Barbed wire: “If you cross it, it will cut you; if you respect it, it will protect you.” This statement by welding artist Kathleen Martell sums up what she calls the power of feminine fire. It is this power with which she imbues her metal sculptures. It wasn’t until Martell was 53 that she discovered
The life path of Mike Nile—musician, producer, songwriter turned director and filmmaker—has over the past 60 years been filled with inspiration, tragedy, and joy. He says he’s been blessed to have worked with many great musicians and bands, including Spirit, Fleetwood Mac, Bonnie Raitt, Firefall, Little Feat, Dolly Parton—and even Orson Welles. He’s experienced great
The technical aspects of art aren’t what most of us are considering when we attend an art show. Fundamental aspects aren’t as glamorous as the aesthetically effective renderings that may be created by using them. We’re just there for the art. But without the underlying science of pigment, there would be no “magic.” Art on
When artist Chad Harr joined the Wheat Ridge Art League in March and registered for the Carnation Festival Art Show, he had no thought of winning an award. But that’s just what happened. Much to his surprise, his oil painting “Grandpa’s Train” won Best of Show. “I whipped it out so quickly, I really wasn’t
This year, the Wheat Ridge Art League (WRAL) celebrates its 50th anniversary. According to the league’s former librarian Shirley Nakamoto, a member since the late 1970’s, the art show was created decades ago as an attraction for the Carnation Festival. The City of Wheat Ridge has sponsored the art show since that time. The league
When Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital opens August 3 at 12911 W. 40th Ave., visitors will see a 110-piece hanging sculpture in the lobby. This dazzling work of art is one of more than 600 interior and exterior works created by about 50 local and Colorado artists for the hospital that replaces the Lutheran Medical Center
Vicki was born with blindness, but the minute her fingers first touched piano keys, the sound of the music became her favorite form of communicating with the world. “I’ve loved being able to share music,” Vicki said. “I really don’t know strangers. People are always coming up to me and talking to me or sometimes
The American Burying Beetle, listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, feeds on decaying animals and helps them decompose. While that may sound pretty gross, insects of all kinds play a vital role in sustaining life — not just as nature’s undertakers, but through a variety of functions like pollination, pest suppression,
Eight-year-old Karalynn Johnson clutched her copy of Jacqueline Woodson’s book “The Year We Learned To Fly” as she and her family found their seats stage right in the auditorium of Jefferson High School in Edgewater on April 5. The Lumberg Elementary School student was eager to see the author of her newest favorite book in
A pink desk and pink diary helped a then-Wheat Ridge child learn to write. Her exploration of Denver more than two decades ago resulted in Jill Carstens’ first book. “Getting Over Vivian: A Memoir” tells a story of “family, love and loss set against a backdrop of familiar Front Range settings,” wrote Kathryn White in
Kevin DeForrest is the most interesting man you’ve never heard of. He reluctantly admits that he’d like to change that. “My brother asked me once ‘why do you write songs, anyway?’ I said ‘I just want to write better and better songs all the time, right?’ And he said ‘bulls*** — I think you want
Family interest in magic led Gerald Robinson to achieve professional goals Like most Colorado natives, a young Gerald Robinson and his family enjoyed meals, cliff divers and magic shows at Casa Bonita. Now, the adult Robinson is part of the tradition at the recently reopened Lakewood restaurant. Robinson, 24, of Edgewater, now works as a
“Acting is about trying on a different hat. Life is like that, too,” says Selena Naumoff, a founding member of the Wheat Ridge Theatre Company. “The idea is to challenge yourself to do something you’ve never done.” With degrees in theatre and religion, Naumoff brings an unique set of skills to the theatre, where in
Gleaming plaques frame Erik V’s head as he leans over his client, eyes sharply focused on the needle. Best Tattoo of Show, 2005. Best Back Tattoo, 2016. Best Overall Male, 2022. But these accolades are not on Erik’s mind when he’s at work. For Erik, the art of tattooing lies not just in creating a
“My paintings are about Colorado,” says Theresa Joyce, Denver-area artist. “Nearly every one of them is a painting of where I’ve been, where I hang out, or where I ski. The first thing Joyce does before starting a painting is to ask herself why she wants to paint that particular scene. “I try to remember
Methodical. Intentional. Thoughtful. It’s both how Chris Mora speaks and how he welds. He’d much sooner lapse into minutes-long silence than say something he doesn’t mean. And he’ll sure as hell never commit a weld that is messy, rushed or anything short of beautiful. Mora is a metalworker and artist. He makes robots, primarily, along
“The very first song I ever performed was Gene Autry’s version of ‘Buttons and Bows,’ in third or fourth grade,” says Edgewater’s Western award-winning singer and songwriter Patty Clayton. “I wrote my first song in 1976 – can’t remember the name of the song, but it was about riding a horse on a beach, trying
“Don’t back away from the wall We together break the wall… Your legs hesitated but again Start, don’t stop Don’t be afraid Don’t lose your faith, run no more.” –Lyrics from the song “Break the Wall,” by Korean band Dreamcatcher Digital artist Chase Seyfer was inspired by this song to write a multilayered story that
“I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember, since about four or five,” says 92-years-young Wheat Ridge artist Cam Williams. “I recall I sat on my grandpa’s lap and asked him how to draw a woman’s shoe – why I asked that, I don’t know.” She recalled how, in first and second grade, kids would
“My passion for painting stems from the immense benefits it brings to my mental well-being,” says Wheat Ridge painter Liz Burns. “It lets me remain fully present in the moment and immerse myself in a state of pure joy.” A Wheat Ridge resident since 2011, Burns lives with her husband Nathan, son Miller, 11, and
“Painting from landscape is another way to express the experience of humanity the only way I can: as a six-foot male walking on land. That is my perspective,” says Wheat Ridge painter Jason McCullough. He captures the people and spaces that inhabit his experience. Working in oil paints and various drawing mediums, the self-represented fine
“As a little girl, I was always drawing. I had a love for crayons,” says Mona Taherynia, an artist who was born and raised in Iran and moved to the United States when she was in her 30s. Taherynia’s Iranian culture informs her paintings, “in terms of form and color,” yet her paintings also bear
A winding road took colored pencil artist Diana Williams through the banking world to doing something “military-based,” then to being a teacher of art history, before eventually discovering her own talent for art. Williams says that through the years she has dabbled in painting with acrylics, but that her current and steady interest in art
“I wake up every morning an hour before sunrise, to be outside 15 minutes before sunrise with the Sony,” says photographer Jon Levy. The “Sony” he’s referring to is the Alpha 1, Sony’s flagship camera. “I mainly go to the local parks – Belmar, the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt, Main Reservoir in Lakewood. I find each
