Elbert County artists at the Indian Market Festival

The 29th Annual Colorado Indian Market took place January 22nd - 24th, 2010 at the Denver Merchandise Mart.  On Sunday I took a ride up to the Festival - a little bird had said that some Elbert County based artists showcasing their talents there.  

It wasn't long before I found myself standing in Pahponee's booth among her fabulous white and primitive fired ceramics and bronze pieces.  Pahponee, a descendant of the Kickapoo and Potawatomi Nations, lives in north west Elbert County with her husband.  She has always been active in art and imagined herself initially to be a painter but after taking ceramics in High School and College and with the help of her husband who is a trained Ceramist, she found her destiny in creating art in ceramics and bronze and using methods familiar to her ancestors.  After 30 years as an artist, Pahponee still gets her inspiration from dreams and what she calls her 'inner guide', even seeing colors, textures and symbols clearly before even getting her hands on the materials she uses.  She thinks of her creations as products from 'chapters' in her life and recalls what was going through her mind when she looks at a finished piece.  Pahponee participates in about 10-12 shows a year and has been participating in shows since 1986.  Apart from shows, you can find her pieces for sale at Sorrel Sky Gallery in Durango Colorado as well as Serendipity Gallery in Estes Park Colorado.  You can catch up with Pahponee in person March 5-7, at the Heard Museum Indian Market in Arizona and visit her website at www.pahponee.com for more information and schedule.

The next quest was to find Kenneth Castellano and after a few minutes I found him chatting with customers in his booth.  Kenneth, who is Navajo was showcasing primarily his spears and walking sticks.  He has been selling his pieces for about the last year and a half, but says he's been carving wood since he was a boy.  Horse hair, turkey feathers and wood harvested primarily locally or donated by friends and customers alike, are used on his walking sticks and spears which are all traditional designs.  He talks with great love for the simple life - farmer's markets, sustaining the environment and also spending locally. Ken feels that a piece of him is embodied in each item he creates.  In keeping with tradition, each piece is designed to pass down memories or accomplishments from one generation to another.  Kenneth does custom pieces to preserve and evoke your own personal memories - some customers have had a walking stick created to memorialize a favorite pet as an example.  You can contact Kenneth and find his work, as well as the work of other native Colorado artists on his website at www.coloradonativeart.com

Near to Kenneth Castellano's booth I found Kimberly Bowen, another Elbert County resident.  Kimberly paints images of wildlife onto Arizona flagstone.  An artist for the last 30 years, she has been painting on stone for the last 13 years.  Finding the right stone to paint on was a challenge, but the Arizona Flagstone provided a suitably colored canvas along with bold textures that contribute to her striking images which include buffalo, antelope and horses.  Kimberly started showing her art at log home shows as the rustic nature of the images worked well with log home settings however she soon found a market with enthusiasts of western themed art and since has been attending about 6 shows a year around primarily western states.  Kimberly's originals are painted directly onto flagstone, but you can also purchace gicl'ee prints of most of the images in different sizes.  You can find Kimberly's art in the Running Creek Gallery in Elizabeth Colorado and the Deer Snake Gallery in Woodland Park.  Next month, you can catch up with Kimberly in person at special invitational to benefit Horse Rescue at the Rocky Mountain Art College.  Contact her at her website:  www.lazykstudios.com.

While each of our Elbert County artists create in very different media, they all had in common a desire to help and support others.  Besides their obvious talents, we have other reasons to be proud of our Elbert County based artists - whether they communicated it overtly or not, it was clear that they have a keen interest in and passion for the community in which they live.