Before Christmas, members of the Roxborough Arts Council opened a temporary gallery at Aspen Grove in Littleton — and it went so well that it remains open today and into the future, during the shopping center’s hours. There are presently 29 artists from the council who are gallery members, as well as a waiting list, including artists from throughout the south area in Douglas, Arapahoe and S. Jefferson Counties.
As a visitor walks into the bright space, (toward the south end of the part of the center running north and south, near J. Jill,) one is struck by a sense of color and textures swirling around, demanding attention, as one of sculptor Randy May’s whimsical birds seems ready to demand a treat! Jewelry sparkles and a very large, workshopped zebra photo seems perfect for a sleek contemporary interior — perhaps a commercial space. Leah Hendricks’ “Terrascapes” are mixed media creations that include paint, bones, pebbles, grasses.
Each member has a limited space for display on the walls and in attractive display cases (on wheels, so they can be moved back to accommodate classes when scheduled).
The gallery holds a special “Second Friday” open house monthly and is open to the public daily.
The Roxborough Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) organization and member of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District. Its mission is to bring artists and others together and provide venues for member artists to exhibit their works, plus forums for them to share information and provide feedback for artistic growth.
Upcoming classes are posted, scheduled for about three hours each or less — rather than ongoing — include “Monet’s Poppy Field,” masterpiece class: 1-3 p.m. on May 6 ($35); Adult Bronze, noon to 2:30 p.m. on May 20 and June 10 ($54); Kidz Bronz, taught by Patricia Jenkins, 3 to 5:30 p.m. May 20 and June 10 ($54). It seems to invite family projects. The group is excited about kids’ community art projects, we were told.
Most art displayed would be considered representational, although it varies considerably in size, technique and medium. Fine crafts are also handsomely displayed: jewelry, ceramics and Jayne Colburn’s colorful painted and decorated gourds.
One immediately thinks of possible gifts for family and friends, with graduations, weddings and summer birthdays coming up. Individual visions of the world around us — as well as visions within the brain — offer a huge range of possibilities for a one-of-a-kind object.
Longtime Littleton artist and teacher Valorie Snyder is a gallery member and has a regular shift as do other members. She also instructs beginning/all levels and intermediate/advanced class for Arapahoe Community College’s Community Education on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as intermediate/advanced in a studio space at Woodlawn Shopping Center’s Cliff Austin Studio in Littleton on Tuesdays. During her 30-year career, she has exhibited her portraits and landscapes nationally and locally and taught in several locations. She says every painting connects a viewer with a personal response to a universal story. A landscape can allow you to retreat into it at any time.
She has “developed a unique curriculum that combines right-brain eye training with classical old master techniques,” she said, describing her pieces on display as “classical.”
