TOG Artists

Allenspark is a small community, but we’re big on art. More than twenty regional artists display and sell their work and some teach classes. They also volunteer 350+ hours every year! We couldn’t stay open without them. If you are interested in becoming an artist at The Old Gallery contact info@theoldgallery.org.

Kathy Banich Photography

“From a very young age, photographs have had a profound effect on me. Some of my earliest memories as a young girl are sitting in front of my mom’s enormous photo albums, gazing at each picture in wonderment – noticing every detail of each captured moment as well as characterizing the people pictured. This nostalgic element of reflection ignited an enthusiastic interest as a child that continues to fuel my passion for photography today. I feel truly blessed to be able to pursue my passion for photography. I’m both humbled and appreciative for the opportunity to display/share my work.”

Kathy lives adjacent to Roosevelt National Park and only recently began sharing and promoting her images. Her awards include:

  • Second Place, 2016 Annual Juried Exhibition at Gilpin Arts in Central City, Colorado
  • Second Place, 2015 Annual Juried Exhibition at Gilpin Arts in Central City
  • Second Place, 2017 Art at the Center, Nederland, People’s Choice
  • First Place, 2018 Art at the Center, Nederland, People’s Choice

https://banichphotography.com/

Anne Curtis Potery

Anne took ceramics at Cranbrook schools over 40 years ago and returned to it after retirement. She started out creating functional pieces on the wheel but has recently branched off into more sculptural pieces. Especially due to Covid 19, access to the wheels at the Pottery Lab in Boulder is limited, so she has been working with clay at her home in the mountains and then takes it into Boulder to be fired. Anne is going to start doing some raku fired work and is looking forward to that immensely. The things she creates are pretty much one of a kind, since she doesn’t like to repeat herself. Like many of those exhibiting at The Old Gallery, Anne gets her inspiration from nature and is presently working on a yard totem with forest symbols.

Patty Dwyer Oils and Pastels

Patty likes to capture joy, exuberance, texture, vibrant colors and the interplay of light, shadow and passion in her work—whether en plein air or in her studio. Her style is both impressionistic and expressionistic with the use of color, light, brushwork and emotion in her oil paintings and soft pastels.

Her work has been shown in Aspen, Breckenridge, Frisco, Estes Park and Grand Lake, as well as The Depot Gallery, Main Street Fine Art Gallery, Mary Williams Fine Art, Space Gallery, Cherokee Castle, and Outnumbered Gallery in Littleton. She is a member of Plein Air Artists of Colorado, Colorado Pastel Society, The Littleton Fine Arts Guild and Roxborough Arts. Her studio is located at artSPARK Creative Studios in Littleton, where she teaches a variety of classes. For more information visit www.pattydwyerartist.com.

Vicki Dyas Gourd Art and Jewelry

Art Gallery Artists Vicki Dyas
Art Gallery Artists Vicki Dyas jewelry

Vicki has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and a BA degree in Art and Education. She has worked largely through Family Resource Centers to provide counseling to children and adults, has taught art to both children and adults, has helped give birth to disaster planning programs in both California and Colorado. She has worked in a variety of mediums, culminating in work with gourd art. Vicki loves sharing her passion for art and teaches gourd art classes at The Old Gallery every year. She also works with The Old Gallery Artists (TOGA) steering committee to bring new local artists to The Old Gallery. Since its inception, Vicki and her husband Bill have been instrumental in establishing The Old Gallery as an arts destination in the Rocky Mountain region.

Leslie S. Emerson Jewelry, Mixed Media

Artist Leslie Emerson is a Colorado native who creates jewelry, bead embroidery, clay, and mixed media pieces incorporating primarily ancient, antique and vintage beads, and found objects.

“Beads are the earliest evidence of Man’s ability to think in abstract terms,” says Leslie. I love using rare, tactile, and imaginative pieces to create one-of-a-kind jewelry and visual art. Incorporated in my work are items such as ancient fossils, antique European glass and metal beads, antique and contemporary handmade clay beads, gems and minerals, found objects, antique and contemporary Japanese glass beads, ancient and antique beads from Egypt and other areas of Africa and the Middle East, fine silver beads from the Thai Hill Tribe people, Sterling silver and brass and gold filled beads, ancient shell and fish vertebrae, and contemporary lampwork glass beads by artist from around the world, and more.

http://ebcacolorado.org/leslie-emerson

George Epp Woodturning

George Epp has lived in Boulder County, Colorado since 1951.  He is a graduate of the University of Colorado. His 30-year career with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, included 12-years as the elected county sheriff.

Now retired from public service, George fills his days turning wood into astonishing pieces of art. Using Colorado’s lodgepole pine trees that have succumbed to mountain pine beetles, he reveals not only the distinctive blue-black discoloration in the wood (caused by the beetles) – but fills the natural cracks and anomalies’ in the wood with turquoise, shell and coral. In addition to his “Beautiful” one of a kind vessels, George has begun making coffee / console tables from live edge slabs of beetle kill pine. His finishes are food safe and his fruit bowls and salad bowls may be hand washed.

Lyn E. Ferguson Photography

Lyn has observed and photographed natural wonders and wildlife in Africa, Australia, Costa Rica, Peru, the Galápagos Islands, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, National Parks throughout the United States and now Estes Park. Her photography reflects respect and gratitude for the gifts of nature and an ability to pay attention to and appreciate the large and small in nature.

Lyn finds that “everything experienced by the senses is meant for the spirit.” Therefore, the visual art of photography, at its finest, is spiritual expression.

Lyn retired to Estes Park after a 34-year career as a counselor working with college and high school students. Lyn received her BA and MA from the University of Northern Colorado, and her EdS and PhD from the University of Florida.

Elizabeth Hake Jewelry

Elizabeth started making jewelry in 1993, graduating with a B.F.A. in Metalsmithing from Northern Michigan University in 1996. In 2001 she was an Artist in Residence at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts which catapulted her part time passion into a full-time job and has been making a living as an artist ever since. Her work has been published in books in the U.S. and England.

“The medium of jewelry perfectly melds my interests in art, self-expression and the interconnectedness with others. I was drawn to jewelry because of the emotional attachment that develops between the piece and the wearer. Jewelry reminds us of who gave it to us, a special occasion, or who was with us when we got it.”

“My biggest inspirations are my materials. While working on a piece I’m in a dialogue with it and will adjust my design and vision during the process. Instead of bending the metal to my will I am leaning towards letting it do what is in its nature.”

https://wearjewelry.net/home.html

Bonnie Hanna Clay

Bonnie is a ceramic artist working in the very traditional ways of the southwest and western potters. She works with beautiful ancient clay bodies to produce patterned, smoke-fired and horsehair pottery. Bonnie’s work is truly a labor of love – a love of creating positive and negative space, straight line on a curved surface, a design that expands and contracts with the vessel shape. Every piece she makes always engages her in this very exciting, organic process. Rhythms are created and she never knows where the design will take her. Therein lies the magic for Bonnie. No two pieces are ever the same share or pattern – as with people – each is unique and one of a kind!

Terry Kasprzak Watercolor, Drawing and Photography

Terry studied fine art at Northern Illinois University. The art department’s emphasis was on creativity and not artistic technique. “This provided a somewhat difficult learning environment, but one that proved to be very beneficial, giving me the opportunity to pursue my personal directions in the world of art,” he said. He enjoys working in various media, which include drawing, photography, oil painting, and watercolor. He enjoys capturing mountain scenes, grasslands and historic architecture. “Rural-ness” has always attracted him with its inherent sense of ingenuity, hard work, and history. He often teaches drawing classes at The Old Gallery. You can learn more about Terry and his art at www.thedreammerchantfineart.com.

Elizabeth Lazarus Pottery

“I’ve been making pottery for 20 years, first at the Pottery Lab and then at Boulder Potters Guild since 2008. It is a welcomed, calming activity that balances the intensity of my professional work as a psychotherapist with the longing to express my creative self through art. I have always been a person who loves complex challenges and my pottery represents my passion for exploring new and various ways to create art. I utilize three types of methods in my work: low fire porcelain, high fire shino and crystalline porcelain. All of my work is dishwasher, microwave and oven safe.

“I love creating pieces whose colors are varied and cheerful. Each piece can lighten up a room with its bright colors. Every firing is different, providing a multitude of surprises. You never know what you’re going to get….and that is what makes it so fun!”

https://boulderpottersguild.org/artists-portfolio-items/elizabeth-lazarus/

John Long Painting

John came from a family of artists and trained as a photographer, film maker, poet, printer, calligrapher and mime. It has now been more than twenty years since he began making 3-dimensional assemblages and 2-dimensional collages.  This eventually led to abstract and text-based painting. In his work, he favors process over planning, building up and tearing down layers of acrylic paint, exploring geometric order and chaotic energy. Most of his painting is done on plywood panel, though he also employs canvas and corrugated cardboard. John’s color palette ranges from black and gray monotone, to riotous primary colors. As a poet, essay writer, and student of the evolution of written language, he loves to utilize text as a visual element in his paintings and to tease the viewer with the limitations of verbal communication. John’s work has won awards in juried shows and has also been featured in one-person exhibitions. John grew up in Flint, Michigan which was still a thriving midwestern factory town when he moved away. Together with his wife, Kathy, they have lived in Texas, Ohio, Washington DC, Afghanistan, and Connecticut. John and Kathy moved to Estes Park full-time in 2018.

Judi Mitchell  Raku Ceramic Pottery

Judi wants her patrons to enjoy seeing her art just as much as she enjoys making it!

Having spent her early years entertaining guests in the lobby of her parents’ motel, Judi learned early on how much fun it can be to put a smile on someone’s face. Thus the inspiration for her whimsical works was born! After exploring many different forms of art, she has found her ultimate love in ceramics, particularly Raku, which gives her pieces the rich colors and organic elements essential to clay creatures. Judi says that she finds her muse in those random pieces of wood or metal that manage to become the legs, trunks, or tusks of her ceramic animals. These critters have managed to make their way into galleries throughout the nation and the world. Judi’s website is artbyjudi.com.

Cheryl Pennington Photography and Hand Tinting

Cheryl was born in Emporia, Kansas and received her B.A. from Emporia State University. She taught physical education and coached gymnastics, swimming, tennis and track in Niwot and Longmont, Colorado. Upon retiring, Cheryl rekindled a long time interest in black and white photography and, for a different look, began to hand color black and white images with oil paints and colored pencils. Black and white photos were often hand colored before the advent of color film. She hand colors her own images as well as historic photos. She has been involved in hand-coloring photos for numerous books and articles about Colorado including Rocky Mountain Conservancy’s book, Rocky Mountain Rustic, YMCA OF THE ROCKIES, Reflections, Traditions and Vision, Rocky Mountain National Park – Historic Places by William B. Butler, and Rocky Mountain National Park – Pictorial History and Estes Park – Beginnings, both by Kenneth Jessen. She was recently chosen for the Hall of Fame at Emporia State University for contributions made in the teaching profession during her 30-year career.

Lydia Pottoff Fine Art, Pastels, Oils

A love of the outdoors inspired Lydia to leave her native Maryland and move to Colorado in 1973. She received BA in fine art and graphic communications at Metropolitan State University in Denver. Lydia was a partner in Epicenter Creative, a local design firm for over 23 years.

The passion of creating a more personal vision drew her back into fine arts; pastels were a natural choice since they combined her love of drawing and color. In the last 16 years, she has pursued pastel and oil painting. She has pieces in private collections and exhibits in both group and solo shows. She is a member of the Louisville Art Association, the Pastel Society of Colorado and Plein Air Artists of Colorado.

Heilman Designs Award of Excellence, 2019 Pastel Society of Colorado Mile High Show

Second Place, 2018 Plein Air Painters of Colorado Annual Show

Judges Award, 2018 Louisville Art Association Member Show

Honorable Mention, 2018 Pastel Society of Colorado, Small Works Show

https://lydiapottofffineart.com/

MaryLynn Schumacher  Clay Tiles

While earning a Bachelor’s of Environmental Design, emphasizing architecture, from the University of Colorado, Boulder, MaryLynn Schumacher became fascinated with clay while taking a recreational pottery class at the Pottery Lab, also in Boulder.  After college, MaryLynn focused full time on becoming a professional clay artist. Largely self-taught, she has acquired skills and learned techniques working with talented potters and artists in shared local cooperative studios and organizations, including Mud-luscious Studio, the Boulder Potters’ Guild, and Centercraft Studios. Living and working in Boulder, she has been an exhibiting artist since 1989, participating 24 years in Boulder’s Open Studios Tour, 19 years in the Boulder Potters’ Guild Spring and Fall sales, and 15 years in Loveland’s Sculpture in The Park show.

About the bird tiles:

This series of tiles features birds regularly seen throughout the Front Range: goldfinches in gardens, chickadees in wooded areas, ravens and crows spying on and commenting on human behavior throughout the metro area.  Each handmade tile starts by pressing soft clay into plaster molds designed and cast by Schumacher. Additional details are sculpted to refine the bird. Once the clay stiffens, the background design is stamped or drawn by hand. This process of hand sculpting and drawing makes each tile unique.  Once dried, the tiles are bisque fired.  After this initial firing, layers of slips, stains, and glazes are applied to give each tile a rich and varied finish. The tiles are then fired again in an electric kiln to melt the glaze and fuse it to the tile. A wire hanger is added so the tile is ready to display. Protect tile from wet, freezing weather.

Linda Toukan  Jewelry

Linda Toukan lives and creates beautiful jewelry in Boulder, CO.

Linda’s jewelry reflects her love of metal and stone.  An artistic mix of Silver, Gold, Bronze, Brass and gemstones compose her work.  Her pieces often express a relationship to others or earth.  An elegant, organic look prevails.   Metals such as Bronze and Silver are often combined for contrast and beauty. Fusing and Soldering are predominantly employed and many times in collaboration with each other.  Linda often applies 24K Gold using Keum-Boo, an ancient technique for applying gold with heat and pressure.  Wire wrapping is sometimes combined with soldered and fused pieces.

Linda’s website is SanitasDesigns.com.

Sally Van Der Kamp Stained Glass, Fused Glass and Jewelry

Art Gallery Artists Sally Van Der Kamp

Sally creates stained glass art panels that are original designs embellished with fused glass. Her inspiration comes primarily from the beauty and vastness of nature, but also from the glass itself. Different from traditional stained glass, she utilizes large pieces of glass to take advantage of all the colors and swirls inherent in glass. These characteristics of glass become part of her designs. Many of Sally’s original designs incorporate a tree branch, which are found in the forests and glorious mountain trails of Colorado. Other embellishments are layers and bits of glass fused in her studio kiln. She has been a member of the Littleton Fine Arts Guild since 2011 and a member of The Old Gallery since 2015. Her work has been featured at the Lonetree Art Expo and The Depot Art Gallery in Littleton. To discuss email sjv3@comcast.net.

Merrie Wicks Watercolor and Oils

Recently retired from the world of medical device manufacturing, Merrie is now embarking on a new career in watercolor and oil painting. She enjoys all media and subject matter. She is a member of Colorado Watercolor Society, Foothills Art Guild and the Littleton Fine Arts Guild. You can find out more at www.merriewicks.com.

Dawn Wilson Photography

Dawn Wilson is a professional and award-winning nature photographer specializing in images of wildlife of high altitudes and high latitudes of the Rocky Mountains and Alaska. Her images, which are frequently paired with her writing in editorial channels, tell the story of wildlife, their homes and the struggles, challenges and successes they experience. Her work has appeared in numerous regional and national publications, including Outdoor PhotographerColorado LifeColorado Outdoors and Nature’s Best Photography as well as galleries and private collections across the U.S. She resides in Estes Park, Colorado with her boyfriend, husky and two cats. You can learn more at www.dawnwilsonphotography.com.

Classes

Gourd

Gourd Art: Interested in taking a gourd art class with Vicki Dyas? Just gather a minimum of four people and she will create a custom class for you. Contact Vicki at rivermtgourds@gmail.com.