"Environments: Pressed," an exhibition to benefit the Rocky Mountain Land Library

I am delighted to announce a solo exhibition of my linocuts at the Denver Architecture Collaborative.

Environments: Pressed

Opening reception: First Friday, May 1, 5:00-9:00pm

Denver Architecture Collaborative

863 Santa Fe Drive

In the heart of the Santa Fe Arts District

A portion of the proceeds will support the Rocky Mountain Land Library, an organization near and dear to my heart. The RMLL is the brain child of Jeff Lee and Ann Martin, who envision a residential research and retreat center on the Buffalo Peaks Ranch in South Park, Colorado.

I've mentioned the RMLL before, but this time I have two spectacular links to which I can send you to learn more.

The first is this great article which appeared just last week in the New York Times: Envisioning a Colorado Haven for Readers, Nestled Amid Mountains of Books.

The second is the Rocky Mountain Land Library's own website.

I'll be leading a field sketching/illustrated journal workshop at the Buffalo Peaks site in September, but in the meantime please join us on May 1 if you're in the Denver area.

Denver-area peeps! Join me next weekend at the ASLD Summer Art Market!

This will be my first time sharing linocuts at the Art Students League of Denver's Summer Art Market. I'll be in booth #40, on Third Street between Grant and Logan. (Three blocks east of Broadway.) Come by, say hi, and share some lino-love!

Fieldwork Fishday, or, Let Sleeping Camels Lie

A few days ago I had to make the three-hours-each-way drive to Denver to deliver some (already sold!) work to Abend Gallery. Ordinarily if I need to go to the Front Range I try to make a multi-day journey out of it, but there just wasn't time for that this week. Still, it's a lot of driving for a 20-minute errand, so before I headed back I stopped in at the zoo for a quick sketching session. (The zoo is 5 minutes from the gallery, so at least ONE thing about the day was convenient!)

Seahorses, arowana, and that wacky toadfish.

I had my heart set on drawing birds and discovered once I was in the gate that the avian facilities are closed for remodeling. (sigh) Good for the birds, disappointing to the would-be bird sketcher.

My second choice was the tropics building. Fish and reptiles and a few other goodies. Argh. Too many people! But I managed to spend a few minutes with the ultra-bizarre-looking oyster toadfish before feeding time started and my semi-cooperative model became completely UN-cooperative.

I wandered through the new-since-the-last-time-I-was-there elephant habitat, spent some time struggling with giraffe shapes, and finally found a quiet, shady corner where I could sit and watch camels sleep. Sort of. They're surprisingly fidgety but I would be, too, if I had a habit of resting with my neck twisted all around like that. Silly things.

Dromedary camels. You know about the whole B=bactrian, D= dromedary thing,
right? One D-shaped hump= dromedary. Two B-shaped humps= bactrian.

Drowsy camels made me feel sleepy, not a great condition for someone with another 3-hour drive ahead of her, so I gave up and fled the city before rush hour started. Not the most satisfying drawing experience ever, but you know what they say: A bad day of drawing is better than just about anything else. Or something like that.

Whew! That was fun!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out for the opening of "Intimate Landscapes" at the Dos Chappell Bathhouse on Sunday! A steady stream of visitors made for a fun and slightly surreal evening as multiple lifetimes converged. Friends I've known from the age of 12 were there, as was a new friend I met only a week ago! High school and college friends, decade-in-town-of-Golden friends, Art Students League friends, raptor foundation friends, ranching friends, Artposium friends, bird observatory friends, brand-new sent-by-Salida-friends friends, and even a brave blog lurker who– surprise, surprise! lives in the neighborhood and had the gumption to show up and introduce herself. (Hi, Martha!)

Taking a seat at the end of the evening
with my longtime friend Sharon.

Yes, thanks to all of you for showing up AND for having the good grace to smile when my pattern-recognizing brain cells short-circuited from so many people out of context. There were a few times when I had to just stop and shake my head to figure out where I was.

Thanks also to the fine folks who are now giving good homes to linocuts. It delights and honors me that you're letting my work be part of your daily lives.

The only disappointment is discovering that the person I saw out of the corner of my eye snapping photos was not David. Between us we only have 3 shots of the show! I'll get more the next time we go up to Denver, but in the meantime... if you were wielding a camera and got some good pictures, can you send 'em along?

The show is up now until July 27th, and if you're in the Wash Park (Denver) neighborhood you're welcome to stop in during regular business hours, Monday-Friday, 9-5. It's worth having a look at the building, too... the front room has some great photos of this Craftsman-era bathhouse, pre-restoration.

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado headquarters
Dos Chappell Bathhouse, Washington Park
600 S. Marion Parkway, Denver