Your Ah Haa Moment: Photographer Carl Marcus, Painter Susan McCormick

31 May Your Ah Haa Moment: Photographer Carl Marcus, Painter Susan McCormick

By Lauren Metzger

Hello Telluride. Though the weather does not reflect it, the summer season is starting! The Ah Haa School has quite the lineup this summer of dynamic local artist exhibitions, both in Daniel Tucker Gallery and our East Gallery. I am proud to announce that this June we will be featuring the photography of Carl Marcus and the oil paintings of Susan McCormick. Both will remind you of the beauty this amazing region holds and that spring is coming!

Carl Marcus has a true talent for capturing nature's awe-inspiring beauty. A constant supporter of the Ah Haa School, I was first introduced to Carl while working on my first auction several years ago. He had donated one of his "magical landscapes" and it did indeed take my breath away. When I asked him about how he is able to capture this beauty, he replied, "The images try to recreate the aspect of vast spaces in unfolding nature that literally take away ones breath; and attempt to convey them to others; not so much the detail, but the underlying immensity of the micro and macro." He added that always having his camera with him and being open to what is happening around him, are the times that those images present themselves and he is able to capture and share them with everyone. Thank you Carl, for being open! Other current works will be displayed with these magical landscapes. Which by the way will be 5 foot images. This is a show not to be missed!

Susan McCormick, whose oil paintings will be on display in the Ah Haa School's East Gallery, is one of the first people I met when I came to town in 1993. Creation is not a new thing to Susan who has shared her artistic talent with the world through fabrics, sculpture, printmaking and metals. The creations that I know best from Susan are her landscapes. I have watched her capture numerous beautiful scenes of Telluride in ever season. What I love about her upcoming show is the inclusion of her abstract landscapes. When I asked her about her abstracts and how they came to be, she told me, "My work flows from landscape to abstract to further explore the use of color, light and texture. The loose abstracts free me to see different approaches to landscape painting. For me, it all keeps life interesting!" Interesting for sure! They are my favorite pieces and I am excited to see where this new direction takes her.

Please join in support these two amazing locals starting next Thursday, June 2 for our grand opening reception as part of the Telluride Arts ArtWalk. And stay tuned for a summer of inspiration by Ah Haa School's exhibitions.