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Auction_poster Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts is community arts center and, from time to time, a place of celebrity. In years past, General Norman Schwarzkopf has shown up for the event, even contributed military paraphernalia and art work. Rumor has it the emcee of this year's event, tonight, July 24, 5 p.m., 300 South Townsend, is none other than Pop artist Andy Warhol, at one time the Michael Jackson of the art world. In the 1960s, it was Warhol who was running the company store when the art world began shedding its idealist trappings and started morphing into the Great American Art Industry. Overnight, Campbell's soup cans and Brillo became icons. Warhol is expected to be accompanied by an entourage.

Also on hand at this year's Ah Haa auction is actress and part-time local Susan Saint James, who created three major works of art in collaboration with painter/teacher Robert Weatherford. Joining her on the runway for the live auction, starting at 7 p.m., are the following artists/donors:

24 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Susan's interview with Sally Simpson]

IMG_1104_3 For Telluride local and board member, Ah Haa School for the Arts, Sally Simpson, it was simply a matter of connecting the dots.

Born and raised in Lake Oswego, Oregon, Sally Simpson holds a BA in secondary art education and a masters degree in education from the University of Oregon. She taught art at the middle and high school level in the Oregon public school system for 12 years.

23 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Kent Harris speak about his work]


Kent Harris pottery in Ah Haa auction, July 24 in Telluride

Kent_jar Kent Harris mines the history of ceramics to create his signature functional vessels covered in earthy glazes. One of his pots is among the 16 works of art featured in the live auction at the Ah Haa's 17th annual fundraiser, always a community party. The event takes place on Friday, July 24, 300 South Townsend (the old Depot), starting at 5 p.m. for the silent auction.

Though Kent Harris is a regular teacher at Ah Haa, his home base is Amarillo, Texas. There he and his wife Megan Easley, a painter, own and operate the Blue Sage Pottery & Art Gallery located on West Sixth Avenue, part of the historic Route 66.

21 July, 2009 /

Lana_photo Say the words "quick draw" in a Western town like Telluride and images of smoking guns pop into mind.

Quick Draw has a whole other meaning, however, in the context of the Sheridan Arts Foundation's annual Telluride Plein Air event, an art show that has become an integral part of Telluride's Fourth of July celebration.

The Quick Draw is a 90-minute, on-site painting demonstration and competition held on Main Street, this year on July 2, 10:30 – noon. The contest is open only to the 30 top plein air artists in town for a week to paint Telluride's urbanscapes and landscapes. The Ah Haa School for the Arts supplies  the judges. This year,
Lana Rak took home the blue ribbon for her image, "Bon Appetit."

20 July, 2009 /

In Telluride one is likely to see all styles of walking sticks: high tech ones by Leki, a broken branch picked up off the ground, or a fine piece of wood, maybe even laminated slices of hardwood carefully glued, sanded, finished. My stick (though...

19 July, 2009 /
[click "Play" to hear Eileen's conversation with Jen Santry about Summit County's participation]


by Eileen Burns

IMG_7864 Summer is in full swing and so is the CAST Challenge.  The Colorado Association of Ski Towns (or CAST) has been holding a plastic bag challenge since March 1st, with more than 30 ski towns participating, including the Summit County towns of Breckenridge, Frisco, Dillon and Silverthorn.  The concept behind this friendly competition between ski towns, is to reduce consumption of single-use, disposable shopping bags by using your own shopping bag and to educate the public on the environmental and social costs associated with single-use plastic bags.  

Assistant Director, Jen Santry, of High Country Conservation Center (HC3) explains that Summit County has been participating in a BYOB (bring you own bag) program for years and when they were invited to participate in the CAST Challenge they eagerly accepted.  Summit county has around 30,000 year round residents and up to 100,000 people in the area during the peak ski season.  That could add up to a lot of plastic bag consumption, but the programs are working and people are getting more in the habit of bringing their own bags when they shop.  "It is not about winning the challenge, although that would be great.  These programs help educate the public and effect change," explains Santry.  HC3 provides programs, services, and advocacy in the areas of waste reduction, energy conservation, green building, and even climate change.

19 July, 2009 /

Meredith Nemirov is among the more than 100 artists featured in the silent auction at Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts' 17th annual fundraiser, Friday, July 24, 5 p.m., 300 South Townsend. Meredith Nemirov has inspired Ah Haa students for years, teaching them...

18 July, 2009 /

There are people whose absence is difficult or impossible to imagine. I have known Jack Carey most of the time I have been in Telluride. We are not  close friends, the kind who can share stories of adventures, dinners together, so I'll leave those...

17 July, 2009 /
[click to hear Dan James on cheese and more]

DSC_4596 Telluride's annual Farmers' Market, now in its seventh year, features almost 40 vendors, all of whom come from within a 100-mile radius to bring their sustainably raised fruits, veggies, flowers, meats, fish, crafts and cheeses to town every Friday, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., June – October. The market is the place every weekend for the greater Telluride community to gather and feed a growing appetite for quality food and town talk, the spicier the better.

One of the many smiling faces we look forward to seeing each week belongs to Dan James of the James Ranch, located ten miles north of Durango in the Animas River Valley.

17 July, 2009 /