The mountain communities accessible throughout the Peak to Peak area are renowned for their eclectic and talented residents. The artistry is surprising to those who are new to the area and can still amaze longtime residents that think they’ve seen it all. One location that should be on the short list of places to visit is The Glass Tipi Gallery, an art gallery with a cheery storefront that beckons to folks traveling along the main street into Ward.
The Glass Tipi Gallery has been in business since Greta Balzer officially opened it in 2014. Balzer, who has lived in Ward her entire life, describes herself as “the owner, curator, everything be-all of the gallery.”
It provides a place for local artists to display their work. “There are probably thirty to thirty-five artists within five to ten miles of Ward, she said, “and another thirty to thirty-five from along the front range, Pueblo to Loveland.”
The gallery displays a variety of mediums. “It’s a pretty eclectic group of art,” said Balzer.
“There’s sculpture, jewelry, paintings, photography. More in print form than the photography world… quite a bit of that, pottery, and all kinds of unique items that are made by locals that don’t fit in a category.”
She said she had gained ownership of the building when a close friend of hers, who had owned it previously, passed away. The family had called to offer to sell the building to her. “It was before things had blown up, and it was a decent price, and I was luckily able to purchase the building,” she said, “That made it so I could open a tiny tiny gallery in a tiny tiny town that not many people know about.”
Balzer said they just reached out to her one day. “My friend Jack who lived here, his previous wife, Rosemary [Gahn], she was well known in the art community in this area. She had opened this place, very unofficially, as a small co-op art thing in the early seventies, when I was a little kid, kid, kid. And she ended up passing on… in the early eighties. Her husband Jack ended up staying on, he was into art and cars,” she said, “but Rosemary was a pretty neat artist, and was well loved by the community, and the energy of the building really blends for an art community to continue on.”
On the back of the building a glass tipi was built into its structure. “That’s what I named it after, the glass tipi that Jack built into it in the early nineties,” she said. “It’s withheld a lot of windstorms for being a glass tipi built at nine thousand feet.”
As an artist, she credits her mother with much of her success. Her mother, Carol Jenkins, whom she paints with, has a fine arts degree, and has helped Balzer to become a successful artist in her own right. “I’ve done a lot of learning from my mom. She’s been a wonderful mentor, we share a studio,” she said, “she was trained in Boston, at the Boston School of Fine Arts. She did graduate from there as a fine artist… I’ve been very lucky to be raised by my mom. I’ve got good genes, good art genes.”
Balzer changes out her artwork three to four times a year, typically with the seasons, but she says that the pandemic has affected her overall schedule. With so few visitors able to see her recent showings, she has let them stay up longer to give more visitors a chance to see the pieces.
One notable artist that The Glass Tipi Gallery exhibits is an artist from Jamestown, Emma Hardy. “She’s a world class artist. She just won a lifetime achievement award in Luca, Italy,” said Balzer.
“I’ve worked with Emma for years, and years, and years. She’s an incredible artist with an incredible amount of talent that is not as well-known as it should be. I’m her sole gallery right now, which is crazy.”
Other world class artists that Balzer displays at the gallery include Scott Lancashire, who competed in BP Portrait Awards in the last year, which is one of the most prestigious portrait recognition awards in the world. The Glass Tipi Gallery is the sole gallery representing his work as well.
Other artists featured include local artist Heidi Kummli, who specializes in fine beadwork and jewelry, and regional artist, Teresa Vito, who recently designed the Pueblo Chile license plate.
Sometimes the hidden treasures of the mountain communities are difficult to find. The Glass Tipi Gallery is one of those unassuming treasures, one that Greta Balzer would be more than happy to help guide you through the lights and colors swirling inside.
The Glass Tipi Gallery is located at 55 Utica Street, Ward, Colorado, 80481. A complete listing of artists currently showing can be viewed at http://theglasstipigallery.com. For more information visit their website or call 303-459-0376.
