Day#7--local art or aren't we lucky

we here in fort collins are blessed with a new and expanding art studio/gallery space for mixed media and traditional artists...poudre river arts center is just at the railroad tracks north of town ...if you are local you know that the north side of town on college has traditionally been filled with lower rent businesses like auto shops, mexican pasterias and the bowling alley...not bad businesses but just cheaper rents and with a bit of a run down look...the arts center has been successful in bringing alternative art and its makers to the upper north, not gentrifying it but accenting it with the energy the arts bring...

the center itself has cathedral ceilings with a rustic wood interior that gives it a feel of a western state gallery...amber lovelace, a mixed media artist rents studio space there... i think her dolls are indicative of the trajectory women's current assembla'ge has been taking--crowns, party hats and watch parts are ubiquitous right now...however, i do like her dolls' clay faces that are hand pressed, the articulated limbs and her use of the simple box form for the body...over all her dolls are simple but engaging...here is a sample...



also found in the center is one of my fave art supply stores, the artist's nook...now i have a lot of supplies already in my cache and i am always on the lookout for rusty things...in fact last fall i parked my car outside of town and walked along the railroad tracks and found a plethora (don't you love this word?) of rusty bits (as opposed to nasty bits for you monty python fans) so i usually don't buy my assembla'ge detris, flotsum and jestum....

a new tenant there at the center is the colorado coalition of artist or Cocoa...an art organization for and by artists..

up next: revelations and evolutions ...