Redstone Art Festival: A labor of love

REDSTONE — Anyone who has visited Redstone might liken the tranquil, Rocky Mountain setting to the composition in a painting.

The scenery is certainly no stranger to photography.

For the 19th year, Redstone’s distinctive landscape — featuring Chair Mountain rising high above the rushing Crystal River and the historic Redstone Inn — is the backdrop to the Labor Day Weekend Art Show. The annual fundraising event for the Redstone Art Foundation is the Crystal Valley’s premier display of art and philanthropy set in nature.

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“Our volunteers put in hundreds of hours getting the tent ready, placing the lights and panels and all the other little details that go in to producing a show,” said Betty Bradley, Redstone Art Foundation president.

“The fun part begins when the art starts arriving. Each year, it is a new and exciting show with some new artists and some old favorites. We love to see where the creative mind has traveled and how the artists are expressing themselves.”

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Along with Redstone’s picturesque setting, another distinctive characteristic of the Labor Day Weekend Art Show is the support of the Jack Roberts Scholarship, which encourages young artists to pursue creative studies.

“The Jack Roberts Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to further the education of Roaring Fork High School seniors who wish to study art,” Bradley said. “The amount of the scholarship has fluctuated over the ensuing years in direct relationship to the success of the Labor Day Weekend Art Show. The Redstone Art Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with all volunteers, so all profits from the show go to the scholarship fund.”

Bradley, who serves on the art show’s committee in several functions, said the scholarship’s first recipient was Tia Smilak. The 2014 winner is recent RFHS graduate Abriah Wofford (see story on B7).

“This year, the RAF actually awarded four scholarships. The top recipient was Abriah, with Ticah Burrows, Sasha Williams and Isabel Mata also receiving an award,” Bradley said. “Subsequent winners of the scholarship have been Olivia Britz, Kate Thayn, Theodore Pulver, Kristina Sudds, Annie Tempest, Rebecca Roeber, Michael Black and Savanna Phibbs.”

Along with supporting the next generation of artists on the Western Slope, the Labor Day Weekend Art Show represents assorted works in a range of mediums, including photography, pottery, pen and ink, pastels, watercolor, acrylic, oil, glass jewelry and more. The show opens today with an artists’ reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on the grounds of the Redstone Inn, 82 Redstone Blvd.

“The quality of art is so diverse, there is something for everyone’s taste,” Bradley said. “Our show is a nice exclamation mark on a beautiful summer season.”

The Labor Day Weekend Art Show continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, with work on display from professional Colorado artists including: Charlene Miller, watercolor, pen and ink; Cindy Cole, beaded jewelry; Diane Kenney, pottery; Jackie Dearborn, watercolor; Will Handville, iron work; Ann Leiber, watercolor; Lesa Russo, photography; Aundrea Ware, three-dimensional collage; Kyle Samuelson, historic oils; Mark Simpkins, oil; Robert Kausch, photography; Jim Hontz, photography; Sue Hontz, acrylic and oils; Pam Wadsworth, diachroic glass jewelry and objects; Ida Burnaman, oils, watercolor and pastels; Karen Alldredge, baskets; Carol Murphy, pastels, watercolor and prints; Libby Riger, oils; Larry White, birdhouses, book cases and furniture; Judy Milne, pastel, watercolor, prints and cards; Dave Moore, turned wood; Marylou Felton, pastels, oils and acrylics; Jan Legersky, ceramics; Lynne Anderson, raku pottery; Roberta Stokes, acrylics; Roberta McGowan, photography; Mary Cervantes, pastels and clay earrings; Eliza Rogan, face painting; Kelly Grace Field, stone birds and driftwood shadowboxes; Jan Lewis, pastels of dogs; Ricky Lively, aviation and western oil paintings; Theresa St. Laurent, acrylics; and Natalie Terrell, eclectic, retro mixed-media colorist.

It also features events for children throughout the afternoon Saturday at the Redstone Art Gallery and demonstrations by Terrell, Milne, Kausch, photography, Burnaman, Hontz, Miller, Riger and Alldredge. Today’s opening also showcases live music by Michael Farrell, an instrumentalist, composer and visual artist.

Art is all around this weekend in Redstone.