TCAH Artwalk – Block Party With a Mission

07 Jan TCAH Artwalk – Block Party With a Mission

The First Thursday Art Walk, sponsored by the Telluride Council for the Arts and Humanities, is a day-long block party with a mission: to showcase Telluride's fine art scene, including galleries and studios, which stay open late until 8 p.m.

The event is meant to deepen ties between Telluride's business and cultural economies by exposing locals and visitors to emerging and established arts and the town's retail scene.

The 2009 kickoff is Thursday, January 8, with many venues hosting their own artists' receptions, 5 – 8 p.m.

Among them:

East Meets West highlights the work of Mike Simpson, an American painter and true cowboy, who has lived his whole life in the West. Check out his oil paintings, beautiful representations of San Miguel County, at 240 E. Pacific, kitty-corner from the Post Office.

Shilling Studio Gallery is proud to introduce the sculptures of John Helton to Telluride, also featuring work by Jeff Scher, Nina Tichava, Reem, Hunter Hogan, Jeri Moore, Michi, local ceramist Michelle Montague, and new jewelry by Amy Schilling herself.

Dolce is showcasing Kevin Box’s origami horses cast in high polish stainless steel. Katey Brunini is showing hand-carved antelope antlers with cast 18k yellow gold carved tips.

Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, at 130 E. Colorado Avenue, is featuring a new collection by Barbara Heinrich,a studio jeweler, goldsmith and gemologist. Also on display are original pastels and photographs by long-time local Stephen Cieciuch.

Steve, a successful realtor with Telluride Properties, go-for-broke skier and fly fisherman, has also been an artist for years, but this is his first-ever public show.

“I have always been enamored by the beauty of trout, especially the depth of color in their skin and the way their iridescence is captured differently under different light conditions. When I look closely, I am amazed by the variety of spotting patterns among the species, even among individual fishes. Through the medium of pastel, I find I can capture this depth by layering a variety of colors and sometimes adding my own whimsical ideas. My photography is not entirely representational either: I am interested in creating impressions of the fish, abstraction sections that I hope will engage the viewer as they engaged me.”

Check out more information about Lustre Gallery and Stronghouse Studios, also participating.