First Thursday Art Walk: August 4, an overview

03 Aug First Thursday Art Walk: August 4, an overview

Art Walk is a meet and greet for art lovers and friends and a chance for artists, galleries, studios, and nonconventional arts venues such as restaurants to showcase Telluride's fine arts scene. And some restaurants even feature Art Walk specials.

New this year is a Kids Walk, 4 – 6 p.m. including a self-guided map and hands on activities for families designed to teach basic principles of art through observation.

One venue on the Walk should appeal to both kids and adults. The Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, 130 East Colorado features a show,  “From Beasts to Babar: Ten Children’s Illustrators,” which opened July 28 and runs through the Telluride Film Fest weekend in early September. The exhibition of original drawings includes the work of Maurice Sendak, Etienne Delessert, Bernie Fuchs, Henrik Drescher, Laurent de Brunhoff, Peter Sis, Gennady Spirin, Peter McCarty, Tomie De Paola, and Jeanne de Sainte Marie.

(For interviews and videos with Delessert, Drescher, Sis, McCarty and de Sainte Marie, type their full names into Search on the Home page of www.tellurideinside.com.)

The Ah Haa School for the Arts has two shows. The Daniel Tucker Gallery features  new works by Elaine Fischer (also one of our country commissioners). "Broken Landscapes" captures the power and strength of the Four Corners region – and of the artist herself.

(For a more in-depth story about Elaine, follow this link.)

In Ah Haa's East Gallery, the Telluride Institute presents Atlas of the San Miguel:  Art, Education, and Community Engagement addressing the shifting ecological, economic, political, and cultural dimensions of the San Miguel Watershed. Organized by Dan Collins and Pam Zoline of the Telluride Institute, the project uses art and technology as dual lenses for investigating the San Miguel river basin. The Atlas draws on local knowledge, scientific findings and creative response to craft an artful dialogue specific to the watershed. It is a springboard for visualizing and contemplating water as a cultural reflection, water as energy, as a connecting agent, the control of water, the complexity of water rights, public vs. private water, and water as aesthetic inspiration.

Lustre, an Artisan Gallery, 171 South Pine Street, hosts its semi-annual jewelry exhibition, presenting the work of two internationally renowned jewelry designers, the historic art nouveau of Llius Masriera and its more modern offshoot, Bagués of Barcelona, plus the fine jewels and bridal collections of two American designers, James Breski and Judy Evans.

(To listen to an in-depth interview with Sally Lake of Masriera and Bagues, follow this link.)

The Wilkinson Public Library, 100 West Pacific Avenue, exhibits mushroom-inspired art in the Stairway. In it's 31st year, The Telluride Mushroom Festival is a celebration of all things fungal and entheogenic. The small presentation of psychedelic and mushroom-inspired art aims to encapsulate the festival's themes of exploration and experimentation. The works of graphic designer Andrew Mcgranahan and this year's poster artist Aaron "Inkling" Cruz Garcia will be featured. (A larger survey of the connections between art and mushrooms will be examined at this year's Shroomfest, August 18 – August 21.

The Telluride Historical Museum, 201 West Gregory Avenue, has its summer exhibit up for the season: "Layin Down the Law," plus the new amphitheatre and outdoor mining exhibit.

 For more information about Art Walk or Kids Walk, pick up a free brochure at any participating venue and around town, go online at Telluride Arts, call 970-728-8959,  or follow Telluride Arts on Facebook and Twitter.