Virginia Avery and Wilma Knies enjoy attending Zumba classes, thrifting, mountain getaways, hiking and making art. The friends of 12 years first met through the Wheat Ridge Art League. Both were attending their grandsons’ bike race in Granby when they realized they had more in common than both being artists. From then, their friendship grew
Since high school, there has never been a time when Corey Wadley has not been building a guitar. His first luthier work began when his parents bought him a cheap guitar from the local musical instrument store. His mom asked him not to take it apart. “I took everything apart,” Wadley said. “I took it
If you had told Kristine Disney ten years ago that she would be spending most of her days painting, she wouldn’t have believed you. Throughout her life, others called Disney an artist, a label that she only now claims. She remembers doodling as a child and considered art her favorite class. She aced her college
Brian’s love of film photography started young with a gift from his dad. The film camera from the ’50s had no light meter. Brian couldn’t see what he was focusing his camera on. He guessed the distance using a little dial on the lens, which showed how many feet away the subject was. The photos
It’s 5 p.m., and Heidi Haas-Sheard still has a dozen flower arrangements to make. She creates a memorial service floral arrangement, the silver, blue and white flowers are a nod to his beloved Raiders team, with pops of his favorite color pink. Haas-Sheard owns her family’s business, Swiss Flower and Gift Shop in Wheat Ridge,
There’s a film called New York Stories, one of my favorites. The third segment opens with a washed-out artist, Nick Nolte, standing in the middle of his all-white SoHo loft. Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum plays loudly as he tries to reboot his career, splashing paint onto a blank canvas. In my next
This artist almost gave up on ever being able to create ‘her way.’ Instead of painting images that moved her, she was employed as an illustrator where the images she created were dictated by her employer. This was not the ‘artist’ she had envisioned being. Renée Peterson was one of seven children. As a child
A sense of exhilaration followed me as I left Dene Harlow’s art studio. The previous 2 hours had been spent with a man whom I define as a “true artist.” By his own definition a true artist creates for the pure joy of the process rather than for the hope that someone will buy his
Carolyn is a local artist who works in oil and cold wax — a demanding and tactile medium. She describes her process as a meditation. She began her life in Montana. Her father was Blackfeet Indian, and her mother was white. She and her four siblings lived near the reservation and in low income housing,
I think trying to be perfect often stops people from learning what they could do,” says Wheat Ridge pencil artist Sandra Davis. “I think everybody can learn to draw, but if people don’t think they can draw, they won’t put in the effort to learn how. When you start drawing, it’s important to love the
“Creating a piece of artwork is a matter of starting with disorder and organizing it as you go,” says Wheat Ridge artist Doug Dawson of a concept presented to him years ago by an art history professor. “I’ve held on to that idea ever since.” “The disorder may be a blank canvas or piece of
Like so many who didn’t have the good fortune to have been born in Colorado, pastel artist Sandy Guinn is a firmly transplanted Coloradan. “I’m from Iowa, but I’ve been out here for 40 years, so I feel like a semi-native,” says Guinn. Guinn is on the faculty of the Community College of Denver, where
“I feel a little bit like an imposter, like an outsider,” says Tom Kilpatrick, current vice president of the Wheat Ridge Art League, “because I’m not an artist in a traditional sense.” As a board member of the Art League, Kilpatrick hopes to contribute new ideas from a fresh perspective. “I’m a musician and a
Our mantra has always been Prayer, Patience and Perseverance,” says Diane Robb, managing partner of Kevin Robb Studios. From the time of Kevin Robb’s massive stroke 21 years ago, the faith in, and practice of, those three principles have guided the family through unchartered waters. ‘Unchartered,’ because Kevin Robb’s communications to his family and staff
Ninth-grader Chelsea Craver began drawing when she was six. An extended hospital stay in 2017 gave rise to her filling dozens of sketchbooks, and she’s been drawing and painting ever since. Although Chelsea’s work these days centers on graffiti-style art, her varied artistic expressions are reflected on a skateboard she painted for the recent Board
What is Clear Creek Makerspace? Located at 9110 W. 44th Ave, near the entrance to Anderson Park, CCM is a community workshop where like-minded folks can transform their creative ideas into tangible works of art. “Our goal is to provide the tools, equipment, and community resources to take away the barriers keeping you from exploring
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,
