I highly recommend the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Wow, just home from seeing the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" at the Avalon Theatre in downtown Grand Junction. I really loved this film. There was absolutely nothing predictable or formulaic about it -- nothing at all.

A Sundance Film Festival winner, I hope to see it on the Oscars list. Truly brilliant, timely, and touching. I highly recommend this film.

Cars, refrigerators, TV sets and nuclear warheads

I intended to write a light piece on how we live in the context of the times, beginning with the industrial complex of the 1930s and World War II, which set the stage for the military-industrial complex of the 1950s that spawned the financial, medical, educational and entertainment complexes of the 1980s that led to the interdependent web of today’s global economy. Whew!

For example, in the 1950s, the automobile, refrigerator and television were key consumer products that supersized our economy and secured a large, robust middle class.

In 1955, nearly 90 percent of the cars on our nation’s roads were American-made, with more than 8 million new cars sold that year. From 1945 to 1985, we paved 42,798 miles of interstate highway and bought 300 million cars. As a result, car-related businesses — from petroleum to drive-through restaurants to tourism — sprang up from coast to coast, while refrigerators redefined domestic life.

“A few years ago it took the housewife 5-1/2 hours to prepare daily meals for a family of four,” Time magazine reported in 1959. “Today she can do it in 90 minutes or less — and still produce meals fit for a king or a finicky husband.”

In a nation of 150 million in the 1950s, there seemed no end to...

Extraordinary rush: Singing with the symphony orchestra!

Wow, what an extraordinary experience! I sang two songs with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra during their annual Wells Fargo Evening Under the Stars free concert in Lincoln Park in Grand Junction Saturday evening. I'm still pinching myself to make sure it wasn't a dream.

The symphony kicks off each season with the free pops-type concert. Lucky for me, they included some vintage swing arrangements this year, and invited me to sing with them!

There is nothing like being surrounded by strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion played by wonderful musicians and friends. I still can't believe I got to sing with them!

We are so blessed to have such dedicated musicians who come together as a symphony orchestra in our community. I'm looking forward to the upcoming symphony season! The first concert is in September! Here is a link to the Grand Junction Symphony's website:

http://gjsymphony.org/

The double-edged sword of Colorado's Gallagher Amendment

I never understood that old saying, “All politics are local,” until recently, when one innocent quest for office space brought it to light — a glaring bright light.

I thought with all this empty commercial space around the valley, finding a smokin’ deal on just the right office would be a piece of cake. Not only did I discover that’s not the case, but I got an instant education on something called the Gallagher Amendment in our state constitution.

“At that rate per square foot, the building owner barely covers his taxes,” said Bray commercial real estate agent Sam Suplizio in response to my offer to lease space in a building that’s been vacant for nearly a year. For all the talk about needing to be business-friendly in a tough economy, that sure sounded like a whole lot of...

GV Magazine "brick" at Colorado Mesa University

What a treat! About two years ago we (Grand Valley Magazine) "purchased a brick" as part of a Colorado Mesa University Foundation fundraiser. Because we were the first corporate sponsor of the school's budding women's rugby club, we chose to acknowledge that support on our "brick."

Yesterday was the official unveiling of the brick walkway in front of the CMU Foundation office. Great timing as we are only a few months away from re-launching the magazine!

What is really cool, is that our once budding Women's Rugby Club now has a full-time coach and is an official team of the university! (Our corporate sponsorship purchased their first team jerseys, which were top of the line pro-quality, of course!) We featured the original team of tenacious women in the January 2010 issue of the magazine as photographed by the fabulous Ken Redding.

As we gear up for the re-launch of GV Magazine, we're wishing the CMU Women's Rugby Club much success in their upcoming season!

Leading indicator for our nation's economic recovery? Chicken

The whole Chick-fil-A kerfuffle last month was downright inspiring. All that passion from consumers ready to support or not support a business based solely on what that business stands for! That could be the spark needed to rebuild our stagnant economy. No government assistance needed.

What if all businesses actively touted the causes and values they stand for so that customers and prospective customers could make informed choices to spend their dollars with companies aligned with their own causes and values?

Don’t like socialism? Don’t buy from businesses that sell products manufactured in socialist nations.

Want to support American jobs? Buy only made-in-America products from businesses that sell only made-in-America products.

Want to see small local businesses thrive in our community? Don’t spend your dollars in big-box chain stores that crush the mom and pops with their low, low, low prices.

We have the right to do business when, where, and...

I've gone alcohol ink crazy!

"Chili Glut"

I made five more pieces using the alcohol inks over the past few weeks! I still can't believe how much I'm lovin' this!

Yesterday was the monthly get together of the Grand Valley Art Students League at the Art Center. I went in with a blank piece of yupo paper and my little box of inks and, admittedly, I mostly visited with the other artists and looked at the "wood" exhibit throughout the gallery for the first hour, then stared at my blank yupo for another 15 minutes before put ink to paper.

This is the piece I made, starting with chilis. I'd been hankering to use the black ink, so decided the jar had to be black.

The silver circle is an orange juice bottle top that I painted half black. I'm learning!

It was so great to have Sara Oakley and Faye Timmerman-Traudt there to answer questions! They are so terrific! We all had such fun!

This month's "practicum" was taught by Daphna Russell, who was in a particularly chipper mood because she'd just made a major sale!

"Dreaming"

My mother and I took Daphna's one-day workshop on clay sculpture back in June, so it was fun to hear her again -- she is so funny!

Overall, as always, I love the league's monthly sessions!

I painted the little tree with the purple metallic circle in it late the ohter night; I was just feeling purple and painted the underside of a Pelligrino foil top.

Then thought, hmmm, what to do? So I created the sky and tree for that little purple circle and voila!

I created the butterfly piece while praying for my daughter Melody, sending her love and strength for her continued journey through a challenging transition.

"Reaching Melody"

The butterfly was created on a separate piece of yupo, then I cut it out and added it to the background, then painted a large yogurt top purple and added that.

I call this one, "Reaching Melody."

The tryptic (three side-by-side related pieces) was created a little at a time over the past two weeks while watching the Olympics -- I couldn't help but want to paint with a sense of celebration! Celebration, energy, and lots and lots of medals of course!

"Celebration"

I call it "Celebration," but what else could it possibly be called?

We're watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics as I post this. I am so going to miss the Olympics, sigh; its been such a beautiful world peace break from all the political hostility. Sigh.

The adobe house is the result of trying to paint an adobe house. I just couldn't get the color right! I tried blending orange and latte, but the orange completely overwhelmed the latte!

"Adobe"

Wendy Videlock, who is an amazing artist who specializes in alcohol inks, told me that each ink color will behave differently. And she was so right about that!

I think that covers my latest pieces!

I don't know how much time I'm going to have to make art over the next few months, but am determined to make time as I can! There is just something so incredibly fulfilling in the creative process! Gotta do it!

Our community doesn't care about education? Hogwash.

I’ve heard several people say the same thing recently: “This community just doesn’t care about education.” And why? Because last November a majority of voters elected not to support a mil levy override for District 51 funding. I bristled the first time I heard that remark the day after the election, and it still bugs me to hear it nine months later.

First of all, the population of Mesa County is about 147,000 and has about 102,000 registered voters. A mere 21,951 voted against the override while 14,415 for it. And just because 21,951 voted against the override doesn’t mean they don’t care about education.

Of the many different reasons those folks have said they voted against it, not a single one of those was “I just don’t care about education.”

There is simply no evidence to support the claim that “this community just doesn’t care about education.” In fact, the preponderance of the evidence indicates that our community cares deeply and actively about education.

During (and despite) the rough economy, Mesa State College became Colorado Mesa University last summer. That happened only because...

The Olympic Games: Moments of peace in troubled times

I love the Olympics. Summer. Winter. Doesn’t matter. I love the games as a celebration of our shared humanity. The grace, the balance, the beauty, the rhythm and precision, the teamwork, the intensity expressed on human faces — unique faces from all over the world. It’s a showcase for the best of the best in human performance. It’s a time when I can imagine that even the birds in the sky stop pitying our wingless disability long enough to actually grant us a little respect as a species.

There are 205 nations with athletes competing in this year’s Olympic Games. In trials and rivalries ranging from individual competitions to team events, the world comes together to compete — honorably and respectfully. The Olympics give us those incredible moments when people around the world cheer together, putting aside geopolitical differences even if only for a few minutes (or for mere nano-seconds at the finish line) to complete contest after contest, awarding medal after medal.

The first Olympic Games date back to 776 BC. According to...

GV Mag Arts Leadership Team official

I'm thrilled about adding an arts leadership team for selecting the featured artists in each issue of the new Grand Valley Magazine.

Kay Crane, Sara Alyn Oakley, Terry Shepherd, and Steve Traudt will coordinate efforts in selecting the featured artists, as well as emerging artists for each issue.

All four are respected artists, teachers, and gallery managers and have a very real sense of the who-is-who and doing-what in the arts in our greater community.

Kay Crane, artist and photographer, manages the Blue Pig Gallery in Palisade and teaches classes at the Art Center in Grand Junction. Kay was part of the original GV Magazine core team as photo editor, writer and photographer. Having had the honor and pleasure to work with her for several years, Kay was first on my list! Not only is she talented, but she is wonderful to work with and an amazing team player.

Sara Alyn Oakley, artist and teacher, owns the Oakley Gallery downtown Grand Junction. She also runs the Artists' Colony and is founder of the Grand Valley Art Students League. I got to know Sara through the Students League and was completely blown away by her talent, leadership, and commitment to the arts in our community.

Terry Shepherd, artist-in-residence at the Art Center in Grand Junction is all about clay. He also teaches and has the patience of a saint when it comes to helping budding art students. I feel that Terry is the quintessential representative of the clay arts in our community.

Steve Traudt, photographer and teacher, has a reputation not only for exquisite photography, but for his approachable style. Steve taught at Colorado Mesa University (when it was Mesa State College) for 18 years. I became familiar with Steve's work when we featured him in GV Magazine. And have since learned of his friendly disposition and love of teaching.

I am so excited about this team's collaboration for selecting the featured artists/photographers and emerging artists/photographers for each issue of the new GV Magazine. We will introduce them and their signature pieces in the relaunch issue of the magazine this November. It is such an honor to have them on the team in this capacity!

Artist surprise trade and beautiful moment!

I had the most amazing thing happen Saturday! I went to the Art Center to pick up my art from the Instructor-Student exhibit and while walking through the back in the clay area, there were several clay artists working at a table, chatting. I stopped because a beautiful platter caught my eye.

Platter by Caroline McDaniel

"This is beautiful," I said to no one in particular.

"Oh thank you," the woman at the end of the table responded.

"Did you create this?" I asked, lightly touching the platter. "I love the blue in the center and all the imprints around it."

"Wow, thank you," the woman smiled, then asked, "do you want it?"

I quickly pulled my hand back from the platter. "What?"

She smiled, "do you want it?"

Tears immediately filled my eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes, no one has ever cried over one of my pieces before; I would love for you to have it."

I just stood there in stunned silence, not knowing what to do or say.

"I would be honored," I said, picking it up carefully. "Um, I'm new at this whole art-making thing, but can I make something for you? I am learning how to work with alcohol inks; what colors do you like?"

"Purple. Purple and green," she said, pointing to her purple and green plaid hat.

We exchanged contact information, and she went back to her clay and I left the Art Center with this lovely platter and completely overwhelmed by the whole incident.

"Caroline's Treehouse" by Krystyn Hartman. Alcohol ink on yupo

Her name is Caroline McDaniel. She is so cool! I worked on this piece for her over the past few days, starting of course with purple. Its similar to the "Treehouse" piece I did, which I really enjoyed doing so thought I'd try a similar piece for Caroline.

My mother and her artist friend visiting from Texas dropped by while I was working on it and her friend suggested I try painting the silver metallic circles wiht the inks, which had not occurred to me! So, I painted the circle with the orange to give a shiny sun-like effect.

I stuck a red feather over the top of the chili ristra too, to give it more texture. I do love texture! So, I'm calling this piece, "Caroline's Treehouse," and can't wait to give it to her. I hope she likes it!