In this episode I have the pleasure of speaking with Patricia Davidson, a glass artist who uses sculpting, blowing, casting and kiln forming techniques. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, she was awarded a residency at Pilchuck Glass School. During this time she was also invited to become a member of Dale Chihuly's glass blowing team in Seattle, Washington where she worked for 10 years which included extensive traveling to work in glass factories in Europe. She has been the only woman gaffer of chandeliers at Chihuly studio and while working for Chihuly she also worked as a staff member, teacher and visiting artist at Pilchuck Glass School and Pratt Fine Arts. In the interview we learn the complex science behind the different kinds of glass materials used for different purposes. Patricia has been exhibiting her art over the years both nationally and internationally and has received numerous awards and scholarships for her artwork. Her work is in several private collections and international museums as well. Although she has achieved huge success with her own art, Patricia's real passion lies in the Art Therapy programs she has developed using glass art in a way that can help transform students' and adults' lives. Hilltop Artists, a non-profit organization works with middle and high school students in Tacoma, Washington to empower them with positive youth development. Patricia also founded a program working with war veterans called Hot Shop Heroes in conjunction with the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. She shares the joy of making a difference in people's lives who have suffered from trauma. Although she just moved to Durango a few months ago Patricia has already become an important member of the art community here. You can visit her at her studio in the Smiley Building at 1309 East Third Avenue. For more information you can go to her website at www.patriciadavidsonart.com or Instagram @pattydglass.

Joining me on the program today is Leroy Garcia, founder and owner of Blue Rain Gallery which began over 30 years ago in his home in Taos, NM. The gallery which has grown and become hugely successful over the years now showcases exquisite sculpture and paintings from artists all over the country. Growing up in a large family of eleven, Leroy was used to hard physical labor, helping to build the family home. Being an entrepreneur himself, he began showing the work of Santa Clara Pueblo potter Tammy Garcia in the house which was just the beginning of his involvement in the art business. He holds an Associate of Arts and Sciences degree in business administration and management from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Today Blue Rain Gallery's main location is in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the Railyard Arts District and just two years ago opened an additional location here in Durango, Colorado at 934 Main Avenue. The Gallery showcases innovative and contemporary Native American and Southwestern art, representing over 50 artists including Preston Singletary, Rimi Yang, Jesse Littlebird, ZZ Wei and Thomas Breeze Marcus. Leroy himself is a sculpture and glass artist but mostly takes pride in maintaining strong relationships with the artists he represents in his gallery giving their work the attention and exposure it deserves.

Leroy has also developed a strong secondary market with many regular customers and collectors. The gallery has produced over 90 podcasts on their website where Leroy speaks with the artists about their process. In addition, you will be able to read an up-to-date blog page. Also online you can find the Blue Rain Print Shop showcasing beautiful gifts and accessories highlighting many of the artists' work. The gallery hosts opening receptions every First Friday of each month in Durango. To see the artists' work he represents and to find out more you can visit blueraingallery.com. Visit them on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Joining me in today's episode is long time Durango local Heather Hinsley, an entrepreneur and accomplished "Chef Artist" who creates edible nutritious art. She is the owner of Delicious Details Edible Nutritious Art which will have its Grand Opening at the Smiley Building this Friday December 6th during Noel Night, an annual holiday celebration. Heather has a certification in nutrition and enjoys giving instruction and coaching classes in healthy options in tasty artwork that you can eat as nutritious desserts. The ingredients she sources for Delicious Details are sustainable and organic that can contribute to overall well-being using the finest raw ingredients to create a delicious and healthy alternative in desserts that are free from gluten, grains, dairy, eggs, soy and refined sugars. Her first business endeavor in Durango began as an espresso cart on Main Avenue where she was discovered by the manager of Aramark at Fort Lewis College who insisted that she move her cart into the CUB at the college where her business thrived. She later owned the Cake Cafe which also served as a coffee bar where in addition to creating beautiful and healthy wedding cakes she created espresso drinks and delicious cinnamon buns. Among her many careers she managed Manna Soup Kitchen's culinary program for a year fulfilling her desire to be of service. She also worked with Joshua Hoffman at the local company Sarvaa Superfood and continues a business relationship with the them carrying the products in her new raw food bakery. As well as being a chef and visual artist she is also an exquisite writer and in 2023 she published a memoir including recipes called Delicious Details: Memoir With Family Recipes. Her memoir which is culturally inspired and beautifully written is of her journey through family trauma and recovery. Heather found comfort during her difficult childhood in the natural world, animals, visual art and culinary nutrition for enhancing recovery and facilitating healing. She continues to be influenced by her ancestry combining Sicilian Heritage with her Indigenous First Nation Mi'kmaq roots inspiring her culinary art which has become an intimate connection with food. Her book can be purchased locally at Maria's Bookshop and White Rabbit Books and Curiosities as well as online at Barnes and Noble. You can find Heather and Delicious Details at 1309 East Third Avenue, Durango, Colorado in The Smiley Building above the Smiley cafe on the Second Floor. To find out more you can also visit her website at deliciousdetailsdurango.com

Also on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram

In this episode I'm excited to be talking about two of the upcoming plays presented by the Merely Players Theatre Company in Durango, Colorado which was founded in 1994 by Charles Ford and his wife Mona-Wood Patterson bringing professional level theatre to the community.

Joining me today on the program are three company members, Zachary Chiero, Geoff Johnson and Charles Ford. We will be talking about the 2024 Holiday Rep Theatre presenting The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane which will be directed by Zachary Chiero, who is Artistic Associate of the company. The play which is about the adventures of a china rabbit is adapted from the book by Kate Dicamillo. The performances begin December 5th. Also joining us is actor Geoff Johnson who will be doing a one-man show playing 18+ characters in Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, a reimagined story based on the Christmas classic by Tom Mula and directed by Mona Wood-Patterson. This play will be opening on December 13. In addition to co-founding Merely Players, Charles Ford who is Technical Director of the group and a master backstage technician will be doing the backstage tech for both plays including puppets for Edward Tulane. Zachary has worn many hats as actor, choreographer and director and has spent the last 12 years working with many theaters in the Philadelphia area. Goeff worked with Charles and Mona in the Durango High School Theatre program before going to Fort Lewis College where he studied in their theatre program. To buy tickets and for more information visit their website at www.merelyplayers.org. All performances are at THE MERELY PLAYERS UNDERGROUND at 789 TECH CENTER DRIVE, DURANGO

Performance times for The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane are

DECEMBER 5,6,7,18,19 & 20 AT 7:00PM

DECEMBER 8 & 21 AT 2:00PM

TICKETS are $32

Performance times for Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol are

DECEMBER 13,14,17 & 21 AT 7:00PM

DECEMBER 15 & 22 AT 2:00PM

TICKETS are $32-36

Today I'm excited to be speaking with Crystal Hartman about her upcoming solo exhibit at Studio & Gallery in Durango, Colorado titled There Was Always The Forest. Crystal is known for her stunning fine art paintings, sculpture and jewelry. Growing up in Durango "behind a jeweler's bench at the mouth of a canyon in SW Colorado" gave her plenty of opportunity to spend time exploring in the wilderness that she loves. Her art is her connection to nature but also to who we are as beings. She is currently living in Urbana, Illinois with her husband and working in her home studio there, creating new pieces of art that keep evolving. She has won many awards for her work and has been featured in Art Jewelry Magazine among others. Her artwork has been exhibited all over the world at the Center for Contemporary Art, in Barcelona, Spain, The National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Boulder, Colorado and at the Denver International Airport to name just a few of the places. She began carving wax, cutting stones and forming metal as a young child and apprenticed in Durango with Stanton Engelhart beginning at the age of 14 until college where she earned her BFA from the University of Colorado in Boulder. The work she is bringing to this exhibit is abstract capturing the magic of the forest as a place we go to heal and meditate. She includes some sculpture made out of wooden blocks as well. Her show at Studio & opens this Friday November 15th and runs through November 23rd. The opening reception is from 5-9pm on November 15th and there will also be an artist talk on Saturday November 23rd at 2pm. You can see some of her work on her website at www.crystalhartman.com. She is also on Facebook and Instagram @crystalhartman.

Join me for a conversation with local artist Ted Moore a man of many talents as a creator of woodwork and fine art, a musician and a teacher. Ted currently has an exhibit of his fine art work at SPACE Gallery in Denver, Colorado. The show is a two person exhibit that he shares with Anna Elis Johnson and is titled GROUNDED which runs through Saturday November 2nd. Ted's own body of work is titled "The Alphabet of Trees" which highlights the storytelling nature of trees over the centuries. His artwork is inspired by landscape, culture and the history of the Southwest where we live, using wood panels, gold leaf and ink paint to create these unique and stunning pieces. Ted has an MBA and Phd in Medieval studies from The University of Toronto and an MFA from the Maine College of Art and Design. Ted's style of artwork is rich in meaning using religious iconography in a secular way in historical types of cabinetry including triptychs, retablos, reliquaries and cabinets of curiosity. In this way he makes the mundane into the extraordinary mixing the traditional with contemporary aesthetics. His studio is next to his home in Hesperus, Colorado where he has lived for 8 years, an area that provides much of the inspiration for his work close to La Plata canyon where he can find the wise old trees and stumps in different stages of decay. In addition to all this Ted is a professional musician and drumming teacher at iAM Music and a member of the band Mojo Birds described as an eclectic flock of songwriters playing Funky Modern Roots Music. There is a balance in finding time to work on his fine art pieces during the summer months when he is traveling with his band. Recently though the Mojo Birds has been given a great opportunity to record an album in Nashville, Tennessee. To hear some of the songs recorded live you can visit their website at www.mojobirds.com and to see Ted's beautiful fine art work you can visit his website at tedmoorewoodworkandart.com. Also find him on Instagram and Facebook @tedmoorewoodworkandart

Joining me in the studio today is Dr. Holly Quist, a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music here at Fort Lewis College. She recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance and pedagogy at The University of Wisconsin in Madison with a minor in musicology. I'm excited to be speaking with Holly about the Artists in Residence program and the two musicians she is bringing to Durango. Both musicians are joining us today as well, that's Dr. Kelariz Keshavarz and Brian Seaton. Kelariz is an Assistant Professor of Flute at Western Carolina University. She is also an award winning solo flute player dedicated to teaching and nurturing the next generation of musicians empowering students to explore, question and create. Brian is an active performing oboe player, he's a concerto soloist, chamber and symphony musician who performs throughout the United States, Canada and Asia. He has a Master of Music degree from Florida State University. He is also the owner of Reedhouse, specializing in the service, sales and design of woodwind instruments. Until this year he was an instructor of oboe and chamber music at Western Carolina University. We speak to both musicians about their commitment to teaching music students helping them to improve their skills but also to reach a diverse group, bringing music to them. Kelariz speaks about her musical childhood in Iran and her recent project called "New Waves" showcasing a diverse selection of over 50 new compositions for solo flute and also highlighting contemporary Iranian composers which draw inspiration from the rich history of music making in Persia.

This Thursday October 24 from 1:00 - 2:30 there will be a Masterclass at the Roshong recital hall where Kelariz and Brian listen to and instruct three Fort Lewis College music students. This event is free.

Friday October 25 is the recital with Kelariz playing flute, Brian playing the oboe and Holly on piano. Tickets are $15.

Both of these events are open to the public.

To find out more about the visiting musicians you can visit their websites at www.kelariz.com and www.reedhousenc.com

Join me for an inspiring and informative conversation with local artist and long time Durango, Colorado resident Chyako Hashimoto. As an an artist she is a potter, pottery teacher and gardener. Chyako has been the owner of YUNOMI Pottery Studio for the last thirteen years which is located in the Smiley Building. She is a native of Japan but found her love of pottery making when she came to America to attend Fort Lewis College. She expresses that her goal has always been to "dedicate your life to something you love". Chyako has studied with many master potters and exhibited her work in Durango, Steamboat Springs and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Between 2000 to 2004 she was an artist in residence at Laloba Ranch Clay Center in Steamboat Springs. In addition to creating beautiful and functional work, she gets much of her joy from teaching wheel throwing classes in her studio, with a maximum of six students in each class creating an intimate setting. There are also monthly memberships available which include the usage of over twenty beautiful house-made glazes, bisque, and glaze firing. For many years she has studied and taught mindful meditation which she incorporates into her pottery classes, beginning each class with a short mindfulness meditation. Chyako has created the YUNOMI studio as "a small clay community where you can meet and develop friendships with likeminded people while finding and nurturing your artist within". She's grateful to be able to share her passion with many people through the studio. For more information about her classes and memberships visit the website www.yunomipotterystudio.com. You can also find her on Instagram @chyakopot.

Today we are talking about an exciting event which is the the Biggest Little Art Show in Durango titled "Super Amazing Extraordinary". I am joined in the studio by three of the artists, Cindy Coleman, Miki Harder and Elizabeth Kinahan to talk about the upcoming exhibit. The show will feature small works by a total of six local artists which will also include Mariah Kaminsky, Amy Vaclav and Allison Leigh Smith. This all started in the summer of 2009 with the help of artist Heather Leavitt Martinez who was also the gallery director of the Durango Arts Center at the time. The first year of the exhibit happened at Miki Harder's house which was redecorated for the one day show and was so successful that it became an annual event for many years including shows in Santa Fe and Colorado Springs. After a few years' hiatus the "Art Show Returns with Even More Amazingness"! If you love animals both domestic and wild as well images of our natural surroundings you will find plenty of these beautiful eye-catching art pieces that you will want to take home, so come early! In this conversation we also learn more about the home studios where these artists make their creations come alive and their sources of inspiration. There will be paintings, prints, notecards, ornaments and gifts for sale for one day only on this Saturday Oct 12 from 10am - 6pm. There will be refreshments served. All of this happens at the Neuman Building 801B Main Avenue downstairs, formerly the location of Rose Duds.

For additional information you can call (970) 946-7660.

Join me for a conversation about the upcoming performance at the Fort Lewis College Main Stage Theatre titled The Thanksgiving Play a satirical comedy written by Larissa FastHorse, a Native American playwright. She began her career in Native American film before becoming a playwright and this play made it onto the list of one of the top 10 most produced plays in the US. The play which is directed by Felicia Meyer, Artistic Director and Chair of the Performing Arts Department is mostly student driven, and joining me today are students Maddie Krause as stage manager and Katelyn Bowie a musical theatre major and actor in the play. Also in the studio with me this morning is James Padilla, Fort Lewis College Theatre Tech Director. Maddie shares with us her job responsibilities as stage manager which include coordinating the rehearsal schedules, lighting, sound, timing, cues and maintaining props. The students are also responsible for costume designs. Katelyn who plays the part of Logan in the production grew up in a theatrical household in southern California and began acting at the age of eight. The play is a comedic satire, the premise being that a group of four well-meaning but culturally insensitive white theater artists attempt to create a Thanksgiving Play for Native American Heritage month for elementary school children. Unfortunately they fail miserably in the process of struggling to tell the "true" story of Thanksgiving and include the Native American perspective. Felicia Meyer, the director, will give a pre-show talk to put the play in context and also after the performance will offer an optional discussion between some of the cast/crew and the audience about themes raised in the play. There'll be a trigger warning at the theater as well as on the ticketing link, and they don't recommend the production for people under 14. Larissa FastHorse is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and is now based in Santa Monica, California. She is a 2020 MacArthur Fellow, award winning writer/choreographer, and co-founder of Indigenous Direction, the nation's leading consulting company for Indigenous arts and audiences.

The play runs from October 4-6 and 10-12 at 7:30pm at the Main Stage Theatre. For tickets visit the website durangoconcerts.com.