The Second Annual Gilpin Art Studio tour was one of the few

scheduled events for last weekend that was not cancelled. It was a

brilliant two days for those who joined the self-guided tour that led them

to back roads they have never been on, to studios that displayed work some

of which has never been seen before.

The best part of the tour is seeing how and where the artists

work, how their art melds with the decor of their home, how they choose the

rooms with the best light, the soft, non-shadow producing ambient light

that sneaks into the corners and reflects on glass and tile and counter

tops. One can feel how much a part of their life is contained in the rooms

in which they work. An artist always feels more at ease showing work in an

atmosphere they know rather than an exhibition in a unfamiliar building.

The artist is in his or her element and eager to share their creative

process.

The Gilpin Art Studio Tour begins in mid-county. In Rollinsville

the Wild West Mercantile was to have hosted Jon Parker's Chain Saw Art, but

he moved out before the tour. Tim Underwood, the mercantile's owner,

scrambled to find another artist and lucked out with Jerome Schalz, who

works in a shop in mid-county. Schalz is a log furniture artist and his

work is not only uniquely glowing and natural but it looks so comfortable

one wants to flop onto the polished wood, lean back and watch the world go

by. His swinging bench and armchairs were built for a a good-sized person

and Underwood said the furniture fit him just fine.

The second studio in Rollinsville was found on Patricia Ave where

Tanya Unger displayed her mixed media work. She says she uses aromatherapy

as part of a healing process as she composes her three-dimensional abstract

but recognizable creations. "I sit with essential oils and develop the

artwork from the feelings that emerge. At one point I felt stuck and I

talked to an aromatherapist who suggested lime oil, which helps people

looking for new beginnings."

Tanya developed a process for combining three dimensional objects

on a two dimensional canvas using a balloon. She forms the shape and covers

the balloon with plaster of Paris coated gauze. After 10 years of dryness,

the scent of the oils recovered her desire to express herself. She had been

an artist since she was 16 years old and relished getting back into the

studio.

Her work is hauntingly rich with meaning that is wrapped into the

objects on the canvas. She chooses her color according to what she is

saying in the piece. One may find her work on Facebook but, she says, it

is awkward to sell in three-dimensional form. She offers prints and cards

on line.

A large eyeball is startling realistic. An up close look reveals

an iris made of tiger's eye beads soaked in sandalwood oil and emphasized

by eyelashes of copper filaments. In another work she buries 20 sapphires

in the juniper branches. Her work provokes the viewer to look closer and

deeper for the surprise objects that lend their aroma and aesthetic into

the parts of the whole that tell many stories.

Heading south, looking for a Highway 119 address, one discovers

Gail Watson's Birdwood Lodge Bed and Breakfast which opened a year ago.

Tiered gardens and lounging patios spread out from the building, a large

two-winged structure at the end of wide stairs. Surrounding the lodge is an

atmosphere of rustic elegance, with everything seeming to in exactly the

right place.

The center of the building contains Watson's living quarters and a

suite with a private patio is located on each side, offering a sublime

retreat from the world, a perfect place for visitors wishing to feel the

serenity of a mountain hideaway.

Watson says let me show you my press room and upon entering one is

stopped in awe at the large shiny press, a dark red wheel facing the entry.

This is her prized press, a 1889 Chandler and Price, complete with polymer

plates and a platen. She purchased the press in 1989, 100 years from its

creation. She received a grant to obtain bookmaking equipment. With this

antique press, Watson creates artists' books, weeding invitations and

greeting cards.

As visitors arrived, almost every one of them exclaimed, "I never

knew this was here."

The next stop was up Lump Gulch Road, to Rebeccah Joyce's quilting

studio. She has lived in the log house at the end of a dirt road for six

years and set up her long arm quilting machine. Her quilts are diverse in

subject and works of art in essence. Fairies that would brighten a girl's

bedroom. They are vividly bright and cheerful, a work of art that would

enhance any room. Her catalog of quilts may be found at Mountain Joy

Quilts.com.

Continuing south, one arrives at Roy's Last Shot, a well-known,

popular restaurant that is an ongoing work in progress. A picture of the

original building depicts a one-room shack. Now the building is an

architectual wonder, with turrets and decks, addition upon addition and

with plans for many more. Inside, the dining rooms are filled with Roy

Stewart's artwork, paintings of native lore, cowboys and animals, all with

a touch of humor and clarity. Of course, one can't miss his 9,000 plus shot

glasses from all over the world, sparkling in windows, on shelves, behind

glass, creating a collage of reflections and words.

Roy points to a painted slab of wood, his latest work named

Colorado Christmas depicting two hippie buses and a pine forest infested

with marijuana plants. As the dining rooms filled with patrons, the outside

deck was filled with the bluesy sound of G'Jai Jook Joint band delivering

powerful emotionally charged blues. The scope of Roy's imagination knows no

boundaries. You just never know what he is going to come up with next.

The next stop up the road was Dorothy Connors Pottery Studio and

one look at the shelves and counters filled with clay and brushes and

colors and bowls and mugs, you knew she was serious about her work. Her

summer schedule was filled with art shows and fairs and she is constantly

replenishing her inventory. Her winter projects are works in progress.

Dot is a former elementary school teacher, working in a bilingual

school in the projects. Science was her subject and she did this for 12

years. She had always been interested in pottery. When she took pottery

classes in college, she would lose her sense of time. "Being a potter is so

good for me, otherwise I would be cranky 24 hours a day."

A turn onto Service Berry Lane brings one to a garage filled with

light, most of which glowed through dark moose on paper shades. Here we

find Willie and Roger Lickey, a husband and wife team, both woodworkers.

The Lickeys have lived in Gilpin County for eight years.

Willy said that when they moved in, the movers liked Roger's

walking stick so much that they decided to make more. They went so fast

that the Lickeys just kept making them and then branched out to lamps and

shelves and just about anything that can be crafted out of branches. "I

guess you could say we rescue wood," said Willy.

The tour closed at 4 p.m. and time allowed for one more stop

before it was too late. Dana Jones has her studio on Meadowlake Drive. Her

rooms are covered in quilts of all sizes and design. Jones was the Gilpin

County Library Artist in Residence last summer, teaching people of all ages

how to design and construct a quilt. She has been a quilter for 10 years

and teaches at quilt shops. She has also been the editor-in-chief of

Quilters' Newsletter.

Jones sat on a couch with a half-finished quilt spread over her

lap, squares and circles and triangles dancing all over the room,

surrounded by shelves full of fabric, different textures and patterns just

waiting to be turned into a work of art.

By then it was too late to visit the artists' studios in the

southern part of the county. The Gilpin Library brings in new artists and

art all the time; Bambi Hansen, a candlemaker, creates one of a kind

candles that make perfect gifts for just about anyone; the Gilpin Clay

Studio in the Gilpin County Recreation Center proudly displays the work of

the students and masters; Gigi Lamont exhibits her Raku art sculptures a

combination of earthy ceramic and metallic pieces; Forrest Anderson

exhibited his Wabi Pottery in Virginia Canyon.

Watercolor artist Virginia Unseld is well known in the area and

has participated in shows all over the Front Range. She has chosen as the

artist-in-residence at Caribou Ranch where she will paint for six days. She

was selected as one of five artists to be offered a residence at the

Caribou Ranch Open Space. Over 90 applications were submitted. She was told

she should be proud of herself. "There was strong competition in all

mediums."

The artist-in-residence program allows each artist and one

accompanying adult to stay one week in a restored barn at Caribou Ranch to

work on their craft. Each artist is required to donate a piece of work to

Boulder County that is representative of their stay at the ranch. This work

will be displayed in a county building.

Unseld has painted western landscapes since she moved to Colorado

in 1978. She is a signature member of the Colorado Pastel Society and the

Colorado Watercolor Society. She taught art in public schools for 30 years

and built a studio at her home in Gilpin County. She now paints full time

and has won numbers Best of Show awards and Award of Excellence from

Southwest Art Magazine.

Her pastel paintings capture the dramatic light of early morning

and evening as it plays on the Colorado landscape.

On October 5,6,12 and 13, the artists of Magnolia will hold their

Open Studios Tour from noon to six each day. The work of Vivian Long, David

Bahr, Richard Hurst, Marilyn Pinaud and Steve Homsher will be exhibited in

their studios.