,500 research studies on the world buyers of costume jewelry.

The website www.knowthis.com provides access to some of the free market research that is out there. Want to know about bloggers? Home furniture and appliance trends? Gourmet food statistics? Then check out their website for this handy information.

Locally, try your county’s office of economic development, your town’s chamber of commerce and the local library for access to information on the demographics of the community in which you operate a business. Talking to other business owners is key. How long have they been in business? What is the most difficult thing they’ve dealt with as a business owner? What do they know about their customers? The cycles?

Most small business owners have defined their business; the product or service they offer, how they differ from the competition; and how they will promote and distribute their product or service.

What they don’t spend as much time on is defining their customers. Are they men or women? How old? How much money do they make? Where do they live? What patterns or habits do they have? What do they read? Where do they shop? What do they listen to? What do they watch? What do they value about your product or service? And what can you do to keep those existing customers happy? And how do you reach those people? Where do you find them?

Once a business knows this, they can develop a proactive plan to reach out to those people. If I want to open a jewelry boutique in a small town that doesn’t have a large enough population to support the cost of doing business, then I can access a broader client base by selling my jewelry on Ebay, through a website or in catalogs that do reach my prospective client.

Knowing my customer and how best to reach them is the key to a successful enterprise.

Pagosa Springs is getting a new road sign. The sign will recognize Pagosa as a Preserve America Community.

The Preserve America Community program is a White House initiative that encourages and supports community efforts “to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage, use their historic assets for economic development and community revitalization and encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism programs.”

Benefits of designation include White House recognition; eligibility to apply for Preserve America grants; a certificate of recognition; a Preserve America Community road sign; authorization to use the Preserve America logo on signs, flags, banners and promotional materials; listing in a Web-based Preserve America Community directory; inclusion in national and regional press releases; official notification of designation to State tourism offices and visitor bureaus; and enhanced community visibility and pride.

Mayor Ross Aragon and Shari Pierce, chairperson of the Pagosa Springs historic preservation board received the award at a ceremony in Durango, another Preserve America Community. Other Colorado towns designated as Preserve America Communities include: Breckenridge, Cripple Creek, Fort Collins, Frisco, Georgetown, Glenwood Springs, Greeley, Lake City, Leadville, Montezuma County, Park County, Pueblo, Silverton and Steamboat Springs.

According to the Pagosa Springs SUN, town planners Tamra Allen and Joe Nigg submitted the application for the designation in July, in hopes that the town would receive national recognition for its efforts to preserve the downtown historic district and its local historic resources.

The most important benefit of the designation is not the highway sign, but the eligibility to apply for Preserve America grants, which can range from $20,000 to $150,000. The initiative offers Preserve America communities access to technical, financial and economic development assistance as well as other economic incentives.

These funds might be used to help fund the San Juan Historical Society Museum or to develop an historic walking tour of Pagosa Springs. Grant funding might also fund research and historic documentation, historic landmark or building identification signage and education and marketing efforts.

In 2006, Preserve America grants were awarded to three Colorado projects.

The Southeast Colorado Heritage Tourism program received $130,000, awarded to the Colorado Historical Society and the State Historic Preservation office to create a regional marketing program for heritage tourism in six-county rural region of Southeast Colorado. The grant will fund a public-private partnership with the goal of increasing visitation and revenue to historic sites and local tourism supported businesses.

The Soapstone Prairie Natural Area received $147,563 awarded to the Fort Collins Museum and the City of Fort Collins to collect oral histories from various sources surrounding the Fort Collins and Soapstone Prairie Natural Area community. The goal is an eventual exhibit that will educate and inform the public on the history of the area.

The Steamboat Springs Cultural Heritage Interpretive and Education program received $35,000, awarded to the City of Steamboat Springs to support the development of a Cultural Heritage Tourism program in Steamboat Springs by developing an interpretive plan, infrastructure, programs and materials. The goal for this project is to develop a multi-media museum exhibit focused on the history and cultural development of the city and the create 12 interpretive signs, develop two walking brochures and an educational program including living history days, guided walking tours and lectures.

According to their website, Preserve America advocates grassroots effort, local collaboration and the appropriate balancing of conflicting interests, strongly encouraging Public-private partnerships. “Preserve America is intended to help educate citizens about the benefits of heritage preservation and encourage creative partnerships that successfully overcome obstacles or conflicts about competing public interests.”

Preserve America brings together the White House and Executive Office of the President, including the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Management and Budget with participating Federal partners: The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the Department of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Housing and Urban Development and Transportation; the National Endowment for the Humanities and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

In addition, The History Channel is working with Preserve America and the White House on a complementary promotional and educational effort called “Save our History.” Preserve America is also working with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and awards an annual History Teacher of the Year award.

I work with creative people: artists, writers, photographers. Many are highly imaginative, prolific, brilliant even.

Some are not.

The thing about artists is that they are often so right brained they cannot function in any other mode. They want to make their art and then they want someone who is linear and logical and business minded to tell them it is worthy and sell it for them. They want agents, consultants, brokers, galleries and jurors to deem their work worthy and sell it. They just want to make a product and not worry about anything else.

Can you envision any company working that way? Did Henry Ford say I just want to make cars and I’ll let someone else tell me they are good cars and everyone will want one and buy one? Does the widget manufacturer focus only on creating widgets? Does the chef only make gorgeous, tasty food and hope someone finds him in his kitchen slaving away with mounds of polenta, grilled snapper with peach salsa, and flourless chocolate cake stacked in every corner? No, of course not.

Yet many small business owners think that all they have to do to run a successful business is create a great product or service and suddenly everyone will be clamoring for what they offer.

Kevin Stirtz of the Smart Marketing 101 blog says:

“We focus almost all our resources on building the operational part of our businesses. We develop our skills. We rent space. We hire people. We buy supplies and equipment. We design and develop a product or service that will knock people’s socks off.

We put so much into WHAT we offer people, we forget to tell people about it. Or we don’t tell enough people.”

In other words, we don’t go out and find the customers who want to buy what we have. We don’t announce our arrival to the world. We don’t shout from the windows I’m here and I have what you want!

I’ve worked with artists who do not want to talk about their art. Artists who refuse to provide their resumes and bios. Artists who live surrounded by their own brilliant work and think it should “speak for itself” and they never do anything to help it sell. Small businesses are often the same. They open up and hang a sign on the door and wait for the customers to arrive.

For artists, they believe the dirty work of selling is the job of the gallery (if they are lucky to get represented by a gallery). But the way a gallery sells art is by talking about it, the way you sell any product is by telling a story about that product and how it will make the buyers life easier, better, safer or fill whatever need the customer has.

Yet every writer or artist is a small business owner. And every small business owner must invest their time equally in marketing and selling their work as they spend in creating their work. Marketing and selling is as necessary as turning on the lights in the morning, opening the door, or making a deposit at the bank.

There are ways to market that cost very little or nothing. There are ways to promote your work and your business without investing huge piles of cash. With the Internet and new technology you can find cheap printing sources for postcards, flyers and brochures. Try VistaPrint.com or GotPrint.com where you can order 250 business cards for under $10. Network: join the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Women’s Networking nights or other organizations and talk about your business. Put up flyers in coffee shops and bulletin boards. Send personal letters to friends and family, acquaintances. Send an email to everyone you know. Pick up the phone and make some telephone calls.

This week, I read in USA Today about some successful artists who are using the Internet and technology to make a living selling their art. They are blogging. Yes, blogging. Now, I have a blog, I’m a writer. That’s what writers do, they blog, but visual artists?

Google “Painting-a-day” and the first site that comes up is for an artist named Duane Keiser, an artist who paints every day, small postcard-sized paintings and auctions them on EBay for $100-$1,200. Keiser has sold thousands of paintings to people who want to buy original art, but don’t have a lot of money and can’t afford a $20,000 painting.

Will Keiser become famous and collected by museums and high-end art collectors this way? Who knows? What really matters is that he is creative, doing what he loves, making a living doing it and selling his work every day.

The kind of success every small business owners strives to achieve.

Clarissa Hudson was 29 years old when she met the grand master of Alaskan Chilkat weaving, Jennie Thlunaut, at a weaving workshop. Thlunaut was 95 years old and the last of the Chilkat weavers. After a six-week apprenticeship, and two complete weavings, Thlunaut exclaimed, “You are it! You’re the one. My work is finished. Now I can go home to my Momma and my Aunties and my Papa.” The young Hudson did not understand what the old woman meant. Two months later, Jennie Thlunaut died.

Sitting on her front porch in Pagosa Springs, Colo., Hudson, who just turned 50, tells the story with wild hand gestures. Her animated, umber eyes look off into the distance as if the memory is a movie she is watching somewhere on a screen I cannot see. She smiles and then looks back at me, and I am drawn into the inner soul of this creative and spiritual woman. Her hair, long and the color of eggplant, flows around her square face with its high forehead and broad, flat nose. It is the kind of hair you want to touch, with just a few silver strands interspersed throughout the thick mane.

Hudson, a member of the Tlingit Tribe, was born in Juneau, Alaska, just before the territory became the 49th state. Part Native Alaskan and part Filipino, Japanese and Chinese, she is a master Chilkat weaver who specializes in designing and creating woven ceremonial robes and button blankets.

“I create using a traditional method,” Hudson said. “But I don’t replicate old pieces. I design my own work based on personal experiences, visions, dreams, statements, things happening in the now.”

Her award-winning “Copper Woman,” a five-piece dance regalia outfit, in the collection of the Anchorage Museum, took twelve years to finish. The headdress is inspired by Jamaican dreadlocks; the capelet is fashioned after a Seminole woman’s cape and sewn with patchwork; the dance apron has the look of a long Hawaiian grass skirt; and the robe combines Chilkat and Raven’s Tail weaving elements.

For Hudson, weaving, painting and making robes and blankets are a form of ceremony and meditation–her religion, her tradition and her connection to things past and things yet to come. And just as Hudson was mentored, she mentors other artists, learning from their traditions, weaving them into the warp and weft of her own history and experience.

Recently, Hudson was invited to Kaohsiung, Taiwan with Shaun Peterson from Tacoma, Wash. and Shgen George from Angoon, Alaska, to participate in “Raven, Hundred-Pace Viper and the Ocean,” a trans-Pacific collaboration in native arts as part of the Kaohsiung International Austronesian Festival. The raven represents the native people of the northwest coast of North America, and the hundred-pace viper represents the aboriginal people of Taiwan. Hudson, Peterson and George, together with six aboriginal Taiwanese artists, created outdoor sculptures from materials found in Taiwan. The only things Hudson brought with her were some mother-of-pearl buttons that she uses on her button blankets.

During the first week in Taiwan, Hudson and the northwest coast artists spent time getting to know the aboriginal culture of Taiwan. They visited the villages, listened to their songs, watched their dances. They met with artists, like Sakolie, a metalsmith who also owned a café.

“He said to me that it is very important for artists and human beings to have cafés, to sit down, relax and have a meal, to gossip and be together. It is very important for the spirit to have cafés.”

Hudson described Sakolie’s café as an open-air structure made from tree trunks and driftwood and stone. No windows, just the natural material and a fiberglass roof. She spoke longingly, as if the Asian winds were blowing through her hair and she was sharing a cup of tea with her Taiwanese cousin in his café.

During the second week in Taiwan, Hudson worked on her sculpture. She built a totem pole from bamboo. Hudson had never before worked with bamboo, but in five days she managed to create a 12-foot-tall totem with the help of her husband and collaborator, Bill. They used bamboo to create the wings and beak of a raven and a curtain of bamboo formed a flowing robe, like a wave. The bamboo reminded her of a warp and so she took rope and red cloth and began to weave it like a Chilkat robe. Using the red cloth, she wove a snake facing the beak of the raven.

She called the piece, “Thinking the Sky, Thinking the Water.”

Yet, with all her awards and experience, Hudson confesses her own naïveté. “I recently realized that some artists are wannabees,” Hudson said. “I thought all artists were like me, that they made art because they have to do it or they would not be sane. I thought they all used art as a way of coping with this reality, to rise above the mundane into a space not so heavy.”

I asked Hudson to explain. She said that through the process of making art, unresolved issues are resolved. By solving the issues, they are not passed on to the next generation.

“History is preserved and debts are paid,” Hudson said.

For more information on Clarissa Hudson, visit her website at http://www.clarissahudson.com.

Leanne Goebel is the founding editor of Arts Perspective and a freelance arts journalist. Contact her at artsjournalist@centurytel.net.

“Bust of a Man,” 1996 collage by Kelsey Hauck; “Chris, R. I. P.,” 1986 pastel by Karl Isberg; “Untitled,” 2000 oil by Doug Pedersen

Special to The PREVIEW

“Mind’s Material: Sensation, Cognition & Knowledge” at Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts features the master works of Doug Pedersen, Kelsey Hauck and Karl Isberg.

The exhibit, which runs through Oct. 7, is the first time the three artists have shown their work together, even though each has a long list of exhibitions and shows on their individual resumes.

Pedersen started the education program at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1966. In one of several recent conversations, Pederson talked about being in New York, with artists such as De Kooning and Rothko. He mentioned being a poet and said seeing the unfinished work of Michelangelo is what made him want to be an artist. Michelangelo had done with his sculpture what Pedersen wanted to do with his poetry.

From 1964-1969, Pedersen taught painting, art history and sculpture. In 1985, he earned his MFA in painting at New Mexico Highlands University. He and Hauck have lived and worked in Majorca, Italy, Mexico, Spain, New York, Boston, Portland, Ore., Santa Fe and Taos, among other places.

Pedersen has shown his work consistently since 1960 in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Boston, Santa Fe, Taos, San Francisco, Salida and Wurzburg, Germany.

Hauck has shown since the ’70s in many of the same locations as her husband, Pedersen.

Isberg co-owned 1418, Denver’s first alternative art gallery, taught art-related courses in the department of philosophy at Metropolitan State College, showed his work in the ’70s at the Denver Art Museum, at numerous galleries in Denver, at one of the galleries Pedersen and Hauck owned in Taos, and in several galleries in California.

Isberg met Pedersen and Hauck in 1983 in Taos. They have been friends ever since.

The human figure is key to each artist’s work, but each represents the figure in his or her own unique way.

In the front gallery at Shy Rabbit are two early pastel drawings by Isberg, one a portrait of Pedersen, in dark reds and purples. Next to that is a drawing of a woman created in 1984, “Chris R.I.P.” Chris has short, black, spiked hair and blue eyes. She is drawn in shades of orange, green and violet, contoured in white and a hint of yellow. A shade light orange spirals around her eyes and yellow arcs above her brows. Over her right eye is an arcing mark that fades into white dots, somewhat like an antenna. Through Isberg’s expressive use of color and line he manages to capture the energy and aura of personality.

Collages by Hauck line the wall in front of me. Her figures are created with multiple layers of paper to create depth, and color provides vibrant juxtapositions. Some papers are filled with text, Chinese characters, map topography and each portrait has an individual life as unique as humanity. I will say more about her work later.

Pedersen’s “Contari,” a woman singing, is opposite Isberg’s pastels. The woman wears a thickly textured charcoal gown against a blood red background. Her mouth is open and one can imagine hearing an aria spilling forth into the room, the tension in her lips and eyes as she hits high C. Her hair is yellow and her face is also painted in shades of yellow and orange, illuminated by the lights on stage.

The fourth wall in the front gallery features two of Pedersen’s collages, one made with a red bandana. Pedersen’s collages seem made of found objects and they are compelling. The dancing skeleton in “War God” is posed like John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever,” dancing happily. It is an appropriate depiction of George Bush senior painted in 1991 during the first Iraq war.

In the back exhibit space, the left wall is lined with more of Pedersen’s oil paintings, beginning with a piece with a green horizon and violet sky background setting off a white figure holding a bright orange and yellow mask. The mask is eerily similar to the face on the figure and when one gets very close to the canvas, the layers of color that Pedersen uses to achieve what appears to be white, reminds me of the theory of white light, that all color exists in white. Pedersen proves that to be true. The mask is colorful; the person is white. The mask conceals, but this person is removing his deceptive outward appearance. Masks represent the many types of human personalities encountered in life. A mask can allow a person to become the host of another spirit or being. As in many of Pedersen’s paintings, the mouth of the face is agape and the teeth are bared.

In the middle of the wall is another painting with mask symbolism. This painting, “Figure Holding Two Masks,” features a turquoise blue background with a bright green horizon. One mask is on a stick and looks like the face in the painting. It’s almost like a shrunken head. The other mask is again very similar to the face. And, interestingly, the hands have no thumbs. A large “Untitled” canvas with many heads, some happy, some grotesque, like a dream image, anchors the end of the wall.

Pedersen’s paintings are heavy with oil paint and pigment in an almost German Expressionistic style, expressing a somewhat grotesque view of humanity with harsh colors and violent brush strokes. In “Head,” from 1997, paint spews forth from an open mouth, in “Head,” from 2000, an eye is blacked out, vacant and hollow.

More of Hauck’s collage work lines the back wall. “Head” from 1989 is a small abstracted mask-looking collage, very graphic, with heavy black lines and lots of red. Next to this is “Bust of a Man,” 1996 – a man holding his head in his hand. His face is made from a topographical map and contoured with lime green nose and lips. He appears to be speaking out of the side of his mouth. Dark gray comes from his mouth like heavy, cold words. His head is tipped in despair, leaning on an invisible palm. This is a man trying to find his way in a less than hospitable world.

The prominent “Woman with Pearls,” 1988, is a woman with egg-shaped pearls at her long neck. Her portrait collar dress is made of butter yellow pap
er with black text, her hair is pulled up in a bun, but bangs hang on one side above her eye. She is elegant and the background of this portrait is of blue-gray rectangles of paper that look like block brush strokes. Layers of fine curls and strips of paper in yellows, grays and black form her hair, her nose is long, her cheekbones round, her mouth open as if greeting the viewer. She is the kind of woman who would kiss the air next to your cheek and say “Hello dahling!”

Each of Hauck’s collages is a unique being with a personality, perhaps images of people the artist has met or known, or characters she envisions the way a novelist creates character. They have a story to tell, if only the viewer will stand and listen.

The other long wall in the exhibition space is filled with six acrylic paintings by Isberg. Two larger, muted canvases are created by painting the canvas black, then building layers of color on the ground. The first canvas on the left is the darkest of them all, cool in shades of blues and grays. It is called “Jupiter Eating His Children,” and is of two boxy abstracted figures, one with what looks like the shape of a duck in its mouth.

Next to it is the warmer painting, “Love is Funny When You Don’t Like Each Other,” featuring two primitive, cubed figures with tubes and spirals, echoing the spirals in the pastel drawing of Chris in the front gallery, with similar arcing antennae extending from the head. They have big, boxy heads with eyes, long sausage noses. The figure on the left has lips. The legs are boxy with spiral cinnamon roll knees. It’s hard to tell the gender of either figure. The one on the left has a sausage in an anatomically correct location for a male. The figure on the right has what appears to be large, sticky bun looking breasts. A hand reaches across from the figure on the right to touch the figure on the left. At least it looks like a hand, with three fingers. I think the figures are hermaphrodites and the painting reflects the confusion of gender roles in modern marriage. There is sexual tension in the painting, physical groping. We grow and change during our lifetime and in marriage that often means we take on new roles. This painting captures the idea of compatibility and companionship that come after being together a long time. Marriage is hot and cold and so are the colors of paint used in this painting: earthy caramels contrast with cool blue-grays.

The rest of the paintings by Isberg are smaller canvases painted more brightly, in yellows, golds, oranges, moss greens and sienna, with bug-eyed, cartoon-like images. “Just Outside the Rijksmuseum” is of two figures made from what appear to be fruits and vegetables. Or as one of the writer’s from “Brown Bag Writer’s” put it, it looks like two Kachinas celebrating the harvest. There is food all around, but the two figures seem to be devouring the same item.

Isberg uses color and geometry in his painting to express emotion and capture snippets of life, but he challenges us to view those snippets in a compelling way.

Pedersen said that art is observation. If so, then the world that these artist’s observe is ferocious, humorous, expressive, vibrant and very much real. It is a world worth exploring.

“Mind’s Material: Sensation, Cognition & Knowledge” is on display through October 7, at Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts, 333 Bastille Drive, Units B-1 and B-4. Regular hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 1-4 p.m. with extended hours on the second Thursday of the month from 1-6:30 p.m. For more information: log onto www.shyrabbit.blogspot.com or call 731-2766.

Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist and a member of the creative development team at Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts.

Between 2004 and 2005, artist employment increased by 36,000 to a total of 2.1 million workers. Over the same period, the artist unemployment rate declined from 5.1 percent in 2004 to 4.4 percent in 2005. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the artist labor force is made up of architects; art directors, fine artists and animators; designers; actors, producers and directors; dancers and choreographers; musicians and singers; announcers; writers and authors; photographers and other entertainers and performers (a broad category that includes jugglers, magicians, comedians, cowboys and fortune tellers).

Unemployment rates may have shrunk for all artists, but conditions were mixed for individual artist occupations. Employment improved for architects, musicians and singers and announcers. However, unemployment rates increased for photographers, other entertainers and performers, and the category for art directors, fine artists and animators. Architects have the lowest unemployment rate in all artist occupations. The field gained 28,000 new workers and the unemployment rate dropped 0.3 points to 1.7 percent—a rate even lower than the 2.4 percent reported for all professionals, the broader category under which artists fall.

The unemployment rates fell for designers, writers and authors, but these reductions stem from workers leaving those occupations, rather than from employment gains. Between 2004 and 2005, a full 20,000 writers left the field.

The unemployment rate for actors in 2005 fell to 25.5 percent, down 9.3 percentage points from 2004. Actors have the highest percentage of unemployment followed by dancers and choreographers for whom unemployment rose to 10.4 percent.

Multiple jobs

The numbers above reflect those artists who work at their art full-time. Anyone who is working as an artist knows that secondary employment is high for artists. In 2005, the rate for artists holding multiple jobs was 12.8 percent, which is more than twice the 5.4 percent reported for all civilian workers. More than 300,000 workers hold secondary jobs as artists. Of this group, the 96,000 musicians and singers have the highest multiple jobholding rate at 32.1 percent. Other popular secondary artistic careers include radio and TV announcers and photographers.

Earnings

But how much money do artists make compared to the rest of the professional category under which they fall? According to the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, professionals drew median annual earning of $40,607 in 2004. Art directors collect the highest median earnings within the artist occupations at $63,840, followed by architects at $60,300, fashion designers at $55,840 and landscape architects at $53,120.

Comparable to the median earnings of all professionals are writers and authors who earn $44,350, interior designers who earn $40,670 and fine artist who earn $38,060. The worst earnings recorded are for dancers who earned a median of only $17,763. Other low-earnings include radio and TV announcers at $22,130 and photographers at $26,080.

Job growth

Become a landscape architect if you are looking for an artistic career with faster-than-average employment growth (defined as growth between 18 and 26 percent), at least that is what the BLS projects. The BLS believes that increased construction and real estate development and compliance with environmental regulations will contribute to expanding employment opportunities for landscape architects.

Don’t become an announcer, a field that is in decline and projected to continue waning. And in spite of the popularity of Project Runway, or perhaps because of its popularity, slower-than-average growth is predicted for fashion designers due to strong job competition and only a few opportunities or openings.

Multi-media artists and animators will likely face stiff job competition as well, but the BLS projects average employment growth (9 to 17 percent) for these and other artist categories, particularly due to increased demand for video games, special effects in the movie industry and computer graphics.

In the dance industry, the BLS projects that any growth in employment will come from large dance companies and troupes affiliated with universities and the movie, music video and fitness industries, but not with small and mid-sized companies who are impacted by rising production costs.

As for musicians, the BLS suggests that most new wage and salary jobs for musicians will be found in religious organizations.

Self-Employment

There is a high rate of self-employment with many artist jobs. The highest rate of self-employment in 2004 was with authors and writers. Sixty-eight percent of us are self-employed. Other high rates of self-employment include fine artists (62 percent), multimedia artists and animators (61 percent) and photographers (59 percent). Performing artists have the lowest self-employment rates with actors at 17 percent and dancers at 20 percent.

Education

For the 19 artist occupations listed, 11 require an advanced degree and some long-term on-the-job-training. The remaining eight occupations require long-term on-the-job-training and work experience.

The bottom line? You can be an artist and earn a living above the poverty level. The numbers just don’t tell you how hard you have to work or define how long it takes to earn that long-term on the job training.

This story was compiled with information from an artist employment report by Bonnie Nichols provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

My friend Shanan Campbell Wells owns Sorrel Sky Gallery in Durango. We talked recently about the gallery business and her new venture SCW Art Consulting.

“The art business is a really tricky, tricky business because you do what you love and what your passionate about and what you believe in and what your behind and you have to have a good pulse on the market and a pulse on what your clientele wants and you act as a mediator to those two worlds and you try to be true to yourself. I can’t just put up everything I love because not everyone has my duplicate taste,” Wells said, then paused. “But I certainly can’t represent stuff I don’t love.”

It’s a delicate balance that many business owners understand. A business can’t be everything to every person that walks through the door; they must be focused. A business can’t sell only what the owner likes; they must understand and provide what the marketplace, the community and their client’s desire.

“It’s a lot about relationship, the people, the experience,” Wells said. “When I first opened [four years ago] I definitely looked at the artwork on its own and now, before I even consider the artwork, I want to know the person—the artist—because I want to deal with really, really great people.”

Wells confessed that she’s had some heartbreaks over the past four years as her business has grown and changed. She represented an artist that she personally loves, but couldn’t maintain the sales levels necessary to keep his work in her gallery. He couldn’t tie up inventory in a gallery in Durango, Colo. that wasn’t selling enough of his work. She also candidly said that she had represented some really great artists who were difficult to work with, so difficult, that she now chooses not to deal with them.

What makes the art business different from any other business is the reason the buyer makes a purchase. Buying art is different from buying anything else.

“It’s not about price, it’s about what makes you feel right,” Wells said. “It’s always about that experience. It’s about something different, something bigger, something else. A lot of it is about deserving. There is so much energy associated with a work of art.”

We buy art because of the energy, because of the heartfelt passion that goes into the work and resonates from the canvas or the clay or the bronze or the silver. I purchased a piece of art this weekend at the Durango Arts Festival—a ceramic vessel fired in a wood fuelled Anagama kiln. It was different from anything else at the festival. The hands of a young woman from Oregon, Terry Inokuma, shaped each piece. Terry and I spoke about art and her desire to capture something as impermanent as fire onto something as permanent as stone; about the ancient art form she is using and the incredible effects fire has on the glaze. Inokuma’s work has an organic feel; her vessels are shaped like pods and seeds, fired under ground for up to 100 hours, they are imbued with the spirit of the earth.

As Wells said: “You don’t become an artist to get rich. You become an artist because you can’t stand to do anything else. You can’t do anything but what you are doing. And then you work your tail off and put your heart and sweat and blood and tears into it and maybe you become successful and maybe you don’t. An artist isn’t doing it because there’s a bunch of money to be made; they are doing it because it is heartfelt.”

It is that passion and energy that we bring into our home when we hang a work of art or install a sculpture. It is that energy that fills the new Mercy Regional Medical Center.

“Art is like having a baby,” Wells added. “If you don’t have one you never will miss it. But once you have a child you can’t imagine your life without them.”

Brad Cochonnet, COO of Mercy Regional Medical Center told Wells recently that he never dreamed what an impact the art would have on the hospital and the community. It’s what everyone is talking about. They aren’t talking about the 2.5 million dollar CT scan machine they are talking about the art.

“Art is typically the last thing on your budget and it’s the first thing that people will remember,” Wells the art consultant said. “You have no idea how impactful it will be to your business unless you have it. But if you’ve never had art you don’t know what you’re missing.”

Yet art is almost always controversial. There are other gallery owners upset because Wells got the job and they didn’t. There are artists upset because their work wasn’t chosen for the hospital. All of which is amazing to me.

Why do artists feel they are entitled to have their work displayed just because they are local? Why does the community feel it can co-opt artists and galleries and art centers? Why do we think art has to be chosen by committee? The fact is—art chosen by committee is usually ineffective. It is the least common denominator and something everyone could agree on. It’s typically so politically correct that the work chosen has no resonating energy.

Interior designers, who either are part of the firm selected to design or build the structure, often choose the art placed in hospitals and office buildings. In the case of Mercy Regional Medical Center, Wells spent five months sending proposals, following up with phone calls and letters and working diligently to get the job. She did this three years ago long before many in the community were aware that a new hospital was being built.

Hospital executives didn’t hire a local construction company to build the hospital; they hired a company experienced in building hospitals. It was the same with the art. Bids and proposals were submitted and a professional was selected to work with the hospital to understand what they wanted and needed and what type of art was appropriate for the many different uses of the building. Wells’ team of experts determined how each work was matted, framed and hung on the wall.

Perhaps if the local artists who were not selected for this project and the other gallery owners who don’t seem to understand the professional process would stop whining and start acting like qualified experts, they might get their work selected for the next project that SCW Art Consulting manages. And with more than a dozen proposals out, SCW Art Consulting is poised to become a major force in the art consulting arena.

“I look at art in a more professional sense as a business that has heart,” Wells said.

I agree. Let’s all be professional and treat art as the serious business that it is.

Review

“On the River,” Sharon Abshagen’s oil of a rowboat. “Ready Made #4,” a sculpture by Bryan Saren. “Beauty and the Beast,” a steel sculpture by Bryan Saren in the foreground, eagle photograph by Claude Steelman, canyon photograph by Marv Poulson and an oil painting by Sharon Abshagen are part of the “Image, Technique, Form” show at the Durango Arts Center.

Certain media do not mix well. A gallery-owner friend of mine follows the aesthetic rule of some museums not to mix photography and painting in the same space. I have to agree.

“Image, Technique, Form” with the work of Brian Saren, Mary Poulson, Claude Steelman and Sharon Abshagen will be on show at the Durango Arts Center 802 East Second Ave. through Aug. 26.

“Image, Technique, Form” at the Barbara Conrad Gallery in the Durango Arts Center would have worked better for me if it were just photography and sculpture. The addition of landscape painting gives the space a disjointed feeling.

I took Bryan Saren’s artist statement seriously. He wrote: “Please enjoy your interaction with the work I have made.” I had some fun spinning the half-moon door to the universe steel sculpture he calls “Rain Caller” ($3,200). I was impressed with the fluidity of motion in the bearings, and I loved the patina on the flat rectangular door shape. The shiny metal orb placed just at center looks too much like a doorknob for me, but the design is balanced.

Saren’s best piece in the show is “Ready Made #4″ ($2,520), an elliptical piece of wood, mirrored by a steel outline of the same elliptical shape, while four perpendicular copper pipes reach from the wood into the steel frame. The smooth copper pipe contrasts with the texture of the worn wood. The solid shape is balanced by its sister hollow form – the lines and circles expressing a point, counterpoint, a yin and yang.

Earlier this summer, Saren won a sculpture competition to commemorate Durango’s 125th anniversary. His winning work will be shown in front of City Hall by the end of the year.

Saren’s work is complimented by the photography of Marv Poulson. Poulson captures images of pattern, light and shadow. In “Direction III” ($385) an archival color photo of canyon walls, the image is abstracted and almost seems like a close-up of wood shavings. And in “Blend Column I” ($385) the detailed lines in the canyon walls look like brush strokes of paint. In “Wet Slot Wall I” ($385), Poulson has managed to capture a figure in the reflections of light in the chocolate-colored water of a canyon. An illusion in nature.

I would like to see Saren and Poulson show their images, technique and forms together again.

As for the other photography in the show, let’s just say I am envious of Claude Steelman’s equipment, the camera and lens that captured the tiny little feathers on the head of an eagle in “Eagle Portrait” ($225). I commend the tenacity of wildlife photographers like Steelman who spend hours, days, even weeks waiting for the opportunity to capture the moment an eagle pulls a fish out of the water in “Eagle Catching Fish” ($375). And if it was a lucky shot, I don’t want to know.

Sharon Abshagen has the most work in this show, a total of 22 paintings. Steelman has nine photographs and Poulson 11. Saren has ten sculptures in the exhibit.

I did like “On the River” ($375) a small painting of a rowboat moored to the water’s edge. I particularly liked Abshagen’s brush technique, the cubes of paint in the water balanced by the smooth strokes of the land and sky above and below. The light captured in this image is serene and I particularly liked the bit of red paint at the knot tying the rope to the boat. In this painting Abshagen captures a moment, but also a narrative. There is a story to this boat tied up to the rocks on the river.

The other work of Abshagen’s that evoked emotion for me were her two paintings of dogs: “My Path” ($575) and “Sporty’s Last Stand” (NFS). There is life in these two paintings that is somewhat lacking in Abshagen’s other work. I couldn’t help but think after reading her artist statement that Abshagen is trying too hard to capture the stillness she hopes to reflect in her work.

The show is clean and well lit. All work is hung on center and the open floor space allows for breathing room. Each artist framed her or his work consistently, Poulson used cherry wood, Steelman walnut and Abshagen must have spent a small fortune on her thick, elegant gold frames. The visitors who came through the gallery the day I visited seemed to enjoy the show overall.

But I continue to long for a group show at DAC that feels cohesive. I want to see not only image and technique. I want to see form, the verb: The bringing together of parts to create something more.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist based in Pagosa Springs

Tell your story. Make it a good one with a beginning that draws the reader or listener in, weave in some characters overcoming challenges and give us a splashy or simple ending. Now put it all down on paper and call it a press release.

Getting your story in the paper is easy. Make it compelling. Make it newsworthy. Tell the editor why your business is unique and send out press releases. I’m amazed at how many businesses do not take the time to create a press release. To inform the media of what is happening at their company. We spend so much time creating our business and keeping the doors open that we forget what a valuable friend the media can be to our success.

Here are some simple tips for public relations success. First and foremost, it is called public relations. Build a relationship with the editor of your newspaper, a magazine, the radio announcer or programmer. Find out what they consider newsworthy and what sort of needs they have. Small newspapers are always looking for material to fill their daily or weekly pages.

Tell the who, what, where, when and how of an event. Use a catchy headline. Put all the contact information at the top including phone numbers, email, websites, etc. Most word-processing software offer a template to help you create a press release. The first paragraph includes the location and date of an event and one or two sentences about it. Paragraph two is more information. Include some quotes from clients. Paragraph three includes the contact information. Actually write the press release like a newspaper article in third person as if you are the reporter asking questions. Put those comments in quotations. Many newspapers want material they can cut and paste into their empty spaces. Make their job easier and you are likely to get your story in the paper—especially if you include one or two high quality images to go along with the story.

Creative tip: Sometimes, an image says more than a press release. If you had an event at your business—say the local boy scouts washed cars in your parking lot. Take some photos, pick out the best one and send them to the newspaper with just a short sentence telling what happened.

Include your business name. Just be sure your digital images are high quality. Most newspapers require a minimum of 300 dpi (dots per inch) and an image size of 5”x7”. This means, they have to be able to print a 5”x7” photograph with at least 300 dots of ink per inch.

Also, before you send off a digital image to the newspaper, let them know it is coming. Photos are often very large file attachments and will get sent to span folders in many email programs. Return to the first tip I mentioned above. Build a relationship with the newspaper. Make sure they have your email address on record before you send off a press release and images.

Now, you have a press release. You have your photos. What do you do with them? If you followed my first and foremost tip, you have been in contact with newspapers around the region or magazine editors. You have started to build a database of contacts. You know whether they want to receive your press release digitally via email with or without an attachment. You know that their deadline is Monday at noon. You’ve talked to the business editor and the calendar editor. You have created a separate fact file for the calendar editor and can send the information off to her about your upcoming event. You know that it is the managing editor and not editor-in-chief at the magazine who peruses press releases. You’ve done your homework and you send out the material and you start over trying to find something newsworthy to submit to the media next week.

When do I send a press release? You are asking. I’m not having an event. Well, there are plenty of opportunities to send out press releases. Events are often key because they are unique to the day-to-day operations of your business. Other times it is appropriate to send out press releases include: new hires, a lot of business publications have a special section devoted to people and their new jobs, and often they will include a photo of the new employee; any remodeling, expansion, additions to the menu, changes that happen at your business; any special training or education programs completed by employees; anything unique and compelling about the people who work for you and with you—did you recently learn that the senior citizen you hired to work one day a week was a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos and is now selling cookies at your bakery? Human-interest stories are the most intriguing for readers and magazines and newspapers love them. Consider the unique stories of your employees as an emerald mine of opportunity for your business.

Press releases and public relations are key ways to get your business mentioned in the media. Build relationships with the people who can help you and don’t forget to send your press releases to key clients and customers. Keep them apprised of what your business is all about and your name foremost in their mind.

Leanne Goebel was the marketing and public relations director for a mid-size publishing firm in Denver for seven years. She has been a published writer for twenty-four years.

Photos: These ceramic vessels were fired in an Anagama kiln by artist Terry Inokuma from Philomath, Ore. Wearable sculpture by Mary Darwall from Ivins, Utah. Susan Del Szajer from Silver City, N.M. creates fabric collage.

One hundred and four artists. Eight local galleries. I spent Saturday afternoon at the Main Avenue Arts Festival. My goal: to find artists who stood out because of their aesthetic, their presentation, the conceptual message of their work or their purpose.

Terry Inokuma from Philomath, Ore., was the first artist whose work captured my attention. Her wood-fired ceramic vessels are imbued with the spirit of the earth.

Fired for up to 100 hours in an Anagama kiln, Inokuma’s vessels have organic shapes similar to gourds, seedpods and rocks. The work is sculptural, but also functional. The firing technique provides glaze shades that are born of fire and earth, that capture something as impermanent as fire onto something as permanent as stone. Inokuma uses an ancient and unpredictable technique to create contemporary forms.

Another artist working in a traditional method who caused me to pause and peruse was fine-art photographer Bryan David Griffith from Flagstaff, Ariz.

Griffith writes in his artist statement: “I rely on creative vision, mastery of traditional technique, patience and luck; not special filters, digital effects or process gimmicks.” To that I say, bravo.

Griffith is a “real” photographer working with the traditional method of film and large format 4-inch by 5-inch and 6-inch by 7-inch cameras, creating silver gelatin color prints using museum-quality matting for his presentations. Perhaps this is why he stands out at an art fair where one typically sees digital prints and manipulated photographs whose origins are unknown and uncertain.

Griffith’s work has that special something.

It isn’t just an image of the Sneffels Range: His photography captures the emotion you feel when the light hits the peak and the clouds are pink and you suddenly see this one patch of flame-tipped yellow leaves on an Aspen tree in the foreground. That moment when the light and the view takes your breath away and you feel suddenly very alive and very small. Griffith’s work is all about slowing down and appreci ating the world around us. Some of his landscapes are highly abstracted and evoke the emotion of a Rothko painting. And his Compositions series includes close-up detail shots of peeling paint and rust that are brilliantly textured using line and color the way a painter would develop a canvas.

Charles Timken from Lincoln, Neb., on the other hand, creates landscape-inspired abstract paintings with soft pastel pigments. Not a use of pastel we see very often in the Southwest.

Timken’s compositions are masterful, reflecting his 25 years as a graphic and commercial artist. The color pallet with its soft orange, yellow and greens is vibrant and highlighted with reds and white. The work is all matted and framed with a simple maple frame. Timken also creates work that is a realistic representation of clouds or trees or rocks, but his abstracted landscapes created with soft pastel pigments on sanded paper evoked the most zeal for me through blocks of geometry and color.

I also was drawn to the design elements in the work of Susan Dell Szajer a fiber artist from Silver City, N.M. It was clear that Szajer had mastered art and design and her chosen medium.

A quilter for 30 years, Szajer creates paintings with hand-dyed fabrics and quilting techniques. Using the needle on her sewing machine, Szajer “draws” leaves, grasses and other details with rayon, silk or metallic thread. I found the technique similar to creating collage with paper, but Szajer uses fabric and a sewing machine. The patterns are geometric with organic elements interspersed. The color was intense. The lines were strong.

Jewelry artist Mary Darwall creates works of intense color and beauty as well. Darwall, a former teacher from Ivins, Utah, is a self-taught bead artist. Her jewelry is sculptural, created from cabochons and tiny seed beads woven with a needle that intertwines color, movement and texture. Each creation is wholly unique and involves 60 to 70 hours of detailed, meditative work. Truly this woman creates living works of art from semi-precious stones, glass, crystals and pearls: sculptures to wear inspired by the desert and the sea.

Festival jurors Peter Karnen, Heather Laurie and Phyllis Stapler selected Durango ceramist Lisa Pedolsky as Best of Show in Fine Arts and Seattle-based Hans Christensen as Best of Show in Fine Craft. Pedolsky creates simple slab-constructed platters and vessels with pure geometric designs, circles and orbs cut out with layers of textured clay showing through. Christensen creates fine, hand-painted silk and velvet garments and scarves in intense hues and beautiful lines.

I commend the artists who focus on art, on mastery of medium, on the elements of design and are able to express their own unique vision. And it was great to see the local galleries participating in the event and selling artwork from their tents.

artsjournalist@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist based in Pagosa Springs.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Pagosa Springs, Colo.—Every 18.6 years the moon stands still at Chimney Rock. On July 22, in the wee hours of the morning, the crescent moon will rise between the spires of companion rock and chimney rock, loiter for a five to fifteen minutes, then disappear behind Chimney Rock, leaving a lingering moon glow.

The cycle is complex. For the first half of this year, the moon rose during the day, in phases from near full down to thin crescent, rising earlier each month from early afternoon to early morning. In July the moon will rise between the rocks as a nearly invisible new moon, in the early hours of morning before dawn. From August through November, the waxing moon will rise between the rocks from crescent to nearly full, rising earlier each month during the nighttime from just before dawn to just before sunset. Finally the full moon will rise between the rocks at sunset near the Winter Solstice in December.

The Major Lunar Standstill is believed to have influenced construction of the most impressive of the 200 plus structures at Chimney Rock—the Great House Pueblo. People of the Chaco (Ancient Puebloan) culture who occupied Chimney Rock between AD1050 and 1125 built the Great House. Additionally, at the time of the Summer solstice, the Sun rises centered on the northern wall of the Great House and the southern point of the Great House lines up to a spot in the sky where the Crab Nebula Supernova appeared for over three weeks in AD 1054.

According to http://chimneyrockco.org: “In AD 1076, when the Great House Pueblo was built, the moon was rising between the rock towers. And, in AD 1093-94, when the Great House Pueblo was expanded, the Moon was again rising between the rock towers.”

Dr. McKim Malville, who demonstrated the lunar standstill alignment in 1988, proposes that Chimney Rock’s people were more than just aware of these events. Malville suggests that they celebrated them, in part by constructing the Great House Pueblo to mark and revere the beautiful and rare lunar events captured–or protected–by Chimney Rock’s twin monoliths.

Prior to the rising, a 30-minute public program kicks off at the visitors cabin. Visitors then drive their own cars three miles up a steep and curvy graveled road to the upper parking lot. The group then ascends the narrow trail past the Great House site to the Fire Tower observation deck. The program is appropriate for those 12 and over.

Every visitor is required to bring a working flashlight and be prepared to hike a narrow trail at 7,600 feet and stand for the duration of the program. At the end of the program, everyone will hike back down and are invited back to the Visitors Cabin for hot drinks and an optional presentation on the Chimney Rock Lunar Standstill. From arrival at the Visitor’s Cabin to departure from the Archaeological area, total time for the program is approximately 3 hours.

Later in the day on Saturday, July 22 and also on Sunday, July 23, Native Americans gather at Chimney Rock for cultural dances in the Great Kiva with traditional singers and dancers from the pueblos of Hopi, Acoma, Laguna, Zuni, San Juan and San Felipe, as well as Aztec and Jicarilla Apache Dancers. The Traditional Pueblo Dances are at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. No reservation is necessary for these days and admission is only $10. For more information contact Caroline Brown at Friends of Native Cultures (970) 731-4248.

Tickets for the Lunar Standstill Programs are $50 per person and must be prepaid with Visa or Mastercard. Only 24 tickets are available per Lunar Standstill Program and the events sell out quickly. Tickets are still available for the Major Lunar Standstill events in September and October. Fees generated from Lunar Standstill Programs support native Puebloan involvement at Chimney Rock. For reservations and program details, please call Victoria White at (970) 264-9987.

Major Lunar Standstill events differ from the monthly full-moon program at Chimney Rock. During monthly full-moon programs, visitors can watch the moon rise at the Great House Pueblo site. However, during these programs the moon will not rise between the spires. The program includes information about the Ancestral Puebloans, archaeo-astronomy theories, area geology and Native American flute melodies by Charles Martinez, a native Pagosan of Jicarilla Apache and Navajo heritage.

On July 10, the gates open from 7:15-7:45 p.m. and the program begins at 8:15 p.m. with moonrise at approximately 8:47 p.m. On August 9, the gates open from 7:15-7:45 p.m. and the program begins at 8:15 p.m. with moonrise at approximately 8:41 p.m. On September 8, the gates open from 6:30-7:00 p.m. and the program begins at 7:30 p.m. with moonrise at approximately 8:05 p.m.

Reservations are required for the full moon programs and tickets are $15. Add $5 for an early tour of the lower area (Great Kiva Trail Loop), which starts at 6:15 p.m. (5:30 p.m. in September). For tickets call the visitor cabin at (970) 883-5359 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily.

The visitors cabin at the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area is located ½ mile off Highway 151, 3 miles south of Highway 160, between Pagosa Springs, Colo. and Durango, Colo.

There out to be a more creative phrase, a less conformist way of saying, “out-of-the-box.” Isn’t it interesting that a phrase, meaning original and different, is so overwrought and overused?

I read a quote in Bliss magazine recently from George Steiner. In his book, Grammars of Creation, he says post-structural theorists have argued convincingly “that any origin, any trace or any originary phenomenon or concept, has been visited and many times written over. Origins are lost. And the beginning is always already underway.”

There is nothing new under the sun, so why are we creative types always trying to be new and fresh and original and distinct and unique and unlike anything else? Is it even possible? Can anyone really say they are doing something that no one else has ever done before?

In business, we want to break free of what others are doing; we want to carve out our niche. We aren’t your typical fly fishing store; we offer fly rods and equipment for only left-handed women who fish. Or not.

Maybe we are like banks. We are Third Bank of the Four Corners and we are going to put our bank right across the street from Second Bank of the Four Corners. We offer the same products—checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds, and loans. The only thing different is at Third Bank we smile and give out chocolate instead of the hard candy they provide at Second Bank.

Yet left handed fly fishing equipment for women and Third Bank are both thinking “out-of-the box.”

Durango-based consultant, Jan Judy with Smart Choices, LLC, said in a seminar a few months ago, that all businesses are service businesses. The most important thing is how your business makes the client feel. It’s about the human connection. It’s about empathy.

In Fast Company in 2002 there was an article about IDEO, a firm behind the I-pod, the flagship Prada store in Manhattan and stand-up toothpaste tubes. IDEO helps companies innovate. They design products, services, environments and experiences. The genius behind IDEO is empathy toward the human condition.

Experiences. It’s what we want as consumers. It’s what makes a MAC better than a PC. The experience—the ease of use, the simplicity—the fact that you can plug in your digital camera and voila! Download photos.

Experience—it is companies like Build-a-Bear. Dress up a teddy bear? You could do that for a whole lot less at Michaels or Toys R Us. Today it is a hugely successful chain of stores, now advertising about the experience of spending time with your children picking out a bear and an outfit and putting it all together for cha-ching, well over $100 bucks. But hey, you work 60 hours a week, what else are you going to do to ease your guilt-ridden suburban mind?

The experience you have with a business is what makes you want to come back. So if it is because you are a left-handed female fly fishing aficionado and the company caters to your every whim; or you prefer the chocolate candies at Third Bank; or that you stopped being frustrated with computing when you bought a MAC; or that you want to create a teddy bear with your six-year-old, you will return to that business because of the experience.

Similarly, if you take your guests to breakfast at the local diner and have to wait too long for food that is cold when it arrives and gets colder as you wait for the server to bring you the flat wear that should already be on the table, chances are you will not go back anytime soon.

So, you want to be “out-of-the-box” and original and creative, try empathizing with your customer and spend some time thinking about ways to provide them with a unique experience that will leave them wanting to come back for more.

Leanne Goebel was the marketing and public relations director for a mid-size publishing firm in Denver for seven years. She has been a published writer for twenty-four years.

Photo: Shanan Campbell Wells relaxes at her Sorrel Sky Gallery on Main Avenue in Durango.

When she was 12 years old, Shanan Campbell Wells met a woman who glittered, and she knew she wanted to grow up and be just like her. That woman wasn’t a movie star; she was a gallery manager in Santa Fe.

“I thought she had the coolest job in the world. She was so pretty and sophisticated,” Wells said.

That day, a 12-year-old girl set foot on her life path and has never strayed from her journey.

Sitting in a large leather chair in the back room of Sorrel Sky Gallery, Wells tells a story that started four years ago on Main Avenue in Durango. The walls behind her are deep chocolate brown, a 3-foot by 5-foot canvas oil painting of a Native American woman in dance regalia by artist Mike Desatnick hangs next to her, and behind her is a bronze sculpture by Denny Haskew. Wells, a slender brunette whose mahogany eyes are filled with drive and passion, sips a frozen coffee drink and talks rapidly about her life.

At 16, Wells, who is the daughter of jewelry artist and former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, took a job at Toh-Atin Gallery answering phones and filing. The next summer, Jackson Clark put her on the sales floor, and she worked at Toh-Atin while attending Fort Lewis College, where she created her own major in art marketing and management.

After a brief detour working for the Smithsonian and Franklin Mint, Wells returned to Durango and eventually went back to work for Toh-Atin, this time as manager. For seven years she managed the gallery and Toh-Atin’s Art on Main and ran its wholesale jewelry and rug business.

In October 2001, Wells said, “It was like a brick hit me that it was time (to open her own gallery).”

Ten minutes later, she gave notice to Jackson that she was leaving Toh-Atin to open her own gallery. She went home that night and wrote out a budget. By week’s end, she had negotiated a lease on the space. Sorrel Sky opened April 5, 2002, during the weak post 9-11 art market.

“When things are meant to be, they are just not that hard,” Wells said. “What I realized is that I had been working on it for 20 years.”

What she didn’t count on was the Missionary Ridge Fire that destroyed not only the mountainsides and homes, but also Durango’s tourism.

“I just kept saying it can’t get any worse than this. I knew if I could survive that summer, it would always continue to grow and grow,” Wells said, recalling the struggle to make ends meet; the depletion of her life savings; the credit-card debt and loan against equity in a spec home she and her former husband built. “But I never let my staff know how scary it was or about my fear.”

Four years later, Wells said her business has probably tripled, not only in sales, but in size, inventory and artists represented. “We’ve changed and evolved,” she added.

In tandem with working as a gallery manager and owner, Wells also is an art consultant who landed her biggest job to date, the new Mercy Hospital, because of her unrelenting drive.

“It took me five months to get the job. I sent proposal after proposal and letter after letter and called and called. It was a lot of work to get that job, but I got the job and three years later I finished the job.” Wells said.

The work paid off. She’s had six consulting jobs as a result of that one job. And now she’s formed a new company, SCW Art Consulting.

“We pick art for the art collection, not to match your sofa. We don’t want it to blend, we want it to enhance the space and make it feel special like artwork does in your home, where it is thoughtfully placed and it has a reason,” Wells said. The “we” on her team include Lindsay S. White and Jules Masterjohn.

At SCW, Wells works with a business from the ground up, developing a theme based on the corporate identity of the business.

“It’s a lot more intense than throwing some paintings on the wall,” Wells said.

And the new venture is about to explode. Wells has a dozen proposals out and is confident she will land some of the jobs that range from small medical offices to banks to other hospitals around the country to major full-scale developments.

While she is a bit uncertain at the moment, Wells has a consummate faith in her journey. Her fears for the new business are different than those she had when starting her gallery.

“I was dumber then,” she said with a laugh. “I know how hard it can be and how scary. I know what it’s like to be a business owner. I’m a lot stronger now and a lot less tolerant and way more cautious. But I know I’ll figure it out.”

lgoebel@centurytel.net Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Town Council, the Planning Commission, and Mayor Aragon are selling the soul of our town to big box retailers. In a work session on July 18, Council and Planning worked with staff on the town big box ordinance. The ordinance will require an impact study and clarify some design guidelines, but it doesn’t do what the majority of citizen’s want – eliminate big box stores from the future vision for Pagosa Springs.

The Town paid for a community survey to gather important information in developing the Comprehensive Plan, the Master Plan and for the baseline Economic Impact Study, completed in 2005 by Economic and Planning Systems (EPS). According to that survey, 59% of respondents, from all economic sectors, wanted no big box stores in Pagosa Springs. Only 18 % of respondents would support big box stores with restrictions. No definition of restrictions was provided in the survey.

Why then, is town council set to approve an ordinance that would allow huge box development of up to 180,000 square feet? That’s more than three times the size of the Pagosa Lakes City Market, the largest retail store in town at 54,000 square feet. The entire Country Center Development (where City Market it located) comes in at 120,000 square feet according to town planner, Tamra Allen

The Council and the planning commission are putting out the welcome mat and inviting big box and chain stores to Pagosa. This will not maintain our small town character. This will not provide the type of lifestyle we all want. This will not help our local business owners.

According to Building Permit records, EPS reported that the town only allowed 15,000 square foot of retail development per year, for a total of 126,000 square foot of retail development in the past eight years. We are poised to allow in one fell swoop, under one giant roof, 180,000 square feet.

Allen said she didn’t know the size of the Durango Wal-Mart, but estimated in at over 200,000 square feet. (The Home Depot in Durango measures in at 93,700 square feet). In Grand Junction, the K-Mart store is 40,318 square feet, the Wal-Mart is 111,000 square feet and the new Target is 125,000 square feet.

Many small towns and cities have successfully capped the size of retail stores. And these caps have been upheld in courts as a valid use of a local land-use authority. The Big Box task force last year recommended size caps of 35,000 square feet in some areas and at the most 50-55,000 square feet.

In Bozeman, Montana they capped store size at 75,000 square feet. Hailey, Idaho allows no more than 36,000 square feet for a single retail store and multiple retail centers are capped at 72,000 square feet. Homer, Alaska, has capped the size of retail stores at 25,000-45,000 square feet and adopted a community impact review process for proposed retail developments over 15,000 square feet. Santa Fe, New Mexico, prohibits retail stores larger than 150,000 square feet and requires stores over 30,000 square feet to comply with architectural and site design standards. And Taos, New Mexico enacted an ordinance restricting construction of large retail stores. The measure bans new stores that exceed 80,000 square feet and requires developers to obtain a special permit to build stores over 30,000 square feet.

It can be done successfully without affecting the economic growth of our community. And it is what the majority of residents want. It is what EPS recommends in their baseline economic study: “A single large format discounter will cannibalize
or take sales away from the forecasted Other Shoppers Goods retail growth.”

I return to the community survey where citizens were also asked what type of retail they wanted to see in Pagosa. Sixty percent said small, independent restaurants and 56 percent said independent retail while 59 percent said an additional grocery store.

EPS clearly states that: “Lifting the moratorium on big box development will likely accommodate the development of a supercenter with a grocery store, but is likely to preclude the attraction of a second, separate supermarket to the area.” More direct opposition to what citizens want.

EPS suggested that a healthy mix of a handful of mid-box retailers, the size of Ace, would help maintain our small town environment and keep the dollars in Pagosa, thus effectively eliminating a significant portion of the economic leakage. In the EPS study, large format retailers make up Plan B and provide $5.4 million in new revenue and net surplus estimate of $717,003. But the mid-box mix with independent retailers provides $5 million in new revenue and net surplus revenue of $521,105.

Council and the Mayor are selling the soul of this community for an estimated $196,000.

As the big box task force wrote in their report: “Even dressed up in historical costume, a big box breaks away from traditional way of doing business in Pagosa Springs, which is very often doing business directly with the business owner. This is what creates the feeling of history that is missing in the areas predominated by big box retail, and that is what locals call ‘the small town feeling’.”

Communities all over this country are taking a stand to preserve their unique character, their historic significance, and their small town charm by saying no to big box retail – no to the huge structures, trashy parking lots, and $3 gallons of pickles that cannot be consumed before spoiling.

A big point of contention during the work session was the desire for the ordinance to require the large-format retailer to pay a living wage and for the town to be able to audit them to be sure they live up to that requirement. Council member Darrel Cotton made it clear that he would not support the ordinance with the wage requirement. “We don’t belong in a businesses books, that’s not where government belongs,” Cotton said.

The current median wage in Archuleta County for retail workers is $9.28 per hour. The average wage for non-union employees working for major retailers is between $7.50 and $8.50 per hour. Big box wages will be less than what employees are making at independent businesses in Archuleta County.

I find it difficult to envision how demanding a big box retailer pay a living wage goes against free enterprise, as Cotton said during the meeting. A big box store will likely come into Pagosa, take employees and customers from local, independent businesses, leaving them scrambling to come up with a different business plan to compete in the marketplace.

Council member Cotton frequently states that he doesn’t think it is government’s job to (regulate), (govern), (restrict), (plan). Which always makes me wonder what exactly council member Cotton thinks his job is and if he doesn’t want to do it, why the heck he remains on the town council?

Yet, Wal-Mart, the prominent big-box store most likely to come to Pagosa, is known for dictating terms to its suppliers. Not only dictating, but demanding, and even auditing another businesses books to determine if they are worthy to do business with the largest company in the world.

Yet some members of town council and our mayor do not feel they have a right to ask the same of a big box retailer like Wal-mart. I say, they are wrong.

The issue comes before council with a first reading of the ordinance on August 1. The meeting starts promptly at 5:00 p.m. It is time for the 59 percent of us who do not want a big box store in Pagosa to show up and speak out. The current big box moratorium ends in September and believe me, the big box store is coming.

Don’t wait until the plan is up for approval and be surprised that your home in the Pagosa Lakes Ranch now looks out over a big box store. Don’t be surprised if your home in the Meadows is flooded with light pollution from the big box store. Don’t be surprised if you live down Highway 84 and are suddenly inundated with plastic trash bags f
rom the big box retailer. And don’t complain about the traffic, the noise, and the pollution. It will be too late then.

Leanne Goebel
Journal Correspondent

PAGOSA SPRINGS —With the “big box” moratorium set to expire in mid-September, town council, planning commission and staff met for a work session July 18 to discuss the draft ordinance regulating “big box” development. The ordinance will require proposed development more than 50,000 square feet that submit an impact study with their application and go through a design review process. Anything less than 50,000 square feet will go directly to the design review process. The ordinance will cap development at 180,000 square feet.

According to Tamra Allen, town planner, 180,000 square feet is slightly smaller than the Durango Wal-Mart.

“Do we feel comfortable having a building as large as a Durango Wal-Mart in our community?” council member Tony Simmons asked. Then he continued, “I think this whole project is overkill. This (180,000 square feet) is bigger than anything the town currently has. The impact of this is dramatic. There is nothing of this scale in our town.”

Currently, the largest structure is the Pagosa Lakes City Market, which was just expanded last year to a size of 54,000 square feet. The new Ace Hardware store recently expanded into a 36,000 square foot structure. The entire Country Center development (where City Market is located) is 120,000 square feet.

The language in the ordinance did not clarify differences for retail and other business uses, nor did it address zoning or land-use areas. In other words, the 180,000 square foot cap applies equally to downtown as it does to other urban areas. Also unclear is whether 180,000 square feet is the max for single and multiple retail shopping centers or if a multiple retail center could be made up of two adjacent 180,000 square foot buildings.

The draft is the result of a second round of meetings with big box task force committee members, council, and local business owners and reflects “a compromise of setting some cap, but being fairly lenient,” Allen said.

Mayor Ross Aragon said that the committee “worked on it a long time to get to this compromise.”

According to Allen, the current land use code states that if a structure is more than 4,000 square feet, the builder or developer is required to get a conditional use permit. The Master Plan will prescribe height and mass, and design guidelines, but does not address square footage.

Council member Darrel Cotton took issue with language in the document that suggested the impact study requirement address the likelihood of a big box store displacing existing business. “That shouldn’t be there,” Cotton said. “It is not our job to regulate the free marketplace.”

“We need information to accurately assess the positive and negatives,” Simmons countered.

“I’m not sure we can get a fair assessment,” Cotton said.

“You don’t know what’s coming and you can’t say that,” Simmons argued.

“A super mall isn’t coming until enough people will support it,” Cotton said.

“All we are asking for is to know what the entire impacts will be to all of our community. We need a set of criteria to evaluate those impacts. It is not the deciding factor, it is just information to help us make an informed decision,” Simmons said.

Allen agreed saying, “We need to know if we are going to displace current business and then we need to have the appropriate means to mitigate those losses.”

“I won’t support it if it’s in there,” Cotton stated.

A long discussion about the public process ensued and whether the current process was sufficient. Council member John Middendorf wanted more than 30 days to be allowed for public comment once an application for a big box development came into the planning office. But again, Cotton disagreed.

“An impact is an impact. If they say tax dollars are generated then it is just simple math. I think it is a mistake to open a can of worms before we get started. It will take years. We have to deal with the facts,” Cotton said.

The group did agree to widen the mailed notice area from within 300 feet to 500 feet of the proposed development.

Allen said she anticipated that a developer would have a retailer lined up in order to complete the impact study and that if a sketch plan comes in without a retailer and impact study, that it would not move forward until an impact study could be completed.

However, an audience member who stated he was a consultant working for developers who build retail centers with big box stores stood up and asked for clarification. He stated that most of the developers could provide an impact study and that it didn’t matter if it was K-Mart or Wal-Mart or Target, the numbers would most likely be the same. He said that often the developer did not want to announce the large-format retailer up front because often they are in negotiation to get the best deals from the retailer. Allen said that as long as the application came in with an impact study, it could move forward.

The biggest argument came from the recommendation that the town require the retailer to pay a livable wage and that town had the opportunity to audit said retailer to see that they were actually meeting the employment requirements. Again, Cotton said he would not vote for the ordinance if this language remained in the document.

“Everyone should have to play by the same game,” Cotton said. “We don’t dictate wages and benefits to any business. It is not our job. We aren’t here to dictate.”

“But the impacts of these businesses are going to be dramatic,” Simmons countered.

“Then do a minimum wage ordinance because I don’t think we can legally do this. Government doesn’t belong in a businesses books.”

“But we have absolutely no way to gauge how these big companies do business,” Council member John Middendorf said.

“How can we dictate? The state of Colorado determines what the minimum wage is. We can’t tell them what they must pay,” a planning commission member said.

The wage requirement was scratched from the document. But Tony Simmons asked that the impacts on the health district be added to the required impacts to be studied.

The committee did agree to define more clearly what “vacant” meant and to see if they could add the requirement for a bond posting in the amount of generated sales tax in the event that the retailer vacates the building.

The draft document also recommended that the building not be transferable to a different business or owner without that new business or owner going through an impact study. Darrel Cotton again disagreed. “Nontransferable is too harsh,” he said. “It should say we may require a new impact study.”

“Subject to the approval of council,” John Middendorf suggested.

The first reading of the ordinance is scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 1. Public comment will be taken at that time and a second reading and adoption is scheduled for Sept. 5. The existing “big box” moratorium expires Sept. 15.

“Red,” mixed media, Karen Holmgren
“Hosiery,” mixed media,
Karen Holmgren
“College Collage,” detail,
Amy Vaclav-Felker

The Invitational Recycled Show will be at the Durango Arts Center through July 31, 802 East Second Ave., 259-2606.

By Leanne Goebel
Special to the Herald

The Invitational Recycled Show at Durango Arts Center is edgy, experimental, funky, and a fun way to spend an hour on a hot afternoon. This is the first time in four years that I’ve seen installation art at DAC. Not that it all works at a level that one might expect to find at SITE Santa Fe, but the exploration is a step in the right direction for the art center and the artists.

The best work in this show by far belongs to Karen Holmgren. Her work is well proportioned and combines color, value, line, shape, form, texture and shape in ways I found aesthetically pleasing. I would hang “Landscape” ($200), “Red” ($400) or “Hosiery” ($200) in my home and find the work compelling each day.

These well-crafted works combine discarded metal, scraps of carpet foam, pieces of plastic, those tacky fake grasses sold at craft stores, and hoses. The use of color in Homgren’s work is terrific and truly exemplifies “high art” created from trash and scraps. My only nitpicking complaint is about “Yellow” ($300), which hangs with an exposed wire that detracts from the otherwise interesting lines and proportions.

A piece that intrigues conceptually and contextually for me is Diana Ruthers’ “I Only Tilt at Windmills” ($400) mixed media piece. The mask, the shield and the spear are all well crafted from found objects and look very tribal. The title comes from Don Quixote who battles imaginary enemies, which in reality are only windmills. Ruthers writes in her statement: “I get behind a cause and push and struggle and try to set it right . . .. It is a humorous comment on futility for all the right reasons.”

I confess. I admire someone who can laugh at herself and admit she doesn’t see what might be obvious to others. Isn’t this exactly how artists feel about reviewers? The work is so intimate and the meaning so obvious to them, they don’t understand how we outsiders might not get it. And conversely, how we reviewers look at work, bringing our own background and experience and wondering how the artist didn’t see the true meaning of her own work?

I commend Debra Greenblatt for attempting homage to minimalist installation artist Dan Flavin; unfortunately the piece does not work in the DAC gallery. Greenblatt’s “Dan Flavin visits the Aegean” ($300) is a white wooden box holding a fluorescent lighting tube with blue-green gel. The piece sits on the floor in the front gallery flooded with light from the front windows. There is no intense illumination or splays of colored light on the walls as typical of a Flavin installation. It just doesn’t work in the setting.

My biggest complaint about the show is the lighting. Many works are dark and poorly lit. Particularly April Swanson’s “And My Mom Said I Can Grow up to be President” (not for sale) a cheap gold frame with the words “I am.” “Myself.” “an Individual.” Typed on the same size white cards and pinned to the background of the frame. The entire piece is unlit. Which is unfortunate, because it is somewhat elucidatory, the combination of phrases playing in the mind.

Swanson’s installation on the adjacent wall “Dress Me Up in Black & White” (not for sale) is also poorly lit. The work shows a series of photographs of a large-breasted woman in a seductive black bra, balanced by a series of soft matronly images. Swanson says in her statement that the work is NOT a juxtaposition of “The Madonna” and “The Whore.” However, if that were the case, then the installation should not have juxtaposed the images. I’m not sure how the work “is a comment on the preoccupation our culture has with domesticating female sexuality,” as Swanson writes in her statement. Without the statement, the work doesn’t convey domestication of female sexuality. But again, I commend the artist for attempting something we don’t see very often in this part of the country: installation art.

Another distraction is the number of pieces presented by the fourteen artists. Each artist has multiple works represented and the show seems crowded.

Yet, it is worth a visit and there are many interesting and fun works. Look for “Ted the Spider,” by Carl Stransky and “College Collage,” by Amy Vaclav-Felker and “Nature Bundles,” by Mary Ellen Long. After your visit, I challenge you to look at detritus, flotsam, or trash on the street in the same way again.

lgoebel@centurytel.net
Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs

Top row from left to right: “Blue Zinnea,” aquatint etching by Ron Fundingsland; “Intuition Markers,” cone 10 stoneware by D. Michael Coffee, “Fish,” “Repose,” and “Grader;” “Self Portrait as Exiled,” oil painting with gold leaf by Sarah Comerford.

Second row from left to right: “Chatchat,” “Green Rain,” and “Sucker,” resin and film on acrylic panels by Kate Petley; “Zen 061894-E” and “Zen 061894-C,” two unique monoprints by D. Michael Coffee sit on a shelf above “Reposed,” mixed media by Susan Andersen.

Elegant. Ancient. Contemporary. Solicitous. These are a few words that come to mind when viewing the “Select Works” show at Shy Rabbit.

The work is not over-the-top avant-garde, or cutting edge in the grand scheme of the art world, but for southwest Colorado, this show is a clean, uncluttered breath of fresh air.

It is clear upon entering the larger of the two separate Shy Rabbit spaces that much thought was put into curating and hanging this show. Forty-some works by nine artists were hand-selected by gallery owners Michael and Denise Coffee. The couple visited with artists and chose 4 to 8 pieces of art from each. Then, the process began of filtering through all of the art to determine which work looked best together. This was done in collaboration with creative partners Shaun Martin, a painter, and Al Olson, a photographer, both represented in the show.

The show is so well presented that it almost appears as it’s own artistic installation.

The edgiest and most exotic work is by Kate Petley, whose resin-on-acrylic-panel creations push the boundaries for technical use of unusual artistic materials. Petley’s process begins with a handmade transparent screen. Detailed reflections from that screen are projected onto a white studio wall. Petley photographs the reflections and prints them on fragile film. Gooey resin laminates these films to acrylic panels in a process the artist describes as “painstaking.” Corrections are impossible, and the unpredictable resin process introduces small bubbles and drops that appear to be huge, when reflected onto the wall. Like an extreme collage project, done with incredibly sticky resins, drawings are also layered into the panels.

Resembling a succulent flat-screen, the panels again cast a reflection on the wall behind them, doubling the image with dizzying effects. They are a reflection of a reflection and form yet another new reflection. Each of the three Petley creations: “Chatchat,” “Sucker” and “Green Rain” come with a custom-made shelf for displaying the work.

This is the first time in many years that Petley, who lives and works in southwest Colorado, has shown her work in the region.

It is not the first time I have seen the work of printmaker Ron Fundingsland at Shy Rabbit. However, “Select Works” features the debut of a print from Fundingsland’s most recent collection. “Blue Zinnea” is a large intaglio aquatint print of a deep purple-blue zinnea flower. Its simple and elegant, the color rich and velvety.

Fundingsland, who admits that his work is often a “commentary on a number of social, political, and personal issues,” purposely sets out to create work that is beautiful, peaceful, happy – an intentional reaction to the intensity of our world situation. Yet, interestingly, when “Blue Zinnea” was finished, a friend pointed out that the there are 50 little white stars at the center of his flower.

Perhaps it is my own desire for simplicity and elegance, but Fundingsland’s “Blue Zinnea” is my favorite piece in the show. I’m drawn to the intense, velvety color, the large square size, the way the piece draws your eye to the tiny little details of the stars.

Almost as equally as I’m drawn to the simplicity of “Blue Zinnia,” “Self Portrait as Exiled,” by Sarah Comerford, challenges me. Comerford is also not a newcomer to Shy Rabbit, but in this show we see some of her smaller works as well as the 3- by 5-foot canvas of “Self Portrait as Exiled.”

I confess I’ve spent days studying Comerford’s painting of a woman in fishing attire – dark green waders and a vest, a young blonde girl in flowing white dress, hands folded, floating lifelike hearts, an empty fishing basket and colorful candy-like dots. There is a religious quality to this painting: The fish, the fishing, the prayerful hands of the child. In the Bible, Jesus implores his disciples to be “fishers of men,” yet Comerford’s fisherman is a woman with red hair. When I mentioned this to Comerford she smiled and told me that she had been reading a book about Mary Magdalene when she painted this painting. It wasn’t intentional symbolism, but the message was communicated.

Comerford’s painting is about her mother’s recent death from Alzheimer’s Disease. The floating hearts represent all the loving memories forgotten, the empty basket her lost memories. Comerford told me how her mother came to see herself as a child, her daughter as the mother. The child is exiled in this situation and must become the parent of her parent. Anyone who has experienced the dementia, the destruction of the mind caused by Alzheimer’s, will understand the meaning of her images when explained.

There is so much going on in Comerford’s work – the little details that peek out from the gold leaf, the figurative technique, the surrealism that defies logic. And yet, she also cr
eates more dreamlike work in the small oil painting “Song of the Happy Shepherd-Yates” inspired by the poem of the same name by William Butler Yeats. This elegant painting of a boy asleep under a blue-striped blanket and a dark starry sky, nuzzled by a goat, is so glossy it seems wet. Comerford draws her viewers deeper into the literary work of a poet like Yeats, using visual images and similar concepts the poet explored in his poem.

Comerford’s work demands a level of intellectualism that many do not give to art. It’s exhausting, but worth the effort.

Conversely, the work of Susan Andersen is simple, yet so extremely creative that I am equally blown away. There are certain people who are so original, so innovative, that they must be called “gifted.” Andersen takes simple found objects – driftwood, dried up cactus, shells, plants, feathers, beads, snakeskin, turtle shells, twine – and creates one-of-a-kind objects like “Posed,” two rubbed and finished pieces of driftwood married together, supporting a gourd-like Saguaro boot. The piece is an abstracted figure. Or the triptych: “Slept,” “Awoke” and “Awaken” that combines objects to create dragonfly figures coursing through the process of metamorphosis.

Andersen calls this her “meditative work.” She collects things and meditates as she polishes, rubs and finishes the wood, finding pieces that fit together. It’s tapping into flow or pure creative energy.

“These particular works are about emergence. The emergence of simple earthly objects to an elevated state of recognition or the combining of many simple earthy objects formed together to shed light on the process of emergence,” Andersen writes in her artist statement. “I find ingenuity in artistic construction and an insight into the individual psyche especially when the construction is put to paper, sculpture, music, or words.”

I find ingenuity in the work of Susan Andersen and D. Michael Coffee.

I’ve written about the work of D. Michael Coffee for another publication and am privileged to spend many hours talking with him about art and creativity and life. Coffee is ingenious; he is the creative soul of Shy Rabbit. The installation of art in this show bears the signature of his aesthetic and artistic sensibility.

“Art is my passion and the true backbone of my existence,” he says.

Coffee has worked extensively in all types of media, including painting, wood, metal, architecture, printmaking and ceramics.

“I cannot lay claim to any particular style or genre, as I am primarily interested in nonlinear paths of development in the objects I make. Each step of the art-making process is part of a personal inner journey. The common thread that stitches my work together is an overriding desire to be surprised by the outcome, as though I wasn’t present during the process.”

He describes his art as a post-it-note capturing that nanosecond before conscious thought. Having worked in ceramics, I can tell you that his technical ability is beyond masterful. More importantly, his ceramic work is clearly high art and not expected from a medium that is considered a craft. What he manages to capture in clay is something very grounded, yet from another dimension of thought. Highly original, yet simple, understandable, created in recognizable shapes and forms. He calls this series “Intuition Markers.”

For the first time, Coffee is also showing some of his monoprints in this show: work that is simple and symbolic on one hand and colorful and expressive on the other.

“Select Works” is the most cohesive show launched by Shy Rabbit. Some of the work is not as technically skilled as that of Coffee or Comerford or Fundingsland and not everything is as edgy as the work of Petley, but the other artists featured – ceramic artist Lisa Pedolsky, photographer Al Olson, painter Shaun Martin and mixed media artist Deborah Gorton – are well presented and their work is highly competent.

“Select Works” is on display at Shy Rabbit through Aug. 12. Regular gallery hours are 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with extended hours on the second Thursday of the month (July 13) from 1-6:30 p.m.

Shy Rabbit is located at 333 Bastille Drive, Units B-1, B-4, west of downtown. Take U.S. 160 to North Pagosa Boulevard, North Pagosa Boulevard to Bastille Drive (at UBC). Turn left and stay on Bastille past Hopi. Shy Rabbit is located directly next to Pine Valley Rental. For more information, log onto http://shyrabbit.blogspot.com or call (970) 731-2766.

PHOTOS Top to bottom, left to right:
“Myths of the Earthmaker,” nature- altered, wire-wrapped books by Mary Ellen Long.
Review

“I Met Him on the Train,” recycled mixed media by Mary M. Thomas, at the “Myths and Prophesies” art show at Durango Arts Center.

“An Education Sensation,” acrylic on canvas by Tirzah Camacho, from the “Myths and Prophesies” show at Durango Arts Center.

June 27, 2006
By Leanne Goebel | Special to the Herald
Telling a story or predicting the future is fertile ground within which artists can create. So it is unfortunate that The Four Corners Commission, “Myths and Prophesies” juried art show at Durango Art Center isn’t filled with more divergent and impacting work.

Prophesy (with an ‘s’) is a verb. I expected artwork of action and mystery. Work that challenged and taunted. Unfortunately, I saw little that made me ponder or told me a compelling story.

The problem with this show is the big cash prizes and the involvement of the Durango Area Tourism Office and the Chamber of Commerce selecting work to be reproduced as posters and postcards. The best artwork does not a tourism poster make.

There were 115 submissions, and juror William Biety, gallery director for the Sandy Carson Gallery in Denver, chose 56 works.

“I couldn’t have imagined hanging more,” he said from his cell phone in Denver.

Biety based his selection on the quality of the work and not the theme, but admitted that some works were excluded because they had absolutely nothing to do with the theme. Some work was chosen because it added to the balance of the show in terms of media. As an example, Biety mentioned several pastel landscapes. “In a way, our landscapes are disappearing so it could be a myth or a prophecy,” Biety said.

Awarding prizes, the juror said, was the toughest part. Biety’s choices do represent some of the best work in the show.

Best of Show went to John Grow for the quality and technical ability in his oil painting “Duropoly” ($3,200), an image of two girls playing a game similar to Monopoly but with a lot more money, a lot more houses and extra game pieces including horses, tractors, tumbled churches and a book of matches.

“The Sentinels” ($800) a particularly fresh mixed media canvas by Anne Strawn won the Jurors Choice. Strawn’s wide canvas is colorful. The red, orange, and yellow phantasmagoric trees contrast with the too intensely blue sky and cacodemon clouds. Strawn wrote in her statement: “In this painting trees are posed and ready to protect their world.” I don’t believe Strawn understands her own work. The nine trees in Strawn’s painting are leafless and seem unable to defend against the malevolent spirits in the clouds. In medicine, a sentinel is an indicator of disease.

Honorable Mentions went to Scott Harris for “Sunflowers,” ($350) oil on Masonite and Carolyn Reeves Johnson for “Wolf Moon” ($250) a monotype print. Mary Ellen Long received a Merit Award for “Myths of the Earthmaker” ($1,800) an installation of nature-altered wrapped books.

I found myself drawn to Long’s work, wanting to read all of the text and pick through the relic. Long planned for this work of art.

I also found myself attracted to Deborah Gorton’s “Where Have they Gone?” ($350) a mixed media panel with ten bone and egg shaped three-dimensional relics mounted on a dark-stained wood background. Each stone or relic is marked with glyphs. It is like a mysterious artifact from the future. She understood the theme.

So did Tirzah Camacho. Camacho’s acrylic painting on canvas “An Education Sensation” ($1,275) is the best work in the show. A river, a train track, a white Christian church and the blood red abstracted native symbols are swallowed by the mouth of the building. Inside the snake head of the train track are these words: Kill the Indian, save the man. Myth and prophecy.”

While not one of the best shows the Arts Center has launched this year, “Myths and Prophesies” is still worth seeing, for the few artists who grasped the theme and stretched themselves to execute diverse work.

The Four Corners Commission, “Myths and Prophesies,” through Friday, 10 a.m.-5p.m.Durango Arts Center, 802 East Second Ave. 259-2606.

lgoebel@centurytel.net
Leanne Goebel is a freelance arts journalist from Pagosa Springs.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Want to know the true market value of a property? Buy it at auction. A real estate auction is conducted in an open forum where all bids are known. This open competition allows values to ascend to the level determined by the market, levels that are neither inflated nor deflated. This makes for smart investment decisions for the real estate investor.

In a traditional real estate transaction, an appraisal is merely an informed opinion about what the property is worth. The real measure of a property’s value, at any given time, is what it will bring under competitive bidding from informed and motivated buyers.

The National Association of Realtors believes that one in three properties will be sold utilizing the auction method by 2008. Aristotle and Janelle Karas of Pacific Auction Exchange (PAX), Auction-Options, LLC believe they are on the cusp of helping to actualize that prediction.

The Karas’ have 22 years of combined real estate experience and have been working exclusively in the auction industry for the past four years and have had tremendous success. Aristotle is the managing broker and holds real estate licenses in Colorado, New Mexico and Hawaii, although they can hold an auction just about anywhere. In addition both are active members of the National Auctioneers Association and Janelle is on the Board of directors for the Colorado Auctioneers Association.

“There could be any number of reasons why a seller chooses the auction method,” Janelle says. “They just want to sell their property quickly to get out of paying two mortgages, or they have had the listing on the market for a while. Perhaps they have a very unique home or maybe it is a changing market and they are just ready to move on.”

So when is the best time for an investor to buy at auction? During a changing market: one that is shifting from a sellers market to a buyers market or a buyers market to a sellers market. Another good time is during a dull market where there might be too much product available but buyers are still interested. If you want to purchase a unique or rare property on a lakefront, a beach or in a popular mountain community, then auction is a great option. Another great opportunity for buying at auction is in an emerging market—new developments—commercial and residential. Developer pre-sales. And of course in a sellers market where there is known high demand a lot of competition from buyers.

Most auctions today do not result from foreclosure or distress situations. They are not “fire sales.” Today’s real estate auctions are the result of a seller choosing a cost-effective, accelerated method to sell a property. Builders and financial institutions and developers prefer auction rather than laboring for months or years to sell units one by one. Auction allows the seller to eliminate long-term carrying costs

Types of Auctions:

An absolute auction is an auction without reserve. In an absolute auction the property is sold to the highest bidder, regardless of price. A sale is guaranteed and no specific price has to be met. This type of auction generates the most response from the marketplace. Financial institutions and government agencies are beginning to use this method more frequently for selling property.

A minimum bid auction is one in which the auctioneer will accept bids at or above a published minimum price. The minimum price is always published and will be announced at the auction. At a minimum bid auction you know the bottom line going in and often a minimum bid auction has fewer interested prospective buyers to compete with for the winning bid.

A reserve auction is an auction subject to confirmation. In this scenario the high bid is an offer and not a sale. The minimum bid is not published and the seller reserves the right to accept or reject the highest bid within a specified time (up to 72 hours after the auction concludes). Because the highest bid does not guarantee a sale, buyers often don’t invest the time and money necessary to complete due diligence on the property if they are the buyer.

Auction basics:

At an auction a property is usually sold “as is-where is” without warranty or guarantee of any kind other than clear title. When buying at auction it is imperative the prospective buyers complete their due diligence in advance of the auction. To help you with this, the auction company typically prepares detailed information packages and inspection reports to assist all buyers.

The process is effective for the Auction-Option team, who boasts a 98 percent closing ratio for their auction-bought properties. “When going into the auction we know that the people in attendance are not only ready and willing, but they are able to make the transaction happen,” Janelle Karas says.

And as a buyer, you know the seller is fully committed to selling their property at a price you determine. There is no long negotiation period. No offers and counter offers. Purchasing and closing dates are known simplifying the investment process.

HOW CAN FAVORABLE FINANCING BE RECEIVED?

An auction-bought property typically closes within 30 days of the sale. The sale contains no contingencies and is settled the day of the auction typically with a 10 percent, non-refundable down payment.

Auction preparation:

In order to participate in a real estate auction, a buyer must register and provide evidence of their ability to bid by showing a cashier’s check, certified funds or money order for the required deposit as well as personal identification. The auction house provides specific instructions in the Property Information Package.

Before bidding, do your homework. Complete a thorough analysis of the property and the general area in which it is located. Personally inspect the property. Talk to tenants or neighboring property owners. Check the property records. Find out what is included in the sale. Obtain a pre-approved mortgage or line of credit. Review all auction documents—know exactly what you are bidding on and under what terms and conditions. Obtain professional advice from an attorney, auctioneer, real estate broker or appraiser.

If you are the high bidder, the earnest money deposit is generally non-refundable, unless the seller cannot close because of a defective title.

It is a good idea to attend a real estate auction to observe how they work before jumping into the bidding arena. A few weeks before the auction, an auction company will host an open house. During this open house prospective bidders are encouraged to ask questions and become familiar with all aspects of the property. A good auction company will hold a bidder’s seminar, when appropriate, to help educate buyers.

When attending auctions, look for sales contracts available for bidder’s to review. The registration process should be easy. The staff of the auction company should be knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Financial and prequalification services are often available to bidders on site. The materials used to conduct and document the proceedings should be of high quality.

Buyers typically pay a premium of 10 percent added to the high bid to create the contract price. This premium is the auction company’s commission on the sale.

Real Estate auctions are a smart way to invest in real estate. There is little waiting, once you are determined the high bidder you are guaranteed a clear title. You come to the auction with funds and walk away with a new investment.

Leanne Goebel (lgoebel@centurytel.net) is a freelance writer in Pagosa Springs, Colo. For more on real estate auctions and Aristotle and Janelle Karas visit their website at http://www.auction-works.com

The largest sculpture garden in Southwest Colorado is at the new Mercy Regional Medical Center. The healing garden features a waterfall designed by Genesis Landscaping and five works in bronze: “Twins” and “Beavers” by Gerald Balciar; “White Deer of Autumn” by Denny Haskew; “Touch the Earth” by Star Lianna York; and “Napoleon” by Patsy Davis.

The entrance to the hospital is set off by two more sculptures: “Sprite” by Mancos resident Veryl Goodnight and the piece-de-resistance of the collection, “Spirit Mother” by Michael Naranjo, a blind sculptor from Santa Clara Pueblo.

“It vibrates with this energy that anything is possible,” Shanan Campbell Wells, the art consultant for the hospital, said of Naranjo’s work during a tour of the facility. “Spirit Mother” is a curandera, a healer; she is gathering herbs with a stick and a pot, but her features and clothing are nondescript.

“She could be anyone, anywhere,” Wells said. The hallmark of a Naranjo sculpture is the simple almond eyes without detail and the black patina.

Three years ago, Wells, the owner of Sorrel Sky gallery, applied for and was selected to be the art consultant for the hospital. Wells said she distilled what the committee of 14 to 15 people made up from staff from all areas of the hospital wanted for the hospital.

“They wanted to portray and reflect an environment of healing, sensitivity to diversity, kindness and comfort. They also wanted to reflect our culture and community, yet be sophisticated and able to “compete” on a national level of being a first-rate art collection, but not something that looked like a hotel. They wanted it to be special, not extravagant, but appropriate for the setting.”

Wells’ selection process was first and foremost about the art.

“I selected the art I felt was great art, and if you were local, even better,” Wells said.

She approached the project by breaking it down like a puzzle. What was most appropriate for ICU? What about cardiology?
Karen Midkiff, chief development officer of the Mercy Foundation Board, said that “Shanan’s ability and her museum experience really made a difference.”

There are more than 650 pieces of art by approximately 150 artists in the collection, much of it prints, posters and giclees alongside originals.

“Having a well-selected collection is what stands out as being important.” Wells said.

The art is unique in each section of the hospital, appropriate for the area of use. Florals hang in the first-floor patient wing. A collection of Stanton Englehart landscapes fills the emergency room. Photography is used in the conference and education center. Images of pottery and architecture in muted tones and colors run throughout the hallways and waiting areas of ICU and TCU. Imaging and diagnostics feature wildlife art. The waiting area for orthopedics is all landscape art, featuring the tonal work of Peter Campbell.

Artists Pino, Jose Royo and Michael and Inessa Garmash hang in the family birth center, with classic, impressionistic images of women and children. The large walkway leading to the birth center is filled with oversized sepia-toned photographs reflecting the history of the West.

Another area on level 2 includes horses and barns. The work of Carrie Fell and Donna Howell Sickles adds a touch of fun in places. Hanging metal sculptures by Brent Lawrence are strewn throughout the hospital. Cardiology reception features a Navajo weaving collection, and near the main elevators is an interior sculpture, “This Fragile Life” by Star Lianna York.

The commissioned paintings in the lobby by Jan Thompson are simple, graphic and colorful representations of the symbols used in the donor feature, a monumental, museum-quality installation that recognizes the many donors who gave nearly $11 million to make the hospital possible. Donors paid for all of the art, and nearly $100,000 was spent on the healing garden alone.

The donor feature is a column with an abstracted mountain scene wrapped around the base supporting the names of donors. Extending from the base, built into the floor, are glass Mimbres symbols lit from below: the deer, the quail, the rabbit, the fish and the turtle. Each represents a type of medicine: gentleness, a sense of community, moving through fear, inner knowing and the power to heal female disease.

Brad Cochennet, COO of the hospital, said “I think we have a pretty amazing collection that reflects how art connects to the healing environment.”

“This is the grandest collection of art Durango has ever seen,” Midkiff added.

Local artists on display:
Sharon Abshagen, Peter Campbell, Don Cook, Patsy Davis, Stanton Englehart, Mar Evers, Paul Folwell, Kit Frost, Veryl Goodnight, Pat Howard, Chris Marona, Jane Mercer, Paul Pennington, Jan Thompson, Laurie Walters, and Susan Balas Whitfield.

lgoebel@centurytel.net Pagosa Springs writer Leanne Goebel is an arts journalist

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

Roberto Garcia, Jr. has wanted to teach a sculpting class in Pagosa since he moved here with his family in 1997. He finally got the opportunity at Shy Rabbit – a contemporary art space and gallery.

“The whole set up was great,” Garcia says. “And I worked well with Michael and Denise [Coffee].” The Coffees are the power couple behind Shy Rabbit.

“Our goal is to provide master level artisans who can teach professional workshops at all levels,” Michael Coffee says. “It’s great when you can find these people in your own back yard.”

Garcia is a rare sculptor who not only models his own work, but also creates his own molds and pours bronze at his foundry in Aspen Springs. As a young sculptor, Garcia was forced to learn the multi-layered process of lost-wax casting because he couldn’t afford to pay anyone to turn his clay models into bronze. So, he took his B.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and went to Princeton, N.J. to study at the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture. Then, he worked commercially as a foundry assistant at Shidoni in Santa Fe, N.M.

As a young artist, Garcia apprenticed with Charles Umlauf in Austin, an internationally-known and well-respected sculptor. Garcia even cast some of Umlauf’s later work. He also taught a similar beginning sculpture class at the Johnson Atelier.

“Some things cannot be learned from books,” Garcia says. “You have to do them. It is trial and error.”

Garcia speaks English with a lilting accent. He is clearly a happy man who smiles often and laughs regularly. His brown eyes twinkle and his charcoal-black hair is beginning to gray. We are sitting across from one another, a black metal desk with a laminated wood top between us, at his Crucible Gallery in downtown Pagosa Springs. The space is long and narrow and crammed with bronze sculptures along both sides. A huge plaster piece hangs in the window-a female form in a circle. She is called “La Luna” and is finished with a patina that makes her look like a bronze.

Much of the work on the left side of the gallery is by Garcia’s wife, Anna. He taught her to sculpt several years ago and she is now quite prolific. He shows me an elephant she completed recently and I am enthralled with the texture on a clay model of a buffalo head that sits at the end of the long wall. In an alcove, Garcia keeps examples of the process – the silicone mold supported by plaster, the hollow wax copy, the ceramic shell, and the completed bronze with patina – to share with his customers. Behind Garcia is a large frame with images of him and his monumental work. An unfinished oil painting sits on an easel. His paints and brushes rest on the desktop.

“It’s overdone,” he says of the painting. “I’m just so inspired by this place – the beauty, the sun, the light. I want to capture it somehow.”

Garcia built his first foundry in Texas and created several large monumental installations throughout South Texas before leaving his limited artistic fame to live in Colorado. “I am a modern day pioneer,” he says explaining that he built his house from the trees he cut down on his property, that he still hauls water in the back of his truck. Yet, he’s not about to leave. He turned down an offer to teach sculpture at a university in Texas because he didn’t want to leave Pagosa.

“One of the things I really miss is having apprentices from a college. I could pay them minimum wage and they helped out in the foundry,” Garcia adds. He realizes that, someday, he will not be able to do it by himself; that he is getting older and he wants to share what he knows with those equally as passionate about the complicated journey known as sculpting.

“I’ll meet every student and take them as far as they can go,” he says. “If they surpass me then good for them.”

Garcia is pleased with his first workshop in Pagosa. He feels he learned a lot and that he worked out some bugs and the next time he offers the workshop it will run even more smoothly. He is hoping to work with Shy Rabbit and offer another six-week beginning workshop in the fall and possible a shorter mold-making workshop.

“What I was looking for, Shy Rabbit provided it – that avenue. I had been planning to do (the workshop) at my own studio, but this worked out better. We are both happy with the results and want to continue,” Garcia says.

As for Shy Rabbit, he says he admires the Coffees for their vision and their incredible plans. “They have a more contemporary approach to helping artists make a living.”

Garcia has been making a living as an artist for 30 years.

“I don’t know what the secrets are. I feel I’m as good as many who are more famous or more successful than me. I just don’t have the advertising campaign or the marketing machine. It’s the story of my life. I’m a simple person. I always knew I didn’t have the wealth or the resources to make it in New York,” Garcia says.

He admits that living as an artist is like a roller coaster ride wondering how to pay the bills until a commission or a sale happens.

“I miss the security of having a stable job,” he says. “But it’s too late. I would never be happy.

“I admire the artists in my field who are successful because they’ve suffered,” Garcia continues. “They’ve asked the same question I do – how does bronze translate into bread?”

He pauses and explains the metaphor in case I didn’t understand, then continues: “I don’t do enough PR.”

His most recent commission to create a life-size sculpture of a congresswoman came via a friend who helped put the pieces together. All of his public art projects have come from networking and relationships. “I’m limited to my persuasion abilities,” Garcia says.

“Roberto is just one of those guys you want to help,” Michael Coffee says. “I don’t know why, but I want to help him. And I don’t feel that way about a lot of people.”

“I don’t feel I’m underprivileged,” Garcia adds. “I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me.”

When you meet Garcia you know you are meeting a committed artist. You know you are meeting someone who is living life on his own terms. You know you are meeting someone passionate about his work and you can’t help but honor that spirit and do what you can to help him succeed. If you work as an artist, you understand how hard it is to survive doing only your art and you admire him for his choices.

“To be an artist you have to be prepared, not only for rejection, but failure. You are going to stumble. You have to be able to turn it around. You may fail three times and finally, on the fourth try, something will click,” Garcia says. Then, he adds: “You may have a masterpiece and people will look at it and no one will recognize that it is a masterpiece until some famous critic or some famous person says it is a masterpiece. Deep down we have to listen to our little souls. That is something you can’t teach in art. We all have the power to make our own decisions, but it requires originality.”

The students in his sculpting workshop echo this idea. They reacted to the initial p
roject, which was sculpting a woman’s head, copying a sculpture Garcia did years ago from a live model. Many struggled with learning how to sculpt, the mundane copying, measuring the dimensions, creating the armature. But once they were allowed to create a sculpture from their imagination, the work flourished.

“I didn’t think I was going to get to sculpt something I wanted to sculpt,” Miki Harder says. Harder never completed her female head, but when given the freedom to explore her imagination, a sculpture of a raven took flight.

“Everybody’s head looks like a beginner,” Coffee says. “Everyone’s other sculpture doesn’t.”

“If you missed out on the recent sculpture workshop conducted by Roberto Garcia (at Shy Rabbit), you missed some great times,” sculptor Lucy Wiley wrote recently on ArtsNetwork, a Yahoo group for artists. Wiley, a Houston-based artist, is represented by Wild Spirit Gallery in Pagosa Springs and spends her summers in the San Juan Mountains with her husband, Gale, and their dog.

Wiley continued writing in her message: “I’m not one to gush but Roberto really knows his stuff and his teaching methods are positive yet challenging. Roberto brought out the best in every one of us. Even people who had never before sculpted, created works that made them justifiably proud.”

Photos (top to bottom): The lobby at Stevens Field. Avjet has a cozy new facility. A herd of cattle greet passengers as you enter the new FBO at Stevens Field. The Avjet hangar stands empty while they wait for a certificate of occupancy. The new FBO building at Stevens Field

PAGOSA SPRINGS — Getting to the new airport at Stevens Field now involves a 1.3 mile trip on Cloman Boulevard, a dirt road that meanders through pastureland where cattle roam, the valley is lush, and the view of Piedra Peak spectacular. At the end of the road, after crossing two cattle guards, I reach the airport — a large metal building —and pull into the unfinished parking area. Aherd of heifers and their calves drink from a puddle along the fence. At the side of the building is a wood and glass door with the recognizable Avjet logo.

Once inside I forget I am in a metal building. The walls are painted butter yellow and all the windows are trimmed with cherry-colored wood. The concrete floor is stained and glazed and the rooms along my right are filled with rustic wooden furniture and oversized leather chairs. The main lobby is like a living room: A fireplace, a decorative rug, leather sofa and chairs. A stack of boxes sits outside of a storage area. The view from the building is amazing. The mountains jut into the cerulean Colorado sky and the new black asphalt tarmac seems to glisten in the sun. There are three planes sitting on the ramp.

A smiling Robert Goubitz, the manager of the facility, greets me. Goubitz is Dutch and speaks with a very slight accent that makes him even more appealing. A former private pilot, Goubitz relocated to Pagosa Springs three months ago from his home in Camarillo, Calif. Goubitz has worked for Avjet since 1991. He knew he wanted to manage a Fixed Base Operation (FBO) and thought he would start his new career in Camarillo, but when Avjet CEO Marc Foulkrod learned of Goubitz’s retirement from flying and his desire to work at an FBO, he asked him to stay on with Avjet and take over their Pagosa Springs facility.

“I knew about Pagosa Springs from my travels and flying,” Goubitz said.

Goubitz is a consummate professional and his years of flying corporate jets and Hollywood stars provides him with an insight into what is important at a full-service FBO. Goubitz takes me on a tour of the new facility. We visit the pilot planning room, the pilot resting room, the conference room, the information area, his office, the kitchen. Everything is not quite complete. There is still painting touch up to be done; the boxes in the lobby are awaiting linoleum in the storage closet so items can be put away. Goubitz’s office is incomplete. The spotless hangar remains empty. No planes, no tools, no equipment. The county has not yet issued a certificate of occupancy (CO) for the space. Avjet is unable to function as a full-service FBO. But as of press date, it appears that Avjet will finally be able to move into their building.

“We believe they will get a CO. We had a favorable water test today,” County Administrator Bob Campbell said.
Avjet was supposed to move into their new facility a year ago.

“It’s been a long, tough road with many unforeseen obstacles,” Goubitz added.

“Some transitions at the county level caused problems with the overall management of the project,” Campbell said. “We did not stay on top of things as we should have.”

The biggest issue is water: The facility needs 1,500 gallons per minute for fire safety, which it didn’t have. An auxiliary pump station was installed at Industrial Circle, then the county had to enclose the pump station in a housing. Next they needed to provide a power supply to the pump station. Now Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation says not to turn on the pump station because they can’t regulate the flow of water.

“For the past two months we kept hearing just a few more weeks,” Goubitz said, clearly frustrated. “It’s sort of like buying a car and you go to pick it up and they say, no I’m sorry, you’ll have to come back because we need to put an engine in, and then when you come back they say, no, now you need a gas tank, come back again.”

Goubitz said the problems stem from a lack of oversight and improper planning from previous county administration, including former airport manager Rob Russ.

Campbell acknowledged that: “Key components were missed in the original pump station design.”

“I’m extremely disappointed in the mismanagement of the airport,” Foulkrod said from his office in Burbank, Calif. “Bob Campbell is a godsend. He is exactly what the county was lacking. He’s a businessman. He’s logical.”

Foulkrod admitted he considered selling off the Pagosa FBO in January, but then significant changes at the county — the hiring of Bob Campbell, changes in working with the commissioners — changed his mind. “Some people shouldn’t be in the capacity to make decisions because they have no background and no experience.”

Foulkrod believes that his decision for Avjet to manage the FBO is proving to be a good decision. He dealt with the previous FBO as a private pilot with a second home in Pagosa. “I’ve been flying in there for 10-12 years,” Foulkrod said. “It was not good.”

Campbell speaks highly of Avjet. “Working with them is very, very favorable. With their expertise and professionalism, they can bring business to the airport that we may not have been able to get without them. They have experience running FBO’s.”
“I do think this will be great,” Foulkrod said. “Avjet’s commitment hasn’t changed, which is evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of dollars we’ve lost during this process.”

“We don’t want to do a (less than good) job for our clients,” Goubitz said. “Our goal is to provide full FBO services, but we are limited by the county because we don’t have proper tie downs and fuel storage yet. The county has not given us the tools to provide what the airport was meant to provide. Avjet is investing in the community. This is not a typical county atmosphere, but we represent the county as well.”

Goubitz pointed out that Avjet is available seven days a week. They are the ones who greet all incoming planes. County staff only works five days a week. And the delays impact negatively not only on Avjet, but on the county and the airport and the community.

Right now, corporate pilots are hesitant to fly into Stevens Field because the correct information about the new runway and the weight bearing capacity is just now getting out. The AWOS (Automated Weather Observing System) is scheduled to be installed in July. With AWOS installed, the airport designation will change and pilots will know they can land at Stevens Field. Business will automatically increase.

“It will be several years before we will be profitable,” Goubitz explained. “We have to recoup some of our investments. Everyone po
ints out that we are getting a great deal on our lease, but there is much more to this business than just a lease. It’s all about customer service.”

As we chatted in the pilot resting room, a Pilatus PC-12 landed and came to a stop on the ramp. Goubitz jumped up and went to see why his fueler wasn’t ready and waiting for the plane’s arrival. As the Pilatus’ single prop stopped spinning the fuel truck arrived. Goubitz went out to meet the pilot and passengers. Four people disembarked, one with a camera around his neck. Goubitz talked with them and then returned. The pilot was a second homeowner.

“It’s important, even for locals, to keep our fuel prices under control. That pilot could have landed in Colorado Springs to refuel, but he came here.” Goubitz explained that fuel and aircraft servicing are the main business for Avjet. Keeping fuel prices competitive means that their margins are very low.

“We want to do our part to help the county manage this airport efficiently and we can. We have a good future here. But there is still a lot of unfinished business — the road, basic services such as catering, that will not happen overnight. That is our challenge as a full-service FBO. There are some limiting factors,” Goubitz said, adding: “Pagosa absolutely needs this facility. We have to make the extra effort to make it special for aircraft to come here.”

Walter and Doris Green came to Pagosa Springs, Colo. in 1997 to retire. The baby boomers built a home and settled into small town life. She became president of the Pagosa Springs Arts Council. He served as president of Friends of the Performing Arts and recently dabbled in politics, running for County Commissioner. But last year, they decided to go back to work. The Greens purchased Lantern Dancer gallery from founders Jerry and Rose Zepnick. The Zepnicks started the jewelry store and gallery with artist Sue Weaver in 1992 and continued to operate the business successfully after Weaver died of cancer in 1999.

When asked why they would leave retirement behind to become small business owners, Walter said that they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to assume a successful business.

“We thought we could add to that success and maintain the quality of the store.”

And they have.

Doris Green, former chairwoman of Adware Systems, was at one time the highest-ranking woman in the largest advertising agency in the world—McCann-Erickson. The most notable changes in the business since the Green’s purchased Lantern Dancer are in the slick brochures and high-fashion ads that they are running to promote their gallery and jewelry store. They have also created a preferred customer list and have associated with Fairfield Resorts, which is now the number one generator of customers for their business. Additionally, they are gradually upgrading the interior of the store; hiring local artisans to build new display cabinets.

“As much as possible, we use local vendors to create our ads and do some of our printing,” Walter said.

They are a small business supporting other local small businesses. Including local artists. They sell the work of five local jewelry artists, painters and wood sculptors: Nancy Green, Syl Lobado, Darlene Rae, Claire Goldrick and Richard Sutherland. They also carry the last remaining work of Sue Weaver.

And they have added more work by Native American artists, including Alfred Lee, Jr. and Alfred Lee, Sr. both from the Navajo Nation outside of Shiprock, Ariz. and Ute Mountain tribe member Norman Lansing who lives in Arboles, Colo.

Alfred Lee, Sr. is a silversmith who creates high quality silver bracelets, pendants, earrings and rings with the highest quality natural turquoise from his extensive private collection. Alfred Lee, Jr. is a bead artist whose work was recently featured on the model in all the print and television media for Ralph Lauren’s perfume Turquoise. Both Lee’s can pinpoint with amazing accuracy not only the mine the turquoise came from, but also the time frame of its extraction.

Lansing is one of the finest sgraffito artists working today and his intricately incised pottery tells traditional stories of his tribe, echoing the ancient petroglyphs found all over the Four Corners.

A visit to Lantern Dancer will likely involve meeting either Walter or Doris, as they are hands-on owner operators. Perhaps you will hear the story of how they came to Southwest Colo. to ride the train in Durango because Walter is a former trainman and conductor with the CSX railroad and how they drove through Pagosa Springs fell in love and bought property.

Lantern Dancer is located in the River Center on the East side of Pagosa Springs. Contact Walter and Doris Green there at 970-264-6446.

Photos (clockwise, left to right): Linda Echterhoff and her Honorable Mention ribbon next to “Seed Pod”; “Cherries Under Ice,” by Janet Collins, First Place; “Immigrant,” by Barbara Giorgio, Second Place; “Missed Fortune” by Veronica Day, Third Place; “The Passage,” by Gil Bruvel, Best of Show

Pagosa Springs artist Linda Echterhoff received an honorable mention in the “Gateway to Imagination” National Juried Art Competition at the Farmington Museum and Visitor’s Center at Gateway Park. The $50 award was for her mixed media work, “Seed Pod” an organic floral structure made of cardboard, fiber pulp and packing tape.

Juror Jill Chancey, curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss., said of Echterhoff’s sculpture: “I like this because it is a floral, but it’s scruffy. It’s sturdy, not delicate. I like the contrast between subject matter and material. It’s very clever.”

A Ph.D. candidate, the soon-to-be Dr. Chancey completed her dissertation on the abstract expressionist painter Elaine De Kooning. Her interest in abstract expressionism explains why Chancey selected another Pagosa Springs artist – Kathy Steventon. Steventon’s oil painting of a cow, “Standing Gaze,” was chosen for it’s strong, visceral texture and painterly technique. “How can you not love a picture of a cow?” Chancey said.

Surprisingly, Chancey chose few other works that could be considered abstract expressionism for the Gateway show. However, my personal favorites in this vein were both works by New York artist Ha Rhin Kim: “Rotte Tree 2005-11″ and “Rotte Tree 2005-03.” These abstract figurative works are black and white with shades of gray; only the black is almost purple. The work is acrylic painted on white Mylar. The Mylar provides a vitreous quality to the opaque areas of paint, which contrasts with the crisp, fine lines of organic forms that look like the veins of leaves.

The Gateway to Imagination show is all over the place. It features traditional landscape painting, plein aire work in big gilded frames, contemporary painting, quite a bit of different photography, some digital prints, some bronze and ceramic sculpture, some pottery, a fiber quilted wall hanging, some metal art, a piece of silver jewelry and a lot of diverse painting from figurative, to abstract, from oil to pastel to acrylic and water media.

“Not everyone is going to agree with my choices,” Chancey said, but then added: “The prize winners are of such clear quality that anyone would have picked them.”

Quality? Yes. I’ll agree with her on that point. But as I walked around viewing the work, considering what Chancey told me about her selection process. I found myself disagreeing.

Chancey made 105 selections from 342 submissions based on her belief that a successful work of art has two components: an interesting idea and successful execution. She said she was looking for “aesthetic quality and some evidence that the artist was thinking about something when creating the art. Good art represents an aesthetic resolution.”

More than that, she deemed work to be most successful that expressed the idea of the past as part of one’s present identity, of ancestor’s traveling with us as we move forward. “The U.S. is a nation full of immigrants and their descendants; several artist refer explicitly to their immigrant heritage, while other draw on Native heritage,” Chancey wrote in her statement.
I agreed with her selection for Best of Show: “The Passage” by Gil Bruvel of Wimberley, Texas. Bruvel’s work is highly skilled. “The Passage” is a bronze sculpture of a female head representing the ocean and atop her head is a boat and in the boat is an armored man riding the waves. The patina is a gorgeous blue and the face is exquisite. This sculptor has not only mastered technique and aesthetic, but explores ideas and communicates those ideas to the viewer. As Chancey said of Bruvel’s work:

“He has such a unique vision. I’ve never seen anything like this and the execution is excellent.”

Bruvel’s other sculpture, “Mask of Whispers” is a stainless steel female head, bound with other faces cut out and protruding from windows in the forehead and cheek. Bruvel manages this without stimulating the grotesque. The female face is beautiful, but bound by susurration.

I also liked her first-place winner: “Cherries Under Ice” by Janet Collins, Sedona, Ariz. The detailed colored-pencil drawing looked more like a photograph or a pastel painting than colored pencil. And the light glinting off the melting ice, dripping off the cherry is very nice. But this was a straightforward drawing of cherries covered in ice. I didn’t see the artist pushing any boundaries or exploring any interesting ideas. It was simply masterful execution.

“Cherries Under Ice” did not fit in with her other top picks, which all expressed the idea that the past is always a part of one’s present identity.

Her second-place winner, “Immigrant,” by Barbara Giorgio, Selma, Ind., and her third-place winner, “Missed Fortune,” by Veronica Day, Morris, Conn. both explore this theme using photographic techniques. Giorgio’s work is a digital print while Day’s work is a palladium print.

I found myself drawn to diverse works. In color photography, I loved “Fish Wanting to Fly,” by Jefferey Jue, Oakland, Calif., a playful, yet thought provoking and brilliantly executed photograph. For movement and texture I liked “Annexation of Control” by Jennifer Peel, Tyler, Texas, graphite and latex paint on paper mounted on canvas. For whimsy, David Edgar’s “Bluetail Reef Cruiser” and “Goggle-Eyed Swallow Tail,” fish made from recycled plastic containers. I found myself transfixed by the aboriginal detail and maze-like paths in “Satellite 781,” an acrylic and ink composition by Julie King, Nacogdoches, Texas. And I kept coming back to “Unified Theory of Forces” by Nancy Pollock, Santa Fe, a layered canvas of oil paint with a tree in a box on the left side of the canvas and mathematical formulas peeking through layers of paint are.

The Gateway show is an interesting collection of work from 85 artists in 28 states. I suppose, given the name of the show, “Gateway to Imagination,” I was hoping for more works that challenged existing concepts and ideas, for works that pushed the boundaries. I think that is why I liked the work of Ha Rhin Kim – because I’m not exactly sure how the artist achieved the technique.

However, I felt Chancey’s focus on immigration, a hot political issue, influenced her choices more than the aesthetic resolution of the work. Perhaps immigration is on many artists’ minds, or perhaps in the difficult challenge of trying
to rank diverse works of art, she grabbed at a theme and used it to award prizes.

Gateway to Imagination is on display through July 15, at the Farmington Museum and Visitor’s Center at Gateway Park, 3041 East Main Street, Farmington, N.M. (505) 599-1174. Hours: are Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Courtesy Farmington Museum
“Fish Wanting to Fly,” photograph by Jeffrey Jue, Oakland, Calif., at the “Gateway to Imagination” National Juried Art Competition in Farmington.

By Leanne Goebel | Special to the Herald

The photographers Jim and Eileen Baumgardt are the only Durango artists in this year’s Gateway National Juried Art Competition in Farmington. The husband and wife each have a picture in the exhibit: Mr. Baumgardt’s poignant still life “No Homework Today” is a color photograph. Mrs. Baumgardt’s “Winter Apple Trees” is a classic black and white, ($225 each).

This year’s National Juried Art Competition is filled with work that is of high quality and professionally executed, but the work is so diverse – the show includes painting, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, fiber, recycled art, metal, digital art and photography – that many works get lost in the salon style exhibition.

I’m not an admirer of single-juror art shows, especially those that don’t provide artists with a juror’s statement in the call for artist submissions. The selection process is highly subjective depending upon the juror’s background and expertise.

Jill Chancey, this year’s juror for the Gateway National Juried Art Competition, did a commendable job selecting the work. Chancey is the Curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss. A Ph.D. candidate, she has completed her dissertation on the abstract expressionist painter, Elaine De Kooning.

Surprisingly, Chancey chose few works that could be considered abstract expressionism for the Gateway show. My personal favorites in this vein were works by New York artist Ha Rhin Kim: “Rotte Tree 2005-11″ and “Rotte Tree 2005-03,” ($1,500 each). These abstract figurative works are black and white with shades of gray, only the black is almost purple. The work is acrylic painted on white Mylar. The Mylar provides a vitreous quality to the opaque areas of paint, which contrasts with the crisp, fine lines of organic forms that look like the veins of leaves.

Chancey made 105 selections from 342 submissions based on her belief that a successful work of art has two components: an interesting idea and successful execution. She said she was looking for “aesthetic quality and some evidence that the artist was thinking about something when creating the art. Good art represents an aesthetic resolution.”

She deemed work to be most successful that expressed the idea of the past as part of one’s present identity, of ancestors traveling with us as we move forward.

I agreed with her selection for Best of Show: “The Passage” by Gil Bruvel of Wimberley, Tex. “The Passage” is a bronze sculpture of a female head representing the ocean and atop her head is a boat and in the boat is an armored man riding the waves. The patina is a gorgeous blue and the face is exquisite. This sculptor has not only mastered technique and aesthetic, but explores ideas and communicates those ideas to the viewer. As Chancey said of Bruvel’s work: “He has such a unique vision. I’ve never seen anything like this and the execution is excellent.” Me either.

Given the name of the show, “Gateway to Imagination,” I was hoping for more works that challenged existing ideas. I think that is why I like the work of Ha Rhin Kim, because I’m not sure how the artist achieved the technique. The best photography in the show is “Fish Wanting to Fly” by Jeffrey Jue, Oakland, Calif. The most whimsical is two plastic fish made from recycled plastic containers: “Bluetail Reef Cruiser” and “Goggle-Eyed Swallow Tail” by David Edgar, Charlotte, N.C.

However, I felt Chancey’s focus on immigration, a hot political issue, influenced her choices more than the aesthetic resolution of the work. Perhaps immigration is on many artists’ minds or perhaps in the difficult challenge of trying to rank diverse works of art, she grabbed at a theme and used it to award prizes.

editor@artsperspective.com or lgoebel@centurytel.net

Pagosa Springs writer Leanne Goebel is an arts journalist and editor of Arts Perspective

“Gateway to Imagination” is on show through July 15 at the Farmington Museum and Visitor’s Center at Gateway Park, 3041 East Main Street, Farmington, (505) 599-1174. Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Contents copyright ©, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved.

PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — While the Historic Preservation Board works with the town council to revise the Pagosa Springs Municipal Code, the board feels it is necessary to protect sites, building and other features that are of sufficient age to be designated as historic landmarks through the adoption of a temporary suspension of the demolition of such sites and buildings.

The ordinance is in direct response to recent demolitions of downtown structures including a more than 50-year-old gas station and three decrepit homes along Pagosa Street, none of which were in the currently designated historic district and none of which were designated as historic structures. Developer David J. Brown and Bootjack Management are working on a redevelopment plan for those sites, but in the interim the property remains fenced and vacant. Brown has stated that he is waiting for the adoption of the town’s comprehensive plan and master plan before moving forward with development to assure that his projects meet all design guidelines and criteria. Other developers, like longtime Pagosa resident Susan Winter Ward, have moved forward with projects along Pagosa Street that may or may not fit in with design guidelines and zoning that will be finalized through the comprehensive and master planning processes.

Ordinance 666 states: “Notwithstanding that the property has not been previously designated as a historic landmark or is not within a designated historic district, the Town temporarily suspends the issuance of all applications for authorization or a permit for demolition of any building or improvement that is fifty years old or older.” This temporary ordinance will be in effect for one year. The ordinance does allow for the town council to consider requests from property owners on a case-by-case basis to issue an exemption from the temporary suspension if the property involved has no historic significance based upon the criteria set forth in the current municipal code.

In order to qualify for designation as a historic landmark, the property must be at least 50 years old, determined to have historic significance due to one or more of 11 factors outlined in the municipal code, and must have the property owner’s written consent or application. The Historic Preservation Board reserves the right to waive any requirement.

David Smith, a representative from Bootjack, stated at the council meeting that he was “concerned about property owners rights and concerned about being able to continue working with town and have a say in historic structures.” Smith felt that the preservation board and town would be finalizing something that was still in process.

Susan Winter Ward, a member of the Historic Preservation Board, said she feels the recent demolitions were thwarting economic development, raising property taxes and raising rents because of a lack of commercial space available. She believes the ordinance will allow council and the historic preservation board to review demolition requests and not leave the land blank, “which does not do us any favors,” Ward said.

“We do not intend to stop demolition,” Sherri Pierce of the Historic Preservation Board added. “But this ordinance will allow a review of those properties.”

Pierce went on to explain that a recent test of the process came about when builder Bob Hart decided to tear down some old, decrepit cabins along the river on San Juan Street. Historic Preservation met with Hart and determined that two of the four cabins were not historically significant. Two had some historic features, but were in such poor condition they could not be saved. “We determined that those cabins did not represent any historic value and we would have approved demolition,” Pierce said. The policy was not in place and the cabins were demolished. Pierce did add that she was able to recover some elements such as doorknobs, which were given to the historical museum.

The historic preservation board plans to use the next year to write a permanent ordinance and address all facets of the historic preservation code.

Trustee Stan Holt felt that this was a stopgap measure. “I think it is needed,” Holt said.

Trustee Jerry Jackson was concerned about the length of the moratorium, citing that the big box moratorium was only for six months. Pierce and Ward responded by saying that this ordinance was different and that council could still consider demolition on a case-by-case basis.

The ordinance passed unanimously noting that the historic preservation board would only make recommendations to council in a similar way that the planning commission makes recommendations to council and that council was the final authority.

By Leanne Goebel

Journal Correspondent

PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — Angela Atkinson, paid consultant to the Town of Pagosa Springs on the Downtown Master Plan, consultant on the comprehensive plan, chair of the Big Box Task Force, interim chair of the Community Vision Council, member of the Town Tourism Committee, chair of the CVC Art & Culture and Economic Development Committees, recent facilitator of the town’s recreational survey, and former downtown business owner has added another project to her repertoire. The town council asked Atkinson to manage the feasibility study for creation of a downtown authority. Atkinson will receive $4,000 for the project.

The goal of the project is “to explore the various organizational and legal structures that may be appropriate given the current situation in Pagosa Springs.” According to Atkinson’s proposal, the town council has demonstrated support for exploring structure that might include taxation districts to fund capital improvements; support and promotion for businesses within those districts; special event coordination; general branding and positioning for downtown and other possible functions.

Atkinson suggests that her approach will be to look at the different models currently being used in communities throughout Colorado. Nine communities have Downtown Development Authorities or DDAs. The research fee will cover phone interviews, time studying Web sites and other documentation that Atkinson will use to form the case study. Additional fees will pay for Harold Stalf, director of the Grand Junction DDA, which recently approved a Business Improvement District, to offer insights and assistance, and for Andy Kudtsen of Economic Planning Systems (EPS) to provide details on the financing and legal aspects of each model. Last year, EPS completed the baseline economic study for Pagosa Springs.

Atkinson also suggests that the “practical implementation” element of the study will look at how each of these models may or may not apply to Pagosa Springs given the political and economic climate in the community. “This is of particular importance given the fact that any district formation will ultimately require voter approval thus impacting decisions on district boundaries, timing, public relations and outreach,” Atkinson writes in her proposal.

For just under $5,000, a report will be produced documenting the findings, including the pros and cons of different downtown authority models presented in narrative and matrix form; potential responsibilities of the entity; discussion and strategies including a timeline for implementation; and recommendations.

The council felt that this was an important step in supporting local small businesses, given that they may choose to allow large format retailers to enter the community. Trustee Stan Holt wondered whether the study should include a test as to the political viability by talking with downtown business owners and residents. “If the property owners don’t approve this, it’s a no go,” Holt said.

Atkinson said that she felt the study would include recommendations. The education component is critical. “Property owners have to understand tax increment financing. We have to be really clear on how this is rolled out to the public,” Atkinson said.

“I think this is a worthwhile study and positive step,” said Trustee Judy James.

Trustee Tony Simmons said, “This is a big step moving forward in a public/private partnership.”

Mayor Aragon agreed and council voted unanimously to move forward with the feasibility study. No specific timetable for completion was presented in the proposal.

Special to The PREVIEW

“The Lost Painting” by Jonathan Harr. Random House, 2005.

Jonathan Harr brings the world of art history to life in “The Lost Painting.” Harr takes the reader into the world of art history student Francesca Capelletti and the tedious and often mundane work of digging through archives to trace the provenance of a painting.

In 1989, Capelletti is working on a project with Giampaolo Correale, an art historian, researching paintings at the Capitoline Gallery in Rome. The project is an attempt to prove which of the two nearly identical paintings of St. John, attributed to Michealangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is the original: The one at the Capitoline Gallery or the one at the Dora Pamphila. During her research, Capelletti stumbles across information that nearly leads her to a lost Caravaggio painting known as “The Taking of Christ.”

Capelletti runs into a dead-end in Scotland and that is when the book shifts to tell the story of Sergio Benedetti an art restorer and amateur art historian, at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. Benedetti is asked to clean and restore some paintings hanging in the Jesuit, St. Ignacius Residence. Benedetti says that the large painting was dark, “it’s entire surface obscured by a film of dust, grease, and soot. The varnish had turned a yellowish brown, giving the flesh tones in the faces and hands a tobacco-like hue.” But even in the poor condition, Benedetti believes he has found a masterpiece.

With exquisite attention to detail, this non-fiction account of actual events between 1989 and 1993 reads with the pace of a novel. However, unlike fiction, this book has no evil antagonist. This is not “The DaVinci Code.”

“The Lost Painting” is creative nonfiction in the hands of a master. Harr won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction for his book “A Civil Action” and is a former staff writer at the New England Monthly and he has written for The New Yorker.

In telling the story of Capelletti, Benedetti and Sir Denis Mahon, one of the most respected Caravaggio scholars, Harr also gives the reader glimpses into the life of the seventeenth century Italian Baroque painter. Caravaggio was a genius, possibly mad, a drunken, violent man who happened to be a revolutionary painter.

Caravaggio’s paintings are lit with a strong, raking light that strikes across the composition, illuminating parts of it while plunging the rest into deep shadow. This dramatic illumination heightens the emotional tension, focuses the details and isolates the figures. Caravaggio insisted on clarity and concentration and firm vigorous drawing of the figures. But he used regular street models to represents religious figures and painted them realistically.

Harr has managed to write a book about Caravaggio using some of the master painter’s artistic techniques. Harr illuminates the life and work of Capelletti and Benedetti, focusing on the details of digging in archives, the types of cracks on a canvas, the new technology being used to determine the origins of a painting – infrared and x-ray technology and the medieval mixture Benedetti used to restretch the canvas and save the painting. Harr doesn’t focus on Caravaggio himself and there are several recent books written by scholars that explore in detail the painter’s life, but that was not the focus for Harr in “The Lost Painting.” Instead, Harr insists on firmly and vigorously drawing the figures of Capelletti, Benedetti and Mahon. And he succeeds.

Leanne Goebel is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She is the editor of Arts Perspective magazine and a correspondent for The Four Corners Business Journal. To read more of her work, visit her blog at http://leannegoebel.blogspot.com.

Pagosa Reads features book reviews of all kinds of books from the Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library, reviewed by local readers Š just like you. If you would like to review a book and share it in this PREVIEW column, contact Christine Anderson, library director, at 264-2208.

Dozens of protestors opposing the Village at Wolf Creek were met in Creede on Friday, April 7, by an army of police and sheriff’s deputies from nine counties. Forty-five officers from Rio Grande, Pueblo, Alamosa, Conejos, Saquache, Mineral, Hinsdale, Gunnison and Archuleta counties and a command station RV outnumbered protestors three to one. The protests were peaceful and most of those who traveled from Pagosa Springs sat quietly and endured the four-hour presentation by Village developers Bob Honts and Billy Joe “Red” McCombs. The forum, sponsored by the Upper Rio Grande Economic Development Council (URGEDC) was a one-sided presentation. The panel consisted of Honts, McCombs, and Les Cahill, Mineral County Commissioner. Peter Clark, U.S. Forest Service Supervisor for Rio Grande National Forest answered questions from the audience, but refused to sit on the panel. State Representative Mark Larson (R-Cortez) and State Senator Jim Isgar (D-Durango) both boycotted the event along with Davey Pitcher, representative of the Wolf Creek ski area.

“A one-sided forum is not an appropriate venue to address the public’s concerns about the Village,” Isgar said in a press release last week. “There are important issues related to the Village that need to be addressed fairly and openly.”

URGEDC said they did not invite Colorado Wild and the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council because they are not an owner or public agency involved in the decision making process. URGEDC is a vocal supporter of the Village and their Vice President, Dusty Hicks is a paid consultant for the Village. Hicks was not on the panel. The URGEDC board fielded all questions and decided which were answered and which were not. All questions were submitted in writing and no public comment or outburst was allowed. Because all questions were required to be handwritten, follow-up questions were not possible. Pagosa Springs resident Juana Lee Park was removed from the crowd for speaking out and telling Mr. Honts and McCombs that they were ignoring the effects their development would have on Archuleta County. She was escorted from the standing room only 275 capacity meeting room by a Mineral County sheriff’s deputy.

URGEDC claims that all questions were answered, except those that duplicated questions already asked, but following the four-hour meeting people were asking Jon Boyd, URGEDC president and moderator of the forum, why their question had not been asked.

The developers had charts, graphs and renderings of the Village and were prepared to answer every question. Cahill traced the history of the development and said that the density of the project had always been over 2,000 units. “The original application by Leavell-McCombs in 1986 was for 2,151 units. The new application in 1999 was for 2,172 units,” Cahill said.

Seventy-eight year old billionaire, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs left halfway through the four-hour meeting because he was not feeling well. But before he left he addressed the density of the development. “These are the maximum numbers,” McCombs said. “The public will ultimately decide what the density will be. We don’t know if we can market 500 units. We’re not going to build until we find out if we can sell some.”

Later, Honts said: “We will never build all 2,172 units.” But he went on to say: “I wouldn’t take Mr. McCombs statement as pessimistic. I have never seen a man that could sell better than Red McCombs.” Honts said that together he and McCombs would invest over $100 million during the first phase of the development.

When asked what letters of support they had received, Mr. Cahill stated that Mineral County had received a number of letters and resolutions of support for the Village from Del Norte and South Fork. “We don’t have one from Archuleta County.” Cahill went on to say that Mineral County had listened to the concerns raised by Archuleta County and Pagosa Springs. “However, this development is under the purview of Mineral County and Archuleta County has not consulted us about the significant development going on over there.”

“We have only received resolutions asking questions,” Mr. Honts added. “There are no resolutions opposing the Village and we have answered those questions.”

However, Town Manager Mark Garcia told the SUN that the Town did not receive any feedback from Mr. Honts regarding their resolution. The County could not confirm any official correspondence or response from the developer either concerning their resolution. However, it appears that many of the issues raised by the Town of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County are somewhat addressed in the EIS Appendix A.

Mr. Honts stated that the Village would have no negative fiscal impact on Mineral County and that the only impact would be on employee housing, but that the influx of workers would be a tax boon and a sales tax boon for Rio Grande, Mineral and Alamosa counties. He also stated that the impact on the Alamosa airport would be substantial. He claimed that Archuleta and Rio Grande counties were courting the Village developers for the health care contracts.

When probed during a press conference about the impacts of the Village, Honts clarified that no resolutions from general government had been received and repeated: “I’m not aware of any negative fiscal impacts that the Village will cause for Rio Grande or Archuleta County.”

Honts pointed out that an appendix to the EIS includes projected economic impacts based upon an IMPLAN model result. In year six, the IMPLAN model suggests that tax revenues from construction and operations in the tri-county area will peak at nearly $23 million and that the project will provide 3,700 new jobs.

“Per capita, Mineral County will be the wealthiest County in Colorado,” Honts said. “The tri-county area will be one of the wealthiest. We will see an increase [in income] of 80 percent for Southwest Colorado.”

Honts announced that the Village at Wolf Creek will include a major university conference center and said they will soon unveil plans for a golf course either east or west of the Village, but most likely in Rio Grande County.

“I have always wondered why there is such antagonism toward developers,” McCombs said before he left. “Without developers we wouldn’t have highways and airports and I wouldn’t have my business. Most areas of the world are looking for development. After the Village has been opened a few years, it will be hard to find anyone opposed to it.”

However, according the IMPLAN model and the EIS the development which is now outlined to include 120 single family homes, 1,600 timeshare units, 400 condominiums, 6 hotels with a total of 1,100 rooms, 4 bed and breakfasts, 141,700 square feet of multi-family units and a maximum of 222,100 square feet of commercial space, impacts will be felt in Archuleta County.

Pagosa Springs currently services most of the visitors to the Wolf Creek area, especially during the winter skiing season. The EIS states: “With the availability of lodging, food, and shopping services at the Village, some of those establishments would likely experience a de crease in visitor volume and could potentially either downsize or terminate business completely.”

The schools in Archuleta will also be impacted. According to the EIS, by year six, the projected increase in student population from in-migrating construction and operations
workers with families is 239 new school-age children. Mineral County schools are already operating beyond capacity. Rio Grande County schools have some capacity, as do some Archuleta County schools.

“Finding enough financial assistance to make the necessary changes to accommodate the new students could prove challenging,” the EIS states.

The EIS acknowledges that the Village would result in an increased demand for housing and public services because of the influx of workers needed to fill construction and operation jobs who will likely commute from established communities such as Pagosa Springs, Del Norte, Monte Vista and South Fork. The EIS states: “Although Government revenues would be significantly increased through various tax sources, including property and sales taxes, the regions’ ability to absorb the expanded population would depend on how additional revenues were allocated and the capacity of local governments to plan for a continued increase in residential and tourist population over the 20-year build out period.”

In 2004, Mineral County approved the Village at Wolf Creek final development plan, approval that was later revoked on the grounds of insufficient year-round access by 12th District Judge O. John Kuenhold. In his decision, Kuenhold called Mineral County’s approval of the final plan, “an arbitrary and capricious exercise of authority,” and said the county’s approval “misconstrued state statute and Mineral County subdivision regulations.”

As part of the ruling, Kuenhold decreed that once the developer obtained adequate year-round access and received a Colorado Department of Transportation permit to access U.S. 160, they could seek re-approval of their final plan from Mineral County.

With the EIS complete, step one of Kuenhold’s mandate is essentially complete.

According to the EIS, year-round access, and the main access point to the Village, will be provided by the construction of a new 750-foot road called Snowshed Road. The second access point is a 250-foot extension to the existing Tranquility Road, which will provide access between the ski area and the village. The Wolf Creek Ski Corporation will pay to complete the 250-foot Tranquility Road extension, in spite of the fact that they are involved in litigation with the developer of the Village.
Honts estimated that the Snowshed Road would cost the developers an additional $10 million dollars. Mr. Honts also stated that the NEPA process and EIS cost the Village $2.5 million. Honts and Peter Clark both vehemently denied any wrongdoing, political pressure or special treatment. “The decision is mine and I own it,” Clark said.

Honts suggested that construction could begin as soon as the 90-day appeals and response process for the EIS is complete. According to Judge Kuenhold’s order the developers will also need to have an access permit from Highway 160 from CDOT. “We’ve already begun working on that,” Honts said. “At that point we will come back to the county and ask for access and approval on the plat. Obviously these will require quite a bit of time.”

WOLF CREEK, Colo. — With the recent U.S. Forest Service approval of the “Application for Transportation and Utility Systems and Facilities for the Village at Wolf Creek Final Environmental Impact Statement,” the Village at Wolf Creek is one step closer to becoming a reality.

In 2004, Mineral County approved the Village at Wolf Creek final development plan, approval that was later revoked on the grounds of insufficient year-round access by 12th District Judge O. John Kuenhold. In his decision, Kuenhold called Mineral County’s approval of the final plan, “an arbitrary and capricious exercise of authority,” and said the county’s approval “misconstrued state statute and Mineral County subdivision regulations.”

As part of the ruling, Kuenhold decreed that once the developer obtained adequate year-round access and received a Colorado Department of Transportation permit to access U.S. 160, they could seek re-approval of their final plan from Mineral County.

With the EIS complete, step one of Kuenhold’s mandate is essentially complete.

According to the EIS, year-round access, and the main access point to the village, will be provided by the construction of a new 750-foot road called Snowshed Road. The second access point is a 250-foot extension to the existing Tranquility Road, which will provide access between the ski area and the village. The Wolf Creek Ski Corporation will pay to complete the 250-foot Tranquility Road extension, in spite of the fact that they are involved in litigation with the developer of the Village.

At an April 7 forum in Creede, president of the Village at Wolf Creek, Bob Honts, estimated that the Snowshed Road would cost the developers an additional $10 million. Honts also stated that the NEPA process and EIS cost the Village $2.5 million.
Honts suggested that construction could begin as soon as the 90- day appeals and rebuttal process for the EIS is complete. According to Kuenhold’s order, the developers will also need to have an access permit from Highway 160 from CDOT. “We’ve already begun working on that,” Honts said. “At that point we will come back to the county and ask for access and approval on the plat. Obviously these will require quite a bit of time.”

Honts and McCombs had clearly been provided all questions beforehand and came to the forum with charts, graphs and an outline of their legal case defending the village. Opponents of the village were either not invited or chose not to attend the forum. In a press release dated April 4, Colorado State Representative Mark Larson (R-Cortez) said, “This ostensibly unbiased forum is a sham. The Upper Rio Grande Economic Development Council (URGEDC) hosting this forum has already come out in favor of the Village, is stacking the participant list to promote the village, and has refused to address numerous biases in how the forum would be carried out.”

“A one-sided forum is not an appropriate venue to address the public’s concerns about the village,” stated state Sen. Jim Isgar (D-Durango). “There are important issues related to the village that need to be addressed fairly and openly.”

URGEDC President Jon Boyd facilitated the forum. Vice president Dusty Hicks, a paid consultant for the village, did not sit on the panel. URGEDC members said that it was unfortunate all opponents to the development declined to attend and that Colorado Wild had not been invited because they were not an owner or public agency involved in the decision making process. All questions were presented in writing and went through the URGEDC board.

No political statements were allowed. The URGEDC claimed to have read every question, but people approached Jon Boyd after the four-hour meeting asking why their question had not been read. No public comment or outbursts were allowed or speeches from the audience. Pagosa Springs resident Juana Lee Park was removed from the crowd for speaking out and telling Honts and McCombs that they were ignoring the effects their development would have on Archuleta County. She was escorted from the standing-room-only 275-capacity meeting room by a Mineral County sheriff’s deputy.

Seventy-eight year old billionaire, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs left halfway through the four-hour meeting because he was not feeling well. But before he left he addressed the density of the 2,172 units and 222,100 square feet of retail space. “These are the maximum numbers,” McCombs said. “The public will ultimately decide what the density will be. We don’t know if we can market 500 units. We’re not going to build until we find out if we can sell some.”

Later, Honts said, “We will never build all 2,172 units.” But he went on to say, “I wouldn’t take Mr. McCombs statement as pessimistic. I have never seen a man that could sell better than Red McCombs.” Honts said that together he and McCombs would invest more than $100 million during the first phase of the development.

Honts pointed out that an appendix to the EIS includes projected economic impacts based upon an IMPLAN model result. In year six, the IMPLAN model suggests that tax revenues from construction and operations in the tri-county area will peak at nearly $23 million and that the project will provide 3,700 new jobs.

“Per capita, Mineral County will be the wealthiest county in Colorado,” Honts said. “The tri-county area will be one of the wealthiest. We will see an increase [in income] of 80 percent for southwest Colorado.”

Honts announced that the Village at Wolf Creek will include a major university conference center and said they will soon unveil plans for a golf course either east or west of the village, but most likely in Rio Grande County.

“I have always wondered why there is such antagonism toward developers,” McCombs said before he left. “Without developers we wouldn’t have highways and airports and I wouldn’t have my business. Most areas of the world are looking for development. After the village has been opened a few years, it will be hard to find anyone opposed to it.”

PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — A contract is a mutual exchange of a promise. In a contract, each party promises to do or not to do something in exchange for the other party’s promise to do or not to do something. This exchange happens verbally all the time and is legally valid, except when involving the purchase of land.

However, an oral contract is very difficult to enforce because it is nearly impossible to prove that the two parties actually had an agreement. Written contracts are more binding. An exchange of letters or e-mails can create a binding contract. Service contracts that will take more than a year to complete and the sale of goods over $500 must be in writing.

Many small business owners are creative individuals: artists, writers, photographers, crafters, and contracts can protect them when working with a buyer purchasing artisan goods, or when creating a commission such as a mural or mosaic installed in a custom home.

The two most important terms in a contract are price and delivery. Other elemental terms include: Offer, acceptance, and consideration. An offer is a proposal that invites acceptance in the form of a return promise. Specific terms (subject, price, etc.) must be stated. Acceptance comes from the person to whom an offer is made.

Contracts cannot be entered into with minors, intoxicated people or people with mental disabilities who are generally considered incompetent. (The choice of trying to make a living as an artist or writer does not automatically deem the party incompetent.)

Copyright law requires that any transfer of a copyright or an exclusive right in a copyright must be in writing.

Conditions stated in the contract must be followed. Sometimes the parties perform simultaneously and sometimes one party must perform a duty before the other party is obligated. In other words, a work of art or piece of writing must be completed before the buyer will pay. The UCC covers the sale of “goods” like a painting or photograph, but it does not cover the sale of “services,” an actor or musician performing at an event. Warranties can be created orally, even if the contract must be written.
Warranties are often made during contract negotiations. An implied warranty can include an artist given the right to convey title in the artwork to a purchaser or that the artwork is fit for the particular purpose for which it is sold. An express warranty occurs when an artist asserts either facts or promises relating to a work or describes the work in such a way that the purchaser relies on the facts, promises or description as a basis for making a purchase. If a writer promises an article will be 500 words and only submits an article of 450 words then the express warranty is violated.

An as-is clause just means buyer beware. Many artists and photographers and those creating digital work claim that the inks they use are archival, but 20 years from now if that giclee print on canvas you purchased begins to fade, it may be another case of the collectors who purchased work by Julian Schnabel for millions of dollars only for them to decay and crumble. The question legally becomes what is the implied purpose of a work of art?

Breach of contract involves some detriment or loss caused by the breach before recovery of damages is allowed. Damages generally include reasonably foreseeable losses (out-of pocket costs, lost profits). The injured party must take steps to minimize damages. Substantial performance — an artist will usually be able to get paid if the requirements of a contract have been substantially performed, but not if partially performed. The difference? Well, that depends on the detailed terms of the contract. Attorney Chris Beall from Faegre & Benson in Denver recommends that every commission agreement should anticipate the buyer not liking the work, when all points of the contract agreement have been met.

Statute of Limitations — there are specific time limits within which an injured party must bring a suit to have the injury remedied. Limits for contracts falling under the UCC (sale of goods) is four years from the time of the breach under federal law. A limit for contracts for services (employment contracts) varies by state: In Colorado it is three years. Limits in many states are longer for written contracts than for contracts that are oral, partly written or implied.

Photos Courtesy Eric Swanson and SITE Santa Fe
On left is Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Nine Cars,” gunpowder on rice paper. On right is Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Innopportune: Stage Two, 2004,” the tigers are made of papier mache, plaster, fiber glass, resin and painted hide. The arrows are made of brass, bamboo, feathers and bronze. On the wall to the left of the tiger is the artist’s drawing of “Tigers with Arrows 2005,” gunpowder on paper.

The work of Chinese-born artist Cai Guo-Qiang is explosive. Literally. The artist’s primary media are gunpowder and fireworks. Creating art with explosives may seem inappropriate given the almost daily news of car bombings and terrorist activity, but it is precisely this terrorism that Qiang addresses in his installation at SITE Santa Fe called “Inopportune.” For Cai, an explosion need not be destructive. An explosion can be creative, beautiful and even restorative.

Cai Guo-Qiang began his artistic career as a stage designer for the Shanghai Drama Institute. Entering the main gallery at SITE is like entering an elaborate stage production. Nine tigers, created from papier mache, plaster, fiberglass, resin and painted hide, are pierced with hundreds of bamboo arrows. The tigers prepare to pounce, some writhe in pain, while others hover in the air, contorted, distorted, attacked. Are they villainous tigers attacked by heroes or heroes attacked by villains? The answer is mutable. The idea of finding a tiger on the street in China is a symbol of unfounded fear. In numerology, the number nine represents aggressive action, penetration, courage and conflict. It also represents regeneration.

The spectacular drawings are made by exploding gunpowder in controlled patterns on heavy sheets of Japanese rice paper.

“Nine Cars” is 160 inches by 240 inches, and the circular form of the cars suggests the closed cycle of Qi or energy. It is easy to overlook the huge circular painting as you enter SITE, but nine cars is an important image in understanding the meaning behind the arrows piercing the tigers.

“Inopportune” was commissioned for MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., and was installed there from December 2004 through October 2005. Cia installed nine white cars there with sequenced multi-channel light tubes like Christmas lights splaying from them. The cars were positioned as a freeze-frame capturing the movement of a car flipping over and exploding.

At MASS MoCA, one walked under and around the cars before entering the second stage of the exhibit: the tigers. The exploding cars were the protrusion. The arrows in the tigers were the protrusions piercing the natural world. Having only the drawing of Nine Cars and not the rest of the original installation diminishes the effect at SITE.

The white car also is present in the nine-foot high, 42-foot long projection titled “Illusion,” in which a phantom car bristling with fireworks moves through Times Square at night. The pedestrians are oblivious to the fireworks. It’s as if the viewer is the only one who sees the explosions. Yet the charred car used to film the fireworks explosion sits in the adjacent gallery, a real connection to fear.

A resident of lower Manhattan since 1995, Cai experienced the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It is that experience, he says, that made him a New Yorker. Through his work, he hopes to reconfigure the meaning of an explosion to illustrate how “Something used for destruction and terror can also be constructive, beautiful and healing.”

Laura Steward Heon, former Curator at MASS MoCA, and new director of SITE Santa Fe, curated “Inopportune.” The exhibition provides imagery to stimulate thought without prescribing what the viewer should be thinking.

If you go
“Inopportune” an installation by Cai Guo-Qiang, through March 26, $8/$4 seniors and students, free to members (Fridays are free for everyone, thanks to The Brown Foundation of Houston). SITE Santa Fe, 1606 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, (505) 989-1188, sitesantafe.org.

PAGOSA SPRINGS — A creation of the mind, be it an invention, a literary or artistic work, or the symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce, is called intellectual property.

Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs.

The Shy Rabbit art center in Pagosa Springs recently hosted Colorado Lawyers for the Arts board member Christopher Beall from Faegre & Benson in Denver. Beall, an IP litigator, discussed the finer points of IP: Patents; Copyright; Trademark and Trade Secrets. Issues critically important for artists, writers, musicians and performers to understand, but frequently overlooked until it is too late.

This week, the Business Journal features the industrial property of patents and trademarks. In the March 20 issue we will explore legal issues for artists on the Internet. Look for further articles to cover the basics of contracts, licenses and entity formation in future issues.

In the world of intellectual property, there are other forms of protection besides copyright.

PATENT

A patent typically applies to a new non-obvious useful invention. A patent can be for something utilitarian or it can be for a new, non-obvious ornamental invention or design. Jewelry artist David Yurman owns a design patent for his cable link bracelet. A patent lasts 19 years from the date of issuance.

A patent is beneficial for an artist whose work is at risk of being knocked off in large quantities. The authority of patent allows shipments to be stopped at the border. Many artists who are finding their work copied in Hong Kong and shipped back into America and sold to mass retailers, could help themselves by applying for a patent.

With a copyright, to prove infringement, the artist, writer or musician must be able to prove that the person copying the work had access to the original. With a patent, access is not an issue. It doesn’t matter if a jewelry artist has ever seen the work of David Yurman; if they create a cable link bracelet with similar structure as that patented by David Yurman, then the patent has been violated.

TRADEMARK

A trademark is any word, name, symbol or device or combination thereof used by a person to identify and distinguish his or her goods or services from those of others and to indicate the source of the work. Trademark law is designed to protect consumers. No one can use a swoosh mark to make running shoes.

A swoosh mark prevents consumers running shoes and apparel can sport the swoosh mark.

In the United States, registration of a Trademark is not required for protection. Trademark priority is established by: 1) Being the first to use a mark for particular goods or services in a geographic area; or 2) Filing a federal application based on use, an intent-to-use, or a foreign filing that matures to registration. Trademark rights arise when the mark, name, symbol, device or combination are used regularly in the marketplace.

Trademark law protects the owner from dilution and from the likelihood of confusion. Trademarks are very clear identifiers of a product. The Coca Cola label, the Pepsi can, the Gateway computer cow box, Kodak, Exxon — only the owners of these famous marks or names can use them, and the distinctive quality of a mark cannot be tarnished, mutilated or diluted in use by another.

A simple Trademark search begins by searching the Yellow Pages for the common law use of a name or trademark. An official search to determine if a trademark is already in use costs between $600-$5,000, depending on the complexity.
Fair use of trademark is more complex than fair use of a copyright. The only clear fair use of trademark is in all forms of news reporting and news commentary. A trademark may be used fairly by another person in comparative commercial advertising or promotion to identify a competing good or service. Think Coke and Pepsi ads that use the competitors name or trademark to say their product is better.

In determining the likelihood of Trademark confusion in fair use the court looks at the distinctiveness of the senior mark; the similarity of the marks; if the goods or services are related; the consumer care at the point of purchase; the junior user’s intent; the trade channels and the likelihood that the consumer can bridge the gap; and at any actual confusion created. There are two types of fair use: (descriptive and nominative.)

Although trademark rights may be acquired in descriptive words and images, non-trademark holders may use such words in their descriptive sense, but not as a trademark. Bausch & Lomb may call their contact lens solution Sensitive Eyes Plus but a competitor may say that their saline solution is “especially for sensitive eyes.” And while Car-Freshener owns the trademark in pine-tree-shaped car air fresheners, the court said that it could not stop S.C. Johnson from shaped like pine trees where the shape was being used to refer to the pine scent of the product and not as a source identifier.

Mattel sued the musical group Aqua for trademark infringement because of their song, Barbie Girl. The court upheld that when the only word reasonably available to describe a particular thing is a trademark, others could use the mark to describe the thing. What other word is there to describe Barbie? The court agreed that the band could not effectively comment on the Barbie doll without mentioning her name. The CD liner notes stated that Mattel did not approve the song. The band did not include an image of a Barbie doll and therefore did not use more of the trademark than was necessary.

What is interesting for artists to consider is that Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s soup cans are mimicking an exact representation of the Campbell’s trademark. Campbell’s never considered suing Warhol for trademark infringement; however, in today’s climate and market, Campbell’s could sue and would probably win a lawsuit.

TRADE DRESS

Trade Dress is the look and feel of a product, which distinguishes the product from those of others and indicates the source of the product. Chris Beall, from Faegre & Benson and a board member of Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, recently represented Denver artist Mark Becker in a trade dress violation lawsuit in New York. San Francisco based jewelry artist Jeanine Payer sued Becker for violation of trade dress. Payer, who had not copyrighted her silver jewelry hand engraved with famous quotes and poetry felt that Becker’s work was too similar to her own. Payer, who only sells ten percent of her jewelry in New York, filed the case in New York because the court system is more favorable for artists. However, Payer lost her case because the New York jury did not believe consumers would be confused by Becker’s work and were differences the jury felt significant. Becker’s work is rounded and Payer’s work has square corners. Becker’s silver work has a lip on the edge and Payer’s work is smooth.

In the end, trademark and trade dress laws protect their owners from dilution: the likelihood of confusion as to the affiliation, connection or association — the origin — of a good or service. To qualify as a trademark, the name, logo or symbol must be unique enough to earn customer recognition on its own or have earned continued use of time. The more distinctive the trademark, the easier it is to get the courts to stop its use by others.

For more information, or to find a lawyer, contact Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, www.lawyersforthearts.org or reach them by phone at (303) 722-7994.

PAGOSA SPRINGS — A work of art, be it a painting, a sculpture, a photograph, a piece of jewelry, a ceramic vessel, a wooden carving, a poem or a work of fiction is considered to be Intellectual Property (IP). Shy Rabbit, an artist-run art center in Pagosa Springs, recently hosted Colorado Lawyers for the Arts board member Christopher Beall from Faegre & Benson in Denver. Beall, an IP litigator, discussed the finer points of IP: Patents; Copyright; Trademark and Trade Secrets. Issues critically important for artists, writers, musicians and performers to understand, but frequently overlooked until it is too late.

“The thing all artists need to get in the habit of thinking about,” Beall said, “is if you want to engage in the arts you should think about it as a business and do what businesses do — have a lawyer. Approach your business as a business and not as a free spirit. Yes, it’s an art business, but it’s still a business.”

Beall was invited to Shy Rabbit to assist artists in beginning to approach their arts business in a businesslike manner. More than a dozen artists attended two half-day workshops. The Business Journal will cover the IP aspect of copyright in this issue and patent and trademark in the March 6 issue. Look for further articles to cover Internet protection and the basics of contracts, licenses and entity formation in future issues.

COPYRIGHT

A copyright involves the expression of an idea. According to the Copyright Act of 1976, “copyright protection subsists . . . in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression . . . from which they can be perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated . . .” In other words, a copyright exists from the moment the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression, either on paper or digitally recorded in a computer. The moment the writer fixes the words to the document or the artist fixes the sketch to paper, it is copyrighted. Copyrightable works of authorship include literary works; musical works; dramatic works; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; motion pictures and other audio-visual works; sound recordings and architectural works.

Copyright and patent law are constitutional law, drafted by the founding fathers. The copyright code of 1789 stated that Congress shall have the power “to promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Copyright law originally protected the nonfiction writing of scientists and the useful discoveries of inventors for 15 years. It was designed to encourage thinkers to convey their knowledge to the world.

Today, copyright protection is guaranteed for the lifetime of the creator, plus 70 years (for corporations, for the lifetime of the creator, plus 50 years). The owner of a copyright has the exclusive rights to do and authorize the reproduction of copyrighted work; to prepare derivatives and deviations of the work; to distribute copies; to perform copyrighted works publicly; to display copyrighted works publicly; to perform a sound recording by digital audio transmission.

Copyright cannot and does not protect concepts, ideas, procedures, systems, methods or operations, moods, or thematic structure.

Some common copyright myths:

Work must be registered with the copyright office in order for the creator to have a copyright.

Not true; a work is copyrighted the moment it is fixed in a tangible medium. However, if your work is not registered with the copyright office www.copyright.gov, it will make it more difficult to sue if someone wrongfully copies your work. Without registering, you cannot obtain statutory damages and attorney’s fees. An artist or writer can register a body of work for $35. Burn all images or documents on a disk and send them in with the proper paperwork. Website files can be burned every 90 days and submitted for copyright protection.

If there is no copyright notice—the letter ‘c’ inside the circle— the work is not protected by copyright law.

Wrong. All work is protected the moment it is fixed in a tangible medium and the presence or lack of presence of the copyright symbol means nothing. Under the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 no formalities are required for the creation of copyright rights. But it doesn’t hurt to remind people that the work is copyrighted. In Word the hot keys are option + G.

Mailing a letter to myself with my work inside and keeping the envelope sealed, is just as good as submitting the work for copyright registration.

Wrong. See the answer to number one above. Courts do not recognize this “poor woman’s copyright.” It’s only $35 to protect your work. Cough it up. It will save money in the long run.

I can copyright the title to my great American novel, my sculpture, my whatever.

Nope. Sorry. No matter how brilliant it is you cannot copyright the title. Phrases, slogans and titles are not eligible for copyright protection. However, the title of a series of books, can, in certain circumstances, be registered as a trademark under the Lanham Act.

If an apprentice makes the work and I call it a work for hire, then I own the copyright.

“Work made for hire” applies only to the following: A work prepared by an employee within the scope of her employment; or a specially commissioned work that is a contribution to a collective work, a part of a motion picture, a sound recording, an instructional text, a test or answers to a test, an atlas. Notice that sculpture, choreography, ballet and screenplay are not included in this list. And remember, an independent contractor needs to have a written and signed contract. Then, the employer and not the person doing the work owns the copyright.

If I own the copyright in a photograph of a celebrity, I can use the photograph however I want.

Well, not exactly. Every person, not just celebrities, controls the right to the exploitation of their likeness. Is it mere replication or is it a transformative and artistic creation? It is best to get permission in writing in the form of a legal agreement, but that still might not be enough. This is an area that requires the consult of legal expertise.

If I own the negative of a photograph that someone else took, I can make as many copies as I want or, if I own a piece of sculpture, I can sell as many copies of the sculpture as I want.

Simple answer. No. The artist may continue to exploit the value of the work after it is sold. Sell the original, license the prints. Make T-shirts. The artist owns the copyright.

If our town owns a commissioned mural or sculpture, they can take the piece down whenever they want.
Sorry, not without permission. The Visual Artists Rights Act provides the artist with the right of attribution; the right to control attribution to a distorted or mutilated version of the work; the right to prevent intentional distortion, mutilation or other modification of the work if such alterations would be prejudicial to the author’s honor or reputation; the right to prevent destruction of a work of recognized stature.

If I use less than 10 percent, 10 seconds or 10 words of someone else’s work, I cannot be held liable for copyright infringement.

There are no magic numbers. If you take the heart of the work, even if it is one line of a poem or 500 words of a 20,000-word book, it is copyright infringement. However there is such a thing as “Fair Use.” The fair use of a copyrighted work includes criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research. Factors in determining fair use include the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; the nature of the copyrighted work; the amount and sub
stantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. In other words, it’s not fair if your use of the copyrighted work is taking away sales from the author.

If my work is a parody of someone else’s work, then it will always be protected by the “fair use” defense.

A parody is commentary on the original work and may constitute “fair use” of the underlying copyrighted material only if it uses only so much of the original work as is necessary to suggest, rather than copy, the original work. And a work of parody is protected only if it is “transformative” (a dramatic change in appearance or meaning!).

If a song is in the public domain I can use it however I want.

Yes, the 1812 Overture is in the public domain and may be used. However, Jon William’s arrangement of the 1812 Overture is protected by copyright. So be aware.

If I copy something from the Internet I don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.
No. Copyright law applies to the Internet.

For more information, or to find a lawyer, contact Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, www.lawyersforthearts.org or reach them by phone at (303) 722-7994.

The world’s largest provider of services to the oil and gas industry was hired by BootJack Management Company to cap two geothermal wells in downtown Pagosa Springs this week. The geothermal wells are located on property between the Archuleta County Courthouse and Fifth Street, adjacent to the former Chevron station.

“The casing lining on the wells is worn out and water is seeping out all over, endangering the courthouse.” David J. Brown said. “Halliburton will cap off the old wells and we will have to drill new wells.”

Halliburton completed work on the wells Dec. 20.

Brown and his company, BootJack Management, purchased the property from Lou Poma this year. Fuel tanks at the site were removed during the summer and demolition of structures at the site began this week. Next spring, according to Brown, the area will be planted and kept as open space until a development plan is finalized.

“It will be a minimum of two years. We are currently master planning the site,” Brown said.

The geothermal wells on the property were drilled in 1955 as a favor to Vic Poma, Lou Poma’s father. Vic Poma moved to Pagosa Springs in 1944 and bought the station, which consisted of two hand-crank gasoline pumps. He purchased a 10-foot square building and started a business that he would own until 1985, adding lots, bays and buildings. In 1955, a seismograph crew spent a month in Pagosa Springs searching the area for uranium. After each day’s work, Vic Poma would keep the seismograph trucks in good repair, working on them all night.

“As a token of their appreciation, they asked if he would like a couple of hot water wells and drilled them for him for free,” Lou Poma said.

Over time, the casing linings corroded. “They’ve been there for fifty years,” Poma said. “The minerals in the water eat through the metal.”

Lou Poma inherited the metal building with a full basement that was once Western Auto. In 1990, Poma bought back the service station and convenience store on the neighboring property and converted the old Western Auto into a Big O Tire store.
In 2001, Poma approached Archuleta County and offered to sell the county the property.

“I offered it to them for $650,000,” Poma said. “They knew then that they needed to expand the jail and they had just got a grant or something.”

The county passed on the offer, even though the property was appraised at $990,000 in 1999. BootJack Management purchased the property in 2005 for $1,050,000.

“I wanted to get out of there pretty bad,” Poma said. “I had enough.”

Poma said he never had any problem with the geothermal wells. Water problems he had at the site in February 2005 involved plastic piping under the concrete that utilized geothermal water to melt snow on the driveway.

“One of the plastic pipes leaked right over the filler pipe of the fuel tank,” Poma said.

Three hundred gallons of water ended up in the 8,000-gallon fuel tank. The tank was not full and no fuel ever spilled. The tank sensor went off, but staff of the Mataya’s Chevron, which rented the convenience store and gas station from Poma, did nothing and several customers unknowingly filled their auto tanks with water instead of gasoline.

As for the tearing down of property that once belonged to his family and his thoughts on the future, Poma said, “Hey, life goes on.

“The filling station died in 2005 and it’s going to be replaced with something newer and hopefully something to benefit the town,” Poma added. “Mr. Brown is going to use the hot water, and God bless him; I didn’t have the money to do it and he does. He’s going to make it bigger and better and nicer than I ever could. As far as what he is doing – I think it’s fantastic for the town.”

PAGOSA SPRINGS — The snow gods have not blessed the Four Corners. Wolf Creek Ski Area reports that they are 50 percent behind in snowfall. As of press time, base depth at the summit was only 37 inches — this for the ski area that boasts “the most snow in Colorado,” and accumulated 535 inches of snow for the 2004-05-ski season.

December skier visits are down for Wolf Creek Ski Area. Nearly 51,000 skiers hit the slopes last month, down 3,500 from December 2004 — a 6 percent decrease.

“Lack of snow hurt us in the beginning,” Rosanne Haidorfer-Pitcher, director of marketing and sales, said. “We lost three weeks of the season and probably a little more.”

Last year, Wolf Creek opened Oct. 29, thanks to several early sea- son snowstorms. This year, the ski area didn’t open until Nov. 12. Only 6,740 skiers visited Wolf Creek in November, compared to 31,983 last year and an additional 1,764 in October, which is an 80 percent decrease.

“We did really well over Christmas and we are doing really well now,” Pitcher added. “I think we are getting New Mexico skiers because we have more snow than New Mexico. That’s what’s keeping our numbers healthy.”

Overall skier visits year-to-date are down 34 percent from last year.

In spite of the limited snow, Pitcher says that conditions are good. “The snow quality is really good, but there are more obstacles, bushes and the tops of trees that are usually covered with snow.”

There are three months left in the ski season and nearly 60 percent of skier visits happened last year during the last three months of the season. The 2004-05-ski season was an exceptional, record-breaking year for Wolf Creek ski area, which saw a total of 215,821 skiers enjoy the 535 inches of natural snowfall. Skier numbers at the ski area have steadily increased since the record low ski season of 1999-00 that saw only 114,802 skiers and a dismal 188 inches of total snowfall.

With a year-to-date total snowfall of 82 inches, many are wondering what will appease the snow gods? What sort of offering can we make to muster up a blizzard of wet snow?

“We’re just hoping that things change around,” Pitcher said.

The Business Journal asked leaders in Pagosa Springs, Colorado what they predicted to be the most important event, development or happening, or what they hoped to see happen in 2006 in Pagosa Springs. Their responses are listed below.

“When we look back on 2006, in 5, 10, 25 years, what will stand out will be the emergence of a collaboration of Town and County governments, businesses, nonprofits, and individual people to create a sustainable vision for our community.”

Michael Whiting, Director
Southwest Land Alliance

“My first prediction is that Leslie Tottenhoff and I will marry on January 7, 2006. Parelli will start construction on our new corporate headquarters in Aspen Village. Parelli Natural Horsemanship University, a public education nonprofit foundation will launch in the fall of 2006. Seeds of learning will break ground on their new facility. Funding will become available to study the creation of a cultural arts center in the down town area. The Mankind project will hold an informational presentation meeting on January 7 that will change how all men and women will relate to each other and the rest of the world. Land conservation in our county will become a required portion of every land development request made to Town and County Officials. Town and County officials will adopt development impact fees that will support the infrastructure costs that development creates. The number of American troops in Iraq will be reduced by one-half and the seeds of democracy will flourish.”

Mark Weiler, President
Parelli Natural Horsemanship

“I hope to see a strong market and business arena for 2006. The tourist sector of the business economy will be fueled by numerous events this year starting mid-June and going strong until mid-September. I hope to see a lot of community involvement with all of the activities planned. With the addition of a music festival, bike tour, and all events having either a face-lift or new concept, I hope that the community will see new opportunities to get involved and experience the fun of Pagosa.

In addition to the visitor side of the business, the Chamber is planning more business seminars and several new and timely ways to disseminate information to our members. We plan to be a stronger business resource for our members and to create lots of events and opportunities on our own and with other organizations to make the whole year memorable.”

Mary Jo Coulehan, Director
Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce

“Adoption of the comprehensive plan and the downtown master plan will be the most important accomplishments for Pagosa Springs in 2006. Pagosa will continue to become more visible on the national radar screen.”

David J. Brown, Developer, Philanthropist, community member
Bootjack Ranch

“I hope to see continued growth and success for all of our students in the schools. We are proud of our teachers and especially proud of what they have accomplished over the last year. I predict there will be many exciting adventures for our students in 20006 and encourage parent to join us in this journey.”

Duane Noggle, Superintendent
Archuleta 50 Joint School District

PASOGSA SPRINGS — In a recent meeting with Town Manager Mark Garcia and Town Planner Tamra Allen, an unidentified developer outlined plans to build a commercial center with a 250,000-square-foot retail space along with a strip component of 272,000 square feet on a 60-acre parcel south of U.S. Highway 160 across from the Pagosa Country Center and Westside City Market.

On Dec. 6, the town council quickly and unanimously ratified Ordinance 656, an emergency ordinance temporarily suspending the processing of applications for large retail developments. This ordinance expires June 15, 2006.

“This ordinance recognizes and enacts the previously expired big box ordinance,” Garcia said to council and dozens of community members packed into the chambers.
The previous ordinance expired Aug. 3, when council and the community Big Box Task Force failed to find an acceptable compromise on the issue.

“Since our attempt to pass a mid-box size cap ordinance failed, there have been two scheduled meetings between council and the task force and both have been cancelled,” Garcia said. “However, council and the Big Box Task Force have agreed that there should be some design criteria and they agreed to size caps in the downtown area, but there has been no size cap agreement for the remainder of the community.”

Garcia said the town was working with the county to find out where they were on this issue. County Planner Blair Leist and County Commissioners Robin Schiro and Ronnie Zaday were all present at the council meeting. Zaday acknowledged that the county moratorium has also expired, but that the county is willing to work with the town on this issue.

“The county supports planning cooperation,” Leist added.

Garcia pointed out that design criteria work is underway as part of the downtown master plan and suggested that the town may be able to expand the scope to include big box retail. Allen agreed and said it was “definitely possible,” to ask consultant Winter and Company to work on this.

Garcia said that town staff felt it was important to execute a temporary moratorium to give the town the time it needs to complete various planning projects including the master plan and comprehensive plan, which have targeted completion dates of April 2006. It will also allow the town to prepare through its Land Use Code, the regulations of which currently do not adequately address the impacts of such development. The town wants to also consider implementing impact fees and to complete the unfinished business with the big box task force.

Angela Atkinson, chair of the big box task force, agreed that the moratorium would allow the task force to complete its work to provide recommendations to the council concerning future legislation. The earlier efforts failed when council members questioned some of the task force’s data and expressed concern about square footage size caps.

“I hope that council and the task force can come to an agreement on research methodology,” Atkinson said.

In other business, the council was updated on the lodgers’ tax and informed that the state will not collect the additional 3 percent tax and that the town will have to establish their own means of tax collection. Garcia asked for permission to begin establishing a tourism committee that will provide input on how the funds will be spent. Council also approved the addition of $47,000 to the 2006 budget to fund a detailed transportation plan that will include an evaluation of parking accumulation and occupancy, and provide a short, mid and long-term plan for parking and transportation options. The same person providing the preliminary evaluation for the comprehensive plan will complete the plan, and Tamra Allen said they were confident the detailed transportation plan would be completed on the same schedule as the comprehensive plan.

“I can’t think of anything more important,” council member Darrel Cotton said.

PAGOSA SPRINGS – Ask most people how many options they have for selling property and they will say two: List it with a real estate agent or try to sell it “by owner.” But a third option is on the rise. The number of real estate auctions in 2005 was 15 percent higher than the number in 2004.

The National Association of Realtors predicts that by 2008, one in three properties will be sold at auction. Most real estate auctions today are not foreclosure or distress situations; rather they are the result of a seller choosing a cost-effective, accelerated method to sell a property at a true market value. Auctions are win-win situations where sellers obtain immediate cash and buyers purchase properties for a price determined by open, competitive bidding.

The Four Corners is home to a master franchiser for the only franchised real estate company in the world, Pacific Auction Exchange. PAX Auction Option, LLC is one of 33 franchises nationwide and was recently named “Franchise of the Year 2005,” by their parent company in California. Auction Option LLC is owned and operated by Aristotle and Janelle Karas and is based in Pagosa Springs.

In addition to “Franchise of the Year,” the company placed first and second in the “Highest Auction Price” category. They sold a property in Kailua Beach, Hawaii, for $14,630,000 and the Ptarmigan Ranch in Durango for $1,078,000. The Karas’ were also awarded the prize for “Most Number of Auctions.” They hosted 20 auctions in 2005.

“For me,” Janell Karas, franchise director, said, “the number one thing is that we are pioneers in this industry. We can offer someone a different way of doing (real estate).”

Karas outlined for The Business Journal what she called “a totally streamlined way of taking a property and getting it sold.”

PAX meets with a seller. “As long as the seller doesn’t have crazy expectations, it’s usually a good fit. If they say ‘I have to have my property sold in two months,’ or ‘I just want to get rid of it,’ then they are probably a good candidate.”

According to the National Association of Realtors, a good auction situation is one where the seller needs immediate cash, has a partnership or marriage break-up, is moving out of state, wants to liquidate an estate, is retiring, is auction minded, has a listing that is about to expire, has already purchased another house, knows the auction will bring a fair market price, has financial problems, or has high carrying costs on the property.

In a real estate auction, there isn’t a traditional market evaluation or appraisal. The buyer doesn’t name a price and hope that someone will pay that amount. In an auction, “The auction broker gets all the buyers together and we see what the market will bear,” Karas explained. “Every property is unique. I don’t know if the property is desirable. We don’t do a ‘per square foot’ price analysis. It is what it is.”

What the auction company does is market the property to attract potential buyers. In the case of Kailua property, marketing was done via an elegant brochure and DVD, Web sites and a network of other real estate auction brokers. The Kailua property was ideal for auction because it was unique and, because if its uniqueness, difficult to appraise. The builder had high carrying costs for keeping the property and wanted to create an urgency and excitement about the property similar to that surrounding a Picasso at a Christi’s auction.

A good auction property is one that: has a lot of equity (25 percent or more), is unique and there is enough interest to encourage competition, has high carrying costs for the owner, is vacant, or is difficult to appraise.

The seller can choose from three types of auctions. An Absolute Auction means the property is sold to the highest bidder, regardless of the price. This form of auction generates the most response from the marketplace. A Minimum Bid Auction means a minimum price is set and announced and publicized up front. This reduces the risk for the seller, as the sales price must be above a minimum acceptable level. A Reserve Auction means that the highest bid is an offer, not a sale. A minimum bid is not published and the seller reserves the right to accept or reject the highest bid within a specified time. The seller is not obligated to confirm a sale other than at a price that is entirely acceptable to them.

An auction is simple. There are no warranties (except clear title) and little chance that the sale won’t close because buyers are pre-approved. An auction contract is three pages compared to the typical 13-16-page real estate agreement. For a seller, the real estate auction broker is the only true seller’s agent. Most real estate professionals are dual agents, meaning they can represent both the buyer and the seller during a transaction.

“I really like that we are focused on one thing at a time,” Karas said. “We focus on one property for 30 days and get it sold.”

The National Association of Realtors recommends that realtors who want to get involved in auctions look for an auction company that is experienced in real estate sales. PAX, Auction Option LLC is one of three exclusive real estate auction companies in Colorado. Predictions are that sales via auction will skyrocket as realtors expand their market to increase revenues.

“There is an incredible income potential,” Karas said. “This is a low overhead business. The whole reason I wanted to become a master franchiser is that I wanted to share the opportunity.”

PAX, Auction Option LLC, has franchises in Highlands Ranch, Colo., Evergreen, Colo., Denver Tech Center, Colo., Santa Fe, and Las Vegas. They are looking to expand their team. As a franchisor the company offers an apprenticeship program, marketing support and a network of other auction companies. The opportunity is available to those without a current real estate license and Auction Option LLC provides 30, 60 and 90-day strategies for those in the process of getting their Broker’s License. The master franchiser considers their franchisees to be partners and helps out by handling some of the internal work out of their office in Pagosa Springs.

In an auction, the broker typically gets a 10 percent buyer’s premium or commission on the sale price. A PAX franchisee then pays a 6 percent royalty on their net earnings to the franchisor, except during the apprenticeship period (or first ten transactions) where the franchisee keeps 55 percent and the franchisor receives 45 percent of net. The initial investment is $25,000 and the company has an extensive application process.

“We are looking for someone who is a team player, a people person, detail oriented and energetic, a real entrepreneur,” Karas said and then added: “This will be a large segment of how people will buy and sell real estate. It’s happening. It’s growing. Now’s the time to get in with a company that’s developing their name and is on the cutting edge of this industry.”

For more information, contact Janell Karas, franchise director at Pacific Auction Exchange, Auction Option LLC at (877) 612-8494 or email her at Janell@auction-works.com. Visit their Web site at www.auction-works.com.

The Pagosa Springs Arts Alliance (PSAA) is asking for $10,000 from the Town of Pagosa Springs and $5,000 from Archuleta County for a total of $15,000 in taxpayer money to help fund a feasibility study on whether or not Pagosa Springs is ready to build a cultural arts center.

More specifically, they are hoping that the feasibility study will help determine the appropriate size for the venue. The PSAA is a new organization that brings together Friends of the Performing Arts and the Music Boosters Dream Team along with other interested community members to construct and manage a cultural arts center; to develop an assistance program for local arts students and aspiring artists; and to develop formal and informal educational arts resources for learned of all ages that would ultimately include an arts college.

Friends of the Performing Arts (FoPA) was founded in 2002 by Sandy Applegate and John Porter following a Music Boosters production of “You Can’t Take it With You.” The cast and crew were frustrated because they couldn’t rehearse in the high school auditorium. They had to rent space at the Ridgeview Mall (currently Terry’s Ace Hardware). When it came time to perform, the Music Boosters were bumped when the basketball team played an extra game in the gym. (The limited parking and acoustics don’t allow for the auditorium, commons and gymnasium to be used at the same time and a school event takes precedent over a community event.)

“We needed a space dedicated to all of the performing arts. One group alone can keep the space busy enough,” Applegate said.”"There is so much talent in the community that is separate from our big musical productions. We needed the space to showcase the wide variety of talent here: individuals, small groups, as well as large community events.”

Applegate began talking to people about her idea. Her husband John, also active in several local nonprofit organizations, planned to attend Philanthropy Days, an event that brings nonprofits and foundations together every other in year to discuss ideas that need funding. Applegate approached Music Boosters and asked if she could attend under their umbrella and Music Booster agreed to have Applegate and another board member, Andy Donlon, act as their liaison to Philanthropy Days, but only Applegate attended.

Applegate said she received very positive reactions from the funders to the idea of building a theatre in Pagosa. Applegate then approached Music Boosters about the idea of building a community venue, but they were interested in a goal that would result in “Music Boosters multiplied.” Applegate then approached the Pagosa Springs Arts Council about the idea of building a community venue.

“They said no,” Applegate said.

Applegate and John Porter formed FoPA and filed for nonprofit status receiving a 501(c) 3 designation. Applegate says that those who know her realize the name has special affinity and humor. “I’m the queen of the faux pas,” she said.

Problems began when FoPA began showcasing local talent. “What better way to get this idea out than by showing what talent we have here,” Applegate said. “We wanted to do small, quality productions to help raise funds.” They formed a performing arts group called “Footlighters.”

“People were blown away by the quality. People were getting excited,” Applegate said.

But some people were confused. Why do we have so many performing arts groups in a town this size? Why don’t they all work together? Other performing groups felt threatened by Footlighters and FoPA encroaching on their audience.

FoPA’s idea was to be visible and to earn a little money. Applegate knew that the money would not just appear, that they had to visible in order to build up the level of creative capital, to bring more awareness to the local talent and the need for a center.

During this same time, Music Boosters said they dropped the ball. “Sandy took an idea and ran with it,” Michael DeWinter, president of Music Boosters said. “She looked at the old school house, that old barn that blew down. We were behind them. We said we would do whatever we could to help and we key-holed a little bit of money.”

FoPA raised well over $10,000 and planned to use that money to raise more by applying for matching fund grants. In late 2002, they decided to expand the FoPA board and brought on additional community members: first, Walter Green and later Susan Neder, Felicia Meyer and Lynda Van Patter.

When Walter Green returned from a trip to Florida that October, he learned he had been elected president of FoPA.

“I love the performing arts and I thought I could be of help,” he said.

Green’s first priority was to put a plan together, a preliminary document that outlined what the organization hoped to achieve. “You can’t just talk and get anywhere,” Green said.

The board approached Maggie Caruso, who did a great deal of work to design a conceptual plan, based on a needs assessment completed by J.R. Porter Associates, Inc., that took the input from eleven organizations, including: Pagosa Springs Arts Council, Footlighters, Pretenders, San Juan Festival Ballet, Whistle Pig, Community Choir and the Education Center. Caruso’s conceptual plan was a visual representation of what might be needed to accommodate current and future needs. The conceptual plan included a big reception area for visual art display, space for all different organizations and disciplines: theatre, dance and visual art. Designed to be built in phases, they planned to start with a 90- to 130-seat black box theatre and then add a 200-seat main theatre that could eventually be doubled with the addition of a balcony. It was visual brainstorming, but for many the conceptual drawings looked too concrete and they dismissed it.

By the end of 2004, FoPA had drawings, floor plans and a possible location at Aspen Village that involved a shared parking arrangement with the Baptist Church, and a donation of more than three-acres along with the purchase of three acres, financed by the developer.

“Maggie felt it could be done and I think it was a good location,” Green said. “My goals were achieved.”

Two weeks before the end of his two-year term, Green asked the board to support the purchase of the property and they made a down payment. But Music Boosters approached FoPA and asked them to not move forward with the Aspen Village location because they didn’t think it would be big enough for their concept.

In 2003, Music Boosters formed a “Dream Team” and began to envision a facility based on the Irving Art Center in Irving, Texas, which has a population 194,547 and sits in the middle of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with an estimated population of 6 million. The Irving Arts Center is owned by the City of Irving who established an Arts Board in 1980 funded by the local hotel occupancy tax. In 1986, the first phase of the center opened and was completed in 1990. The Irving Arts Center is 91,500 square foot performing and visual arts space with a 707-seat concert hall, a 253-seat theatre and four gallery spaces with a 3,800 square foot main gallery. The Irving Arts Center is home to 18 arts organizations.

The Dream Team envisioned the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts to be a 198,260 square foot facility on 15 acres with a 1,000-seat theatre, a 350-seat thrust stage and a 250-seat salon theatre, a children’s theatre, a sculpture garden, an art gallery, rehearsal halls, construction shop, paint shop, dressing rooms, set storage, prop and costume storage and office space. They thought this could be a commercial venture tied to a convention center and flagship hotel. They approached local developers who suggested that if they provided a feasibility study that they might be interested.

In 2004, Jon Nash Putnam approached Music Boosters and suggested he was in contact with a venture capital group that was interested in funding projects with an educational compo
nent. (Music Boosters provides scholarships to local high school students and has donated musical instruments and other equipment to the high school. Dale Morris, a member of the Music Boosters board, also serves as volunteer director for the high school drama program.)

Putnam gave a long list of experiences and professed contact with people like Red McCombs and suggested that these moneyed Texans might fund a multi-million dollar facility. Nash Putnam, whose wife, Elaine, worked in the music business in Nashville, also suggested that a facility like this would be ideal for professional music groups and theatrical road shows that would find Pagosa Springs an ideal stopover between scheduled dates in Denver and Phoenix or Salt Lake City.

In the summer of 2004, Clay Pruitt, a high school student awarded a Music Boosters scholarship to attend the University of Colorado, approached Michael De Winter and told him about a dream he had and in his dream, he said Pagosa had a performing arts college.

“He gave us the expansive dream that none of us ever thought about,” Graves said.

The Dream Team expanded its vision to include a future performing arts college and took the money they had key-holed and paid Nash Putnam a $7,500 retainer to do the preliminary work necessary to hire a consultant to perform a feasibility study. He was to complete a budget and raise the funds by private donation to pay for the study. They also formed a separate nonprofit called Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts

During this same time, Walter Green was contacted by Music Boosters and told there was someone who wanted to meet with him. A lunch appointment was scheduled and no one showed up, Green said. Several months later, Jon Nash Putnam approached FoPA and asked them to not move forward with the Aspen Village location.

FoPA requested a meeting with the Music Boosters board to discuss their issues and reasoning and Nash Putnam said that FoPA needed to deal with him. At this time, FoPA was unaware that Nash Putnam was on retainer. A. John Graves sat on the Music Booster’s board and served as the Education Center and Music Boosters liaison to FoPA. According to DeWinter, it was Graves who advised Music Boosters against involving FoPA in the hiring of Nash Putnam and the pursuit of their concept for the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts. But when Porter, Nash Putnam and Green met, Nash Putnam asked FoPA to stop their project as the arrangement with Aspen Village would not accommodate the concept for the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts and the public would think a performing arts center was a done deal, which would hamper the efforts of the Dream Team.

“The whole goal of [FoPA] was to build a theatre,” Green said. “I had a good approach, I thought, for how to get that done.”
Unfortunately, the FoPA board did not agree. By a 3-2 vote they decided not to move forward and pursue fund-raising without the support of Music Boosters. Green was understandably upset.

“I had a lot to be upset about,” Green said. “When you work so hard and your fellow board members don’t have a conviction. If you don’t feel you have support you need to move on.”

Green resigned from FoPA two weeks from the end of this two-year term.

“There have always been differences of opinion on size and location,” Neder said. “Both groups thought they were working in tandem. When the Dream Team learned that FoPA was considering the Aspen Village land, they said, “Wait! Let’s combine forces.” Neder, De Winter and Dale Morris all say that Music Boosters has always been supportive of FoPA.

After Walter Green resigned, Neder became president of FoPA and met personally with each member of the Music Boosters board. She began working with John Nash Putnam to merge the Dream Team and FoPA together, to broaden the board to include more members of the community. Nash Putnam spent a lot time trying to determine if the Pagosa Center for the Arts would fit on the Aspen Village property. For several months the new board worked diligently to come up with a new name and create a broad and encompassing mission statement. Today, FoPA and the Dream Team are now united as the Pagosa Springs Arts Alliance. The PSAA board includes: Neder, Patsy Lindblad, Dale Morris, Michael DeWinter, Scott Farnham, Jim Morris, Ed Lowrance, Felicia Meyer, Ronnie Zaday and Judy James, with John Graves and Julie Jessen as liaisons to the Education Center and the Town of Pagosa Springs, respectively.

“There has still been some criticism that FoPA and Music Boosters are exclusivist,” Neder said. “All the arts are important and have different considerations. We invite anyone to be a part of the process.”

PSAA is currently trying to raise the money necessary to pay for a feasibility study and hope that a professional consultant will help define the appropriate sized venue that Pagosa Springs can support. The PSAA Board has raised $5,000 and they hope to get funds from a Region 9 Economic Development grant. PSAA estimates that the feasibility study will cost between $50,000-$60,000 over several phases and the first phase should cost around $20,000.

When asked why they didn’t just take the money, rent a warehouse and start a black box theatre, Lindblad said that they hoped the consultant would help them define a facilities plan and the appropriate steps to take.

“This is the sort of thing that is energizing and the board will be looking at this,” Neder said.

“We want to see a percentage of the proceeds go back to education and we will have an endowment to pay the light bills, etcetera,” De Winter said. Preliminary estimated costs to maintain a facility the size the Dream Team envisions are close to $500,000 a year.

Currently, local performing arts organizations pay only janitorial fees to use the high school auditorium.
“If we have to pay $1,200 bucks a night rental to do a performance, there’s no way,” De Winter said, referring to Music Boosters.

“We definitely have to be realistic,” Dale Morris added. “It will be really interesting to see what the feasibility study says.”
“I would find it hard to believe with the way things are growing, that we cannot support a cultural arts center. If we build it correctly, it can serve as a lot of different things,” De Winter added.

As for the Aspen Village property, Mike Church expressed to Neder that Aspen Village was open to talking them and they would assess the situation when they are ready.

And although Nash Putnam was paid $7,500 by Music Boosters and additional $4,000 by PSAA to assist PSAA in securing up to $100,000 in contributions and to evaluate and advise the organization on plans relating to the financing and development of an Arts Center, it is Lindblad who is volunteering her time to review the existing Needs Assessment and Economic Significant Study done by Porter and it is Lindblad who is spearheaded the funding drive and researching all performing arts events that have happened in Pagosa Springs over the past two years.

“I think we will all be flabbergasted at the amount of performances we’ve had,” Lindblad said.
Green, who is now running for county commissioner, was asked what he thought about the request PSAA has made to the county to pay for the feasibility study.

“I think the county better concentrate on providing necessary services. The citizenry is not well served by paying for any such study. If they can’t convince through voluntary efforts the funding of this study, then they shouldn’t be looking for a handout from the taxpayers.”

In a nondescript warehouse on Bastille Street, in an industrial area of Pagosa Lakes, is a hidden treasure: The Space@Shy Rabbit.

Nestled between a wholesale bread distributor and a drywall company, in unit B-4 (the only white door with a black logo of a bunny sitting atop the words Shy Rabbit) is a contemporary art center. While the exterior is nothing fancy – a drab metal building, oil stained asphalt, trucks everywhere – it’s the interior that matters. Inside, is a clean, well-lighted gallery space with 14-foot-high ceilings, concrete floors and light avocado green walls.

Currently on display is the Shy Rabbit Invitational and Juried Art Show, a collection 48 works of art, featuring four invited artists and 15 artists selected by a committee of jurors. Thirty-three of those works of art fill The Space. Fifteen photographs by invited artist Emilio Mercado are displayed in the much more intimate, original Shy Rabbit showroom in unit B-1.
The Space is dominated by the presence of three warrior figures created by Durango-based artist Marsan, also known as Susan Anderson. These warrior figures are over 6-feet tall and stand almost diagonally in the middle of The Space. Marsan calls them “Spiritual Warriors” – “Harvest,” “Awakening” and “Guardian.” Each is crafted from indigenous primitive materials from around the world. Old fabric is wrapped and wound, but not cut. There are ancient tools, implements, jewelry attached to the warrior. Many of the objects used to create these warriors are more than 100 years old. A scroll accompanies each warrior that speaks to its traits, materials and purpose.

“My belief about art is that it either creates, or captures what is past,” Marsan said. She believes that the warriors are created for the specific person who purchases them and those who derive insight from observation. “You will be innately drawn to the spiritual warrior most resembling the character trait you were endowed with to serve God’s purpose. Each artifact has meaning and relational qualities to the overall piece as well as to the character of the person relating.”

Marsan’s warriors are impressive, but the smaller, organic sculpture, “Unity of . . . ology,” an actual tortoise shell, feathers and wire frame is most striking for its simplicity. Marsan has five works in the current show, more than any other artist.
Marsan’s warriors balance the three giant canvases by another Durango-based artist, Sarah Comerford. Comerford has a BFA in painting from Montclair State University in New Jersey. Comerford was in New Jersey Sept. 11, 2001, and her two paintings, “The Twins,” represent her experience that day. The two canvases, hang nearly touching, each feature a blonde twin wearing a crystal chandelier. The chandeliers represent capitalism and its wealth and bought beauty, but rather than being purely esthetic, the chandeliers are worn by the human figures in a burdensome manner, one even tied around the neck like an albatross. Floating on the gold leaf-covered canvas are dozens of Frida Kahlo-esque hearts which represent not only death, but also the anticipated suffering still to come.

Comerford’s canvases are impressive in their size, 3-feet wide by 5-feet tall. Her “Self Portrait” directly across the room from “The Twins” is the more intriguing painting. The artist stands nude between heavy red velvet drapes, strategically holding a bunch of grapes while sneering, grinning skulls float around her on the canvas.

In her artist’s statement, Comerford writes: “I attempt to evoke otherworldliness or ‘the other’ that is beyond literal explanations. By ‘the other’ I refer to loss, pain, love and longing while understanding and appreciating beauty in the face of disintegration, fleeting life and degeneration of the body and mind.” Comerford’s work seems to focus on the mortal limitations of embodiment. And, like Frida Kahlo, Comerford paints her own reality, not some surrealistic dreams.

The third invited artist also deals in reality: The reality of nature. “I strive for the child’s perception in which all things become both referential and reverential,” Shan Wells said. “I try to strip away the everyday contexts – the cliché’s of ‘beautiful nature,’ and reveal components that are overlooked&emdash;the visual mechanisms of creation.” Wells, another Durango-based artist, received his MFA from the University of Canterbury, in New Zealand. Wells, whose body of work encompasses drawing, painting, sculpting and public art projects, is best known as the cartoon artist for The Durango Telegraph and his most recent “Moments” project, a conceptual work that utilizes historic photographs mounted on steel stanchions in the approximate location the original photograph was created. The purpose of the project is to make Durango residents more aware of their history and their connection to the land.

Wells’ creative approach is similar to Marsan’s. “I believe there is a creative force that runs through human culture, thought and expression,” he says. “The expression of this force is not limited solely to our species. Elephants draw it, orca sing it and bower birds sculpt it.”

His most prominent work at the Invitational and Juried Arts Show is “Leaf Press” a wooden vise compressing oak leaves. Made from recycled pine, maple, oak leaves, found steel and wood, the work implies both the structure of nature and the structure of human invention. Representing the gradual transition of loam into soil, it also represents the gradual destruction of nature by our human disconnect from the natural world. His other works, “Swabs,” are made from burn mud slurry from the Missionary Ridge Fire, steel, cotton, paper and hemp and hang on the wall like giant Q-tips dripping with the blood of the earth.

“Often, I wind up touching my ancient heritage as a human animal,” Wells says in his artist statement. “Foraging for color, collecting emotion.” With “Swabs” he seems to have collected the emotion of not only humans affected by the fires of 2002, but of the earth itself.

The fourth invited artist, Emilio Mercado does not forage for color.

“They say the world is full of color,” Mercado says. “But I’d rather do black and white. It’s more interesting.”
Fifteen of Mercado’s black and white photographs hang in the front space at Shy Rabbit. It’s the perfect, small space for the purity of Mercado’s light-painted photographs. Inspired by 17th Century master still-life painter Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Mercado uses only natural light for all of his compositions. Like Chardin, Mercado is a purist, insisting on precision and perfection at the shot and in the darkroom. Many of his original photographs took years to be developed and printed in the fashion that he originally envisioned, due to the advancement of film processing. An example of this is the still life, “Butterfly, Coffee Pot and Three Eggs,” which was taken in 1965, but not actually printed until 1985. The photo was shot using a common window screen to create the grainy appearance.

Mercado’s photographs are masterful. The composition of Mercado’s work is precise, like in “Small Oiler
and Leaf” (1995) where the tip of the leaf aligns perfectly and almost touches the slender spout of the oilcan. There is purity in Mercado’s work and this purity is reflected in the choice by Shy Rabbit to exhibit his photography without the adulteration of other art.
Juried and multiple artist shows are often difficult, jumbled and crammed together. At Shy Rabbit, this is not the case. The work seems to flow from one piece to the next. Each work of art pops on the soft green walls. There is an abundance of earth tones, gold foil, bronze and where there is brilliant color, in Ted Fish’s “Remember XT,” Kathleen Steventon’s “Quintessential,” and Mikki Harder’s “Away,” it is kept together and draws the eye into the far right hand corner of The Space. Work is hung horizontally and vertically, utilizing the height of the walls and ceiling. Tirzah Camacho’s “The Four Misdirection’s,” is four Masonite panels that the artists originally envisioned hung horizontally, but the work is impressive stacked one atop the other in a tall totem.

By far, the most compelling work from the juried artists is that of Pat Erickson from Pagosa Springs. Her long narrow canvas, “Scripture Bound,” of a male figure with his head bound in red cloth and wrapped in thorns, angel wings outstretched is from a series of work called “Mind Games.” This ongoing project is currently comprised of 10 images that represent the various states in one’s own mind or those states imposed on the individual from without. The wings in “Scripture Bound” are actually vulture wings, the artist explained.

Erickson said that she rewards herself for creating her more traditional wildlife images and prints, which pay the bills, by taking time to create new work in this series. She has two new “Mind Games” images planned. Erickson’s “Mind Games” canvases are primarily black and white with shots of color, like the red cloth covering the eyes and the green vine wrapped around the head, holding the wings in place. Erickson’s work is brilliant. The technique is entirely transparent watercolor painted on 8-ply cotton rag board. The artist does not use pencil, watercolor pencil, gouache, pastel or any other medium. Transparent watercolor pigments are very finely ground and mixed in a binding medium composed of a solution of gum Arabic. Very thin, transparent layers of pigment mingle with the white effect of the paper. Using a dry brush technique, mastered by artist Andrew Wyeth, Erickson, creates work of precise detail. The hundreds of hours involved in creating each tiny stroke is mind blowing. For Erickson, it’s a Zen-like meditation. The artist’s second work in the show is “Inspiration” and shows the profile of a woman, arms outstretched, back arched as if preparing for a back flip, a hawk is poised to land on her bare chest, talons ready to grip. “Inspiration” is the first positive state from the series, which includes title like “Fear,” “Right Brain Bondage,” “Suppression” and “Introversion.”

Erickson’s “Inspiration” is the work that encompasses or could represent the entire Invitational and Juried Art Show at The Space@Shy Rabbit, which, after dozens of visits, is still stimulating and innovative.

Other work of note includes the elegant lines in Chad Haspels “Above Us All,” a more contemporary sculpture than those in Town Park or at Vallecito Reservoir. Don Long’s political statement on the destruction of our National Forest and his commentary against the proposed Village at Wolf Creek, “Trapped,” is an excellent use of found objects to create a highly sophisticated work of art.

Painter Shaun Martin shows a series of three canvases from a series called “She Comes Fortified” that express the idea of discovery through the artistic process. The titles are intended as a jumping-off point, not only for the artist, but for the viewer: “Fault Finding,” (the best of the series for its design elements and structure) “Conception” and “Surplus.” One other work, “Groundbreaker,” is an exploration of the concept of what it means to break ground and to be groundbreaking. Martin acknowledges he is still discovering the deeper layers of the original concepts as he contemplates his own work.

Linda and Lal Echterhoff, husband and wife sculptors show three interesting and unique bronze sculptures. The bound wood of Lal’s “Bird Form” is an organic shape that tempts the viewer to ponder its meaning and Linda’s “Eve” is a trio of forms representing Eve, Satan and the Apple.

Other artists whose work is on display include: C.J. Hannah, Eric Cundy, Donna Emsbach and Jerry Lester.

Shy Rabbit is propelling Pagosa’s art scene into the 21st century. The work compiled for the Invitational and Juried Art Show is worth the trip down Bastille Drive. The work is provocative and the energy of the Space is inspiring and cutting-edge. Weekend hours are the ideal time to peruse and ponder and discuss art with one or two of the artists whose work hangs on the walls, as it is the artists who are helping to keep the gallery doors open for visitors.

Shy Rabbit is not as difficult to find as some think. Take North Pagosa to Bastille Drive (the road just after the Buffalo Bar and before UBC) and turn left. Follow Bastille just past Hopi. Look for Pine Valley Rental on your right. Shy Rabbit is in the warehouses next door, in the former location of Joy Automotive and across the street from the UPS warehouse. Look for the sandwich board with the bunny and the words Shy Rabbit. The gallery will be open Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4 p.m. through Dec. 18.

Don’t miss this show.

If you can’t make it to Pagosa, but are interested in perusing some of the art, log on to www.shyrabbit.blogspot.com for photos and more information.

PAGOSA SPRINGS – Pagosa area residents spend 47 percent of their total retail expenditures outside Archuleta County. It is not uncommon for residents to drive to Durango or Farmington to do their shopping, particularly for general merchandise, where outflow is as high as 75 percent. However, one of the charming things about Pagosa Springs is that the town has no mall, no big box retailer and few chain stores. Residents can find just about everything they are looking for in town, they just might not be able to choose from 20 different brands of MP3 players. While you may not be able to get an iPod (Radio Shack is currently out of stock) you can find things in Pagosa that you will not find anywhere else.

Jewelry is a big holiday gift item and Pagosa Springs has options. Custom jewelry designer Summer Phillips (123 N. 15th Street) creates one-of-a-kind jewelry created for each individual client and John Pingenot (River Center) cuts gemstones in a unique and detailed way, creating miniature sculptures one can wear on a pendant or on a finger. If gemstones are not your thing, or out of your price range, check out the semi-precious stones and antique beads in the jewelry created by Artisan Monika Murphy at Astara (Hot Springs Resort). Newly opened Puttin’ on the Rydz also sells semi-precious gemstone jewelry created by local artisan Pat Rydz. Rydz work is much larger and chunkier than the petite work of bead artist Kathryn Cole at Crazy for Beads (River Center). Cole is also a fine silversmith who creates beautiful sterling silver pendants and earrings in large organic forms.

If it is Native American jewelry you are looking for, no need to drive to Santa Fe, journey to Pagosa and visit Lantern Dancer (River Center) where you can find Santa Fe quality at Pagosa prices. Check out the beautiful craftsman ship of Alfred Lee and the Huichol beaded earrings. They have every precious and semi-precious gemstone available in numerous settings, mostly silver, but some gold, and the prices are very affordable. For more traditional gold, diamonds and watches there is Jem Jewelers (27D Talisman Drive) and next door you will find a great selection of Kenny Ma jewelry at The Plaid Pony (27C Talisman Drive). Victoria’s Reign (274 Pagosa Street) also stocks antique replica jewelry.

For the real thing, don’t miss Main Street Antiques (438B Pagosa Street) with a fine collection of old jewelry and costume jewelry and some really fun replicas by New York designers Ann Koplick and Catherine Popesco, who create new jewelry from old molds. Daisy Valentine’s (250 Pagosa Street) has artisan-made jewelry and the latest trends in costume jewelry can be found at Happy Trails Ladies Boutique (454 Pagosa Street) and Miss Jean’s (175 Pagosa Street). Goodman’s Department Store (402 Pagosa Street) carries a nice selection of Brighton jewelry and bags and the Hogs Breath Saloon (157 Navajo Trail Drive) has South Dakota Gold.

If it’s electronics you are looking for, you can find them in Pagosa. From cell phones and satellite radio at Ensignal (2035 Eagle Drive, Suite 111) and Radio Shack (140 Country Center Drive) to stereos and home entertainment at Superior Car and Home Audio/Video (424 Pagosa Street), Sears (140 South Sixth Street) and even Alco (Country Center).

Want something truly original? Try buying handcrafted artisan work and fine art. Pagosa has a great selection of art available. Wild Spirit Gallery (408 San Juan Street) features the work of 35 local, regional and national artists with a focus on landscape and western art: Wayne Justus, Carole Cooke, Pierre Mion, Charles Ewing, Clive R. Tyler, Tom Lockhart, Milton Lewis, Avonna Lee Landwehr, Kent Gordon, Jake Gaedtke, Randall Davis and others. At Handcrafted Interiors (251 Pagosa Street) you can find the exquisite Old Stones Furniture of award-winning artisan Cappy White and hand turned wooden bowls and pottery. At Lantern Dancer (River Center) pick up a Jemez Pueblo storyteller nativity set by Antonito artist Clifford Kim Fragua, or purchase one of his contemporary storytellers. Lantern Dancer also carries the pottery of Navajo artist Dennis Charlie and Ute Mountain Ute artist Norman Lansing. Pagosa artist Darlene Raes paints intricate detailed paintings on feathers and the paintings of Pagosa favorites Claire Goldrick and Sue Weaver are also available.

At The Crucible Art Gallery (448 Pagosa Street) take home a classic bronze sculpture by artists Roberto Garcia and his wife Anna. Anna’s birds are amazing and Roberto’s female figures are exquisite. If it’s pottery you are looking for, check out The Touchstone Gift Shop (River Center). Pagosa potter, Verna Lucas creates functional wares in a variety of color schemes. Colorado artists are featured at the Made in Colorado Shoppe (2105 West Highway 160) with a wide variety of pottery. The fine ceramic art of D. Michael Coffee at Shy Rabbit (333 Bastille Drive, Unit B-1) is worth a trip to Pagosa from just about anywhere. Moonlight Books (434 Pagosa Street) carries local watercolor, oil painting and photography and Pagosa Photography has fine art photography of Chimney Rock and Stevens Lake and Pagosa Peak by photographer Jeff Laydon.
At Taminah Custom Frame Center (2343 Eagle Drive) you can pick up a print by Pagosa artist Pat Erickson, but the best investment is to purchase one of her transparent watercolor paintings on display at Wild Spirit (408 San Juan Street) or Shy Rabbit (333 Bastille Drive, Unit B-1). Down at the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Park (4821A Highway 84) upstairs in the gift shop is also a fine collection of western and wildlife art.

Clothing is always a safe bet during gift giving season and Pagosa has options. A friend of mine buys all her clothes at Switchback Mountain Gear and Apparel (456 Pagosa Street), where they have cargo pants and fleece and simple, well-made outdoor gear. You can get Hurley and Fox at Summit Ski & Sports (River Center) for your teenager. Western wear is big at Goodman’s Department Store (402 Pagosa Street) where they have an awesome selection of cowboy boots and jeans. For the fashionable and cost-conscience there is Miss Jean’s (175 Pagosa Street) who carries sizes 2-18. Happy Trails (454 Pagosa Street) has beautiful designer clothing. For the fun and funky don’t miss Satori Boutique & Gifts (150 Pagosa Street) and Astara (Hot Springs Resort) has original designs and eclectic international attire for women of all sizes. For the true bargain hunter look for gently worn clothing at Upscale Resale (117 Navajo Trail Drive), the Community United Methodist Thrift Shop (433 Lewis Street) and the Humane Society Thrift Shop (269 Pagosa Street).

If it’s toys you are looking for, check out Alco (Country Center) or contact Terri Andersen at Discovery Toys (toyladyterri@pagosa.net) and don’t forget Radio Shack (Country Center) for cool remote control cars and electronic toys. Looking for a bicycle? Try Juan’s Mountain Sports (155 Hot Springs Boulevard) or Pedal Power (117 Navajo Trail).

Looking for the latest best seller, that book on the book club list or something spiritually enlightening? Try Moonlight Books (434 Pagosa Street), Wolf-Tracks Bookstore and Coffee Co. (Country Center) and Tara Mandala (903 San Juan Street). Maybe Music is on that wish list. The latest CD or some undiscovered local band can be found at Howlin’ Wolf Music (2035 Eagle Drive) where they also have the best supplies for local musicians and even guitar lessons.

Some of the most uniquely Pagosa items available include a home brew kit or winemaking kit from The Brew Haus (375 South Eighth Street) and the complete line of Parelli Natural Horsemanship gear and training programs available at Parelli headquarters (56 Talisman Drive, Suite 6). Give the gift of health and healing at The Springs Resort (165 Hot Springs Boulevard). And don’t forget Grandpa Bill’s homemade caramels, jams and jellies from The Choke Cherry Tree (4760 West Highway 160).

This holiday season, if you are looking for something different, so
mething unusual, something you won’t find in every big box retail store, department store and mall, then come to Pagosa Springs.

“The Town is hoping to work with the state to have them collect the tax and work with the lodgers to advise them of the increased tax rate. Currently sales and lodgers’ taxes are collected by the state on a quarterly basis and sent to the county and from the county to the town and the chamber.” Mark Garcia, Town Manager

PAGOSA SPRINGS — On Nov. 1, voters in Pagosa Springs approved a 3 percent increase in the lodgers’ tax. The new tax will take effect Jan. 1, 2006, and will increase the lodgers’ tax from 1.9 percent to 4.9 percent. A total of 370 town residents voted in the election and approved the measure 224 or 60.5 percent in favor, 146 or 39.5 percent opposed. It is estimated that the new tax will increase tax revenue by $294,110.

Revenues derived from the lodgers’ tax will be used for tourism and tourism-related marketing and capital improvements; special events sponsored, funded or assisted by the town; and other tourism uses determined reasonable and necessary by the Town Council. According to Ordinance 647, the Town Council will appoint a Tourism Committee to make recommendations regarding the use of revenues generated by the lodgers’ tax. This 13 member committee will be made up of representatives from the Lodging Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Realtors’ Association, the Builders’ Association, the Community Vision Council, the Restaurant Association, the Merchants’ Association and two at large members nominated by the Chamber of Commerce.

Town Manager Mark Garcia said the town is hoping to work with the state to have them collect the tax and work with the lodgers to advise them of the increased tax rate. Currently, sales and lodgers’ taxes are collected by the state on a quarterly basis and sent to the county and from the county to the town and the chamber.

“It arrives in chunks,” Chamber Director Mary Jo Coulehan said. “We don’t know when it will come in.”

The new tax will be collected beginning Jan. 1, but the lodging businesses won’t pay those taxes until the month after the end of the first quarter, or April. The first tax revenue checks will not arrive until May.

“So, we haven’t spent it yet,” Coulehan said. “We really don’t know how much money we will collect and we have to be fiscally responsible.”

But Coulehan has some idea of how the Chamber of Commerce will spend the money. For the past year, the chamber has been working with Hill and Company to develop a new marketing strategy. The marketing committee has implemented the first phase of the plan, which included high impact, low cost options. With the extra money from the new lodgers’ tax, they hope to start implementing some of the high impact, high dollar necessities, like a new Web site that is bigger and better for local businesses and easier for the community and visitors to access, and a professionally printed visitors guide. Coulehan also envisions that the chamber might utilize the additional funds for research and development, to help pay for a complete branding program that Hill and Company has devised for the community.

“It will cost us $10,000 to do the brand marketing we need to do,” Coulehan said.

Pagosa Springs is solely dependent upon tourism and sales tax to provide revenue. The current chamber budget limits the amount of money the chamber can spend on advertising and trade shows. And while the chamber does know which states Pagosa area visitors come from, they don’t know which cities or ZIP codes are most prevalent. Coulehan is working with students from Fort Lewis College to provide her with analysis of visitor information from Wolf Creek ski area, the Four Corners Folk Festival and toll free calls and e-mails. Coulehan would like to branch out and attend different niche trade shows that are targeted to the health and holistic healing markets and the incentive marketing programs.

There is also interest in developing a walking tour of the town and there is some interest in hiring an events coordinator. But Coulehan believes it is important for the town to develop its core infrastructure and get it in place before they can host larger events.

“I’m still new to this job and my brain can’t stop,” Coulehan said. “I want to go so far so fast, but I can’t.”

Last year, the town collected about $186,000 in lodgers’ tax and visitor numbers are up from 2004. Interest in relocation packets requested from the chamber has already doubled the number of requests for all of 2004.

As for what town staff envision spending the new tax on, Garcia said that he will “essentially leave it to the committee to come back with recommendations.” He envisions that the funds will pay for a combination of what the chamber is doing and the additional recommendations of the Tourism Committee.

The town will make requests to the stakeholder groups listed in the ordinance to provide representation on the committee.

“My goal is to have them in place sooner rather than later,” Garcia said. “I’d like to have the committee established by early February.”

A heavy mist of steam rises above the San Juan River, tendrils of silver incandescent vapors dance against a columbine blue sky. The sound of water splashing, falling, running, tinkling fills my head, but the sound alone cannot soothe the chronic pain I feel pulsing from beneath my left shoulder blade up into my skull and down through my elbow, numbing the fingers of my left hand. A couple canoodles in a nearby tub. Children laugh as they roll around in warm water spilling into the river. All I think about is relieving the pain that has pierced me for more than two weeks. No amount of self-shiatsu with a tennis ball, serious doses of ibuprofen, stretching, yoga and other physical therapy exercises I learned throughout my recovery from a car accident seven years ago have helped. It’s the first time in two years I’ve been unable to manage the pain.

I want to slip into the first tub outside the Mediterranean style bath house, but the “Sunset Social Club,” is filled with people waiting to watch the late summer sun sink beyond the horizon turning the clouds into flaming colors of magenta and coral. I’m not feeling social so I meander over to the “Overlook” and lower myself into the mineral-laden water. Ahh, yes, this feels good. It’s about 102 degrees and there are only two other people in the pool. I sink to my knees so the water is up to my neck. Fifteen minutes later I emerge, wrap my steaming body in a thick towel, grab my water bottle, climb down the stairs and wade across the pond to the waterfall tub. The water here is warmer, about 106 degrees and therapeutic water falls from the cliffs above into the tub and down the side of the tub into the pond. After fifteen minutes in this tub I’m ready for a massage.

I cross the parking lot and enter the spa hoping that this will indeed relieve my pain. I’ve requested a deep tissue therapeutic massage and am pleased with the results. The therapists knows how to get under the shoulder blade, how to work out the knot that is pinching nerves. I go home and sleep after the treatment and wake up the next morning the pain dissipated. I soak again the next day with my family, and by the third day, I am pain free.

Pagosa Springs is home to the world’s largest and deepest natural mineral hot springs. In 1890, a U.S. Army Surgeon, Dr. J.L. Weaver published the first testament of the healing powers of the water after studying their effect on several chronically ill soldiers brought to the springs for treatment. He wrote, “the waters of Pagosa are without doubt the most wonderful and beneficial in medicinal effects that have every been discovered.” The soldiers were cured of rheumatism, arthritis, gastric problems and even syphilis. “Several who had almost immovable joints now find them supple and are able to work,” Weaver wrote.

The idea of “salus per aquam” (health through water) is one with ancient traditions, inscribed on the walls of Roman bathing facilities. As early as the Fourth Century BC Hippocrates prescribed bathing in and drinking spring water for its therapeutic effects. And throughout America, Native indigenous tribes considered geothermal places as sacred homes to the Great Spirit who provided healing.

Pagosah is a Ute word loosely translated to mean boiling water (though some elders conjecture that is really means healing water or smelly water). The smell comes from the high sulfate content, about 1400 milligrams per liter of water. It is relatively unnoticeable as one wanders from pool to pool. Pagosa’s Hot Springs Resort and Spa provides 18 different soaking pools that range in temperature from 83-114 degrees Fahrenheit. The 114-degree pool is called the Lobster Pot. I’ve only been in this pool and once and trust me, when you emerge your skin is the color of a boiled crustacean from Maine. The resort recommends soaking for ten minutes then wrapping in a towel or robe to sweat and cool the body. It’s easy to do, you soak in one pool, get out, wrap in a big fluffy robe and walk to the next pool, or sit and drink water from one the dozens of tables or lounge chairs. People relax languidly on the edges of pools, incandescent vapor rising from their bodies now warmer than the air around them. Then when cooled, slip back into the warm mineral filled water. It’s also a good idea to drink a lot of water before you arrive at the pools, to enhance the opening of pores through which the minerals are absorbed into your body and bloodstream.

Some think it is the heat that provides the curative effects, but many claim that it is the mineral content of the water that is healing. In Pagosa, the water is made up of 790 milligrams per liter of sodium, which is equivalent to the salinity of seawater. Salt soaks are known to relieve symptoms of arthritis. Ninety milligrams per liter of potassium, which normalizes heart rhythms, assists in reducing high blood pressure, eliminates body toxins and promotes healthy skin. Twenty-five milligrams of magnesium, which maintains normal heart rhythms, converts blood sugar to energy and helps maintain muscle tissue and hormone levels. Fifty-four milligrams of silica, which strengthens bones, boost the immune system, promotes healthy nerves, mucous membranes, hair, nails and is used to treat acne and migraines. Boron, 1.8 milligrams per liter, boosts brain activity, builds muscle mass and strengthens bones. Trace amounts of iron, .08 milligrams per liter, help build up the blood and increases resistance to stress and disease. Lithium, 2.9 milligrams, produces positive effects in mental balance and gastrointestinal conditions. Manganese, .23 milligrams, helps nourish nerves and the brain and is a catalyst in the breakdown of fats and cholesterol. The 1400 milligrams of sulfate rid the body of toxins and promotes the health of bones, hair, nails, and the fluid in joints and discs. Sulfur is an anti-inflammatory agent. Trace amounts of Zinc, only .01 milligrams per liter, are still beneficial. Zinc is an antioxidant, promotes the healing of wounds, maintains male hormone activity and aids in digestion as well as helping to ease the symptoms of a common cold. Even trace amounts of arsenic, .12 milligrams, are being shown to benefit plasma and tissue growth. Calcium Fluoride, 4.3 milligrams is a constituent of the elastic fibers of the skin. Chloride, 180 milligrams, benefits the musculoskeletal system.

While many of these claims cannot be substantiated, there are legions of followers who soak every day and share tales of miraculous healing. And while I’m not an annual pass holder who soaks daily or even weekly, the therapeutic water definitely helped relieve my chronic pain.

And for those who want to live on the wild side and actually drink the water, here is what the locals recommend. Let the water settle for 48 hours and then decant the liquid and sip. But beware it has powerful purgative effects.

The Springs Resort has something for every generation, from baby boomers to generation Z. This summer they added a fresh water swimming pool for swimming laps and a Jacuzzi tub for those who prefer to soak in “regular” water. They have also created two adults-only mineral pools. With family friendly activities like swim-in movie nights and live concerts and a full-service spa and salon, the Hot Springs of Pagosa Springs is a great place for parents, children and grandparents.

Most importantly, it always has been and always will be a place for a healing.

PAGOSA SPRINGS — In a town with limited dining options, the opening of a new restaurant is momentous. The opening of a new SONIC drive-in in Pagosa Springs on Oct. 16 surpassed all forecasts for franchise owner, the Merritt Group, based in Las Cruces, N.M.

“The restaurant is exceeding expectations in a big way,” Merritt Group spokesperson Kristi Burkett said. “And customer traffic remains steady.”

However, according to Burkett, franchise agreements with SONIC Corp. do not allow them to disclose sales or traffic figures. The average unit sales for SONIC were $964,000 in 2004 and are projected to be more than $1 million in 2005.

“We definitely intend to exceed that number,” Burkett said in reference to the new Pagosa Springs SONIC.

The average drive-in sales for franchise-owned restaurants were $1,039,000 in fiscal year 2005, which ended Aug. 31. According to a news release from Oct. 12, SONIC expects to open 35-40 drive-ins during this, the first quarter of their fiscal year 2006. That number includes 30-35 franchise drive-ins such as the one in Pagosa Springs.

SONIC is the largest chain of drive-in restaurants in America. Started in 1953 by Troy Smith in Shawnee, Okla., as Top Hat Drive-in, the name was changed to SONIC in 1959. Today, SONIC has more than 3,000 locations, primarily across the southern United States. Over the past five years, sales have increased system wide 69 percent for SONIC. Most SONIC locations have 24-36 stalls and carhops who walk or roller skate food to the customer’s car.

The Pagosa Springs SONIC has 23 stalls, a drive-thru window and two patio areas for outdoor dining, and the ubiquitous carhops who seem to enjoy their job.

SONIC restaurants are located in communities of all sizes, from major metropolitan areas to small towns with 5,000 people. The community. SONIC provides a fundraising card for local schools and coupons for students on the honor roll and to promote reading programs. While it is against company policy to make monetary and raw food donations, SONIC is known to provide SONIC bottled water for blood drives and other community events.

The Merritt Group started in 1973 as a SONIC franchisee and now owns 132 drive-ins in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. SONIC was ranked sixth on the Entrepreneur magazine Franchise 500 list in 2004.decision to locate a new restaurant is based upon community requests to the SONIC toll free number, as well as traffic and location evaluations by SONIC Corp. The decision to locate in Pagosa Springs was based on this information and the dream of Merritt Group managing partner, Rusty Stewart from Farmington, to live in Pagosa Springs. The Merritt Group considered opening a SONIC in Pagosa Springs for five years off and on before purchasing land near the intersection of Highway 160 and Piedra Road between a new Giant convenience store and gas station and Ponderosa Do-It-Best. Stewart and his wife, Sharon, run the newest SONIC in Southwest Colorado.

The Stewarts consider community involvement as a way to have a positive impact on their new home.

Ron Fundingsland is an artist’s artist. His technically superb work impresses those who know how many hours of labor is involved to achieve such mastery of medium. A printmaker in the traditional sense, Fundingsland creates using a form of etching that dates back to the 14th century. Yet the subject of his color intaglio prints is contemporary and contemplative, providing a commentary on American society.

Some prints are subtly political such as “Wheels,” two intersecting diameters created from equally thick crosses, one on the left overlaid with the words “We the people,” and one on the right layered with green dollars. Others are emotionally charged, like “Memories End,” a diptych with half of a watch or clock on the left and what appears to be a careless jumble of blooming red roses dropped from a grief-stricken hand.

Fundingsland is a man with a velvet voice heard regularly on KSUT radio. In southwest Colorado, his voice is more familiar than his art. The last time Fundingsland’s work was shown in the area was in a solo exhibit at the Durango Art Center Library in 2001.

Luckily, Pagosa Springs-based Shy Rabbit, a contemporary art space, is featuring a solo exhibit of work by Ron Fundingsland through Nov. 12.

While Fundingsland has a B.F.A. from the University of Colorado, he is primarily self- taught. In 1983 he picked up a catalog of work by Frederich Meckseper and taught himself the color intaglio printing process Meckseper used. The trick was, the catalog was in German and Fundingsland had to translate. He explained this to a group of artists who gathered at Shy Rabbit Sunday, Oct. 16, for an artist’s roundtable. For 23 years, Fundingsland has diligently pursued his passion for printmaking. His work usually reflects “something on my mind, something I think about. I’m not obsessed with political prints, but often my inspiration comes from what irritates me,” Fundingsland said.

The intaglio printing process is very involved. A print begins with a pencil drawing on newsprint and an industrial grade copper plate. The artist coats the copper plates with acid resist, then transfers the drawing to the plate by pressing the graphite from a pencil into the acid resist to create texture. The deeper the mark, the more ink it will hold and the darker the line on the print. Fundingsland creates two plates: one black and one color. The whole process is an experiment, but eventually the artist achieves what he envisioned and he begins the process of hand inking the plates and producing the final prints. The paper is a heavy rag paper and it is put on the plate wet. The wet paper is more pliable and accepting of the oil-based ink. A color plate is printed and then the black plate is put on the press, the registry lined up and the black is printed. The entire process can take four to six weeks and actually printing each of the series of originals seven to 10 days.
Fundingsland usually prints 30-35 multiple originals. Each print is a unique work of art depending upon the ink and the breakdown of the plate and the etching lines. When the 25 or 35 prints are gone, the plate is struck, never to be printed again.

“There is a duality to the process,” Fundingsland said. “It’s like working with somebody else. That partner of mine is the medium. Sometimes you like that person and sometimes you hate that person. I’m still not sure what’s going to happen. Sometimes there are happy accidents.”

The artist admits that when you finally pull that one print off the press and it’s done. “It’s very exhilarating. A cheap thrill. A great artistic moment.” But you know you have more to do because each one is hand inked and hand processed.
Many of Fundingsland’s pieces in the Shy Rabbit show are diptychs. Ron explained that he was doing well with a gallery in Santa Fe and wanted to experiment with a larger format, but his press bed at his Bayfield studio is limited in size, so he started doing diptychs, two prints framed together to make a whole image. Now he even does triptychs. “I ended up really liking it, it’s a challenge to figure out how to bring them together.”

Fundingsland talked to the artists and collectors at Shy Rabbit about his work, his career and his process. “This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, folks,” he said. “I have another job where I make money and have insurance.”

Fundingsland chose the traditional route of entering his prints in juried shows, hitting the pavement with his portfolio to find gallery representation and focusing on contemporary print exhibitions around the world. Today, he is affiliated with the American Society of Graphic Artists, the International Print Triennial Society and The Boston Printmakers. His work is in the public collections of the Denver Art Museum, The Seattle Art Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, among others. His work is in the corporate collections of 3M and Citibank. Fundingsland is currently affiliated with Robischon Gallery in Denver, Morgan Gallery in Kansas City, Graystone in San Francisco and A Clean Well-Lighted Place in New York.
And while many artists would look at his resume and think that Fundingsland has arrived, he’s quick to point out that that isn’t the case. He’s not going to have a solo exhibition at Robischon, even though he’s been with the gallery for 14 years. “It’s not like they are going ‘we need to pay the rent, where’s Fundingsland?’”

Since he has a good relationship with gallery owners Jim and Jennifer Robischon, he was able to have a candid conversation about why no solo exhibition when his work is well received. Ron said to Jim, “If I sold out my show, you couldn’t cover the rent, the fish crackers and the wine, could you?”

Robischon’s response? “Maybe not the fish crackers.”

So, while a gallery like Robischon is having solo exhibits of work by Robert Rauschenberg and Jim Dine, they are showing collectors a lot more Ron Fundingsland than if he were given a solo show. A lot of people may want a Rauschenberg original, but can’t afford it. Why not add a Fundingsland to the collection? A Fundingsland diptych can be acquired unframed for less than $1,000.

Fundingsland made the decision long ago that it was about the work and not the market. “I’m not creating work with one eye on the canvas and one eye on the market. Every print I make is part of my life’s work.

“It’s a different mindset to make money on the art fair circuit. These are fine artists and they are manufacturing what works for them to the keep the thing going.” Fundingsland was clear that he felt it the decision to pursue art on the circuit is equally as viable and valuable as the route he took. It’s a personal decision.

“I’m shooting for the end game,” he said.

He encourages local artists to enter shows, regional, tri-state, national and international because you “get a good feel for how good your work is, not just from friends and family.”

“It’s important to get your work out there and get a gauge,” he said.

What about rejection?

“Rejection is a myth,” Fundingsland said. “It’s the wrong word. When you enter a juried show or approach a gallery, it is one person, maybe two, who say the work isn’t going to work in their gallery. One person is making a decision about hundreds of pieces of work. How absurd to think everyone is going to like your work and how horrible would you feel if they did?”
Traditionally, Fundingsland’s contemporary, post-modern prints haven’t done well in the Southwest art market. So why show at Shy Rabbit in Pagosa Springs?

“[The Coffees] a
re miners. They are finding great talent and great work. I must say the people who came to the opening, their comments and perceptions were head and shoulders above what I hear in Durango,” Fundingsland said.

Upcoming shows for Fundingsland include the International Print Triennial in Krakow, Poland and a show in Cairo, Egypt called “American Prints in Troubled Times.”

Instead of flying halfway around the world to see the work of Ron Fundingsland, be sure to check out the current exhibit at Shy Rabbit through Nov. 12 at 333 Bastille, Unit B-1. The gallery will be open Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. For a sample of his work, visit the artist’s Web site at www.RonFundingsland.com.

Photo: Artist Ron Fundingsland discusses his work with SW Colorado artists at the October roundtable at Shy Rabbit.

Pagosa real estate capitalizes on savvy marketing strategy

PAGOSA SPRINGS – Real Estate prices in Pagosa are leaving long-time residents and a few newcomers reeling. The stories seem incredible. Five lots in Twin Creek Village that sold a year ago for $75,000 are now $75,000 each. A house in Lakewood Village that two years ago was $150,000 is now on the market for more than $250,000.

The simple cause? Supply is down, demand is up and prices are on the rise. According to local real estate agent Lee Riley, comparing sales figures for the first six months of 2004 to the first six months of 2005, there is a 32 percent increase in the number of single family homes sold and a 31 percent decrease in available inventory. More dramatic are the numbers for vacant lots (a quarter acre to 35 acres): an 89 percent increase in lots sold and 41 percent decrease in the number of lots available.

Buyers seem frantic to purchase something in Pagosa Springs while they still can. Some feel that it might be too late. The great deals are gone. Yet many are just discovering Pagosa Springs as a relative bargain compared to other Colorado resort areas.

The average sale price for a three-bedroom, two-bath, two-car- garage home in Pagosa Springs in September 2005 was $270,652. Compare that to the average sale price for the same size home in September 2004, which was $230,441. A year ago, a home was on the market for an average of 142 days. Today, a home is on the market for an average of 68 days and the average list price for all residential properties is $454,248.

The question is, why the sudden increase in demand and decrease in supply?

A recent study by Economic & Planning Systems seems to have stated the obvious. “Housing prices are expected to undergo rapid price increases due in part to recent land speculation activities and greater marketing of local real estate, particularly on the West Coast.”

According to the EPS Economic Development Plan for Pagosa Springs, between 1999 and 2004, residential lot prices in the Pagosa Springs area increased by an annual average of 22.6 percent, far in advance of home prices which increased at an annual rate of 4.0 percent. However, EPS expects that these land price increases will translate into housing value increases in the near future.

The future is here. In the past year, home prices have increased 17.45 percent.
It’s a Pagosa land rush.

A rush propelled by the nationwide coverage of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek and the extensive marketing local real estate offices are doing to capitalize on the trend.

“Pagosa is showing up on radar screens,” Mike Heraty, broker at The Source said. “Relative to some of the more well-known Rocky Mountain getaway destinations, Pagosa Springs is an outstanding value, has beautiful scenery, available land, rivers, the hot springs, and we are a small and safe community.”

Heraty’s downtown real estate office is leading the trend by advertising properties in major magazines like Cowboys and Indians and Robb Report directly comparing Pagosa property to Aspen, Telluride and Vail. The savvy buyer can choose from a two-bedroom starter home in Aspen for $1 million or a hilltop home on 5 acres in Pagosa Spring for $625,000.

“We just happen to be one of the last towns to have this type of growth happen,” Jim Smith of Jim Smith Realty said.

“What is interesting to me,” Lee Riley said, “is that a lot of people are looking at the larger tracts of land. That’s been a softer market the last couple of years.”

Softer because a few years ago the Pagosa Area MLS had more than 1,000 lots for sale, mostly in the Pagosa Lakes area. Then, in the fall of 2004, National Recreational Properties, Inc., came in and bought 250 improved lots in Pagosa Lakes and 83 unimproved lots in Chris Mountain II.

“NRPI is a late arrival here, but took what was left,” Smith added.

NRPI is a real estate acquisition company founded eight years ago by Robert Friedman and Jeffrey Frieden. Based in Irvine, Calif., NRPI has various operations in California, Washington, Florida, Arkansas, Arizona and now Pagosa Springs. Friedman and Friedan are also the co-founders of LandAuction.com, Land Disposition Co. and Real Estate Disposition Corp.
From slick websites to television infomercials featuring Erik Estrada, NRPI typically has potential buyers pay a $295 travel deposit, which is put into a real estate trust account. The deposit is then applied to a purchase or refunded after a fly-before-you-buy trip to the property, paid for by NRPI. A buyer selects their lot from a licensed real estate agent. After signing a contract, the buyer has 72 hours to back out of the deal. NRPI provides the financing. In many cases, NRPI sells the lots, flipping them to new buyers if an owner defaults, usually at a higher price.

“People around here have been spoiled by the supply and demand; an over supply means that value stays down. Now that those property values have gone up, those who purchased lots in Pagosa Lakes 10 or 20 years ago, might break even,” Jim Smith said.

“The purchase prices for lots in Fairfield were higher between 1979 and 1983,” JoAnn Laird with Galles Properties concurred. “The prices are just now catching up to where they should be. Raising the pre-owned home prices is good for sellers.”

Not everyone agrees. “The average price for a lot that NRPI purchased was $15,000. Jim Smith put all of the lots back on the market and the average price was $40,000.” Lee Riley said. When NRPI opened their office, the average price of those lots increased to $60,000. “I think they are overpriced.”

A few months ago, real estate agents didn’t know what these prices would mean. Would buyers still buy lots for $60,000 that were priced at $15,000 a year before? The answer is yes. There has been no slowdown for local real estate agents.

“The days of millions of transactions are gone. The $4,000 lots are gone. In the future there will be fewer transactions, but the dollar volume will be higher,” JoAnn Laird said. “If you are going to buy, buy now; it’s not going to get any cheaper. Right now the prices are fair and equal for both the buyer and the seller, but I don’t know how long that will last.”

Lisa Scott, Chairperson of the School District CVC Task Force, presented a resolution supporting the relocation of the downtown school facilities to the School Board. The resolution, presented to board members for the first time Tuesday night, was a discussion item. There was no vote on the resolution.

The Task Force, authorized by the School Board, was charged with developing a conceptual and comprehensive master plan for Archuleta School District 50 Joint in order to align facilities to better support an environment conducive to student learning, district programming and safety for all individuals. The Task Force met three times over the past three months, in what Scott described as “difficult meetings with lots of discussion.”

The first thing the Task Force members did was to familiarize themselves with the District’s Master Facility Plan and the CVC Conceptual Master Plan. The Task Force then discussed the planning process, evaluated demographic information and agreed to set their sights on the goals, not focus on the obstacles. They then embarked upon evaluating the pros and cons of the current facilities. The Task Force determined that the high school and elementary school were not a priority at this time. However, the Task Force does acknowledge some fire code violations at the elementary school that need to be addressed and some identified maintenance issues that might be costly.

“The junior high and intermediate school have more compelling and paramount issues,” Scott said. According to the Task Force’s assessment, the intermediate school and junior high have inadequate bus drop and pickup and inadequate parent drop and pickup areas. Inadequate recess, playground and open area spaces and a dangerous crossing of Highway 160 for access to Town Park for PE classes and sports were also identified as problems. The intermediate school building is difficult to upgrade and modernize, especially plumbing and electrical. Another issue is that the closed campus concept cannot be easily enforced in schools within town limits and adjacent to highway boundaries. Additionally, the condition of the junior high roof is of utmost concern and there are fire code violations with the building.

On the plus side, the existing buildings have low operating costs because of the geothermal heat. The facilities are structurally sound and well maintained. The junior high has a science room, lab facilities and two gymnasiums.

The Task Force believes the intermediate school should be preserved as an historic site.

School superintendent Duane Noggle noted that if Pagosa Springs grows, the intermediate school cannot handle any more students. The junior high can handle 100-200 more students at the most.

The Task Force has identified potential school location sites and is working on a basic assessment of those locations. Scott pointed out that the multiple schools’ on one campus concept was just an idea. The Task Force determined at their first meeting that the district is not in a position to determine the viability of this idea.

“The Task Force is not leaning to a K-12 campus. We haven’t ruled it out, but it is not what is driving this and it did not end up in the CVC conceptual plan,” Scott said.

Finally, the Task Force addressed the perceived barriers and limitations to relocation, including enrollment issues, community perception and buy-in and funding. The Task Force acknowledged that proceeds from the sale of real estate can be reinvested in new, more modern facilities.

“Archuleta County needs to implement impact fees to help fund schools based upon growth,” Noggle said. Impact fees are charges assessed to a developer in an attempt to recover some, if not all, of the costs incurred by a local government to provide public facilities to serve a new development.

The Task Force voted unanimously to approve the resolution, which includes a recommendation that the District diligently pursue securing the Town of Pagosa Springs’ maintenance yard property located off 5th Street, adjacent to the High School parking lot, for its new Maintenance and Transportation building.

School Board Secretary, Sandy Caves, asked: “Does the Task Force have ideas of what they want from us?”

“What would you like us as a committee to help you with?” Scott replied.

Board president Mike Haynes suggested that the Task Force might help with the feasibility issues of how the district might fund new buildings. He was also interested in public opinion. “I want to hear from people outside of the Vision Council. I’m interested in hearing from everyone who has kids in school and doesn’t have kids in school,” Haynes said.

“The District needs to engage in their own planning process,” Scott replied, “to get information from their constituents.” Scott added that the January 13 public hearing on the conceptual plan will have a break out session focused on schools.

“We see the same people at these meetings,” Haynes said. “How do we engage more people to use as a barometer who aren’t showing up at these meetings?”

Task Force members include: Duane Noggle, Chris Hinger, Heidi Keshet, Rick Schur, Mark DeVoti, Bill Esterbrook, Steve Walston, Terry Alley, Carol Brown, Angela Atkinson, and Lisa Scott.

Commercial development changes the local real estate terrain

“My concern is that with Aspen Village and Harman Park, we are over saturating the market with commercial development which will force market rent down and commercial sales down,” Todd Shelton, from Century 21 said as we talked over lunch at Ramon’s. “The value of a building like this is the income it can produce,” Shelton said. He went on to explain how he helped the owner of the building housing Ramon’s increase their value by 25 percent by dividing the property into three with a main building and two vacant lots.

“We don’t have enough population to make mistakes,” Shelton added. “Businesses are running on a thread to survive and our local businesses are potentially going to lose.”

I presented Shelton’s concern to John Ranson, a key partner in the development of Aspen Village and to Medray Carpenter, the only native Pagosan real estate broker and a key partner with Fred Harman in the development of Harman Park.

“I look at this as an investment in the community and an investment for the business owners,” Ranson said. “The majority of what we are doing here, people are actually buying. We have very few leases. Interest rates are at a point right now that people can buy their own business at a lower rate than they can pay rent, in many cases. I don’t think we are going to have the impact on leases that people anticipate.”

Ranson believes Aspen Village will add to the community. He thinks the more businesses Pagosa has to offer, the more we will draw people from Chama and Ignacio, and keep them from going elsewhere.

Carpenter echoed this idea. “That’s been true in the past because we didn’t have the amount of people we need, but that is not the case now,” he said. “There are so many things we need in this community. There is room for all of us. The problem we have in Pagosa is that the residential side gets way ahead of the commercial side. I can sit down and make you lists of things that we don’t have. There are so many things that we need and our area is totally exploding and the commercial is behind.”

Aspen Village, Harman Park and the future Mountain Crossing are all major commercial developments that hope to provide some of those things the community needs.

“Our dream was to put together a village concept with walking trails, bike trails — a place where people feel like they can come and if they are stopping at one store they feel comfortable walking to various locations in here,” Ranson said of the Aspen Village concept.

Aspen Village began in 1997 when John Ranson, newly relocated from Kansas, and Dan Sanders, pastor of the First Baptist Church, purchased 38 acres near the Fred Harman museum, with the sole intent of giving seven acres to the church for a new building.

Since 1998, the partners have been discussing the possibility of development all the while watching Pagosa grow. “We wanted to do something that the Town would be proud of,” Ranson said. When the population of the Pagosa area reached 10,000, they began working with CDOT, because access was a real issue, in consideration of future development of the property. CDOT requires stoplights be spaced at least a half mile apart, and the existing Piedra light was less than a half mile away. In 1999 Ranson and Sanders brought in a third partner, Mark Kneedy, a Chicago based financier. In August 2003, they purchased an additional 48 acres from Joe Machock and the Timber Ridge development, which opened the door and allowed them to provide access to the property within the CDOT requirements.

Aspen Village is the first multi-use development in Pagosa Springs. Durango builder Emil Wanatka and his company Timberline Builders are handling the attainable housing portion of the development that will include town homes, called The Enclave and patio homes, called The Cottages. According to Ranson, “He [Wanatka] looked at Pagosa and he said you know this is a place that needs some voids filled.”

Wanatka’s attainable housing plan received preliminary approval from Town Council and will be up for final plat approval in May. Wanatka is likely to begin breaking ground in June and Timberline Builders will have their own sales office, separate from the Aspen Village sales office.

Aspen Village is located at Highway 160 and Alpha Drive. It is a 75-acre project with 61 developable acres. Future home to the new Parelli International Corporate Headquarters, the development is 63 percent reserved. Future tenants include a commercial bank, Pagosa Power Sports, professional office space, several restaurants and multiple retail opportunities. Ranson is also in talks with a major hotel chain and a grocery store, which he feels “pretty strong” about. They also designed the development with a site for a movie theatre and have a reservation that Ranson feels will benefit the community, but because of confidentiality, is unable to disclose.

The Plaza portion of the development is what brings a bigger smile to Ranson’s already happy demeanor. The Plaza is 46,000 square feet of retail and professional space, in a park like setting, with a gazebo and bar-b-q grills, designed as a gathering place. “We want this to be a place where people feel comfortable hanging out,” Ranson said. “Keystone has a place like this that is really popular.” Several buildings in The Plaza are already sold out and will be home to Sears, a furniture store, a hair salon, a real estate office, a clothing store, a gallery and a new technology firm moving into Pagosa. “We worked with Design Workshop out of Denver and they helped us come up with this concept of something in the center that is the heartbeat. And that’s kind of how we look at The Plaza; we think there will be a lot of the foot traffic, you know, where people feel comfortable walking from one place to another.”

Another retail center, called Boulder Crossings, is 80 percent full, and will have a restaurant, a coffee shop, a drive-thru dry cleaners and medical offices.

Ranson admitted that the development has been talking to restaurants and grocery stores since 1998. “Back then, everyone said Pagosa is on our radar screen, but it isn’t there yet. Now, everybody is interested in this growth and the town.”

I asked Ranson about chain restaurants and retail. “We tried, in the Village, to stay away from that,” Ranson said. “We have talked to chain restaurants, but our design guidelines are pretty tight and this is D4 zoning with the Town. But we do have one sit down chain and one fast food chain that are interested.” Additionally, two other restaurants from outside Pagosa will locate in Aspen Village, but they are not chain restaurants. “One is from Kansas City,” Ranson said.

“We don’t want to see a big, long strip mall in here, our feeling is that we are in the center of town, we are right across from the golf course and a beautiful lake and we really want for people to drive through Pagosa and say, gosh that’s nice. There’s a place for fast food and other kinds of businesses, but we really want to encourage people to get out and walk around.”

The concept for Aspen Village is the professional, live, work, play development and Ranson admits that prior to the big box moratorium they were approached by Wal-Mart, but they turned them down because they didn’t feel it fit their development and they didn’t want to see a Wal-Mart right across from the lake. “They are all looking,” Ranson said of the big-box stores.

“I’m against big box,” Ranson said, “but in all fairness to them, they were incredibly good, they talked to us and said, you know what our concern is that it’s a beautiful spot and we don’t like to do that in a community, but this was their number one site selection.”

Major construction on the next phase of the project is unde
rway. There will be streets with curbs and gutters; the lighted intersection has a target completion date from CDOT of August 30, but Ranson believes it will be closer to the end of September. Several Plaza buildings will be started, as will Pagosa Power Sports, and by July work should begin on Boulder Crossings. By autumn, the Parelli headquarters building and several additional projects will be underway. “A lot of dust is going to be flying around here,” Ranson said.

When I asked him why he thought the timing was right for mixed-use development in Pagosa, Ranson said he believes population numbers have the most impact on making this type of development possible.

“I give the Town a lot of credit,” Ranson said. “They’ve really cleaned things up in the last three or four years with zoning and a concern for the community. They really want to see more of this, and that is one of the things that’s helped us. We included them when we did our planning; we actually had them come in with Design Workshop and said what do you think, and by working together it makes things go so smoothly. We just worked really well with Mark Garcia, Tamra Allen, Mayor Aragon, everybody’s been wonderful. My guess is we are just getting to the size of population that can support multi-use development. I give the town a lot of credit. They don’t want to see the metal sheds next to a nice building.”

Aspen Village has also worked with the homeowners of the Alpha subdivision, adjacent to the development. “We’ve met with Alpha, we’ve met with their board and tried to address concerns, we’ve tried to create a win-win situation or a meet halfway situation. I can understand, if I lived here I’d be concerned about looking at a big building, which is why we designed our residential back here,” Ranson said pointing to his colorful maps showing the single family and multi-family housing projects that will be part of the project.

“If you sit down at the table you can at least agree to disagree or come to a situation where everybody feels comfortable,” Ranson said.

The question then becomes how do these developments fit in with the downtown master plan and the CVC vision for Pagosa Springs.

“We think this is going to serve the local community a little more, whereas downtown is going to be more for the people who are visiting or looking for a night out on the town,” Ranson said. “This is going to be a little bit more service oriented for the community.”

The Harman Park development is billed as Pagosa’s only “upscale development,” which, according to Medray Carpenter, means no convenience stores, no fast food, no gas or tires or stand-alone bars. For seven years, Carpenter has been working with Fred Harman Jr. to create this development around the Fred Harman Museum.

Harman is working to save and restore dozens of older buildings from Pagosa’s past and he will be expanding the Fred Harman Museum, which houses the second largest collection of famed cartoonist Fred Harman Sr.’s artwork in the country. The museum has access to the other, larger Fred Harman collection and plans to build a new museum to house the entire collection. Harman envisions the area becoming a living history museum like Williamsburg, Virginia.

“It’s not going to be a traditional commercial development and it’s not going to be a rubber tomahawk tourist’s trap,” Carpenter said. “We want to see very nice professional office buildings, another museum or two.”

The development will be ideal for nice restaurants, galleries, and more upscale businesses that will reflect the historical nature of the Fred Harman Museum.

“Pagosa needs – very, very badly – a convention/cultural center all-in-one, and we are the perfect location for that,” Carpenter added. The difference between Harman Park and Aspen Village, according to Carpenter, is that “we didn’t push it until we had our final plat. We didn’t take reservations. Now we can sell, or give deeds because we will be totally finished with all of the infrastructure in mid-June.”

As with Aspen Village, Harman Park will not build any of their own structures for commercial lease; they will leave that up to individual developers who may want to build office buildings or retail spaces for lease. But initial customers for Harman Park will likely be those who want to build an individual business building. All 17 platted properties on the 28-acre development are for sale. Two offers are pending as of press time.

Wells Fargo Bank is a major anchor tenant for the Harman Park development and across the street will be a professional office building.

“The whole demographics of the area have changed and people don’t understand,” Carpenter said. “People don’t like change and they don’t understand change, but the only thing that’s constant in this world is change.”

Carpenter believes that Pagosa Springs will become a resort town rivaling Aspen, Vail and Telluride. “We should accept change, but control it to keep the ambiance of the area and do it right,” Carpenter said.

By Leanne Goebel Journal Correspondent

PAGOSA SPRINGS — Pagosa Town Manager Mark Garcia is enjoying the growth spurt his community is currently enjoying.
“The growth issues in Pagosa Springs are significant,” Garcia said in recent telephone interview. Garcia, a civil engineer by trade, has been the administrator of Pagosa Springs for almost three years. Soft spoken and friendly, Garcia smiles and manages his politically charged position with aplomb.

“In my 11 years working with the town, growth has been nothing like we are seeing now. In August we surpassed the all time high for building permits issued by the Town. We’re so busy, we haven’t even had time to compile the data,” Garcia said.
Pagosa Springs is known for its hot springs, its natural beauty and skiing in one of the last family-owned ski areas in the country. Incorporated in 1891, the primary industries were ranching, logging and lumber. The railroad didn’t arrive until 1900 and flood and fires destroyed much of the town between 1911 and 1921. The last lumber mill closed 30 years ago.
Today, Pagosa Springs is a sales tax-dependent town whose primary industries are tourism and construction. The second-home market accounts for 23 percent of housing in the County. In August 2003, The Rocky Mountain News ran an article about Pagosa Springs with the headline: “Paradise Found.” A year later, media coverage of the proposed Village at Wolf Creek put Pagosa Springs on the radar screen in articles from Minneapolis to San Antonio. In December 2004, Cowboys & Indians magazine proclaimed that Pagosa Springs was “Colorado’s Best Kept Secret.”

The secret is out. Today, Erik Estrada hawks land in Pagosa Lakes during infomercials for National Recreational Properties, Inc. — and realtors are the happiest people in town.

The population numbers for Pagosa Springs are deceiving. The town has a population of 1,618. Yet, 88 percent of the population of Archuleta County resides within the urbanized Pagosa Springs area, which includes Pagosa Lakes, a property owners association that is not within town boundaries. Population estimates suggest that 8,235 people reside within the county directly adjacent to Pagosa Springs, giving the greater Pagosa Springs area a population of approximately 9,853 people.

And then there are the tourists and part-time residents. This summer, the peak population for the greater Pagosa Springs area is estimated to have hit 16,444.

Town Planner Tamra Allen has her hands full with projects that are bigger and more elaborate than the town has seen in years. Allen has a degree in urban planning, rides her bike or walks to work on most days, where she juggles large projects like the 100-acre multiuse development, Aspen Village, and the 174-unit Trujillo Heights subdivision.
“It’s difficult to make long-range planning decisions without a comprehensive plan,” Allen said.

“We need a comprehensive plan to steer us into the future. A plan that the community embraces,” Garcia added.
The community has not embraced a conceptual downtown master plan unveiled in November of last year. Significant growth issues and a desire to strengthen the town’s economy spurred local business leaders and the mayor to create the Community Vision Council (CVC). The CVC, under the guidance of David J. Brown and Mayor Ross Aragon, raised the funds necessary to pay for the development of a conceptual master plan. The plan was then turned over to the town for adoption-a process that included public comment. The community was highly critical of the plan and in vocal public meetings, hundreds crammed into a gymnasium where emotions ran high. Citizens accused the CVC of being elitist by not including long-time local residents, a charge the mayor patently denied. “We’re community oriented and we had representation (on the CVC) from all sectors,” Aragon said in an interview last December.

The conceptual master plan focuses on restoring and revitalizing the historic downtown district, approximately one square mile.

“Ideally, we would have had a comprehensive plan prior to this boom,” Allen said. “Timing requires that we’re doing both (the comprehensive plan and the downtown master plan) simultaneously.”

Typically, the process begins with a comprehensive plan and then from that comprehensive plan a master plan is developed for the downtown corridor, design guidelines are fleshed out, parks and trails plan is drawn up, and a cultural plan is created.
The town is working with Clarion Associates to develop the comprehensive plan and has hired Winter and Company to direct phase two of the master plan — taking the concept and turning it into reality.

A Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) was set up and currently 10 residents of Pagosa Springs and 10 residents of the greater urban area are helping Clarion create visions and goals for the future. There have already been several opportunities for the public to comment on the process.

“Things are happening in this interim time period that we may not like and may not fit the plan,” CAC member Patsy Lindblad said. “It’s a shame that the brakes can’t be put on in some way. There ought to be some sort of guidelines that people are working against.”

There are some guidelines. The town recently re-codified its entire municipal code and updated planning documents that were 10 years old. There are certain development standards that must be met.

“But it doesn’t mean we have a good document to work with in terms of planning and design,” Allen was quick to add. Without a comprehensive planning document that is supported by community input, Allen said it is “difficult to make long range planning decisions.”

Some members of the CAC committee are still confused by the process and how it differs from the master plan. Archuleta County wants to create its own comprehensive plan and the concern is that these efforts will not tie together.

“With all these things going simultaneously, at some point, they will have to ‘true up’ and see if they are overlapping,” Lindblad, a former executive with AT&T; said. She added she realizes that Pagosa Springs is a small town with limited resources. “If we did this sequentially, we’d never get there,” she added.

Allen understands. “It’s a lot for us to palate.”

Garcia echoed that not everyone likes the taste of growth. “It’s been really tough politically. Change is difficult for a lot of people.”

The Mission of David J. Brown

“With David Brown coming in and buying up the Sears store and all of this river property . . . I’m glad to see some of the improvement,” Lee Riley of Jann C. Pitcher Real Estate said.

As I talked with local realtors Mark Espoy (Jim Smith Realty), Mike Heraty (The Source), Stephanie Hill (Jim Smith Realty), JoAnn Laird (Galles Properties), Susie Long (Galles Properties), Lee Riley (Jann C. Pitcher Real Estate), Todd Shelton (Century 21) and Jim Smith (Jim Smith Realty), several mentioned David J. Brown and his acquisition of twenty plus downtown lots as another key to the resurgence of the real estate market in Pagosa Springs. The realtors also mentioned the Conceptual Master Plan created and paid for by the Community Vision Council.

“Long-range I think the planning is a very good thing,” JoAnn Laird said.

“CVC is fabulous and greatly needed,” Stan Seligman told me. “They are trying to do a very good job. But an area of huge need for any of this to succeed is reasonably priced housing.”

“There isn’t a real comprehension of the need to address growth. Like it or not it’s banging on our door with a sledgehammer,” Mike Heraty said. “You look at the fact that the Hot Springs [resort] has changed hands—that there is additional land being assembled by other owners downstream from the hot springs—large tracts. You look at the Aspen Village development; you look at the investments by Stan Seligman; a fellow from St. Louis, Tom Smith, has purchased a 1,500 acre ranch and is working through a development plan; the Valley View ranch which is under contract with a preliminary proposal for a very large residential development with a golf course and equestrian facility. And if you didn’t look at anything other than those issues, right there, right now, all at once you would have to say that the world as we know it in Pagosa Springs is changing.”

It was this need to address growth, which prompted David J. Brown to approach Mayor Ross Aragon in February 2004 and ask him to participate in a meeting of community leaders, elected officials and citizens. This group became the Mayor’s Council for the Future of Pagosa Springs and eventually the Community Vision Council. Their mission: “Given the inevitability of increased growth to the area, the Community Vision Council recognizes the need to guide growth in a way that preserves the intrinsic qualities of Pagosa Springs. Through a combination of positioning and planning strategies, the CVC seeks to encourage a healthy economy while sustaining the unspoiled natural environment of the region and a vibrant and diverse community.”

Brown and other members of the CVC donated about $180,000 to pay for the development of a conceptual master plan, the salaries of CVC staff, as well as for marketing, traffic studies and other related consultants required to pull the plan together. The Town invested $20,000 in this process. The creation of a public and private partnership such as this one is common practice in communities around the country and has been very successful in Boulder, Crested Butte and Durango. Currently, the Conceptual Master Plan is now undergoing the public process that will shape it into a comprehensive plan of the people.

Much criticism has focused on Brown and his role as co-chair of the CVC and his purchasing of downtown properties, criticism that many believe is unfounded.

Who is David J. Brown?

Pagosa Street will be the initial focus for development by Koinonia, LLC which owns twelve unique properties on about twenty platted lots in three key areas of downtown. Brown’s mission is to create a “thriving, active and prosperous downtown for Pagosa Springs.”

David J. Brown is the owner of Bootjack Ranch, At Last Ranch and now Mill Creek Ranch. But what do we know about David J. Brown? Brown has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California and a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a founding member of the Wharton Real Estate Center, now the Zell/Laurie Real Estate Center. In the past, Brown has held professional affiliations with the UC Berkeley Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, the Urban Land Institute, and the National Association of Industrial Office Parks (NAIOP). Brown served as Regional Vice President for Boise Cascade Building Company, and then developed commercial and industrial income properties for Holvick deRegt Koering, Newhall Land & Farming Company, and White Investment Company, before founding Orchard Properties in 1973. Over the years, Orchard, founded with minimal capital, emerged as one of the top three developers in Silicon Valley; was named four times as San Jose’s “Developer of the Year,” and received five awards from the City of San Jose for the “Most Outstanding Industrial Project of the Year.” Orchard was consistently one of the top three property management firms in Silicon Valley. Today, the Company continues to maintain its reputation for quality, impeccable honesty and integrity.

In 1995, Brown and Michael J. Biggar founded Orchard Investors, LLC to continue the development and investment activities of Orchard Properties.

Brown is married and he and his wife Carol have two young sons, one attending public school in Pagosa Springs, the other not yet school-aged. He has three grown daughters and nine grandchildren. One daughter and son-in-law with two of Brown’s grandchildren recently moved to Pagosa Springs. Brown and his wife are generous and active participants in this community. Carol Brown volunteers her time and serves on several school committees as well as the Community Vision Council. The Browns have donated generously to every major project, charity, and event in Pagosa Springs. According to Susan Lander, General Manager of Music in the Mountains, “Having concerts in Pagosa was the brainchild of David Brown, a patron from Pagosa, and our president, James Foster.”

Ministry and Bootjack Ranch

The Browns are active in their church and involved with Ministry and Community Outreach. The Browns host retreats with the DePree Leadership Center, an affiliate of the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and Brown has endowed a chair in Marketplace Theology and Leadership at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, an international graduate school of Christian studies. Brown served on the Board of the DePree Leadership Center, taking a leave of absence in 2001 when he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.

Bootjack Ranch is not only the place the Brown family calls home, it is also a retreat center that the Browns share with business leaders and their families. They come to Pagosa Springs to experience what Brown calls “the wonderful gift of our Creator.” On average, 100 visitors are in residence throughout the year and Brown believes his ministry is to share the gifts of silence, peace, solitude and living in community.

“Carol and I feel God has given us the gift of hospitality and relationship building,” Brown said. “I really enjoy the role of mentoring and sharing my life’s experiences—especially with men. I have been through a lot and want to pass on what I have and am learning.”

It was a dream that Brown developed more than 25 years ago with his friend and pastor, Dr. Stanley M. Johnson. The idea was to provide strength for the journey. “. . . They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint,” reads Isaiah 40:31.

“Coming from a very busy, stressful environment . . . living that lifestyle for many years . . . we wanted a place for couples and businesspeople, pastors and lay persons, to be able to come and experience the peace and slower pace of Bootjack Ranch. Stan provided couples with
professional counseling,” Brown explained.

Bootjack Ranch can accommodate 30 guests at any one time, by invitation only. The Lodge is a place for shared meals, worship, prayer and just hanging out. “It’s a place were we can ‘be’ rather than ‘do’,” Brown said. There is no cost for visitors who range from marketplace leaders to missionaries, pastors to family and friends, because the Browns believe in sharing their blessings. In addition, Bootjack hosts two or three structured retreats each year with a focus on building Christ-centered relationship.

“We believe that we have been entrusted with many blessings financially and otherwise,” Brown said. “And from that comes our strong desire to share and give back.”

Not an “Outsider”

Contrary to what you might have heard, Brown is not an “outsider.” His great grandfather, Harry Jackson settled in Arboles around 1892, then later moved to Durango and established the Jackson Hardware Company. Harry Jackson was also involved in real estate and served as Mayor of Durango. Brown’s grandmother was born in Durango in the late 1890s. His entire family was active in the hardware business until the early 1970s. Brown’s mother was born and raised in Durango; Brown visited the family cabin at Electra Lake every summer until his mother passed away in 1993. For two years, the Browns had a family condominium at Tamarron resort until they purchased the Bootjack Ranch and moved to Pagosa Springs in 1995.

Brown is a very private man. However, he is happy to answer difficult questions and discuss issues, rather than have the rumor mill spreading untruths about him. He’s approachable. He’s kind. He’s generous.

“I’ve never seen anyone step up to the plate at any reasonable level as this family has,” Mike Heraty said. “How many people of substance will want to come forward and be personally attacked unfairly and unjustly as they have?”

Yet Brown is more apt to “turn the other cheek” than to stand up and defend himself, refusing to comment on the lease dispute with David Joy and the original deal he made with Lou Poma to purchase downtown property near the Courthouse that includes the Chevron station, Hot Stuff Pizza and Joy Automotive. On March 18, Brown did confirm via email during his family vacation that his company did acquire the Poma property. “Other than removing the underground fuel tanks, we have no immediate plans for development,” he wrote. “We will be working with the existing tenants.”

Yet Brown was clear about his decision to step down from his position as co-chair of the Community Vision Council.

Brown Steps Down from the CVC

“I moved over to allow expanded leadership. Our original objective of initiating the CVC was to bring vision and focus on how to guide and manage our inevitable growth. Phase I of this objective has been achieved. I believe my gifts are visionary and creative—not administrative,” Brown said. “With the CVC’s gift and transfer of the Conceptual Master Plan to the Town and County, it is time for the CVC to broaden Community Involvement in other areas. This requires new leadership and focus. The CVC Chairmanship requires a very large time commitment and I have a lot of other interests in my life that I want to focus on also. My wife and family, our investments and developments, my business in California, and other local, regional and national philanthropic interests, other outside Boards of Directors, and my interest in continuing the Ministries of Bootjack Ranch and our local Church involvement.” Brown will continue to serve on the CVC steering committee and is especially interested in education, preservation and the expansion of parks, trails and the river corridor. He is actively involved in serving on the Advisory Board to the Mayo Clinic Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, a place he has spent far too much time over the past three years.

A local rumor suggested that Brown’s health was a factor in his decision to step down. Not true according to Brown. “Other than a recent bout with flu and sinus infections I am in excellent health,” he said.

Brown, who has battled Multiple Myeloma (a cancer of the blood in the bone marrow) for three years, is 21 months post stem cell transplant and his cancer is in remission, all cell ranges are normal. “I feel better than I have in years. I am very grateful for my many blessings and want to give back and help in areas where our gifts can best be used.”

Pagosa Street

I asked Brown about another local rumor involving the properties he owns along Pagosa Street, including the building that currently houses Artemesia Botanicals Company, the vacant lots across the street, the little white house that was briefly a shoe store, the old Granny Moose location, the Funeral Parlor. Is it true that he plans to tear down those buildings?

“We are in the long-term investment and development business,” Brown said. “We have acquired properties in what we feel are long-term strategic locations. We are committed to the development of well-done, environmentally sensitive and hopefully profitable developments. We have three project locations—the east town, mid town, and west town projects. Our initial focus will be on the east corridor of Town on the Pagosa Street properties. We are currently in the planning and study phases. There are no definite plans yet. We are studying the Artemisia Building, but we have not made a decision one way or another. When we have, we will make our plans public and will involve the neighborhood in the process.”

And what about his recent purchase of the Mill Creek Ranch? “It’s a long-term investment. We have no development plans. We want to preserve the environment,” Brown said.

So why is there such a negative reaction to Brown? Many of the properties he now owns (like the Sears store) had been on the market for years. If they weren’t on the market, the owner was interested in selling the property and Brown just happened to be interested in buying. Why are a few downtown properties the focus of so much of the community attention? Brown is not the only speculator buying up property for long-term investment purposes.

“We all have the opportunity to buy property, relative to risk and financial ability,” Mike Heraty said. “Why are we penalizing someone who has more money than most of us? Why are the achievers somehow bad?”

In the past, according to the realtors I spoke with, eight to eleven percent of properties in the MLS changed hands every year. Sellers list property for sale and buyers purchase property. “A lot of people have gobbled up a lot more in value and area than he (Brown) has,” Heraty added.

Stanley Levine owns more than 300 acres in downtown Pagosa Springs. Bill Dawson and Matt Mees have 30 critical acres along the river with water rights to the great Pagosah hot springs. Stan Seligman owns over 100 acres west of downtown. The Valley View Ranch is 1,100 acres. The development slated for the intersection of Highways 84 and 160 is over 100 acres. Beyond the one-square mile of downtown focus, Stan Seligman owns three times as many properties as Jeffrey Frieden and Robert Friedman from National Recreational Properties, Inc. The Harman Park and Aspen Village developments will forever change the Pagosa Lakes region.

In fact, Brown only owns 12 unique properties on about twenty platted lots in downtown Pagosa Springs. No more than five acres. The properties are owned by a Brown family ownership entity known as Koinonia, LLC—a name that was originally chosen as the ownership entity for Bootjack Ranch. The word Koinonia has several meanings in Greek, but its primary meaning is association or partnership. Other meanings include participating in fellowship, sharing a common experience, participating with others, generosity.

“It seemed appropriate to use the name downtown,” Brown said.

Brown’s decision to hold the downtown properties in a business entity whose name means fellowship is testament to Brown’s vision for Pagosa Springs. “A vibrant downtown community is critical to a healthy, balanced community,” Brown said.

Just as vibrant, healthy blood cells are critical to the bone marrow.

Brown continued: “In order to create this, enough critical properties have to be assembled. We are nearing the end of this acquisition stage. The next stage will be planning and designing the three key projects.”

Three unique projects, that’s all. Projects that must be approved by Town Planners and the Town Council, a process that welcomes public input and comment. Many people agree with Mayor Ross Aragon and are anxious to see what a David J. Brown development will look like.

“David is going to build something we will want to show off to people. It will be done right. It will be done classy. That’s what we need,” Aragon said to me in a previous interview.

“There have never been a lot properties for sale downtown,” Lee Riley said. “Only one percent of the market has been downtown.”

In other words, no one has ever focused on downtown Pagosa Springs.

“To benefit our community we must have a thriving, active, and prosperous downtown. If not we will become strip development just like ‘Anywhere USA’,” Brown said. “We have a God-given blessing here and we as a community must be pro-active to protect and guide it. If we do not our long-term economy will not be grounded and the long-term resources will be threatened.”

Seeing the return of tourists during Spring Break should reinforce this idea with the community. There are people in town, people downtown, people walking around, visiting stores, restaurants, the hot springs. Like it or not, tourism is what feeds the economy of Pagosa Springs.

“We should do everything we can to help our Ma and Pa stores thrive,” Jim Smith said. This is exactly what Brown hopes to accomplish.

“Pagosa is one of a kind. We love it here and we are committed to a long term legacy of a quality and economic stability,” Brown said. “We owe it to the next generation. Things are changing very rapidly. We are involved because we care.”

Pagosa Springs is a living postcard, and it is being mailed more frequently these days.

The realtors I spoke with: Mark Espoy (Jim Smith Realty), Mike Heraty (The Source), Stephanie Hill (Jim Smith Realty), JoAnn Laird (Galles Fine Properties), Susie Long (Galles Fine Properties), Lee Riley (Jann C. Pitcher Real Estate), Todd Shelton (Century 21) and Jim Smith (Jim Smith Realty) all mentioned the recent bevy of media coverage on Pagosa Springs as one of the sparks fueling the real estate boom.

A discussion of media coverage must include the number one reason for the recent exposure—the potential development of the Village at Wolf Creek. Stories about Red McCombs’ and Bob Honts’ “Village” have surfaced in newspapers across the country, from Denver to Minneapolis, Casper to Vail, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio to Albuquerque—the Village at Wolf Creek is news.

Jim Smith said he is not for the development. “I’ll be surprised if it happens. There’s so much resistance to it.”

“The national publicity on Wolf Creek is big,” Todd Shelton said. “But I don’t see how it can happen. They don’t have enough water. And how are they going to get the planes in here?”

“The Village development will impact Pagosa Springs, both positively and negatively,” said Andy Knudtsen of Environmental Planning Systems, the company hired by the Community Vision Council (CVC) to provide an economic study for Pagosa Springs. “It’s something we have to look at.” The EPS baseline study will be complete by the end of April.

A front-page story from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune on August 25, 2004 with the headline: “In Colorado, Red vs. Green” details the struggle between Red McCombs and the environmental groups fighting the Village at Wolf Creek. “We still get calls from Minneapolis because of that coverage,” said Laurie Heraty, Mike’s wife and business partner at The Source.

“Pagosa is showing up on radar screens,” Mike Heraty said. “With the internet you can easily shop for a vacation or things to do or places to live. Pagosa is off-the-beaten-path, which is an attraction for some of us. It’s isolated.”

Aside from the media coverage of the Village at Wolf Creek, the number one trigger all the realtors mentioned was the article in the Rocky Mountain News, Saturday August 16, 2003 with the headline: “Paradise Found.” That article pointed out that 24 percent of the population of Archuleta County is 55-years-old or older, and that during the peak summer season, an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 visitors double the population of the County.

The Baby Boomers

As Mike Heraty put it, “The number one investment for the baby boomers is vacation property or second homes; whether that is a time-share, a condo, a cabin, land to camp on, or a dream home.”

We know that 30% of the homes built in Pagosa Springs are second homes. Are these second homeowners any less local than those of us who live in Pagosa Springs twelve months of the year? It’s a question Mike Heraty posed: “How long do you have to live here to be considered a local?”

Ross Aragon told The Rocky Mountain News in 2003: “People are coming in and building 9,000 square-feet homes and living in them one month a year. They have zero negative impact. They are a blessing to us.”

“Second homeowners provide minimal impact to schools, roads and social services,” Mike Heraty said. “On average, a second homeowner provides jobs for 13 people in ongoing caretaking, maintenance and services.”

Not only are they a blessing in terms of low impact, but the second homeowner is also very likely to be someone who supports our local charities, nonprofit and arts organizations.

“Their generosity is recognized and the impact of that is more tangible,” Heraty continued. “We see the results of what they give. They enrich our culture and service organizations. It would be a little more difficult to provide art, music and support of our senior center without the participation of second homeowners.”

The Northwest Council of Governments presented a report in July 2004, “The Social and Economic Effects of Second Homes,” (www.nwc.cog.co.us). Linda Venturoni, the Northwest Council’s director of special projects, surveyed residents of Eagle, Grand, Pitkin, Summit and Jackson counties and a wide range of mountain communities including Avon, Vail, Breckenridge and Aspen to Glenwood Springs, Hot Sulphur Spring, Winter Park, Grand Lake, Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco, Walden, Montezuma, Kremmling and Granby. What the study found was that second homes created 44 percent of basic or primary jobs in the four counties – significantly higher than the 25 percent of jobs created by winter visitors, 14 percent by local dollars, 11 percent by summer tourists and 6 percent by “other.” Second homes bring in 34 percent of outside money, with winter tourists providing 28 percent, local income 18 percent and summer visitors 14 percent.

While these numbers don’t apply directly to Pagosa Springs – which sees significantly higher dollar impact from summer visitors over winter visitors – it is interesting to note the effect second home ownership has on these counties. Incidentally, 67 percent of all homes owned in Summit County are second homes, 63 percent in Grand County, 55 percent in Pitkin County and 49 percent in Eagle County.

“Relative to some of the more well-known Rocky Mountain getaway destinations, Pagosa Springs is an outstanding value, has beautiful scenery, available land, rivers, the hot springs, and we are a small and safe community,” Heraty said. “Like it or not growth is banging on our door with a sledge hammer.”

“We just happen to be one of the last towns to have this type of growth happen,” Jim Smith said.

Last November, traveling through the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, I picked up the December 2004 issue of Cowboys & Indians because I wanted to know about “Colorado’s Best-Kept Secret.” Imagine my surprise as I settled into my seat (next to a woman from Aspen and a thoroughbred horse owner who had just watched his friend’s three-year-old win the Breeder’s Cup) to find a huge inside front cover spread suggesting I invest in Southwest Colorado Gold and let Herman Riggs help me find that just right gentleman’s ranch for an investment of somewhere between $1.2 million and $20 million.

Then on page 50, a beautiful photograph of the San Juan River advertising 41 acres available through The Source for Pagosa Real Estate, LLC. On page 96 I found an article about Leon Harrel and his cutting horse clinics at the Galles Ranch in Pagosa Springs. Finally, on page 98, I learned that Colorado’s best-kept secret is Pagosa Springs, my hometown, with a tag line that read: “There’s a lot more to this up-and-coming Colorado gem than a good steamy soak.” A smaller ad on page 103 from The Source offers the Lazy 8 Ranch for a mere $6,000,000. On Page 104, Galles Properties lists the Tierra Del Oro Ranch for $995,000 under the banner headline: “Live Where You Love to Play.”

Another ad from The Source on page 136, touts the “Real People, Unreal Lifestyle” slogan, claiming that Pagosa Springs has a population of 11,000. This is technically inaccurate. Pagosa Springs has a population of less than 2,000. Archuleta County has a population of close to 11,000. This ad directly compares Pagosa to Aspen, Telluride and Vail promoting how much a baby boomer’s dollar will buy—a two-bedroom starter home in Aspen for $1 million or a Hilltop home on 5 acres in Pagosa Springs for $625,000.

Media coverage is self-perpetuating. It fuels more media coverage.

“We don’t have to market and sell Pagosa,” Jim Smith said. “People are going to continue to come here because it is so beautiful.” Smith spends his money marketing to visitors by producing the Pagosa Springs Real
Estate Magazine and through numerous web sites.

In February, Wolf Creek Ski Area was mentioned in an article in The Wall Street Journal as having snow that surpasses rival ski resorts by feet, not inches. Google Pagosa Springs, Colorado and you will find 229,000 options. Our town is on Lance Armstrong’s website, because his “Tour of Hope” passed through on October 3, 2004. The writer describes us as “the friendly town of Pagosa Springs.” There are frequent mentions in Skiing magazine. An article from February 6, 2004 in the Pueblo Chieftan, “Spirit of the West: Comic strip cowpoke Red Ryder still rides range in Pagosa Springs.” I’ve found articles on Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Galles Cutting Horse Clinics, The Lodge at Keyah Grande. There’s even a racehorse named Pagosa Springs who came in first in a recent running at Santa Anita Park.

But it was still refreshing on a recent visit to Santa Fe, to have someone ask me where I’m from and when I told them Pagosa Springs, they said, “Where’s that?” Sixty miles east of Durango, I say, knowing no one ever asks where Vail or Aspen or Telluride is located.

“Pagosa doesn’t have a celebrity pecking order. It’s not attractive to celebrities. They will never be here. We’re not about ego and status,” said Mike Heraty. He believes that Pagosa Springs appeals to the baby boomers who are more interested in a community-based lifestyle as opposed to those who focus on buying acreage, putting up a fence and creating their own world.

“What is interesting to me,” Lee Riley said, “is that a lot of people now are looking at the larger tracts of land. That’s been a softer market the last couple of years.”

“Large land parcels are not looking as expensive,” Mark Espoy said. “You can spend $50,000 for a quarter acre lot or $250,000 for 35 acres.”

“The value is here,” JoAnn Laird said. “It’s prettier than most places in Colorado and 75% of the county is public land. We are getting more national exposure. We’re even on the Weather Channel now.”

“Vacant lot sales are up 120 percent over last year,” Lee Riley, of Jann C. Pitcher Real Estate said, comparing 2004 sales to 2003 sales. “Inventory on vacant land is down 23 percent. Home sales are up 55 percent from last year and inventory is down about 38 percent.”

Riley has more room in his real estate ads these days for animals from the Humane Society because the inventory of available properties has decreased dramatically. Yet, as of January 2005, there were still 704 vacant lots, from a quarter of an acre to 34 acres on the market available through the dozens of real estate agents in Pagosa.

In this series of articles, I’ve discussed the baby boomers buying up second homes and investment property. I’ve profiled Great New Homes, the first production builder to stake their claim in the Pagosa land grab. Now I will discuss what realtors Lee Riley, Jim Smith, Mark Espoy, Stephanie Hill, Mike Heraty, JoAnn Laird, Susie Long and Todd Shelton all mentioned as the single reason land sales have increased at such a sizeable percentage—National Recreational Properties, Inc. (NRPI) and their purchase, in 2004, of approximately 332 lots of which 83 are undeveloped.

“It’s really only about 250 improved lots in Pagosa Lakes and 83 unimproved lots in Chris Mountain II,” said Jim Smith of Jim Smith Realty who brokered the transactions. “But it wasn’t as many lots as they wanted to buy.”

A few years ago, according to Smith, the Pagosa Area MLS had over 1000 lots for sale, most of which were in the Pagosa Lakes Area. More than a few speculators, investors and individuals have been buying up these cheap lots for several years.

“NRPI is a late arrival here, but took what was left,” Smith added.
NRPI is a real estate acquisition company founded eight years ago by Robert Friedman and Jeffrey Frieden. Based in Irvine, California. NRPI has various operations in California, Washington, Florida, Arkansas, Arizona and now Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Friedman and Friedan are also the co-founders of LandAuction.com, Land Disposition Co. and Real Estate Disposition Corp.

From slick websites to television infomercials, NRPI typically has potential buyers pay a $295 travel deposit, which is put into a real estate trust account. The deposit is then applied to a purchase or refunded after a fly-before-you-buy trip to the property, paid for by NRPI. A buyer selects their lot from a licensed real estate agent. After signing a contract, the buyer has 72 hours to back out of the deal. NRPI provides the financing. In Arizona City, Ariz. an NRPI lot sells for $24,900. The buyer puts $1,295 down and makes payments of $329 a month at an Annual Percentage Rate of 14.9 percent. This excludes property taxes, Property Owner’s Association fees, and a one-time $995 documentation charge. In Ocean Shores, Wash. the lot price is $39,900 with $1,195 down and payments of $498 at an interest rate of 13.75 percent excluding a $500 one-time documentation fee and 1.53 percent real estate excise tax.

I contacted NRPI to ask them about their business model for Pagosa Springs. “We don’t discuss our business practices with the media,” Friedman said. Yet it was Friedman who Associated Press writer Brian Melley recently quoted as saying: “We are riding on the coattails of developers from the ’50s and ’60s. We identify these things, we re-expose them to the world, and our clients in the long run get incredible values.”

These “things” that Friedman refers to are the thousands of lots across the country in subdivisions that predate planning laws requiring sewer, water and power. Developments that were platted, but never completed. In many cases, NRPI doesn’t improve the lots, they just sell them, flipping them to new buyers if an owner defaults, usually at a higher price.

“NRPI offers no money down, high interest rate, installment land contracts. We don’t know how it will work in this market. Colorado doesn’t allow that type of contract, they frown on installment land contracts. If you foreclose on someone, it will take 3-6 months to get the property back,” Lee Riley said.

So will we see that infomercial they filmed with Erik Estrada on TV anytime soon? Are they opening an NRPI sales office in Pagosa? Will they be flying in prospective buyers from California shortly? Not according to Jim Smith.

“All of the developed lots are back on the local MLS,” Jim Smith said. “We are trying to keep it local. If they set up shop, the local realtors are out of the loop and so are the local customers. Right now a local customer can buy the properties versus all of the buyers being from out-of-state.”

Smith advised that this arrangement could change at anytime. NRPI could decide next month to begin their fly-in program. If that happens, Smith expects a significant price increase. He also anticipates that all of the lots will be sold within three to five months.

“So far to date, we have received over 16 offers on NRPI properties, most of which are under contract and some have closed. This is not bad for the middle of winter,” Smith said. “Each week we are getting more offers. I expect that by the end of summer, a large number of these properties will be sold.”

“When you look at the market they can target—California—a ten million person population base with expensive TV marketing, where $400 a square foot buys a junky tract home, it’s not unreasonable to think they could sell those lots in six months,” Mike Heraty said. “It’s the same principal as Fairfield with the timeshare sales.”

What about the 83 unimproved lots in Chris Mountain II purchased by NRPI? Will they just turn around and sell them as is, without water, sewer, power, roads to some unsuspecting client hoping to cash in on the Pagosa Springs real estate boom? Again, Smith says no, NRPI intends to improve those lots in that subdivision, a possibility that excited Smith, and his associate Mark Espoy, who both believe, such improvements will be a good thing for the market.

“Development costs are about $35,000 a lot, a tap fee alone is $10,000,” Smith said.

“That is a beautiful area,” Espoy added. “Very high end. It helps the economy to do improvements.”

It appears, that the NRPI business plan for Pagosa Springs is similar to that in Arizona City, where according to the NRPI website Arizona City has grown 126% since 1990. “This population explosion has resulted in families moving here from major cities to enjoy a lower cost of living and a better quality of life.” Since 1990, the population of Archuleta County has grown 110 percent, with thirty percent of buyer’s being second homeowners.

“People around here have been spoiled by the supply and demand; an over supply means that value stays down. Now that those property values have gone up, those who purchased lots in Pagosa Lakes 10 or 20 years ago, might break even,” Smith said.

“The purchase prices for lots in Fairfield were higher between 1979 and 1983,” JoAnn Laird concurred. “The prices are just now catching up to where they should be. Raising the pre-owned home prices is good for sellers.”

Not everyone agrees. “The average price for a lot that NRPI purchased was $15,000.” Lee Riley said. “Jim Smith just put all of the lots back on the market and the average price is $40,000. I think they are overpriced.”

“I don’t like it,” Susie Long of Galles Properties said. “From a seller’s standpoint, a lot of them paid $18,000 for a lot in 1978 and they sold that lot to National Recreational Properties for $10,000 and now that same lot is back on the market for $40,000.”

“From the angle of supply and demand, the inventory for lots, usually you had one on the market for a year. In the last couple of months, they’ve been on the market for a month or two because the inventory wasn’t out the
re. Now we have 350 lots out there at way over inflated prices and I don’t know what that is going to mean. We’ve always had more modestly priced lots, and maybe we are playing catch up and I’m the one behind the times. But I have a hard time selling something I don’t believe in. I don’t want to be avoiding the owner in the supermarket next year if they want to put it back on the market,” Lee Riley said.

“The days of millions of transactions are gone. The $4,000 lots are gone. In the future there will be fewer transactions, but the dollar volume will be higher,” JoAnn Laird said. “If you are going to buy, buy now, it’s not going to get any cheaper. Buy the vacant lot next to you. Right now the prices are fair and equal for both the buyer and the seller, but I don’t know how long that will last.”

NRPI is reaching out to the community, and recently donated $5,000 to the “Seeds of Learning” campaign to help build a new building for Archuleta County’s only non-profit childcare center catering to low-income families. In a company press release, Friedman said: “As a new neighbor to Pagosa Springs, we are fulfilling our quest to do our part for the disadvantaged children in this community.”

“We think Pagosa Springs is a gorgeous area, poised for growth,” Robert Friedman did say to me on the phone. “The town is filled with nice people.”

Great New Homes is the largest builder of production homes on the Western Slope. They average 310 homes a year and are now focusing on the southern tier of the state which includes Pagosa Springs, Bayfield, Durango and Cortez.

The Pagosa Springs real estate market changed dramatically in 2004. According to broker Jim Smith, the inventory of residential properties listed in Pagosa Springs dropped from 500-600 in early 2004 to around 200 properties in January 2005.

“When you consider the Aspen Village development, Great New Homes, and the Valley View ranch development, and look at this all at once, you would have to say the world is changing,” said real estate broker Mike Heraty.

Every realtor I talked with mentioned Stan Seligman or Great New Homes as having an impact or influence on the changing Pagosa Springs real estate market. Living in Pagosa Lakes, I was familiar with the signs, the homogeneous houses, but I knew little about the company.

“We are disliked by the building community,” Stan Seligman, founder of Great New Homes said, “Because we provide a better product for less money.” Great New Homes is the largest builder of homes on the Western Slope. They build an average of 310 houses per year in community housing projects from as far north as Rifle, Parachute and Glenwood Springs, down to Delta, Montrose and since 2000, in Pagosa Springs. Seligman told me the company is investing in the southern tier of the state. They are expanding into Bayfield, Durango and Cortez.

Great New Homes is a privately held, family owned business. Stan Seligman has been in the construction business for 52 years. His children Bret Seligman and Kia Kofron own the company. Bret and Stan are both licensed real estate brokers and Great New Homes and their subsidiary companies are members of the National Association of Home Builders.

Great New Homes is what Seligman calls a production builder. In Pagosa Springs, they are currently building on scattered lots throughout the area, primarily in Pagosa Lakes. The company is completely vertical, meaning they do it all from excavation to foundation, framing, plumbing and finishing. They supply all their own materials through a private lumberyard. Occasionally they will use an outside contractor such as an electrician, a plumber and here and there a drywall contractor, when the staff is too busy. “This allows us to avoid the markup on labor,” Seligman explained. “We can build more houses and lower the building costs and pass those savings on to the public.”

As of Tuesday, February 22, 2005, there were two Great New Homes available on the Pagosa Springs Multiple Listing Service. Those homes were priced at $122-131 per square foot, which according to Susie Long at Galles Properties, is about average for a home in Pagosa Springs.

Great New Homes is planning three separate subdivision developments west of Pagosa Springs in the Pagosa Lakes area. The first project is the completion of an existing, platted development called Park Meadows on North Lake Drive adjacent to North Village Lake and The Ranch subdivision. Currently there are only three houses in the neighborhood. The community will have 19 new homes when Great New Homes is finished building. Second, is Capstone, a gated community where Great New Homes will build 35 luxury homes. Third, is Pagosa Lakes Ranch, which will have 400-500 single-family homes and villas and a 42-acre shopping center.

“An area of huge need for Pagosa Springs is reasonably priced housing for the people who will help the town service growth. There is a great need for reasonably priced housing, especially in the downtown area,” Seligman said. “Great New Homes provides reasonably priced housing the Pagosa Lakes area only.”

“Many city and county employees live in our housing,” Seligman said, “Because they have no reasonably priced living quarter’s downtown. I’m really concerned for growth that the town have adequate living quarters for the worker bees. We can’t all be retirement folks and those flying in on jet planes.”

These large, planned developments are common in major metropolitan areas throughout the West. But if that is not what the community wants, then zoning restrictions, land use codes and other governmental controls will have to be implemented to control density in the future.

“We just happen to be one the last towns in Colorado to have this major overhaul in the real estate market happen,” Jim Smith said. Every large community has a series of production builders and developers. This is just new for Pagosa Springs.

“Without planning and land use codes, we don’t have the tools in place to evaluate the cost to the community for 500 new houses. Do we have the water? What about schools?” Todd Shelton questioned. “The thing is, it doesn’t cost the community for the development to be built, it costs the community when it is built.”

“Right now the market is more fair—equal. Prices are good for both buyers and sellers. I don’t know how long that will last,” JoAnn Laird said. “The type of high density development that Stan Seligman is doing will have an impact.”

Next week, National Recreational Properties, Inc.

Part One of a series, exploring the rapidly changing real estate market in Pagosa Springs

Nearly $150 million dollars worth of Pagosa Springs’ real estate changed hands in 2004, a 62% increase over the $91,630,136 volume for 2003. It appears that the Baby Boom generation has discovered Pagosa Springs.

“The number one investment for baby boomers is vacation property or second homes. Whether it’s a home, a timeshare, a cabin, or a piece of land that they can go camp on–it’s a tremendous economic wave in the marketplace,” said Mike Heraty at The Source.

JoAnn Laird at Galles Properties echoed this idea. “Baby boomers are fleeing the cities. They are buying now to get a foot in the door, even if they don’t intend to move here for three years.”

“They are refocusing,” Heraty said. “The baby boom generation is looking for a more community-based lifestyle as opposed to getting 35 acres with a gate and a fence and creating their own little world.”

“In January 2004 things changed,” said Jim Smith, of Jim Smith Realty. “There was a new attitude. People started coming in and buying things.” “People with money,” Stephanie Hill, an associate with Jim Smith, added. “I’ve had a lot more cash transactions.”

“And a lot more 1031 exchanges, too,” stated Mark Espoy, also of Jim Smith Realty. A 1031 Exchange refers to the IRS code that allows the exchange of income producing or investment real estate for other real estate to avoid paying capital gains taxes.

People are taking money out of the stock market and putting it into real estate, many local realtors told me. “It is a trend nationwide.” “Real estate is safe.” “You can’t go wrong with real estate.” Yet, according to The Motley Fool, April 4, 2002, the stock market is a better investment over the long term. “Burned by the market in the short term, many investors think residential real estate is a better place for their money. Over the long term, they have been wrong. Invest in stocks for long-term growth, but choose your home as carefully as you do any investment. That’s because for most people, a home will be something like their personal bank.”

However, The New York Times reported in July 2004 that while on the surface an investment in the stock market appears to promise a greater return than an investment in real estate, that perception does not take into account the ability to leverage an initial housing investment. Very few people pay cash for real estate. According to James W. Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, if you bought a home for $100,000 in 1980, by 2004 its value would have increased to $400,000 — for a gain of $300,000.

“Assuming you only made a 10 percent down payment on the home — or $10,000 — that means your initial $10,000 investment grew to $310,000,” Hughes said. “That’s a gain of about 3,000 percent, which is far better than the stock market. If you had invested the $10,000 in stocks, it would have grown to $110,000 in the same 24-year period.”

According to the National Association of Realtors website, the median price of an existing home in the United States in 2004 was $184,100, an 8.3 percent increase from 2003. In December 2004, the median existing-home price in the West was $281,200, up 11.9 percent from the same month a year earlier.

The average home price for a single-family home in Pagosa Springs in 2004 was $230,862, only a 1.3 percent increase over the average home price in 2003 of $227,868. In 2003 that increase was much higher, at 12.5 percent over 2002. However, according to Lee Riley of Jann C. Pitcher Real Estate, “in the last 60 days, the average home price [in Pagosa] went up $15,000.”

So what is going on here? Why the sudden boom in real estate in Pagosa Springs? I sat down individually with realtors Lee Riley, Jim Smith, Mark Espoy, Stephanie Hill, Mike Heraty, JoAnn Laird, Susie Long and Todd Shelton and asked them what they thought was key to the resurgence. All of them mentioned several key things. First was Stan Seligman and Great New Homes coming in from Grand Junction and buying up lots in Pagosa Lakes and Meadows and building production homes. Second, was the purchase by National Recreational Properties, Inc. of what Jim Smith said were about 250 improved lots in Pagosa Lakes and 100 unimproved lots in Chris Mountain II. Third, was media coverage, including a favorable article in The Rocky Mountain News in 2003 and the recent national media coverage of The Village at Wolf Creek. Fourth, the acquisition of approximately 20 downtown area properties by David J. Brown and several downtown properties by other speculative investors, developers and local businessmen. Fifth, the Aspen Village and Harman Park developments.

This series of articles will delve into each of the five critical areas mentioned and explore all aspects of the real estate market. Next week: Great New Homes.

For the fifth consecutive year, the President’s budget proposal has eliminated funding for the Department of Education’s Arts in Education programs, which includes model arts collaborations with schools, teacher professional development, and arts programs for at-risk youth. The President has never requested funding for these programs. Traditionally, funding is restored by the Senate and accepted by the House during the appropriations process.

The President’s budget is the first step in the appropriations process. While it serves as an important framework, Congress has the power to set its own priorities and change these funding levels. Make your voice heard by writing Members of Congress and urging them to increase funding for arts and culture AND restore funding for arts in education programs. Just visit the E-Advocacy Center at www.capwiz.com/artsusa and write to your elected officials urging them to support funding increases for the arts AND arts education.

Our schools are looking for ways to engage students and have them perform better on tests—up those CSAP scores. The Arts for Academic Achievement (AAA) program is about teaching students to love learning, to explore their world through unbridled access to the arts, and to apply themselves in ways they have never done before. It’s more than just teaching students how to paint or dance, and Minneapolis AAA reports that third grade reading scores on tests show “extensive” improvement. For more results, visit their website at Arts for Academic Achievement.

We need to ensure that Colorado has a creative workforce for the future. In a study (Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons from School Districts that Value Arts Education, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and Arts Education partnership, 1999) of 91 school districts nationwide, it was determined that the arts enhance a students ability to find creative solutions to problems and adapt to unexpected situations. Colorado has one of the most well educated workforces in America. The next generation deserves the opportunity to continue that trend.

Want to strengthen the arts program in our schools? Participate in or host an Innovative Teaching Through the Arts Workshop, April 15 and 16 at Adams State College, Alamosa. Teachers in ALL disciplines are encouraged to participate to learn exciting ways to use the arts in their classrooms. Graduate credit is available. Call 303-778-9374 or e-mail caae@artsedcolorado.org for more information.

Funding for these and other valuable programs is critical for the future of our country and our children. Please support the arts! Write to:

Senator Wayne Allard
954 East Second Avenue, Suite 107
Durango, CO 81301
970-375-6311
970-375-1321 (fax)
http://allard.senate.gov/contactme/index.cfm

Senator Ken Salazar
SDB-40A Senate Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5852 (Phone)
202-228-5036 (Fax)
http://www.salazar.senate.gov/contactus.cfm

Representative John Salazar
1531 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0603
Phone: (202) 225-4761
http://www.house.gov/salazar

http://www.artsperspective.com/current_detail.php?aID=a0a7f93a19282378aff1889d3379b766

An exclusive club?

Pagosa mayor Ross Aragon welcomes the community to the CVC’s initial public presentation last November. Aragon and David Brown are co-chairmen of the CVC.

Leanne Goebel: The CVC plan mentions the importance of diversity, as does the community survey, yet some have suggested that the CVC is not a diverse group. Many feel that the Vision Committee is an exclusive club of wealthy community members. How do you respond to that?

“Trust me it isn’t that,” Aragon said. “Other than my friend [Brown], I would say that everyone is working class people. That could be the perception, but it’s not that way. Everyone is working and everyone is trying to make a living.”

“You can’t have everyone in the community on the council,” Brown said. “We have subcommittees that have kind of evolved. I guess my personal answer to this is yes, I did get the funding going, but since I started, several other groups and people have significantly contributed to this. I mean, Mark Weiler’s recent donation is an example [$40,000 for an economic study]. Had we not started, then we wouldn’t have been able to grow. I have been richly blessed by God with financial success. I started with zero and I feel an obligation and a responsibility to give back to the community. I think that Ross can attest to this and its been demonstrated time and time and time again.

“To me, this is how we help do something significant for the Town and we have convinced other people to do the same thing. So if you want to call that an exclusive club then call it an exclusive club, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about a group of people who care, who have contributed thousands of hours of their time and yes, lots of money, but I think that it’s the spirit in which this has been done and it’s unfair to say this is a club and a group of people that are pursuing their own self interests. That’s not what’s happening here and it’s evidenced by the result of this plan that is now being given to the community. We’ve basically produced it and are giving it back. Now, if it were our club, why would we give it back? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Dave and I have become good friends through this,” Aragon added. “I didn’t know David. I never knew who he was. My daughter had worked at Bootjack [Ranch].”

“The first time we met was at the first meeting,” Brown said.

“We said, finally we meet,” Aragon said. “But [over the years] what I’ve seen David do is I’ve seen him make contributions, big time contributions, to this community, all anonymously. To me that impressed the heck out of me. The other thing that impresses me about Mr. Brown is that he could have his kids go to boarding schools, private schools, wherever, and they are going to our local schools. I mean he cares. I wouldn’t be sitting here if his kids were going to boarding schools or private schools, they are right in the mix of the community. That tells me he is community oriented. But his generosity says a lot about him and his wife.”

Brown went on to say, he felt in his heart and in his spirit that what he and CVC are doing is the right thing and that he is at peace with his decisions.

Disclosure of Property Ownership

But I had to ask him about the controversy over the four-to-five acres of downtown properties he has purchased over the past few months. Properties directly involved in the future vision plan. And the request by J.R. Ford at the November meeting that all members of the CVC and the consultants provide full disclosure and map the properties they own. Wasn’t it a bit like insider trading?

Aragon responded by telling the story of a man who came into his office one day, crying because he thought that David Brown had bought the Catholic Church and was going to tear it down. It was a wild rumor that spread through town. Brown did not buy the Catholic Church.

“Anytime that David made a purchase, he contacted me to ask my advice and he contacted other people and said this could be perceived as a little sensitive, and of course we knew that some of these projects had been on the market for a long time. And a lot of these properties, David didn’t contact them, the owner contacted David and asked if he wanted to buy their property,” Aragon defended. “I knew if David bought the property he was going to build something we would want to show off to people so that they would make this a destination point. It would be done right. It would be done classy. And that’s what we need. I’ve seen enough fly-by-nighters that I don’t want to see any more of those. So it’s actually an asset for the town that people like David can come and buy and do things right.”

“These properties have been available for a long, long time, so anybody could buy these properties, so it’s totally not true that this is insider information, ” Brown said. “The properties that I’ve acquired and other people have acquired are obvious properties anybody could have picked them up. It doesn’t take much to know that the Sears store is a corner location and that it’s the entry to the town. To suggest that what happened is that we waited for the plan and then we bought the properties is just not a correct statement. It’s simply not true.”

Aragon went on to explain that years ago he attempted to broker a deal with Pat Parelli to buy the Sears store from William Seielstad. Today, Brown owns that building and several others in “ground zero.”

“Someone called me the other day and said I’m interested in investing in downtown and I don’t want to compete with you, and asked if I was interested in a property,” Brown said. “I told him I think the more people that buy property downtown the better it is, because that shows that people are invested. I encouraged this person. I said I’m not going to compete with you. I said, go for it. I didn’t even know that this building was for sale. So, I don’t know how you get around that mentality.”

“What are they afraid of?” Brown wondered aloud. “That’s the question I ask. What are they afraid of? If I own ten properties or I own twenty properties? Somebody’s going to buy these properties. There are properties all over this town for sale and anybody can go down and buy them just as well as I can or somebody else can. “

“David didn’t go and say I want this—its mine and be a land grabber. He didn’t go and do that,” Aragon said.

“I have people calling me once or twice week saying do you want to buy my place?” Brown added. “I’m not trying to buy the whole town.”

Future vision

I asked them both what their future vision was for Pagosa Springs? Where did they see the community in ten years?

“My personal vision is that it’s going to be a thriving community year-round. That’s the goal,” Aragon said.

“I think I feel that way to,” Brown said. “And to add to that I see here in five years more parks, better recreational facilities for our kids, improved river systems, trails. I see the whole school situation changing dramatically, because these facilities that we have are in dire need of repair. I personally know this, that some of them are not legally up to state standards. Some are worse than others. I see better control of traffic. We’re never going to get rid of it but I think we can help it and make it safer. I see shops open at nighttime. I see people living downtown. I think it’s huge.”

Brown went on to say: “We can choose to ignore what’s happening here, but people are discovering this place, people are moving from all over the country to get out of the cities and into more rural environments. We can let them just take it over and let it happen haphazardly, as it has in the past, or we can create something unique here and preserve our legacies. I want my boys to grow up here
and I want them to graduate from school here and I want them to continue on with what Carol [Brown’s wife] and I are starting. That’s my own vision and I think it’s exciting.”

Then Brown added: “There’s been a lot of suggestion that we’re not concerned about affordable housing and that’s just not true, we are trying to plan areas where that can go, we want to encourage that. We would like to see businesses come in here to create more jobs, but you have to take control of it and create an opportunity in order to get them to come it doesn’t just happen. We have to make it happen.”

How do we move forward?

What would be the one thing that you would ask for to help really propel this thing forward? I asked.

“I can tell you right off the top of my head,” Aragon said. “The one thing that’s got a little bit of a strangle hold is working with the bureaucracy of CDOT, that is probably what I see as the number one issue.”

State funding for highways is nonexistent. For many years there has been a theoretical plan to widen Highway 160 to four lanes across Southwest Colorado. Aragon stressed the need for those four lanes going up Putt Hill, but he doubted he would see it happen in his lifetime.

Then he went on to say: “We’re going to have to be persistent and optimistic about that and right now I’m working with Mark Larson. I met with him yesterday. I’m trying to do the things it’s going to require to get some funding, but I know it’s going to be hard.”

“I think we need to create a task force to represent the community and we have to go and fight for what we want,” Brown said.

As for what Brown wants to help move things forward. He said, “I think we have to start with the God given resources we have in this community: The rivers, the environment, the mountains, the trees, the forest, the hot springs. Most communities don’t have anything half this good. So my hot button is yes, the traffic, we’ve got to get that going. But getting moving on the park system, getting moving on the river restoration, getting moving on the trail system and helping the schools think through what they really need long term—that’s critical—because what the school decides is also going to have a big impact on the downtown. And we’ve got to get a handle on these [educational] facilities. I’ve got two boys in these schools and I’m very concerned about it.”

How can the average citizen get involved?

Since most of us aren’t members of the CVC, how can we participate in this process? I asked.

“Right now, at Town Hall, we have the renderings. People can go down and take a look at them. If they write down their questions and submit them, we can start analyzing them. That would be the first place to start,” Aragon said.

The conceptual plan is also available for download from the CVC website at www.communityvisioncouncil.org. And individuals can email questions and comments to Angela Atkinson, Executive Director of CVC at info@communityvisioncouncil.org.

“After the meeting, a young group of students came up to me and said how can we help?” Brown said. “And we got to kicking around some ideas. Well, one way students can help is when we get this trail thing figured out, let’s have them help us build the trails. You know? So that everyone in the community is participating and feels good about being involved. If they don’t have money they can contribute some time. I personally would like to see, a much broader financial contribution from the community. If somebody can give us $25 that means they’re vested and they have an interest and $25 adds up.”

In the end, Brown summarized. “If we create more jobs here—and jobs are created by tourism and by people coming here and spending money—its’ a ripple effect, then we can keep the people here. I’m blessed, but most people don’t have an opportunity to make a living here. So they have to leave. Instead of saying oh, poor us, we can’t do it, let’s say, okay, we have a lot to offer here and let’s make it happen. It’s an attitude. Half full or half empty? We have to make that choice every day.”

How does the CVC see the role of the Arts in Pagosa’s future?

David J. Brown clarifies his reasons for getting involved in the town’s planning process, at the Community Vision Council’s November Town Meeting at the Community Center.

Goebel: There is a lot of information in the summary report for the CVC that talks about marketing to DINKS (“double income, no kids”) and branding the community to appeal to second-home owners, and those who don’t need jobs to come here, either they are retired or telecommute or freelance. This is what Dr. Richard Florida defines as the “creative class.” Florida’s thesis is that these people are drawn to places of diversity with thriving art and culture. And our community survey results show that 58% of respondents want to see a conference/performing arts center in Pagosa and 38% of those want to see this downtown, yet this aspect is completely missing from the conceptual plans.

“I don’t agree with you at all,” Brown responded emphatically. “First of all, we have to start someplace. Look what’s already been done here in 11 months. We started from zero to something. These are preliminary ideas, these are concepts, these aren’t absolutes, they aren’t saying that we are excluding anybody, it’s a place from which to start. One of the things on the plan, is that in the future, the Junior High and the Intermediate schools could become the location for a town plaza. It was thought that the [Intermediate School] could become a cultural arts center, that building, because it’s a great old building. To restore that and to make that whole section there across from the new town park as a gathering place for these types of event to occur.

“Now, I personally think that the performing arts thing is great, but you know, we have so much time, we have so much money, so now we’re ready to take this to the next step. And I think it’s why it’s vital to have the community input for people to say what you just said, we really want a performing arts center. I personally would love to have one here, the question is where should it go, how do we fund it? It’s not a matter of not wanting it. The central issue we have is to preserve the most valuable assets of our community—the river, develop the trail system, develop the parks while we have the land, develop the hot springs, work on this education thing and out of that will spring such things as the performing arts.”

“We’d be poor representatives if we said we have to address priorities. And the priority is a cultural center,” Aragon added. “We have to start with the economics. The economy. We have to build that. We have to make sure that the shop owners can stay open hopefully six, seven days a week in the future and if our marketing strategies are productive, we’ll be able to do that in order for the town to prosper. That’s what its going to take. And subsequently the cultural and performing arts will follow. It will follow.”

It’s about Unity

I couldn’t help but wonder about the two local groups—Friends of the Performing Arts (FoPA) and Music Boosters—who are both separately attempting to plan and develop two completely different Performing and Cultural Arts Centers for our Community. I think both of these groups need to be working together and they need to be working with CVC. I asked Brown and Aragon what they thought and if CVC would be open to working to bring them together.

“It would be better if they would [work together].” Aragon said. “I think that’s what’s so neat about our group. Is that we’re community oriented, we’re including everyone. I don’t see how a group can go out by themselves and say we’re going to do something. It won’t work. It can’t work.”

Brown added, that CVC has an open door policy. “We’re going to be having public hearings starting in January and this is the time that people need to stand up and say what they would like to see. But let’s try to encourage them not to be negative. Let’s try and encourage them to be positive. Because if everyone goes in their own direction then you can’t achieve unity. That’s pretty simple.”

Brown sat back and then continued his voice softer. “I am personally a Christian and I have a strong faith, and in the book of Ephesians, written by Paul the Apostle, he talks about the body of Christ and whether you believe that or not, it’s the same illustration. The body is made up of many components, fingers, feet, legs, arms, thighs, hair, head, all these things. Well in order for the body to work, they all have to work together. If the finger goes over here and says I’m going to be a finger and doesn’t want to be part of the overall body, then it doesn’t work. It’s the same concept. So if we’ll all come together and work together instead of doing what so many other communities do, and try to go with our own self interest, we have an opportunity here, to do something that would be incredible and that’s what I’m trying to say to people.”

“But we have to also be realistic. We’re dealing with priorities to get this thing off the ground,” Aragon added.

“Back to the illustration. If this wheel doesn’t start turning, then nobody wins,” Brown said, pointing to the picture he drew. “If everybody is sitting here arguing about what they want to do we don’t get anywhere. Start the wheel going, and it will evolve.”

What role will CVC take?

You have said that CVC will continue to advise the Town and I read in the materials that CVC sees its role as coordinating between governmental groups, organizations, businesses and volunteers to develop an implementation plan, establish priorities and put the plan into action? Will CVC push this planning strategy at the county level? What other role will CVC take now that the plan has been turned over?

“I think the committee is just starting to work,” Brown said with a laugh. “We’re not entirely clear, I think it’s something that evolves, but some of the things we’ve talked about are to help the town with its river corridor and provide advice and experience, help with the trail development, help with the traffic issues, which are a huge problem. Some of us have contacts with CDOT at various levels, to try and get that accelerated. Move forward on the acquisition of the land for the parks. Help the school district move along in their planning process. Just encourage them. We’ve had great progress in that area. We’ve got them thinking about a long range plan. They never had a long-range plan. So to bring the resources of the group, and I don’t mean the financial resources, but the benefit and the experience of this group to help whoever needs help. You know, if the performing arts thing wants to get going, you know we can lend our advice and support to help them think through these things.”

There is a pause before Brown continues. “I think there is a misconception here that we [CVC] have a lot of authority. We don’t have any authority. This is a volunteer group and we are here to help the county and the Town to do things they may not be able to do by themselves. Or to achieve their objectives in a timeframe that we all feel is necessary due to the pressure on the community.”

CVC and Archuleta County

Do you think you will be helping the county develop their land use codes? I ask.

“Well the county is part of our board, so by definition, yes,” Brown said pointing out that Mamie Lynch, County Commissioner is a member of the CVC.

“The Town has been participating and we’ve included the county as part of the community, but financially they have not made a contribution,” Aragon pointed out.

“We’re asking for one next year,” Brown said.

“Hopefully they will see it as beneficial,” Aragon continued. “You know, from my perspective I will see then that there’s more of
a commitment, there’s really no commitment until they sit down at the table.”

“I think one thing that Ross and I are very proud of, is that when we initiated the moratorium on the big box stores, which came out of the CVC, within five days the county adopted the same ordinance,” Brown said.

I recalled a conversation I had at the Post Office with a passionate local resident who was frustrated after the unveiling of the CVC vision in November. This person was concerned that county money would be used to finance the Town’s one square mile master plan. How can the county afford to give money to this when the county can’t afford to pay for roads?

“The county is part of the community in my opinion,” Aragon said. “They own property in this core area that we’re talking about, very valuable property. That is one way of looking at it.”

“If the economy grows here and activity grows here, then more funds are generated for the county right?” Brown responded. “As more funds are generated then they can fix the roads. They have to become a seed investor in order to get the benefit.”

An interview with the Community Vision Council co-chairmen

Council leaders answer some of the hard questions

David J. Brown and Mayor Ross Aragon say they have become friends during the past eleven months working together as co-chairmen of the Community Vision Council.

“The Community Vision Council is not a governing body, we’re an advisory body. We have no authority. I work for the Mayor,” David J. Brown said.

I sat down with Brown and Mayor Ross Aragon on a sunny December day in the Mayor’s office overlooking downtown Pagosa Springs. From this vantage point, much of the one square mile focus of the recently unveiled conceptual master plan for the community of Pagosa Springs is visible.

“I’m really excited about this. It’s what makes me get up every day. It’s very fulfilling to see what we’ve accomplished in eleven months and we’re just at the beginning,” Brown said, his voice soft and gentle, a broad smile on his face, a glimmer of joy in his eyes.

“You know I was sick for three years, and I was off my feet for 2 ½ years with cancer. I just decided that I have a lot to offer and a lot to give back and I want to make the best use of the remainder of my days,” Brown said.

The best use of his time might be in helping Pagosa Springs develop a vision for the future and create a master plan for economic stability. With over 34 years of real estate experience, as the founder of Orchard Properties, Brown has acquired and developed over 8.5 million square feet of commercial real estate, primarily in California. With an MBA from the Wharton School, he was a founding member of the Wharton Real Estate Center and his professional affiliations include the UC Berkeley Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, the Urban Land Institute, and the National Association of Industrial Office Parks.

Add to those credentials Co-chair (with Mayor Ross Aragon) of the Community Vision Council, Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

“CVC has turned the master planning concept over to the Town and now it’s up to the Town to take it wherever they need to. We will continue to advise them on other priorities,” Brown said.

How the CVC was born

“To me, it’s always been about the economy,” stated Aragon, a Pagosa Springs native who has been Mayor since 1978.

In February 2004, Brown contacted Aragon and asked him to participate in a meeting of community leaders, elected official and citizens. About 25 people attended including J.R. Ford, Bob Goodman, Mamie Lynch, Sally Hameister, Aragon and Brown. Also at the meeting were California based consultants: Marianna Leuschel from L. Studio in Santa Monica, CA and Philip Durbrow of Marshall Strategies in San Francisco, CA.

“The consultants were working at Bootjack Ranch, for me, on another project,” Brown said. “I asked them one day if they had ever done any work with towns to help create a vision and establish a plan and help create a focus. They said yes and that’s kind of how the thing started.”

The idea was for the group of 25 to help underwrite some preliminary studies that would help the community create a vision for the future. The consultants spent a few days prior to that initial meeting talking with local business owners and civic leaders.

“The thing that I remember is what Philip Durbrow said. His statement was that the merchants are hurting,” Aragon said. “And that remark stayed with me. The revenue derived from sales tax is the only source of income that the town has. So, if the merchants fail, we fail as a community. I thought it was academic and imperative that we get involved and try to promote the town so we can have the economy be stable, not on a seasonal basis, but twelve months of the year. So that’s how I got involved.”

“I think the feeling is that the town doesn’t have a central focus, and it’s growing very rapidly. Based on the experience of the consultants and other people in the room, the concern was that if we don’t grab hold of this it’s going to grab a hold of us and we need to guide it rather than let it control us,” Brown added.

The Mayor’s Council for the Future of Pagosa Springs was born. With seed money provided by Brown and a few others, including public funds from the Town of Pagosa Springs, the preliminary study was completed.

“This stuff is extremely expensive. This study cost over two hundred thousand dollars. The Town didn’t have the funds to do it, so the private sector stepped up to help fund it,” Brown explained.

One square mile or an entire community?

I pointed out that the growth figures used to justify the CVC plan are from Archuleta County. Population for the Town of Pagosa Springs has not grown significantly in ten years as Town Manager, Mark Garcia pointed out at the November 17 public presentation. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the community vision to embrace all of Pagosa Springs and not just one square mile downtown? I asked.

“The answer is yes and no,” Brown said. “The problem is a matter of economics. We felt that if we could re-instill the historic downtown, the one square mile, and bring activity back to the town that the entire area will then benefit. And we had to start someplace. We certainly do agree that it needs to be expanded, but we had to start. We felt that this is where the history was, this is where we were founded, these are the values that the people love, the river, the central part and there’s a lot of character here that could be redeveloped and preserved,” Brown continued. “We feel very strongly that there is an opportunity here to redevelop historic downtown to make it a place where people from all over the county would like to come and work and live and have fun. I think the other thing we felt was, that if we could create a model here, and develop the criteria of what we want the Town to be and what we want in the future, then, is it not logical that it would spread to the entire community. This gives us a model and a case study to start.”

I spoke with a local merchant in the Pagosa Lakes area who felt left out of the future vision. They pay taxes, because they are part of the Town, but they are not included in the conceptual plan. How do you respond to them? I asked.

“We’re community oriented and we have representation from all sectors. We had to start somewhere,” Aragon echoed. “People stop here, in Pagosa Springs, in the town, because the hot springs is here, so we’re trying to sell that. I was in the restaurant business for 22 years and I’d see people coming and going, stop and eat, and guess where they were going? To take the train ride to Silverton or to Mesa Verde and it would almost make me sick that they weren’t staying here, they weren’t utilizing our recreation and all the things we have, all the amenities that we have, because there was nothing to make them want to stay here. But now, with us doing the historic renovations and all these things. Its going to be different.”

“This is a philosophical thing, too,” Brown continued. “We are certainly not ignoring those people. You mentioned that they are paying taxes. This thing has been funded 90% by private enterprise. If the Town and County could have afforded to do this, then private enterprise wouldn’t have had to step up and do it. Everybody is invited to participate. We have sent a plea out for everybody in the community to please help fund this. It’s extremely expensive. And if you think about it, this is what we call ground zero.” He pointed out the large window onto the Town below and then continued.

“If these businesses down here do well, which is where the tourists are going to come first, because the tourists want to come to where the tourist attractions are, which is the hot springs and the river and the trails and the hiking. Then it has a r
ipple effect and it will benefit all the merchants. That’s just the way towns grow. Everybody needs to unite and realize that this is for the benefit of everyone, and not to the benefit of a few. Those merchants out there are just as important as the merchants down here. But they need to pitch in and help us, too, and not feel left out because it’s not a matter of feeling left out it’s a matter of practicality. Where can we start?”

I asked if the CVC had approached Fairfield Resort, and if they were participating in the vision.

“The committee has approached everyone in terms of the public outreach.” Brown responded, adding: “People have to make a choice whether they want to participate or not, that’s their choice. No, we haven’t excluded them. I think the issue is that they bring a huge tax base to the community, but when those people come here in the timeshare to stay, where are they going to go shop, where are they going to go have dinner? Where are they going to go to the river? Where are they going to go to the hot springs? So this makes sense. This is going to be the stabilizing influence on the economy. I think it just makes sense.”

It sounds as if you are asking merchants to help fund the study and implementation of the plan, which focuses on one square mile of downtown Pagosa Springs, I said. What about the business owner who is thinking, what am I going to get out of it? Doesn’t that mean that more people are going to go downtown and they aren’t going to visit my store out West or East?

“That’s not what really happens in other towns and cities throughout the country. What really happens is that competition breeds competition. If there are more people here coming through the community that means everyone does better, whether the shop is over there or down here. Every town and city in the country grows this way. It’s an attitude. Do we join together and work for the benefit of the whole or do we all say well, I’m only going to worry about my little shop. That’s not very good thinking,” Brown said.

Some people want to work together and some have this very independent spirit. How do you reach them and get them to participate? I asked.

“I haven’t seen that,” Aragon said. “I’ve never heard that until you mentioned it that we might potentially be alienating the people West of Town. That’s not the intent. We didn’t call it the Town Vision Committee we called it the Community Vision Committee because we consider community, by definition, a long way from town. Town is here, downtown, the core area, we’re not saying the core area, we’re saying community. That’s the last thing I would ever want to do is to alienate anyone. However, no matter what you do you can’t please everyone, and so we have to deal with that.”

Aragon pointed out that Mark Weiler, president of Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship is a representative of the Pagosa Lakes area as a member of the CVC.

The wheel revolves around a central axis

“Let me try to explain it how I’ve learned from my own business.” Brown said asking for a piece of paper on which he drew a circle, some spokes and a rim. “This is a wheel. If you’re a shop owner out here on this spoke. And this is the entire community. This wheel won’t go around if you are just one spoke. What makes the wheel go around is that you have a core, a hub and you have the spoke. So in my view, if you’re a shop owner sitting out here, you have two choices to make. You can remain a spoke. Or you can say, I want to do better, I would like the town to do better. It’s important for my business to do better, so I have a choice to make. I can sit here by myself and not worry about everybody else, or I can choose to join the center and by everyone joining the center and working together, then the wheel goes around.”

Brown handed me the piece of paper and continued his explanation, pointing out that the conceptual plan is only an idea and that now it was up to the members of CVC and civic leaders to reach out to the community and show us that this idea will benefit all of us.

“We’re looking to the global, total benefit of the community and Pagosa Springs is the center of the community. It’s the largest town in the county. We’re talking about things like education, we’re talking about traffic, we’re talking about parks and recreation and the safety of our children,” Brown said with passion and conviction. “This is a huge model when you think about it. So I guess the choice that people are going to have to make and I’m sure I’ll be criticized for this, but I think everybody has to make a choice. Do they want to join and be a part of this or do they not want to join. But history shows that if we all work together, we do a lot better.”

Marketing a Community

Well, then how do you envision CVC working to support local businesses? I asked.

“Marketing strategies would be one way,” Aragon said.

“Marketing is number one,” Brown agreed. “If you are a business owner, what do you do to attract people to your business? We need marketing. We need to promote the tourism. We need to promote the image. We need to make this a more desirable place for people to come and visit and stay. That’s a key thing. That helps the local businesses. Right now, we’re a drive-thru community.”

Many visitors complain that stores aren’t open on weekends and evenings. How can the CVC work with local business owners to coach them, train them or advise them on how to appeal to tourists. I asked. Do you see that as a role you might play?

“The answer to that is that we have to create a reason for people to come downtown and to stay here and then the shops will stay open. Right now, the shops can’t afford to stay open because there is nobody here. What we need to do is to promote more activities around the hot springs or more activities like the balloon festivals, the horse events. We have to create events and festivals like Music in the Mountains. That started with zero and now we’re going to have 1,000 people come this year,” Brown pointed out.

“The shop owners would stay open if they knew people were in town,” Aragon added. “In fact, going back to Philip Durbrow, I remember him stating that he visited one business that had two sales in one week. Why are they going to stay open on the weekend? Why?”

“You’re hitting on a key thing,” Brown said. “Part of our job is to market and create more activities and more reasons for people to come and visit Pagosa so they’ll spend more money, and therefore the shops will be doing better, whether the shop is out near Fairfield or down here, I don’t think makes any difference. Because when you go to a town and you’re a tourist, you want to look at a lot of shops, right? So what we need to do is promote. Everybody needs to join together to promote their own shop, but for the benefit of the total.”

Somewhat like the work that the Chamber of Commerce does, I suggested. Will CVC be working with the Chamber of Commerce, local business owners, the lodging association, to develop and implement the marketing plan to attract more tourists to this area?

“We have representation from the Chamber on our CVC,” Aragon said.

“We’d like to see the downtown business owners get reunited and help work together to create that central core. They are stakeholders,” Brown added.

Every major culture throughout history, has invested energy in making public art.

According to Fulbright Scholar and University of New Mexico professor Mark Childs, the major function of public art is to make a place special. Childs was the first of three speakers in the “Creative Spaces Speaker Series,” sponsored by the Community Vision Council Art and Culture Committee.

He addressed a crowd of 60 Aug. 15 that included Pagosa Springs Mayor Ross Aragon, town staff, and council members Tony Simmons and Darryl Cotton.

In order to have a good government and a strong economy, we need a civil society, a complex overlapping set of social networks that help engender broad representation, a marketplace of ideas, social capital and creativity. Or what John Locke defined as that part of our collective lives that is neither market nor government.

According to Childs, there are several methods for developing this civil society, but the top two are civic spaces and “storied landscapes.” Public plazas and squares are places to see and be seen, to gather, to watch the sky.

Childs advocated for the development of a town square in Pagosa Springs and suggested the parking lot next to Tequila’s along the river as a location where the seeds of gathering already exist. “This parking lot is a great place for a square and you could include auditorium-style seating for people to sit and watch the river.”

Tell town’s story

He also suggested that the most important thing we can do is to tell the story of the community in our civic spaces and through our public art and events. One idea involves the local duck race sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. This is a story from our town. “Instead of ordering 1,000 rubber ducks from China, can you spend the same amount of money and have local children build boats or rafts and have a race?,” asked Childs.

“Public art is part of the infrastructure of your town,” Childs said. “Just as your town provides water, sewer, roads, it can provide art because art is literally how you make the road, the bridge, the power pole.”

Childs’ Power Point presentation showed manhole covers in Seattle designed as a map of the city, tree grates that identify the species and leaf shape, elaborate downspouts by Buster Simpson that are literally sculpture on the side of a building. “How can each thing be what it needs to be and add something more?” Childs asked. “How do these (manhole covers, buildings) work together to make a town?”

Childs even suggested a place to begin.

Focus on water

“Water is your key asset,” he said. “Take the theme of water as far as the collective imagination will go – streams, rivers, hot springs – how we collect water from the roofs to prevent flooding.” Even the underside of the Hot Springs Boulevard Bridge over the river is ideal for an art project.

When asked to clarify if he was suggesting that our community didn’t already have a town square, Childs responded: “You have a Main Street with missing teeth and blank walls. It could be stronger. A town square is different than a promenade.”
Create your ideas

But Childs was also conscientious in suggesting that the audience and town planners and management copy nothing from his lecture. “Take the ideas and make them your own,” he said.

When an audience member asked about gateways, Childs said he was not a big fan of gateways, as gateways. “The East side of town needs to tell a different story. It needs to say you are in Pagosa and it is cool. It needs to tell a story of the river and be a continuation of the Wolf Creek valley.”

Town Manager Mark Garcia added he has challenged the Art and Culture Committee to come up with ideas for the gateways.
Childs’ provocative ideas were followed Aug. 18 by the practical experience of Joe Napoleon, planning director for the City of Woodland Park, Colo., and Harold Stalf, director of the Grand Junction Downtown Development Authority.

“You have to have an ultimate goal,” Stalf said in his opening comments. “Be careful what you dream up. It will take ten to twenty years.” Stalf who has also served as town manager for Aspen and Crested Butte spoke from his experience.
Restaurants are anchors

In a downtown, restaurants are anchors and Stalf expressed his belief that downtown business associations and towns need to require that local businesses stay open on nights and weekends like shopping malls. Shopping malls were designed based upon the original concepts of downtowns. In Grand Junction, the major tenants downtown were once Sears and JC Penney.
Downtown Grand Junction features “the serpentine way” a wavy wall planted with trees that lines the main street. It was also the first city to implement an “art on the corner” plan. Today, Grand Junction has 100 sculptures on display; two-thirds of them are owned by the city or the DDA and one-third are rotating, temporary works.

One of Stalf’s most entertaining slides was of the art meters – an installation work of old parking meters painted and decorated by artists, now on display in downtown Grand Junction. Grand Junction is unique in that it has a symphony and a 50-year-old art center. Both struggle to survive financially, but Mesa County has been unsuccessful in attempts to implement a Scientific and Cultural Facilities District similar to the funding district on the Front Range.

Stalf believes a community should look at what it already has or could implement every day rather than focusing on big events. “Events are a killer,” he said. “Everyday people dine out, they go to movies or a nightclub.

“Planning is not about trails and sidewalks, it’s about a lifestyle,” Stalf said. “Your 500-pound gorilla is U.S. 160. You can implement narrowing and calming, but if I were you I’d try and get it rerouted.”

Retail is fragile

The challenge for downtown business owners is that retail is very fragile. Stalf pointed out the average income in Grand Junction from 1970 until today has remained flat, at around $26,000. But for individual business owners, from 1970 until today, that income has dropped from $26,000 to $18,000. “Chains kill these small stores.”

A Downtown Development Authority is a quasi-governmental agency funded by Tax Incremental Financing. In the first 20 years in Grand Junction, the DDA had a budget of about $10 million. They will have a budget of $12,000 in the next five years. In Woodland Park the DDA was created by a TIF bond referendum based on property taxes. This TIF provides $30 million for downtown development. A DDA cannot condemn property, but can purchase and renovate old buildings. In Grand Junction the DDA recently purchased a building that housed a strip club and they will be renovating the property.

“The pressures on beautiful places in Colorado are real,” added Napoleon. “The community has to really understand the vision.”

Woodland Park is a community of 7,200 permanent residents. Napoleon took the job as planning director in 1994 and all the streets were dirt and the downtown businesses were boarded up with plywood. But Woodland Park wanted to be more than a “potty stop.”

Build on heritage

“You have to maintain the identity, history and culture of your community. Never give it up. It has a value you can’t put a price on,” Napoleon iterated. “You have wonderful things here. Build on who you are. Understand your heritage and history and build on it.”

Napoleon acknowledged this is not an easy process because everyone has a different idea, but eventually you can come to a consensus and a plan. “Once we had a plan (in Woodland Park) the boards came off the buildings.” He suggested that Pagosa begin by creating an inventory of what we have and what we need.

“Art is not going to be your salvation. Art is one element,” Napoleon said. “But it is a very important element. It creates a feel and a look for a
community. We added art to our Master Plan and our Downtown Development Authority Plan.”
Napoleon advocated that art attracts a certain demographic that is appealing to a community. The value of art is intrinsic and is reflected in the people on the streets and in the schools. “Creating a sense of place is difficult for planners, but art can help,” Napoleon said.

The first thing Woodland Park did was to turn its old middle school into the Ute Pass Cultural Center. They had no money to buy art, but serendipitously a local artist donated a sculpture to the town. Today, Woodland Park has public art all over their town, but the town has only spent $200 to purchase one sculpture by a local artisan. The rest of the work has been donated and now developers and business owners try to outdo one another with a bigger and better sculpture. Even the new big box store being built in Woodland Park was required to purchase a $100,000 sculpture from a local artist.

Another thing they did was to move their library downtown and build a new library that today hosts 100,000 visits a year.

“The people who frequent libraries add to the value of your community.” Napoleon said.

As for graffiti, Napoleon said they have had no problem. “The art is for the people who live in the community. They respect it.”

Looking to the future, Napoleon unveiled the lifestyle center being built in downtown Woodland Park. The focus of this center is the Colorado Festival of World Theatre that will feature a 500-seat theatre, a small black box theatre, retail, lodging and residential units. This 21-acre village is a project of the DDA and the request for proposals suggested a village built on the heritage of Woodland Park, a heritage that includes mining, the West and the railroad. Their number one priority was to create a downtown for the people who live in Woodland Park, to capture the regional market and to capture the tourists who now just stop in Woodland Park for a convenience.

“What you’re trying to do here is nothing new,” Napoleon said. “Every community is doing this type of planning.”

“It was an eye opener,” Pagosa Springs Town Planner Tamra Allen said of the Culture, Commerce and Community Conference she attended May 20-21 in Denver.

Sponsored by Colorado Council on the Arts, the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs, the Lab at Belmar and Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, the event was billed as a think tank on current research and theory on the role of the arts in economic development and community engagement, and as a practicum, providing useful models for stimulating civic and commercial life through the arts.

“I don’t think I’m truly in the dark about culture and the role it plays in community, but this (the 3C Conference) allowed me to see the significant role art and culture plays in bringing together eclectic, community oriented, civic-minded creative people,” Allen said. “You get the out-of-the-box ideas and the generation of a new perspective, a new twist on how to do things, from creative people.”

Allen attended with the encouragement of Town Manager Mark Garcia. Both felt it was very timely, as Pagosa Springs grapples with the idea of how to maintain the small-town character of our community and tries to define what it is that makes a place unique and livable.

Allen believes the conference provided a theoretical, as well as an applied approach, that isn’t typically found at planning conferences. Angela Atkinson, executive director of the Community Vision Council and Crista Munro, executive director of Folk West, also attended the conference.

“I was pleasantly surprised at the blend of practical information, such as case studies, that was presented alongside more academic, philosophical discussions, such as what is the role of public art in our communities,” Atkinson said. The public art issue is one the Community Vision Council Social/Cultural Committee is currently researching.

“Public art is very much on the radar screen for many, many communities,” Atkinson continued. “We’re all seeking to differentiate ourselves and to communicate what is unique and special about the places we live – public art allows us to do that in a way that expresses our character and individuality.”

Allen, however, found the idea of the arts and culture as an economic driver to be counter-intuitive and ironic. “Looking at art and culture as an economic driver is the antithesis of why we have art and culture – for visual, tactile enjoyment, for the aesthetic value, for pleasure.”

In the end she understood the push for the arts as an economic driver because, as she said, “How do you rationalize spending public money if there isn’t a proven return?”

Allen thought some of the best ideas presented at the conference – to get the Pagosa community involved – were cultural heritage programs like the Alamosa Mariachi Conference, the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials and the City of Delta’s Council Tree Pow Wow. The Colorado Council on the Arts employs a state folklorist for Western Colorado to help communities develop their cultural heritage.

Munro currently provides the most successful cultural tourism event in Pagosa – the Four Corners Folk Festival. Both Allen and Atkinson mentioned the Spanish Fiesta as a way Pagosa Springs can capitalize on its cultural heritage. The Fred Harman Museum and Western Heritage Center is another entity poised to take advantage of the economic benefit of cultural heritage programming.

Another idea proposed to involve the community is cultural tourism. Americans for the Arts reported in 2000 that two-thirds of American adult travelers included a cultural, arts, heritage or historic activity or event in travels of 50 miles or more away from home.

“From a tourism perspective, statistics were presented showing how public art, galleries, unique architecture, even our public spaces, all serve to attract and engage visitors,” Atkinson said. “A successful public art program will actually fuel our economy and should work hand in hand simultaneously with other improvements being made to our downtown.”

Two concurrent sessions, “Cultural Tourism&emdash;Maximizing City Assets” and “The Arts and Tourist Dollars in Rural and Mountain Resorts,” ran during the conference. Panelists for the Rural and Mountain Resort session included Liana Carlson, director of marketing and public relations, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival; Laura Smith, director of communications, Aspen Music Festival and Maurice LaMee, executive/artistic director, Creede Repertory Theatre.

The Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival provides a $7.4 million impact on the Vail Valley and $550,000 in taxes. The Aspen Music Festival pumps $52 million into the Aspen economy.

In Aspen, the cultural traveler stays 60 percent longer and spends 60 percent more than a traveler who does not attend a summer cultural event.

In Creede, the Repertory Theatre provides $2 million in economic impact for Mineral County. Twenty cents of every dollar spent in Mineral County comes through the theatre. Yet none of these highly successful, cultural tourism draws is self-sufficient.

At the Aspen Music Festival, ticket sales cover only 20 percent of the event costs, 30 percent comes from student tuition to the Music Festival School and the bulk of the budget, 50 percent, is donated by the Board of Directors and National Council, some individual donors and a small amount of corporate sponsorship.

The City of Aspen provides less than one percent of the Music Festival’s $13 million budget. In Vail, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music festival is funded 25 percent by ticket sales, 50 percent by individual donations and 25 percent by grants, fund-raisers and advertising. In Creede, 55 percent of the budget comes from ticket sales, advertising and gift shop, and 45 percent is donated.

While cultural tourism can provide huge economic benefit, the costs of events like these do not happen overnight and are expensive. In other words, cultural tourism is not a panacea.

“It was interesting to hear people iterate what they are going through, the demographic changes we are seeing, the growth in second home owners,” Allen said. “The baseline study EPS just did, matches the information we heard at the conference. We can’t stop growth. People are going to move somewhere. There is a need for every community to address how it can be creative and unique, how they can retain their old culture and find a new niche.”

Keynote speakers, Richard Florida, author of “The Rise of the Creative Class” and the new book “The Flight of the Creative Class,” and Joel Kotkin, author of “The City: A Global History,” envision the future of America as a federation of neighborhoods, or an archipelago of villages that are great places to live, work and raise children.

“The social cohesion is unraveling as we speak,” Florida said. “It’s a new type of class warfare. The battle is between the new people with money and ideas coming into a community where we’ve always done things the same, where my grandfather and father lived and worked and raised their family.”

This comment seemed to resonate with Allen and Atkinson. The challenge facing Pagosa and every other community is this type of change. It is the old versus the new.

Allen felt the biggest difference between Florida and Kotkin was on the issue of tolerance. “I liked what Florida said about our country being founded by immigrants and the flow of ideas they provided. He said that since 9/11 we seem to have collective amnesia that we used to be a tolerant country. As a community, we have to be tolerant of the immigrants, the new people moving here. We can’t prevent it. We have to figure out how to tap into their needs and desires to be an integral part of the community. These new residents are affluent, well skilled, knowledgeable. We have to tap into this ‘human capital’ as a new resource for creating ideas. How do we help Pagosa transition from a one-dimensional place whose sole economic f
unction is tourism? How we go one step further to sustain ourselves?”

Atkinson believes one idea is to create a “percent for art” program where 1 percent of new development cost is required to fund a public art display, an artistic feature inside or outside a building, or be provided in the form of an art donation or financial donation to the community.

“I think that while we’re looking at a downtown master plan and design guidelines,” she said, “we should also be looking at how public art fits into the big picture of community development.”

To that end, Atkinson and the CVC Social/Cultural Committee are organizing a speaker series in August with Mark Childs, planning professor at University of New Mexico, an expert in plazas and public spaces, and Nore Winter, Winter & Company, an expert in design guidelines and application of public art into planning documents.

The speaker series developed during a late night brainstorming session between Allen, Atkinson and Munro over takeout Indian food at their Denver hotel.

Allen is still looking for answers. She likes the idea of tapping into the local culture and arts to improve the tourism aspect of Pagosa. “But we want to also keep Pagosa a great family-oriented place to live.”

Special to The PREVIEW, Aug. 4, 2005

Want to buy a six-foot-tall, forton puma?

Twenty-six of the 29 pumas from the San Juan Mountains Association “Pumas on Parade” will be auctioned online starting Aug. 15. Until then, puma sightings around Pagosa include the Visitor’s Center at the Chamber of Commerce, the Pagosa Springs Community Center and Town Hall.

Originally designed as a fund-raiser for the San Juan Mountains Association (SJMA), to bolster tourism, support local artists and to enhance the public awareness of caring for our natural resources, “Pumas on Parade” has become a financial drain for the nonprofit organization.

The mission of SJMA is to enhance personal and community stewardship of natural, cultural and heritage resources on public lands in southwest Colorado through education, interpretation, information and participation.
SJMA volunteers build trails, monitor cultural sites and ruins, host field seminars, serve as public land ambassadors, lead naturalist hikes and host the Clean Forest Hunter Information program and the Wilderness Information Specialists program – both providing experts in backcountry and wilderness survival to educate hunters and hikers alike of the importance of “leaving no trace.”

With more than 500 volunteers, SJMA development director Felicity Broennan, believed her idea to pattern a public art project, based on the highly successful “Painted Ponies,” in New Mexico, would be easy.

The native of Santa Fe consulted with Ponies executive director Rod Barker and other cities around the country that have launched successful public art programs such as this – cows in Chicago, orcas in Vancouver, trout in San Luis Obispo, horses in Aiken, S.C. and alpine swine in Grand Junction. In Aiken, 30 horses were sponsored by local businesses based on the concept alone. The business sponsorships paid to have each horse sculpture-cast and provided a stipend for the artists to design, decorate or embellish the sculpture.

“I thought my volunteers would help out, but they want to hike, monitor and build trails, not throw parties, do public relations and drive sculptures around,” Broennan said.

And business sponsorship didn’t work quite so well in Southwest Colorado as it did in Aiken. “We really overestimated the capability of the business community,” Broennan said. “This is a very sophisticated project and people didn’t get the value of what this is and what it can do for the community.”

The original program concept was to bring communities together, to bring tourists to the area to see the pumas, to increase visibility, traffic and cash flow, to form partnerships and alliances among businesses, the arts community and public land agencies, to celebrate the centennial of the San Juan National Forest and ultimately, to raise money for SJMA’s ongoing educational outreach and heighten the visibility and effectiveness of SJMA as an organization.

The pumas were unveiled on the Fourth of July and in the past few weeks have been put on display in locations from Cortez to Pagosa Springs, Telluride to Durango. To date, three pumas have been sold. Most businesses don’t see the benefit of paying $3,000-$10,000 to have a six-foot tall, five-foot long puma taking up space.

This is the height of tourist season in southwest Colorado and businesses are booked all summer. As Broennan bemoaned, a bank in Cortez didn’t understand the concept and felt it was more important to give $10,000 to resurrect the local rodeo than buy a puma for which they would have to find a permanent home, insure against vandalism and maintain. And people who frequently give $5,000 to Kiwanis, felt that was too much money for Pumas on Parade.

“We have 2.2 million visitors to our public lands every year,” Broennan said. “The businesses didn’t understand that they could support tourism and the stewardship of public land.”

The problems are multifaceted.

“Public land is not that sexy,” Broennan said. “SJMA is not a well-known organization. This is the biggest fund-raiser we’ve undertaken. Music in the Mountains would have had a different response.”

Maybe, maybe not.

“None of us recognized what we were taking on,” Broennan admitted.

In 2004, Broennan went to work for SJMA as their program director. She had been on the job just two weeks when the call for grant applications from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Forest Service for a joint Arts and Rural Community Assistance Initiative came across her desk. This special grant program supports arts-based rural community development projects utilizing the arts as an economic and community development tool, and as a steward of natural resources.
While SJMA executive director, Susan Bryson and the board of directors embraced the proposal, no one evaluated the organization’s readiness to take on a project of this magnitude from a community perspective. No one had the artistic experience to handle complicated molds and sculptural casting. No one thought about hiring a public relations expert to insure the major media exposure that other public art events such as this have garnered.

They focused their time and energy on choosing an appropriate animal, considering lynx, bear and even a giant pine beetle. But they chose the mountain lion for its powerful aesthetic and symbolism. “This elusive predator, a native to the Four Corners, is integral to our ecosystem and arguably the most majestic animal on our lands. Cautious and cagey, the graceful puma embodies the beauty of nature, while epitomizing the intense conflicts triggered by human-wildlife proximity,” Broennan writes on the SJMA Web site.

Twenty-nine artists were promised a stipend of $500 for materials to enhance their puma. Many were surprised at the size of the sculpture. Many spent more than 500 hours and thousands of dollars to create their original work of art. Most have not received their $500. Some artists have offered to donate their stipend to the cause.

“Pumas on Parade has been a capital intensive project. We are trying to make our payroll,” Broennan said. “Layoffs are not okay.”

Some artists have questioned why it’s okay for SJMA staff to get paid when the artist is already receiving a mere token for their time and effort.

“We feel horrible,” Broennan said. “The hardest phone call I had to make was to tell the artists we didn’t have money to pay them and that we were in breach of contract. It’s the hardest thing in the whole world.”

Broennan feels lucky to have worked with such terrific artists and believes the finished products speak for themselves. They are each unique and beautiful. “I have worked with the most phenomenal artists,” Broennan said. “Other communities had challenges with artists. We didn’t.

“And $500 doesn’t even come close to what they deserve,” Broennan added. “They should get $1,000, but that’s almost $30,000. All of this was predicated to bringing in $90,000 of business sponsors.”

They have only raised one-third of that amount.

What about the original $10,000 NEA grant?

“I didn’t know how much this would cost when I wrote the grant,” Broennan admits. “It was my naivete about the art world.”
Broennan thought artists might donate their mold or create an original sculpture to be used as the form for each puma. In most cities the artwork is created specifically for the project. Painted Ponies had Santa Fe sculptor Star Lianna York create two original horse sculptures, one standing one running, for the project. Broennan chose an existing sculpture by Loveland artist Rosetta. Rosetta’s “On the Alert,” is of a mountain lion, a cougar, a puma, frozen mid-stride, ever alert to the slightest sound or movement.

Rosetta’s original sculpture was limited to an edition of eight and the mold was unusable. A new mold had to be created. The NEA funds covered Rosetta’s fee and the creation of a ne
w mold by a second artist in Loveland. Then each puma had to be hand cast by a third pair of artists. SJMA has picked up the tab for casting, shipping and crating.
Broennan still believes this is a viable project.

“I still feel honored. I still think it’s the right animal. I’m proud that we were able to give each artist something of this stature. These are handmade sculptures. They are not hot fiberglass poured. Each is its own unique work of art from start to finish.”
Pagosa Springs artists Paula Bain and Kathy Steventon are still supportive of the project, despite all the problems.

“I think it was a great idea, but publicity is absolutely essential,” said Bain, whose puma is on display at Town Hall. “It can’t survive without this. Everyone worked very hard and it turned out great.”

“I suspect it can turn around,” Steventon added. “Most of the artwork is beautiful, but marketing is a mess. Publicity costs lots of money and where is this coming from?”

Steventon, whose puma is on display at the community center, found the project to be enriching on many levels: personally, she is proud of her work; socially, she enjoyed working and getting to know other artists; philanthropically, she felt she was supporting a worthy cause.

“It really made me realize how difficult it is for nonprofit organizations to get the support that they shouldn’t have to ask for,” Steventon said. “Many in the community can support this and they haven’t come forward.”

Her concerns are that SJMA is not using the resources available in the community to help this project succeed. “They didn’t handle this professionally. There didn’t seem to be a strategy. Everything was a crisis and reaction.”

“Every project has a risk,” Broennan said. “I still believe in this model. It will teach people about mountain lions, it is beautifying to the community and I’ve loved working with the artists and the business community. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Broennan added she would get the capital up front and take a more cautious route. She would start smaller and would know what is involved in the process. She would know what mold they were going to use and exactly how much it would cost to cast. She would hire a public relations expert. She would raise funds for something more appealing than the stewardship of public lands where the community falsely believes their tax dollars pay for upkeep and maintenance. She would allow two years for completion of the project and the ability to have the sculptures on display. She would have a track record of getting her board of directors to invest time and money in the project. She would have a larger staff. She would want a more connected, more active board.

“All these things have added up to NOT the plan.”

Broennan hopes the online auction, sponsored by Alpine National Bank, will be a success. The auction will begin Aug. 15 at www.sjma.org. SJMA is looking for more people like Dick and Connie Imig of Durango Coca Cola who purchased a puma and donated it to the City of Durango for their permanent collection.

“They see it as the cat’s meow,” Broennan said with straight face.

For more information on Pumas on Parade, contact Broennan at the San Juan Mountains Association, (970) 385-1256 or log on to www.sjma.org.

An art gallery is a place full of promise. Creative energy emanates from paintings, sculptures, ceramics, glassworks, and jewelry. The hopes and aspirations of each individual artist are brushed across canvases in alizarin crimson, cadmium, cobalt, chromium oxide, and raw sienna.

Taminah Gallery & Gift Shop in Pagosa Springs is such a place for me—at least it was. It is a soft-spoken place, much like its owner, Karen Cox, a tall, slender woman with short blonde hair, soft cerulean eyes that meet your gaze and a tender smile.
The blonde brick building sits in the shadow of the Liberty Theatre marquee and a railroad mural that hides a vacant lot. Its worn western façade is slightly tilted and missing some bricks. Four large phthalo turquoise tiles are gone. The sign above the door reads Taminah Gifts. One window announces that the place is a “Gallery of Fine Art and Distinctive Jewelry.” The other window proclaims “Custom Framing Center.” A vivid floral print flag waves near the door and reads OPEN.

The building was erected in 1895, and a black historic marker states that this is the oldest building in Pagosa Springs and has been home to a millinery shop, an automotive store, an ice cream parlor and even served as the Courthouse at one time. The location of the building was once the site of the barracks of old Fort Lewis. In the 1990s it was home to the Milton Lewis Gallery and in September 1999 became the home of Taminah Gallery. Taminah is a Shoshone word meaning forever spring. Karen Cox owned a gallery with the same name in Alta, Wyoming before returning to her hometown of Pagosa Springs.
For the past four years, business at the gallery has been a dichotomy: forty percent gallery, sixty percent custom framing. “The closest thing to a gallery we have in Pagosa Springs,” said nationally known artist Pierre Mion, whose original watercolor paintings of “Clear Creek Falls” and the “Commodore Mine” hang near the back of the shop. “A little bit of Santa Fe in Pagosa,” is how Sally Hameister, former director of the Pagosa Springs Chamber of Commerce, described it.

As I enter Taminah Gallery for the last time, I am aware of the gentle tinkling of a waterfall near the door, the smell of ylang ylang, patchouli and lavender, a plate of pink frosted sugar cookies and red cellophane wrapped chocolate candy greet me. I resist the temptation. A Rada CD plays in the background, her original piano compositions a cross between Rachmaninoff and Yanni. Most of the paintings are landscapes and western scenes by local artists. Elegant oil paintings by Carol Cooke of places I see every day. A small oil by Chama artist Avanna Lee Landwehr, “Ranch with Blue Barns” capturing the tranquility of a ranch on Highway 84 that will soon become a golf course surrounded by trophy homes. And a Claire Goldrick original oil painting immortalizes a fly-fisherman casting in the light of an October evening, somewhere along the San Juan River.
Gregory Hull captures the “Blanco Basin” and “East Fork Morning.” Pat Erickson’s work reflects intricately accurate prismacolor drawings of eagles, horses, cougars and hawks. Wayne Justus’ cowboy scenes, Randall Davis’ oil paintings of “Dyke General Store,” and a “Barn of Archuleta County,” and Celia Jones’ hunter hauling out an elk in “Packing Out,” are poignant in their contemplation of a lifestyle that is rapidly changing.

Dozens of local artists are now without a home, a place to display their work, a venue to reach their audience. “Sweep & Son,” a bronze sculpture by Celia Jones, will no longer have temporary shelter at Taminah Gallery. Randall Davis’ native warrior on horseback, “As the Crow Flies,” must now take flight.

“My mission has always been to share the tradition of artistic expression,” Cox said. “To help individuals give meaningful gifts to one another.”

The last day Taminah Gallery will be open is Saturday, February 26. Cox and her husband have sold the building to Galles Properties who will move their real estate office into the location at 414 Pagosa Street. “Last year was our best year,” Cox said. “Business is thriving. We are closing for personal reasons.” Cox wants to spend more time with her family and her elderly mother. I set aside a pair Anasazi potsherd earrings and a pendant with turquoise that I’ve had my eye on and a necklace by Brooklyn artist Andrea Lucille that I have coveted since before Christmas. All jewelry is 50% off beginning Thursday, February 10, and there will be special savings on art and accessories.

“I want to thank the community for all of their support,” Cox said, tears filling her eyes. She took a deep breath, composed herself. “And especially the Arts Council and all of the artists.”


Venues need updating.

Venues are scattered.

Event volunteers and organizers are experiencing burnout.

Events are organized around holidays when lodging is already filled and businesses are busy.

The town needs better gateway markers and signs to identify the historic downtown and develop transportation links between event venues and downtown. There is a lack of communication among event planners. The town has insufficient structure in place for event approval, facilitation, involvement and permitting.

These were the challenges identified by the Community Revitalization Partnership (CRP) Team in a presentation June 9 to a small group of town staff, citizens, the Chamber of Commerce and local event planners.

CRP is a partnership involving the Colorado Community Revitalization Association (CCRA) and the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA). The town and Chamber of Commerce applied for a DOLA grant to help the community develop a strategic work plan for improving the economic viability of existing special events in Pagosa Springs, as well as a strategy for developing a support network for new events. The Pagosa team included Barbara Silverman from CCRA, Sophie Faust from the Office of Smart Growth, Amanda Miller and Peggy Lyle, both from the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association.

CRP findings were straightforward: The Chamber of Commerce will continue to serve as a mechanism of communication until the town can fund an event or cultural coordinator position. CRP recommended improving the marketing and communication tools including e-mail, Web site and an event calendar; better communication with local businesses about upcoming events and quarterly meetings between the town, Chamber and event planners.

The team suggested the town needs to develop guidelines and requirements including permits for risk management and insurance, parking and traffic, event layout, public safety (including police and EMTs), liquor, waste management, and traffic safety. The Pagosa Springs Parks and Recreation Department should be responsible for keeping a master calendar, implementing usage fees, identifying venues and meeting staff needs. Structurally, the municipality must address the collection and tracking of vendor sales tax revenue and event-related transportation solutions.

“I think [the CRP recommendations] are not unreasonable and I don’t think that anyone should be surprised by them,” said Julie Jessen, special projects manager for the town. “They came in and gave us a good perspective from outside the box. Our community is quite transparent. We are not complicated or hard to figure out.”

“I think they put a lot of thought into it,” said Mary Jo Coulehan, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. “Their recommendations ran very parallel to what Linda Hill and Company (the consultant helping create a marketing plan for the Chamber) recommended. Identify what we have and create an infrastructure to support some of our current events and analyze what we need to keep as a community event and what potentially we need to make bigger and better. It’s the direction the chamber is already moving in and where we are trying to help the community to the best of our ability.”
Coulehan explained that the Chamber of Commerce is trying to become a clearinghouse from a publicity standpoint to let the community know what is happening. They are working to revamp their Web site, highlight events and develop their calendar of events more fully. They also want to create specials and packages for visitors to the area that provide tickets, lodging and special offers from local restaurants and retailers. Coulehan is also trying to expand WinterFest.

“I’m trying to create a weekend that is not weather contingent, or totally balloon contingent,” she said. “I’d like to have a winter triathlon and a snowmobile rodeo, and I’m working on getting groups involved that do that. In essence, I become an event coordinator.”

Event coordination is the big question that Crista Munro, executive director of the Four Corners Folk Festival, was hoping CRP would address. “I don’t think our community is facing a lack of ideas,” Munro said, “our problem is making them happen.”
Munro was hoping the CRP would make recommendations for creating an Office of Cultural Affairs or an event planning position within the municipality that could be partially funded by an increase in the lodging tax.

“The Chamber does enough,” she said. “They are fulfilling their capacity. Is asking them to take on another role the highest and best use of their time? If these things need to be done, then there needs to be a staffing recommendation for at least a part-time employee.”

Jessen had a different view. “I think event coordination is a great idea,” she said. “Mercy Korsgren, at the community center, is working on event coordination and how the community center can fill the gaps. I know we are looking at the Chamber to fill that gap, but maybe we have Mercy continue to do this. She is already doing this.”
Munro’s argument about the best use of time applies to Korsgren as well.

“The money is here,” Munro suggested. “Money will perpetuate more money. We have to make an investment. When you have an atmosphere in town where you have special events regularly, it helps a town become known.”

Jessen agreed with Munro. “I think that special events are definitely one catalyst that brings tourists to small towns. I go to other small towns because of events. They give a flavor of what the town is like.”

However, Jessen believes some of the challenges identified by CRP will be difficult to overcome, particularly the venues. “The fairgrounds are run down. It will take money to repair them and I don’t think that people realize the necessity of updating the venues. An amphitheater at Reservoir Hill would increase the use up there and still keep it a natural area.” Yet Jessen pointed out the town is still subsidizing the community center. “The more the community center is used, the less taxpayer money has to be used to subsidize.” Jessen believes it’s a marketing issue and that usage fees for the Community Center are comparable to other communities.

When asked about the idea of creating a municipal position for an event planner, Jessen was supportive. “It goes back to funding. I think it would be nice, but first we have to have a semi-organized coalition of event coordinators, event planners, businesses and the community. I don’t think it’s a full-time position at first, but it is something that would make life easier. There are creative ways to figure out those types of positions.”

Munro believes an Office of Cultural Affairs could be the umbrella organization under which all events and festivals fall, instead of each event creating a different non-profit corporation and waiting three years to apply for grant funds, as is typically required. Munro pointed out those non-paid volunteers who work a full-time job and then try to build an event from scratch in their spare time run most events in Pagosa, leading to the burnout identified by the CRP Team.

Coulehan said she could support the idea of an event coordinator in the future. “I think right now it’s a little too soon. I think we need to look at what we have and where we think an event coordinator can really help us. I do think that would work well for us.”

Another critical issue is sales tax collection. “We currently have no way to know if a vendor is paying their share of taxes,” Jessen said. “In other communities, when they control the collection of sales tax, they see a ten to twenty percent increase in sales tax funds. Is there leakage? We don’t know. Right now it is confidential information that the town and county get from the department of revenue at the state level.”

The first step to identifying and controlling the leakage is to establish business licensing. “We are looking at business l
icensing in the future,” Jessen said. “That will lead to tracking the viability of our businesses. What we have, where is our leakage and then in a couple of years going to sales tax collection.”

The final report on the Pagosa Springs Community Revitalization Partnership Team Visit will be available in July and accessible via the Town Web site: www.townofpagosa springs.com.

Leanne Goebel, l.goebel@pagosa.com | Posted 1/27/05

“We’re objective analysts,” said Dan Guimond of Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. Guimond and EPS Vice President, Andy Knudtsen held a scoping session at the Community Center with over 150 people crowded into the Senior Center dining room.
The Community Vision Council, working with the Town of Pagosa Springs, contracted with EPS to provide an economic impact study that will provide an economic base analysis, evaluate the fiscal condition and opportunities of the area, and recommend economic development alternatives. Parelli Natural Horsemanship provided a $40,000 donation to fund the study. Guimond and Knutdsen spent the day meeting with stakeholder groups such as the lodging association and the downtown business owners.

“We want to hear what you have to say,” Knudtsen said, expressing the desire of EPS for the study to be inclusive. They were quick to point out that the preliminary information presented to the crowd was just the beginning. “We haven’t scratched the surface yet,” Knudtsen said.

What they know so far is this: The population of Archuleta County is 11,196 and since 86% of the population is outside the Town of Pagosa Springs, we have a great need for a high-level of coordination between the Town and the County. “If the Town implements a plan that is not mirrored in the County it cannot have impact,” Knudtsen said.

Thirty percent of residents are second homeowners. The state projects an increase in older residents over the next 25 years. At a previous CVC meeting, Town Manager, Mark Garcia, had pointed out a recent request to build 250 new housing units in the Town of Pagosa Springs. That alone would represent a 37% growth in the Town population. “If we do nothing to encourage or discourage growth, County population is predicted to reach 30,000 by the year 2020,” said Angela Atkinson, Executive Director of the CVC. “Growth is neither good nor bad. It is. It’s how we manage it that matters.”

Knudsten pointed out that the average annual growth in the County of 7.6% between 1991 and 2000 was “very strong.”
The wholesale/retail trade and service sector provide nearly one quarter of all jobs in the County. Real Estate and Construction are second. The average per capita income in Archuleta County is $19,021, the lowest in the five county region that includes: Dolores, San Juan, Montezuma and La Plata Counties. The average per capita income for the state of Colorado is $30,000.

Knudtsen and Guimond pointed out that the growth in Archuleta County and Pagosa Springs, on a percentage basis, exceeds the growth in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. “There’s a greater opportunity for growth within Pagosa Springs than you’ve seen over the past 18 years,” Knudtsen said. He and Guimond agreed that there was more opportunity for growth here than in most other counties or towns on the Western Slope.

EPS will look at existing retail sales, sales tax, dollar inflow and outflow to determine what type of retail is supportable in this community. Part of that will involve detailed exploration of the pros and cons of big box development. EPS has worked with Bozeman, Montana and Carbondale, Colorado on the big box issue and pointed out that many communities do not have the luxury of saying no. If they say no, the big box will go outside the town limits or in the next town in the county. “Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County are in sync on this issue, that’s a big advantage,” Guimond said. An audience member pointed out the possibility for big box development to occur on Southern Ute Tribal land at the intersection highways 160 and 151. The Southern Ute tribe is a client of EPS and Knudtsen and Guimond agreed that this was a viable issue to consider.

EPS will also track tourism trends and document conditions and evaluate recreation and other business sectors for impact. However, more significantly, the EPS study will fiscally evaluate the Town budget. EPS will identify key fiscal relationships; analyze the impacts from growth on the Town’s fiscal condition. They will evaluate the role of retail within the fiscal framework and make suggestions for how Pagosa Springs can best manage growth.

“The Town has to balance possible revenues with the kind of services, amenities and infrastructure desired,” Knudtsen said. One goal of the economic analysis is to determine what kind of revenue the Town and County need to service growth.
“There are ways to fund growth and capital needs, such as impact fees and special assessments to help allocate the costs of new growth,” Guimond said. “This study will frame alternatives for consideration as you move forward with other community planning processes.”

EPS distributed a handout to each community member present with four questions to answer. First, describe a success story in Pagosa Springs from the recent past. Second, what are the top three economic issues facing Pagosa Springs? Third, what type of commercial growth best reflects the community character you would like to see? Fourth, what public improvements or services would you like to see to prepare for that growth?

Success Stories:

Community members identified everything from the paving of downtown streets to the generosity of local businesses as success stories. Some key items included the Four Corners Folk Festival and Music in the Mountains; the clean up of the old sawmill property, the building of Town Hall and the Community Center, and Parelli Natural Horsemanship as a successful business. Several people commented that feeling safe on the streets and children being able to walk around downtown and go to the movie theatre, study biology in the river and take school ski trips were success stories.

Economic Issue:

These issues were more complex and included growth and development, wages, infrastructure and travel. The Town and County need a plan to attract and develop small businesses and reduce the churn factor, one person said. The breadth and depth of the labor pool is insufficient, another added. A concern that with growth and development there are greater service requirements and taxes go up. Do we have to pay or does new development pay? County residents cannot vote on issues facing the Town. The County and the Town have to find a way for greater representation, someone else added. The need for specialty services for the older population, i.e., someone to do odd jobs and shovel snow. Someone expressed the need for commercial travel facilities. Another resident was concerned about the broadband infrastructure for consultants and those who work from home. Also mentioned were zoning, parking, and the use of local construction companies in local development. One idea suggested was to explore a regional government between the five counties in the area to share costs, like the Regional Transportation District in Denver.

Commercial Growth:

Many ideas were generated about the type of growth the community wants to see. Small, locally owned businesses, more places for fun and entertainment, a small convention facility, a performing or cultural arts center, educational training, light industry, specialized healthcare. Some specific ideas included hosting an artist’s or photographer’s weekend at a local bed & breakfast, an Outward Bound school, a tortilla factory, a farmer’s market, a college or extended studies program, a research and development laboratory, a new county dump.

Someone suggested that commercial growth should be born out of community need, rather than designed as a revenue source. And Pierre Mion suggested that we should support local businesses and commercial establishments, rather than reject them summarily. “Why is there an urgency to evict one of the best auto repair shops in town?” Mion asked in reference to Joy Automotive.

“We need to have a cultural training program and teach people
who come here to respect our local culture,” one woman added.

Public Improvements:

One community member said she would prefer to have our town stay a little, mountain town. The only improvements she wanted to see were repairs to buildings in disrepair. Better road maintenance and snow removal were mentioned often, as was traffic management and the speed of traffic through downtown. Cate Smock expressed concern about safety and economics. “I can’t cross the street with my eight-year-old,” the downtown resident said.

“If people can jaywalk, businesses thrive,” Knudtsen acknowledged. Guimond added that the signs down the middle of Main Street in Durango were successful in helping mitigate the speed of traffic and pedestrian safety. Someone else suggested the possibility of a truck bypass.

A 20-year resident pointed out that we have two communities, a “264-prefix” community, and a “731-prefix” community, and that we should combine the Town and County government into one governmental agency.

Mary Jo Coulehan expressed concern for the utility companies to keep up with the growth, and several people mentioned the need for more water. Additionally, the need for expanded postal facilities and a bigger library came up. More efficient cell phone service and better telecommunication infrastructure came up again. “Social services and court services are under pressure and need to be dealt with in the economic plan,” a man in the front row said.

Richard Goebel suggested we needed a plan for flood control and someone else wanted to see expansion of the biking trails. It was recommended that we use Reservoir Hill to its fullest potential.

“We need new facilities for the elementary school, junior high and intermediate school,” student Leah Silver said. “It’s hard to study when water is dropping on your head.”

Leanne Goebel, l.goebel@pagosa.com | Posted 1/14/05

Preserving open space, wildlife habitats, and the family ranching way of life without putting the land in the hands of a government agency — this is one appeal for creating a conservation easement with a non-profit land trust such as the Southwest Land Alliance (SLA)

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows the landowner to continue to own and use the land and to sell it or pass it on to heirs.

There are numerous land trusts and agencies available to help a landowner create a conservation easement. Some of the more well known are The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund. But while these large, nationally known organizations are focused on targeted purchasing of critical property, such as the I-25 corridor between Denver and Colorado Springs, our local land alliance is not actively pursuing property for purchase, at this time. The more than 12,000 acres on 33 easements held by the SLA have all been donated to the alliance.

“We’re not here to help development occur and we’re not here to stop it, we’re here to protect land that has conservation value,” said Linda Newberry, executive director of SLA. “We have to be really careful what easements we are willing to accept. We’re not willing to accept anything that walks in the door. The land has to meet certain requirements,” Newberry continued.
According the conservation purpose test described in 1980 in Section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, in order to qualify for tax benefits for donating a conservation easement, the easement must be created for one of the following reasons: 1) To provide for the scenic enjoyment of the general public, or be part of clearly defined government conservation policy and yield significant public benefit; 2) To protect the relatively natural habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants; 3) To preserve an historically important land area or a certified historic structure; or 4) To preserve the land for outdoor recreation.

The benefit to the landowner is that the land they love and value is protected in perpetuity from future development, a benefit that some land rights and property rights advocates criticize. They believe that heirs and future owners should have a right to decide how to use the land. Some landowners may fear what their heirs or a future owner will do to the land and a conservation easement is a way to protect the land from future development.

Other benefits include tax breaks. The assessed value of land in conservation easement is much lower than development value. The reduced value can then be taken as a charitable deduction on taxes. Colorado has a special tax credit exchange program available. This program is very helpful for land wealthy, cash poor ranching families. Say for example that the land a rancher decides to put into a conservation easement is valued at $500,000. The rancher would get a $260,000 tax credit that they can spread over twenty years, taking $13,000 a year. But what if they don’t make enough money to benefit from that $13,000 tax credit? Colorado allows special tax credit brokers to sell that tax credit for up to 85% of its value. The rancher can sell his credit for approximately $220,000.

The most important benefit of having a conservation easement seems to involve estate taxes. Federal estate taxes can be as high as 50% of the fair market value of the land. Because an easement lowers the appraised value of the land, the estate taxes are lower.

“Some estate taxes are as much as forty percent lower because of the reduced value of the land,” Newberry said.

The Town of Pagosa Springs completed Draft Resolution (2004-15) opposing the Mineral County approval of the Village at Wolf Creek at a special meeting of the Council on November 9. “The resolution has not been filed, but the Town has sent comments to the Forest Service on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement,” Mark Garcia, Town Manager, said.

Village developer, Bob Honts, requested that the town wait on the draft resolution. “He asked us to please hear him out before we make a resolution,” Mayor Ross Aragon stated. “We want to be fair,” Aragon continued.

Honts declined an invitation to attend a Town Council meeting. According to Aragon, Honts doesn’t want the meeting to be public. “He said he [Honts] didn’t want it to be a three-ring circus,” Aragon said. In deference to meeting with Town Council, Honts requested a meeting with the Community Vision Council. “Honts said he would meet with the CVC, then with the Town Council,” Aragon said.

A meeting between Honts and the CVC scheduled for December 6 was cancelled because David J. Brown, CVC co-chair, will be out-of-town. Aragon attempted to reschedule the meeting on December 10, but according to Aragon, Honts will be in Denver that day. New alternatives proposed by the CVC for the meeting include three dates during the week of December 13-17.

“I regret that I couldn’t meet with them on Monday. I was ready to be there,” Honts said in a telephone conversation. “It’s a long trip for me. It takes sixteen hours to get there.”

When asked if he would be willing to be interviewed by the Daily Post, Honts said: “We are under an agreed court order not to do press statements. I can talk to you about Texas, but I can’t talk to you about our litigation with the ski area.”

According to Aragon, Honts requested the opportunity to make a presentation to the CVC on the proposed Village. “[Honts] asked us to submit any questions [CVC] had to him in advance of the meeting,” Aragon said. In a fax Aragon received on Thursday, December 2, Honts said he was still waiting on the questions. “Mark Garcia and Tamra Allen, Town Planner, are preparing those questions for submission to Honts,” Aragon said.

“I have to clear all questions with my attorneys,” Honts said. “We will have to wait and see when we get this thing rescheduled if that court order still applies.”

“I think it has to be an open meeting,” Garcia said of the developer’s desire to meet with the CVC. Angela Atkinson, Executive Director of CVC confirmed that CVC requested the meeting be open to the press.

Colorado Sunshine Law

Colorado Sunshine Law applies to “all boards, committees, commissions, authorities or other advisory, policy-making, rule-making or other formally constituted bodies and any public or private entity which has been delegated a governmental decision-making function by a body or official,” as stated in Law (24-6-401+)

Local governing bodies are required to keep open any gathering of three or more members, convened to discuss public business, in person, by telephone, or other means of communication. An executive session is permitted only during a regular or special meeting. A local public body can go into executive session only after two-thirds of the quorum present vote in favor of executive session. The reason for the session must be announced in public prior to closing the doors. A board cannot adopt any proposed policy, position, resolution, rule, regulation or take any formal action in an executive session.

Draft Resolution 2004-15

Draft Resolution 2004-15 of the Town Council, Town of Pagosa Springs, officially states the Town’s opposition to the Mineral County approval of the Village at Wolf Creek project. The Town Council understands they have no jurisdiction over the development proposed at the Village, but they have sought to participate in the public process associated with the development due to the imminent impact on the Town. “A Letter from the Town was sent to Mineral County prior to approval of the Village development,” Garcia said.

In the Draft Resolution, the Town Council and staff request, “that a comprehensive fiscal economic impact analysis be completed for the development so that direct impacts imposed on adjoining communities are identified.” According to the document, provided by Garcia, the impacts of the Village are not adequately addressed for the Region of Influence (ROI) and specifically Pagosa Springs. The Town highlights two socioeconomic impacts not addressed in the EIS: Impact to the local economic tax base resulting from potential decline of business in the lodging, dining and retail sectors due to development of the Village; and impact on associated transit elements, such as ground and air transportation to and from the development for employees and visitors.

Additionally, in the Resolution, the Town recommends a Regional Task Force be formed and an Inter-Governmental Agreement be executed with Mineral County and all affected agencies. The Town acknowledges that required permits from the U.S. National Forest, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Colorado Department of Transportation were not required prior to approval of the development by Mineral County.

“We are doing our best to build the premier mountain recreation village in the country, if not the world, and that’s what we are going to do,” Honts said.

“Therefore, be it resolved by the Town Council of the Town of Pagosa Springs that until our stated concerns are satisfied, we cannot endorse the Village at Wolf Creek, as approved by the Mineral County Commissioners in Resolution No. 2004-23.”

Mayor Ross Aragon called the meeting to order. Stan Holt made the motion, Tony Simmons seconded, and the Town Council voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2004 -15, opposing the Village at Wolf Creek. The applause from the dozen or more supporters of the resolution clapped and cheered for a minute or more. Elapsed time: about three minutes.

The Pagosa Springs Town Council convened at 12 noon Tuesday for a special work session, with the specific intention of dealing with the Village resolution, which had already been discussed at previous Council meetings but had not yet been passed. With the deadline for public comment on the Village’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement fast approaching, the Council apparently decided that a swift action was appropriate.

Students For Change, a group of politically active Pagosa Springs high school students including Randi Anderson, Jesse Morris, Michael Spitler, Tim McAlister, and Cela White, which had requested this special session at the regular Town Council meeting on Dec. 6, appeared especially gratified by the Council’s action.