Featured Artist: James Hayward

Featured Artist: James Hayward

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James Hayward made his Telluride debut in July 2017 with a solo exhibition at the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art, and currently curates group exhibitions. The California-based artist has been a force amongst the Post-war Minimalist Abstract Artists in the Los Angeles area for over 35 years. “Hayward’s command of paint, ranging from blissful spontaneity to profound control, separates him from artists who are lured into a signature style...He is a true independent, with his own fearless vision of the kinds of paintings he wants to make and see,” described art critic, Frances Colpitt. His works have been featured in numerous prestigious museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Denver Museum of Modern Art; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

We asked Jimmy to answer a few questions, and his answers were as delightfully colorful and textured as his paintings. We're captivated by this man and his work, and hope you will be too. 

What color has the most meaning to you/your artwork?

As a young painter I would be chastised for, “Failing to control your palette.” I would tell them that I loved these weird muddy greys (made by combining opposites, like Egypt Violet and Sulphur Yellow and a little white). This is one of my favorite greys. This is a grey that is not a combination of black and white. A complicated grey. I love making greys out of 7 or 8 different colors, especially using colors like cobalt violet and cadmium yellow. Nobody, in their right mind combines these colors, so that when one does, one might reasonably deduce that this color has never been realized before, because no one is that dumb. Taking a bow.

When are you the most creative?

I love being by myself: alone without interruption. I feel free to do as I please. This is a fun place. 

Dogs or cats?

I am allergic to cats. I have always had dogs and usually more than one. I wrote a short story titled, “Allergic to her cat: addicted to her pussy”. It is unfinished as the relationship remains open ended.

What would your superpower be?

I would love the ability to shit in other peoples' pants. What fun that would be.

Take a guess... what were you doing 40 years ago today?
   
I would have been married for the third time by then. I was madly in love on each and every occasion, but relationships are far more difficult than anyone imagines. I still believe in the specialness of marriage, but I’m now aware of the difficulties involved. Under the right circumstances, I would do it again.

The most unusual thing you've ever eaten?

That would be Sea Slugs, Jelly Fish or pussy.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be  Emiliano Zapata. Did you ever see “Viva Zapata”, directed by John Houston, screen play by John Steinbeck. It is a romantic masterpiece about the duties and obligations of an idealistic hero. It’s my favorite Marlon Brando flick. Loved it. I still live the fantasy of disappearing into the mountains on horseback.

If you had the opportunity to go to Mars, would you? Why/why not?

I have no desire to go anyplace that does not have an art museum. I travel to wander thru art museums. It is one of my favorite things in life.

New Year's resolution?

I am 74 years old and slowing down. I need more help and help costs money. So I resolve to slow down sufficiently to allow success to jump my ancient bones. And I think I may get married yet again. Salute!

FEATURED ARTIST: DAVID BYARS

FEATURED ARTIST: DAVID BYARS

David Garrett Byars is a former financial analyst who left his job in 2008 to pursue his, then nebulous, dreams. He is now a filmmaker living in Telluride, Colorado. Byars’ focuses on feature-length documentaries, but he also creates branded pieces as a freelance filmmaker. As part of Reel Thing Productions, he released the feature-length documentary Uranium Drive-In (Mountainfilm 2013). In 2013, he wrote and directed his first narrative short, Self Storage, which is a quirky dark comedy that follows a worker at a self-storage facility as he struggles to pay off the medical debt stemming from his unlucky brew of common cleaning agents. The result is a delicious brew of its own, filled with black humor, endearing characters, and smart storytelling. Byars coins it as “a story of conscience, existential dread and redemption.” Byars is the director of No Man's Land (Mountainfilm 2017), the incredibly candid film that follows the once-occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 

Favorite childhood movie?

 Karate Kid 2
 

 
Ghosts or aliens? 

Aliens, always aliens. 

 
Objectivity? Is it a thing?

No such thing. In practice or in concept. Impossible to separate our minds from the sum of our experiences.
 
 
Financial analyst to filmmaker? connection?

Glutton for punishment, high tolerance for rejection, and boyish good looks. And attention to detail. More generally, in finance and in film, you're really just trying to sell a good story.
 
 
Favorite director(s)?

Werner Herzog, Wes Anderson, Suzan Beraza.
 
 
Best advice you've received? Given?

Received: Understand people's problems rather than scrutinize their solutions.
Given: Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman. 
 


Who would play you in a film?

Fat David Spade or the lovechild of Zach Galifianakis and Matt McConaughey. Or Uncle Traveling Matt from Fraggle Rock. Shit, tough question.
 
 
What's so great about Telluride?

The self-celebratory atmosphere. ;) In all seriousness - the potential for active collaboration. Everyone in the arts in Telluride is so down to put in a tremendous amount of time and work into a collaborative effort. And it's world-class high-quality work.
 
 
What's next?

More movies! So many movies. A few feature docs in the works and a whole slew of ill-advised and costly fiction endeavors.

FEATURED ARTIST: MARGARET RINKEVICH

FEATURED ARTIST: MARGARET RINKEVICH

Margaret Rinkevich has been a resident of Telluride for 16 years. She holds a B.A. in Art History from the University of Arizona, where she specialized in the Italian Renaissance. She has been dedicated to the arts and has taught Art History to university students and museum docents. She is the author of several publications about tribal art and culture. In 2015, Margaret participated in Ah Haa School for the Arts: Second Annual Juried Exhibition of Regional Artists, BEST OF 2014 and contributed to The Telluride Painting School lecture series with a talk entitled, “Art of the ‘So What?!’: The History of Still Life Painting”.  In 2016 she was one of three jurors for the 3rd Annual Exhibition of Regional Artists. Her work hangs in numerous private collections throughout the US.

Who are some of the influences that most move you?

Joan Mitchell is a favorite.  She was an American Abstract Expressionist painter living just outside Paris, her painting style was very tumultuous and completely fearless.  Also, Richard Diebenkorn, a Bay Area painter who began as an Abstract Expressionist in the 40s and 50s, and, then, gave it up because he thought it was too easy.  He later returned to it and is probably most known for it, particularly his Ocean Park Series.

 

Do you paint from your dreams?

No, I’m far too cerebral for that.  Though there is something of an intrapersonal element to Abstract Expressionist art, I prefer to approach a canvas with no preconceptions.  The evolution (and its inherent struggle) is the best part.  I love the physical act of painting.  It has been said that Abstract Expressionist painters do not paint pictures but rather an event.  I agree.

 

What was an epiphanal moment in your life?

For the BLUE series it was when, while reading, I stumbled across a passage about pearls.  Pearls in antiquity were called margarites.  The most highly-prized pearls were found in mollusks with blue interiors.  While I was already developing a deep affection for the color, I feel in love with the concept that the origin of my name was mantled in it as well. 

 

Are politics important to you and does it work its way into your art?  

I love politics and I’m a complete news junkie but I don’t paint from this space.

 

What're your favorite things about living in the mountains? 

Their steadfastness and their unpredictability.  They are the constant in our lives here, they are there when we wake up and when we go to sleep.  Yet, they control the weather, they are a catalysts for our local patterns and we never know exactly what atmospheric conditions will occur.  The evolution is the best part.

 

FEATURED ARTIST: ART GOODTIMES

FEATURED ARTIST: ART GOODTIMES

Longtime local, Art Goodtimes, has been a staple in the Telluride community not only as a former County Commissioner for San Miguel County but as a poet and writer. Art serves as the Master of Ceremonies and poet laureate of the Telluride Mushroom Festival. Additionally, Art is the Founder and Director of Talking Gourds. In 2010, he was named the first Western Slope Poet Laureate at the first annual Karen Chamberlain Poetry Festival in Carbondale. Art's multitude of literary accomplishments also includes longtime journalist and editor for Telluride Watch and Cortez’s Four Corners Free Press, as well as poetry editor of several publications, including Fungi magazine, Mountain Gazette, Wild Earth, and more. 

FEATURED ARTIST: VALERIE MADONIA

FEATURED ARTIST: VALERIE MADONIA

Valerie Madonia has lived her life through dance. At four years old she began ballet lessons, which eventually led to a 20-year professional dancing career. She has been a part of noble dance companies such as the National Ballet of Canada, the American Ballet Theatre, and the Joffrey Ballet, and performed throughout the Rocky Mountains + Southwestern Colorado with her own project based company, Alpine Dance. She has appeared in six PBS Dance in America Specials and is featured in four dance books.

FEATURED ARTIST: ANTON VIDITZ-WARD

FEATURED ARTIST: ANTON VIDITZ-WARD

Anton Viditz-Ward has been a Telluride resident for over 20 years. A welder by trade he is also a trained architect and artist. He is the founder and manager of Deep Creek Experimental, an artist collective operating out of a decommissioned limestone mine just outside of town. He has brought to life this giant hole in the earth repurposing it for storage, studios, and event space. Here he works on his steel-welded, human-powered, kinetic sculptures and other projects.

FEATURED ARTIST: ABBY FOX

FEATURED ARTIST: ABBY FOX

Abby Fox is a Colorado native who earned a BFA in printmaking and BA in Spanish at Colorado State University.  After graduating, she taught art, ate papusas, and climbed volcanoes in Latin America for 18 months, before landing in Telluride.  In her eight years here, she has taught art and Spanish to a variety of ages, and currently teaches at Telluride Mountain School.  Abby is also studying at Western Colorado State University, and will graduate in 2018 with a Master of Arts in Education.  She prioritizes printmaking and backpacking in her free time, and completed a solo thru-hike of the 500-mile Colorado trail last summer. 

FEATURED ARTIST: CRAIG CHILDS

FEATURED ARTIST: CRAIG CHILDS

Craig Childs is an author, performer, traveler, and science writer. He received his minor in Women's Studies from the University of Colorado, along with a less useful but appreciated major in Journalism. His masters degree is in Desert Studies from Prescott College, Arizona, where he remains the only student to have received that particular degree. He has written more than a dozen books in the walker writer tradition, his style narrative, the topics scientific and adventurous. He currently lives outside of Norwood. 

FEATURED ARTIST: GRETA NEUMANN

FEATURED ARTIST: GRETA NEUMANN

Greta Neumann originally grew up near Chicago, IL. She received her BFA in sculptural ceramics from the University of South Florida in 2006. She spent time after graduation teaching children's art classes in Western North Carolina as well as learning the craft of throwing pottery. She uses techniques such as slip-casting and paper-clay sculpting, and themes from nature are widely present. Prior to moving to Telluride in 2012 she spent four years living in Argentina and Europe. She currently teaches ceramics at Ah Haa School for the Arts.  

FEATURED ARTIST: MATT ADAMS

FEATURED ARTIST: MATT ADAMS

Matt Adams studied art at the University of Colorado, apprenticed at Moravian Pottery and Tile Works and then went on to receive an MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. Before moving to Telluride last December, Matthew lived in Taos, New Mexico, making art and teaching clay at the University of New Mexico for the past 15 years.

FEATURED ARTIST: FLAIR ROBINSON

FEATURED ARTIST: FLAIR ROBINSON

Flair Robinson is a Telluride-based mixed media and mosaic artist working primarily with ceramic tile, hand-cut glass, and recycled materials. She is informally educated, collecting knowledge from the traditional to the unusual, and is most influenced by visionary, self-taught and outsider art.

FEATURED ARTIST: Adam Carlos

FEATURED ARTIST: Adam Carlos

This month we feature southern transplant Adam Carlos. As a graphite pencil portrait artist, Adam Carlos’ drawings are highly detailed and large in scale. He prides himself on realistic works which accurately reflect and capture the spirit of his subject, whether it be a child, a prize-winning Thoroughbred or a Telluride vista.

FEATURED ARTIST: Pepper Raper

FEATURED ARTIST: Pepper Raper

This month we feature Pepper Raper, Telluride Arts’ newest employee. Pepper moved to Telluride in 2011 sight unseen seeking a mountain town with a strong community and music scene. Immediately she found herself enthralled with our busy little community and hasn’t looked back since. 

FEATURED ARTISTS: Danielle Jenkins and Stephanie Osan

FEATURED ARTISTS: Danielle Jenkins and Stephanie Osan

This month we feature dancers Danielle Jenkins and Stephanie Osan, who are on the brink of debuting their project, The Way Between. This original show is funded in part by the Telluride Arts' Small Grants for Artists program, and so with great pleasure, we ask them a little about themselves and their favorite things. 

FEATURED ARTISTS: Allie and Nathan Scherich

FEATURED ARTISTS: Allie and Nathan Scherich

This month we feature an artist couple, happily married Allie and Nathan Scherich. To shake things up a bit, we asked them to answer the questions for each other to just how well they know their spouse. But first a little background from Allie.

FEATURED ARTIST: Elissa Dickson

FEATURED ARTIST: Elissa Dickson

Elissa feels lucky to call Telluride home (but don't we all!).  She moved here in 2008. Came to ski, stayed for the library, the famous WPL bumper sticker was actually based on her life. She did stay for what the library represents, which to her is the curiosity, kindness, and creativity of all the unique souls that make up the vibrant Telluride community. She was introduced to slam poetry in college and has been writing ever since. Recently, she was selected as the poet laureate of San Miguel County.  In her free time, she enjoys performing with Telluride Theatre and is also an avid mountain biker, rock and ice climber, rafter and skier.  When she grows up, she hopes to be a river otter.

Her advice to fellow artists, "Hang out with kiddos more often, its my favorite way to get inspired.  Their perspective is as fresh as morning dew glistening on the hindquarters of a voluptuous marmot damsel basking in the sunlight of another new day.  Also, believe in yourself, that's the hard part, don't ever say anything negative about yourself in your head or out loud.  Life's too short for that nonsense."

Here is Haiku to You with Elissa Dickson.

FEATURED ARTIST: Elaine Fischer

FEATURED ARTIST: Elaine Fischer

This month we feature the brilliant life and spirit of Elaine Fischer. She graced the presence of Telluride Arts not only by serving as a powerful and dedicated board member, but also by frequenting her studio at the Stronghouse. Taking a break from her painting only to have a quick lunch and read the Daily Planet, she was daily inspiration to all our staff and fellow artists. 

FEATURED ARTIST: Stash Wislocki

FEATURED ARTIST: Stash Wislocki

Stash moved to Telluride in 1992 after a serendipitous series of events that included, getting laid-off, the Blizzard of Aahhh's and an in-flight magazine. Ten years later he had his first film in Mountainfilm. Twenty-four years later you can still find him here, skiing, biking, heading up operations at Mountainfilm and just being, well… cool. If you know him, you love him. When I asked Stash what his favorite thing about the Telluride community was, his answer as poignant and introspective. “Telluride is bigger than it is. It has a large impact for being such a small town.” He was speaking simply of the brilliant minds that create here, the thriving community that survives here, and the unpretentious identity that Telluride maintains even as it grows and changes.

FEATURED ARTIST: Sasha Sullivan

FEATURED ARTIST: Sasha Sullivan

Sasha is a Telluride staple. Her passion for Theatre and the arts have brought a vibrancy and excitement to our community that concurrently bled its way into our hearts and the hearts of anyone who has experienced one of her productions. Actress, director, screenwriter, she is a woman of many talents. This month, we are excited to highlight Sasha and dig up a bit from her past.
 
Here is, “For the First and Last Time!” with Sasha Sullivan.

FEATURED ARTIST: Robert Weatherford

FEATURED ARTIST: Robert Weatherford

Robert moved to Telluride in '77 because he thought it would be a great place to raise a couple of kids. Today, he not only paints regularly in his own studio but also claims to receive more gratification all the time from the privilege of teaching painting at the Ah Haa School. Quite to those he just meets, but boisterous in personality and life, we want to know, “What inspires you most?”