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Elaine_email Telluride Arts' First Thursday Art Walk showcases the best of the best of the region's  fine arts and crafts scene at galleries, studios, even retail outlets, including restaurants. This month the event is scheduled for Thursday, August 4, 5  8 p.m., with a must-see stop at Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts, 300 South Townsend. On display in Ah Haa's Daniel Tucker Gallery is the latest work by county commissioner and painter, Elaine Fischer.

"Broken Ground," Elaine's images of uncensored landscape, appear to have been created in a seizure of inspiration, suggesting the evolution of an ever more adept artist who s expressing herself with a greater and greater sense of spontaneity and honesty.

02 August, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Emilio Castillo and Larry Braggs]

 

A_group_shot Telluride in the 1970s was dirt poor and tie dyed. The Idarado Mines were closing and derelicts were crashing at the historic Sheridan Opera House. In the larger world, some of the currents of the 1960s had become mainstream, women's lib and youth with a voice for two. Polyester became as ubiquitous as avocado and gold for in home decor. Yuck. "Taxi Driver" was one of the standout movies of the decade. And Tower of Power came on the scene. Amen.

Tower of Power appears in all its horny glory (and I mean that in the good sense) at the 35th annual Telluride Jazz Celebration, August 5 – August 7, 2011, a not-to-be-missed weekend of jazz, funk, blues, wine, even yoga, which features other enduring legends in addition to Tower of Power, among them, Guest of Honor Paquito d'Rivera, Rita Coolidge and Allen Toussaint.

01 August, 2011 /
[click "Play", Susan talks with Frank Cicero about Relative Strangers]

 

RelativeStrangers It was a slam dunk whenever part-time Telluride local Frank Cicero stood in front of a courtroom. A senior partner since the 1970s at the prestigious Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis and a trial and an appellate lawyer, Cicero's list of wins in a wide variety of civil and criminal cases in courts at all levels all over the world is mighty impressive.

The reason for his history of legal triumphs becomes apparent when you read Cicero's very first book, Relative Strangers: Italian Protestants in the Catholic World (2011). The guy clearly does his homework and he knows how to spin a compelling yarn.

Frank Cicero is in town for a book signing of "Relative Strangers" at Telluride's Between the Covers. The very social,very casual book launch party takes place Saturday, August 6, 6:30 p.m. (Simple refreshments included.) On the bill with Frank is Mt. Evans, Colorado-based photographer Bill Hitz, breaking out his coffee table photography book showcasing the Four Corners, Roads Less Traveled. Its forward was written by General Schwarzkopf, who said "You're photos are like a spirit... They speak to me." (http://www.mtevansphotography.com/Home.php)

01 August, 2011 /

by David FeelaA compressor would be the quickest,though the scaffolding requiredto touch the ceilingmight make the Tower of Babellook like a stairwell.Give me one politicianwith the vision of Michelangeloand I will lie on my backthrough the next election depicting a brilliant fresco of the future.Or...

31 July, 2011 /

[click "Play", Susan talks with Sasha and Sarah]

 

Poster for Is there any doubt Telluride local Sasha Cucciniello enjoys an occasional walk on on the wild side?

In December, the company she founded, SquidShow Theatre, produced a play that conjured Telluride's wild and wooly past, at the turn of the 20th century when men were miners and women were, well, let's just say they liked to flaunt it. Squid's "Burlesque" was a smash hit, playing to a sold out houses at the historic Sheridan Opera House in December. (Yes, Sasha plans an encore performance this year.)

With "CON," the Squid's upcoming production, Sasha gets naked again – but in a different way. In "CON," a play about liars, Sasha bares her soul: the play was inspired by her father, an infamous grifter. Performances begin Thursday, July 28, and run through Monday, August 1, 8:30 p.m. at The Nugget Theatre (once upon a time a vaudeville house).

27 July, 2011 /
[click "Play" to listen to Susan's interview with Peter McCarty]


Cov_bunny When Will Thompson's Telluride Gallery of Fine Art opens its blockbuster show, "From Beasts to Barbar," featuring the work of 10 of the top children's book illustrators in the world, the work of Peter McCarty is featured.

McCarty was originally to be in town for the opening July 28. As it turns, he plans an August trip to Telluride instead. However, had things worked out as scheduled, being spokesperson for the group would have forced McCarty out of his head, which is a good thing because McCarty has been living and working in his "attic" since the tender age of three. The place is now littered with ideas. The guy needs some fresh air. And maybe a cocktail.

27 July, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Mia Borders]

 

SOS POSTER Local Teddy Errico's Telluride Cajun Festival is a little bit like the phoenix of mythology – or Harry Potter fame. Too much spice (music and food) burns it up, but the event inevitably returns better and stronger.

After a two-year break, The 2011 Telluride Cajun Festival and its partner, Oak, (the new Fat Alley), announce a South Oak Social with headliner Mia Borders performing on a program with the Great Funktier and Lily Von Shtupp. The main event takes place rain or shine Friday, July 29, at The Gondola Plaza at the base of Chair 8. Gates at 4 p.m. (Mia is scheduled to perform at 6 p.m.) Tickets are just $10 in advance and $15 day of show. Saturday, July 30, is a free night of music featuring Von Schtupp. Show time is 6 p.m.

26 July, 2011 /
[click "Play", Art Goodtimes talks about Mushroom Fest]

 

Mushroomfilm The Telluride Mushroom Festival, Thursday, August 18  – Sunday, August 21 bills itself as the nation's "oldest mycological conference exploring all things fungal." Which is saying a tasty mouthful since fungi have been around for a very long time. A lot longer than people, perhaps 500 million years. (The earliest known picture of a mushroom was found on a wall painting in the ruins of Pompeii.)

Fungi come in a wondrous variety of shapes, sizes and colors, from tiny cup fungi to puffballs the size of basketballs. Today, the sorts of wild shrooms sold at retail or served in your local restaurants are generally above suspicion. The main health hazard are fungi we collect ourselves.

26 July, 2011 /
[click "Play" to listen to Susan's interview with Etienne Delessert]

 

30 His all caps bona fides set the bar high for his peers: more than 80 books, translations in 14 languages and millions of copies sold worldwide. No wonder Etienne Delessert is considered a father of modern children's picture books. And Etienne Delessert is coming to Telluride. At least his work is: Etienne is featured in a show, "From Beasts to Barbar," of other bold-faced children's book illustrators opening at the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art on July 28 and running through the Telluride Film Festival in early September.

(Also at the top of the list of illustrators in Will Thompson's groundbreaking show is the iconic Maurice Sendak, whom Etienne describes as a "friend and one of the reasons I came to New York in 1965." )

25 July, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's conversation with Peter Sis]

 

Peter Sis As an artist/author, Peter Sís is equivalent of an Olympic gold medalist – only he never broke a sweat. Well, almost never. There were a few narrow escapes while living under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, a story Peter tells in his newest book with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, "The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain."

Václav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, said of the work: “Peter Sís’s book is most of all about the will to live one’s life in freedom and should be required reading for all those who take their freedom for granted.”

24 July, 2011 /