ART & DESIGN: ART IN YOUR HOME
PROFILES OF LOCAL ARTISTS
By Kristen Lodge / Photos by Carter Photographics

Do you want to add color to the white walls in your home? Have you been meaning to fill your home with art that means something to you? Grand County artists can help you do both.

Grand County has over 50 artists displaying their work in local galleries. These local artists can fill up your home with art and beauty and supply the color and imagination needed to spruce up your home. Whether it is pottery, landscape oils, clay monotypes, giclées or watercolors, art can bring out color and style to your home.

:: PATRICIA ALANDER ::
Patricia Alander is a local artist in Grand Lake who specializes in pottery and monotypes. Her monotypes are created by layering colored slips onto a leather-hard clay slab. Then, after building up enough color and gestural marks, she pulls a print, never knowing what the final piece will look like and what layers will be exposed. Alander’s Web site, www.elevateart.com, showcases her prints and explains her artistic style:

“I love working with layers of color in both my prints and pottery. I enjoy the dance of color and the element of surprise as I coax out the underlying images and forms.” In addition to her monotype prints, Alander has pottery pieces displayed in the Grand Lake Art Gallery. The pottery is translucent with different colors created on the surface by the sun depending on the placement and the moment. Fortunately the color of the pottery will never fade in sunlight due to firing at 2,000 degrees. Alander works out of her home studio and each pottery piece is unique, since different chemicals are added each time prior to firing.

When picking out art to decorate your home, Alander says you need to have a connection to the art work. She recommends walking into a gallery and just looking around. Find a piece you have a connection to for any reason – a particular color, the overall feeling that reminds you of something important, or a scene you want to remember.

Jim Cervenka, owner of Grand Lake Art Gallery, encourages people who are looking for art to fill a space, to choose what makes you feel good or a scene that brings back a memory. Cervenka displays over 100 artists in his gallery who work in all different mediums, but don’t ask him for help buying a piece. “Art hits you, you are drawn to it” he says. He encourages buyers to keep coming back to the gallery to visit a piece over and over before deciding if it will fit your personality and your home. He even takes photos of the art and will email it to people who call from out of town. Customers are allowed to take a piece home for a day or two (with a credit card) and try it out at their home.

:: CHERYL AKRIGHT ::
Cheryl Akright has a similar philosophy about buying art. A collector since she was in her early twenties, Akright has been adding works from all over the world – Eastern Europe, Denver, Moscow, Hong Kong … now Grand County.

What is most interesting about Akright’s art collection is her arrangement of combining oiled canvases of abstracts with political themes. The “First Kiss” by Russian painter Gregory Goncharov evokes emotion - the boy is smiling, the girl is embarrassed.

Akright says, “We have all been there; everyone. The landscape is snowy and the two young adults are bundled up in winter attire. When you grow up in a snowy area this painting means something, there is a historical feeling about it.” Akright feels strongly that if a painting moves you “it should become part of your family.” The Goncharov painting is a part of her family, but it only rests against the fireplace, it doesn’t hang. It is not in its forever spot; it can be moved at any time.

While living in Moscow for eight and a half years, she became a leader in the International Women’s Club where she lead the group to artists’ studios to learn and buy art. She bought directly from the artists before there were galleries in Russia. She translated for ambassadors and dignitaries from all over the world while introducing them to her favorite artists.

“You don’t need to have a theme or color palette, just try new things.” Akright also has three-dimensional art including tables, folk art, ceramics, glass and benches. If you have blank walls or empty space in your home, Akright recommends resting something that you enjoy. “If you have a different mood, move it – and remember every piece of art needs good light and space so it can be seen.”

:: STEAMSIDE ART :
In Grand County, it is easy to find a scene or vista recreated in a piece of work. Corinne Lively of Streamside Art specializes in framing art. Whether a customer has already found the art work or needs assistance picking out a piece, Lively can frame it. She can also recommend an artist to paint a favorite Grand County landscape based in any genre.

Lively’s business, Streamside Art, is expanding, and in the next few months customers will be able to access art online. The Web site, www.streamsideartonline. com, will soon feature links to original art and artists which can be purchased and then framed in her shop. Lively can also advise customers on how to protect art with protected-glass or anti-glare glass options.

Streamside Art can not only frame art to protect it from the sun or dust, but they also want to ensure that customers display the art to its best advantage. The frame should never compete with the art. Additionally, the art should be isolated from its surroundings to maximize the piece.

:: MARJORIE CRANSTON ::
Marjorie Cranston is another local artist whose subject is the natural world around Grand Lake. The simplest of elements occupy her pastels and watercolors with vibrant use of color and detail. Her gallery, Jack Straw Gallery in Grand Lake, houses original art work with descriptions about location and inspiration. Depictions include areas where she walks her dogs, the Arapahoe National Forest, hikes off County Road 5 in Fraser, and specifically the Grand Lake area, including the inlet area of Shadow Mountain, nearby rivers and the boat houses on Grand Lake.

Cranston’s art is the perfect reminder of a visit or a favorite Grand Lake scene. Her colors bring out the drama of being in the moment. The image of a solitary horse in a field or an elk in the river depicts rural life and brings the natural world into a home.

Art in a home must have meaning whether it’s a piece that inspires, a subject matter of interest to you and your family, or it was created by someone you know that serves as a constant reminder of friendship and connection. There are many local artists in Grand County that can fill your home with the natural beauty of Grand County.


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