Hello friends!

My husband, Ron, daughter Jasmine and me

My family and I arrived safely to Snowmass Village, CO on Sunday afternoon after a 4 hour drive from Denver.  We decided to take the scenic route and exited the highway at Copper Mountain, drove through Leadville, CO (the highest incorporated city in the US at 10,430 feet above sea level) and on over Independence Pass into the town of Aspen and then Snowmass Village which is about another 10 miles.  Independence Pass is the highest paved pass in the US at 12,095 feet high and is not for the faint of heart since it is a very narrow 2 lane road with no guard rails and plenty of evidence of falling rocks.  It was much slower going, but worth the drive for its scenery.  All I can say is breathtakingly  gorgeous.

Independence Pass is just above the tree line

Back in Denver, we’ve been enjoying a heat wave in the 90′s and are on track to break some records for the most consecutive days above 90.  Imagine our delight when at the top of Independence Pass, we enjoyed temps around 48 – 50° F!   It feels gloriously cool in the mountains.  Even in Snowmass the high during the day is around 80° and lows around 49° at night which feels heavenly to our previously overheated bodies.

When we arrived in Snowmass, I dropped into Anderson Ranch to get the keys to our accommodations and to meet Sarabeth Berk, the children’s education coordinator, for a short meeting and overview of the facilities.  All I can say, is that I feel spoiled and incredibly lucky to be teaching here this summer.

After dinner on Sunday, I returned to “The Ranch” and attended a slide show lecture featuring artists Posey Bacopoulos and Daniel Essig, both of whom are instructing adult classes at Anderson Ranch this week.  I really enjoyed the lecture and slide shows presented by both artists.  It was a great opportunity to hear an artist give a talk, just in case I ever need to do one myself someday.  Both had different styles which were interesting and well presented.

It was super exciting to hear a well known ceramic artist speak in person about their work – I’ve seen Posey’s work in many books, magazines and of course other websites.  She works with low fire red earthenware in the maiolica tradition which I’m not necessarily interested in doing myself, but appreciate for its painterly qualities.  I enjoyed hearing about her process and evolution from hobby potter and former school teacher to professional artist with a signature style.  I really appreciated the challenges of setting up a studio in NYC and learning about the evolution of her pots too, since I feel like I’m sort of at a turning point myself.

Daniel Essig who hails from NC crafts some pretty darn amazing work too – he makes artist’s books that are really more like free standing sculptures.  He started out as a fine art photographer and slowly turned to wood working and book making.  Many of his books contain secret compartments and are just amazingly detailed from the Ethiopian stitching to the hand finishes and small details.  He has also collaborated on projects with other artists, including ceramicists and wood artisans.

Snow in summer – we even saw some people snowboarding on some of the larger patches

Overall, I’m incredibly inspired and this trip couldn’t have come at a better time for me!  I keep pinching myself that I was offered this opportunity to teach here – even at the children’s level.  I read the bios of all the children’s instructors and I must be the newest instructor with the least amount of credentials and experience.  Truly, it must have been a leap of faith for Sarabeth to ask me to instruct here.

I taught my first class yesterday afternoon and have 13 children ranging in ages from 9 – 12.  I wasn’t sure what grades this ages group represented, but found out that they’re 3rd graders up to 7th grade including 1 child entering 8th grade in the fall.  Most of my students are around 11 which is a terrific age since they’re fairly confident in their art making skills.  This allows me enough time to assist those who need more attention and I am feeling comfortable that we will finish our projects in a timely fashion on Friday.  As a bonus, the kids who take classes at Anderson Ranch are all really interested in art.  I have some local students and about half from out of state who are visiting the area.

We do have wireless internet access here at the condo we’re staying in, though at first I couldn’t find a reliable, reasonably fast connection.  This morning, I discovered that if I sit on the balcony, I get great reception and it’s fairly speedy.  So, hopefully, I’ll be able to blog throughout the week to share some of the scenery and my experience here.

I’m even going to visit some of my favorite blogs this morning while I finish my coffee and get ready for the day.

Until later,

~Cynthia