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[click "Play" to hear R.J. Rubadeau's conversation with Susan]

 

Gatsby_CVRdj_front_300 Telluride local Bob Rubadeau is familiar with launches. He is, after all, a major league ocean sailor, a Cape Horn veteran. But Rubadeau is also an author of both fiction and non-fiction works of contemporary literature. This time we are talking books – or book – not boats.

On Tuesday, December 7,  6 p.m., in the Program Room of the five-star Wilkinson Public Library, Bob finally shows his hand, revealing the final chapters in his protagonist Wit Thorpe's trials to find the real killer in his latest novel: Gatsby's Last Resort: A Telluride Murder Mystery. Seems Wit, a Telluride native and the local Peeping Tom for hire, has been charged with 1st degree murder of a quick succession of victims, all linked as major shareholders in an attempt to acquire the Valley Floor. And despite what the local Sheriff may think – he describes Wit as "our own Ted Bundy" –  Wit admits that he "probably didn't do it."

Rubadeau's readers across the country have tracked Wit closely over a nine-month publishing odyssey in part on Telluride Inside... and Out, a key partner in the author's premier Community Publishing 101 project. Other partners include the Wilkinson Library, Between the Covers Bookstore, The Telluride Writers Guild, and Beacon Hill Publishers. The latest addition to this stellar lineup is artist Roger Mason, who donated the cover art.

06 December, 2010 /

by Tracy Shaffer

Riva Opening
Tracy, Riva, "Heaven & Earth"

Cool morning, bright day. I sit down for tea with artist, Riva Sweetrocket, in her gorgeous Ballpark Neighborhood loft. She meets me at the door and takes me into her studio, a clean and spare space which reflects the clarity of her thought and vision. A 44 x 38 inch paper is affixed to a Plexiglas wall; the striking image of a crimson cushion with an oversized, gold satin bow hovering above it is in progress. There is nothing else in the room but light, a small cart holding art supplies and a larger blank sheet of paper on another wall, awaiting inspiration.

The precision of Sweetrocket’s work is extraordinary. Many times I’ve stood before her works at Denver’s Plus+ Gallery, mesmerized and wondering “How does she do that?”  It was my privilege to find out. We spoke of images, what strikes the eye and how these fascinations reach the gallery wall. “I keep a file of photographs, things I see and the colors and textures I find appealing. Most of the time I photograph them myself, but others come from memory. When I get an idea about what I want to put together, it all comes alive in Photoshop” says she. I get a sense that there is a lot of silence and rumination in this woman’s daily life, and a fair amount of chalk dust. Riva’s works are created in soft pastel on paper and have a luxuriant quality that is radiantly defiant of the medium. “Once I’m happy with the image, I begin the work on paper and that is when it starts to really come alive” she continues. 

06 December, 2010 /

VR-display-blog The Velvet Ribbon exchange is an original fundraising idea, a chance to give to the Sheridan Arts Foundation, at the same time receive something fabulous for yourself in return. Quid pro quo in action.

Throughout the month of December, the lobby of the Opera House doubles for the inside of a gift store, white gift boxes tied with red velvet ribbons throughout. The boxes, numbered 1 – 50, are all on sale for $250, but the individual contents are a secret until the donor opens the box associated with the number he picks.

Prizes range in value from $100 – $8,000+, but the majority of items are valued over $100. In addition to his prize, each purchaser receives a $150 tax deduction letter for the donation made to the Sheridan Arts Foundation, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit.

06 December, 2010 /
[click "Play" to hear vintage Roger Mason on painting and book covers]

 

Gatsby_CVRdj_front_300 If you live in the R-1 school district, you know the name "Rubadeau." But I am not talking about her. I am talking about him. After a nine month publishing odyssey tracked closely by Telluride Inside... and Out, author Bob Rubadeau just completed his latest mystery, Gatsby’s Last Resort: A Telluride Murder Mystery. And the author picked the work of another Telluride celebrity, Roger Mason, for the cover art.

On Tuesday, December 7, 6 p.m. in the Program Room of the Wilkinson Public Library the final chapters in Wit Thorpe’s trials to find the real killer will be unveiled - along with Mason's deliciously dark image.

04 December, 2010 /
[click "Play",Dolce's Beau Staley discusses turquoise]

 

Earth Turquoise ring This is your month, Telluride's Sagittarii and Capricorns. And your birthstone, December babies, is turquoise – also blue topaz and Tanzanite. (Guess December is big on alliteration.)

But turquoise is the most popular and the oldest of December birthstones, found on artifacts dating back 5000 years in ancient Egypt (the tomb of Tutankhamen was filled with turquoise bling and Cleopatra used the ground up stone in her eye paint), Sumeria and Mesopotamia. Turquoise" means "Turkish Stone," in French and France is where the first deposits were found in the ancient world, before the first mines in Egypt. Turkey is the route the gemstone took when first introduced into Europe.

03 December, 2010 /

 Jen Julia, director of Telluride's Sheridan Arts Foundation's Young People's Theatre is one twisted sister– and that's a good thing. Generally speaking, when it comes to adapting chestnuts for her actors, Jen goes her own way. This time, she is following the crowd. Sort of...

Take Disney's latest (the 50th) animation,"Tangled," the story of Rapunzel, about an exiled princess who has never been to a hairdresser. In this version, the girl has been shut up in a castle by the evilest of evil stepmoms in the Disney pantheon, Mother Gothel, because her golden hair has the power to heal wounds, cure disease and reverse the aging process. (Hmm, hair as Botox.) Throw Pixar's bravura effects into the mix and voila, everything old is brand spanking new.

02 December, 2010 /

Bazaar at Telluride High School, December 3-5

 In her poem "One Perfect Rose," the acerbic writer Dorothy Parker bemoans the fact it's her bad luck to always get "one perfect rose," not "one perfect limousine, do you suppose?" from her true love. With money to burn, finding the perfect gift during the holiday season shop off – for your true love or anyone else on the list – is a cinch. On the other hand, most of have to make the thought count big time.

In Telluride, one of the ways to find gifts from the heart is to make them: the Ah Haa School for the Arts is running Xmas classes for adults and kids all month long. However, if you are not inclined to channel your inner Santa's helper, this weekend, in the Telluride High School Cafeteria, the Telluride Council for the Arts & Humanities presents the 2010 Telluride Holiday Arts Bazaar. Hours of operation: Friday, December 3, 5 - 8 p.m., Saturday, December 4,10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday, December 5, 11 a.m.  – 3 p.m.

The Bazaar, a local tradition dating back nearly 40 years, has grown to feature the work of about 40 regional artisans. The following is a list of the kinds of items you can check off your shopping list:

01 December, 2010 /

 "Bag It," TAB fashion show tix, green gifts, llamas, Daiva's birthday, great discounts (Yoga Center too), lotsa fun

IMG_8172 One down. Two to go. Just about everywhere, the parade of cooking, shopping and wrapping continues. The holiday season that began last week with Thanksgiving picks up a head of speed this week with the Christmas chapter, starting Wednesday, December 1, Noel Nite in Telluride.

Christmas may be time for  a nostalgic wallow in our tinsel-strewn past. The usual suspects on that list include Salvation Army Santas, mistletoe kisses, eggnog toasts, chestnuts roasting, "White Christmas," and twinkling trees. It's also about shop 'til you drop.

Here's an overview of what to expect around town.

30 November, 2010 /

Snapshot 2010-11-28 12-19-01 Telluride’s all-women rock and roll band, The 525s, are taking the stage at the Last Dollar Saloon on Noel Nite, Wednesday, December 1, starting at 10 p.m. Telluride audiences last saw the band in April at the KOTO Street Dance, when The 525s had six members. Since then, the group has slimmed down to a lean, mean quartet.

“We found ourselves getting drawn in too many directions, musically,” said guitarist and songwriter Suzanne Cheavens. “Pulling back to just guitar, drums, bass and vocals helped us define our sound. We’re really excited. We love the dynamic and have had a lot of fun working up our new songs.”

Originally called MachSchau and a graduate of Mark Galbo’s Rock and Roll Academy’s short-lived but fruitful Ladies Rock program, The 525s have been a working band for a little over two years. The four core members of the group, Cheavens, singer Baerbel Hacke, bassist Cindy Eckman and drummer Molly Papier – all Lawson Hill residents – rehearse in Hacke’s basement studio.

30 November, 2010 /