Artist Kia Neill covered a lot of ground in her weeklong residency in the Roaring Fork Valley. Neill, one of four artists coming to the valley in 2017 through Wilderness Workshop's artist-in-wilderness program, set out on daily hikes through the wilderness seeking inspiration. In her first few days here, Neill explored the Lost Man and Linkins Lake trails, photographed wildflowers on Independence Pass, popped into the Grottos, made her way to the flanks of Mount Sopris at Thomas Lakes and hoofed it above Ashcroft to Cathedral Lake. "Primarily, I want to absorb as much as I can," she explained last week. [...]

Artist Kia Neill covered a lot of ground in her weeklong residency in the Roaring Fork Valley. Neill, one of four artists coming to the valley in 2017 through Wilderness Workshop's artist-in-wilderness program, set out on daily hikes through the wilderness seeking inspiration. In her first few days here, Neill explored the Lost Man and Linkins Lake trails, photographed wildflowers on Independence Pass, popped into the Grottos, made her way to the flanks of Mount Sopris at Thomas Lakes and hoofed it above Ashcroft to Cathedral Lake. "Primarily, I want to absorb as much as I can," she explained last week. [...]

Digging for bugs, scanning the mountain landscape for fallen forest debris, sketching. It's all in a day's work for Wilderness Workshop artist-in-resdience Jason Kishell. The Houston-based ceramicist is the latest artist to come to town through the Carbondale conservation watchdog's residency program. Kishell, 38, is holed up in Woody Creek for 10 days through Aug. 8. While he's here, Kishell plans to collect samples of invertebrates and pine wood borers in the local forest – the insects that he brings to life in playful and mischievous mugs, cups, goblets and other vessels that double as sculpture. "I'm really going to be [...]

The Carbondale-based conservation watchdog Wilderness Workshop has been sending artists into the woods since 2008 through its artist-in-wilderness program. What six of them captured in the wild is now on display at the Launchpad Gallery. The residency puts local, state and national artists in a cabin near Marble for a week during the summertime and gives them the freedom to make art inspired by their surroundings and the land Wilderness Workshop aims to protect. Local artists have been included as well. The Launchpad show, titled "Colorado Artists in Wilderness Residency: Past and Present," showcases works by Centennial State participants: watercolorist Joan [...]

Along with paints and brushes and the like, a select group of artists are adding hiking boots and topographical maps to their studio materials. The Carbondale-based conservation watchdog nonprofit Wilderness Workshop this year is bringing five artists into the woods through its artist in residence program, drawing applicants from the Roaring Fork Valley, across the U.S. and around the world. On a recent morning, shortly after dawn, North Carolina painter and Workshop artist in residence Michelle Podgorski set off on a rugged, rarely used trail in the hills above Marble. With a Workshop guide and this reporter in tow, she studied [...]

Along with paints and brushes and the like, a select group of artists are adding hiking boots and topographical maps to their studio materials. The Carbondale-based conservation watchdog nonprofit Wilderness Workshop is bringing five artists into the woods this year through its artist in residence program, drawing applicants from the Roaring Fork Valley, across the U.S. and around the world. On a recent morning, shortly after dawn, North Carolina painter and Wilderness Workshop artist-in-residence Michelle Podgorski set off on a rugged, rarely used trail in the hills above Marble. With a workshop guide and this reporter in tow, she studied a [...]