Holiday 2009:

Artscape

by Nora Parker

   IF YOU’RE LIKE ME, you snap pictures to document your life. For other photographers, that approach doesn’t apply. It’s not documentation, photo-journalism or spur-of-the-moment. “Making a large format exposure takes at least 15 minutes,” says local architect Tim Stone, whose images were used to decorate the lobby, corridors and units at Trailhead Lodge.   Tim is attracted primarily to texture, line and shadow, and he tends toward the abstract. “Part of my drato underwater photography is the incredible colors you see when scuba diving,” says Tim, whose uncle studied with Ansel Adams."Paul Peterson," part of artist Morgan Peterson's photo essay, "Everybody Loves Raymond, California." Photo by Morgan Peterson.    Morgan Peterson is in her second year as an art teacher at Steamboat Springs High School. “In fine art, you have to have an image in your mind, and you have to find that image or make it – it’s not usually something that happens spontaneously,” says Morgan, who greup in the small town of Raymond, Calif., and used that experience as the basis for her photography thesis in college.   Raymond is stuck in a time capsule,” she explains. Her images are thoughtful and gentle. She described one old man who cried when he sathe image she had taken of him and hung at the show’s premiere in Raymond. “Nobody had ever taken a picture of him and hung it on the wall   Don Tudor, whose images can be seen in his downtown gallery next to All That Jazz, says that you need to “pre-visualize what you want before you set out to get the picture.” An example is a photograph titled “The Sleeping Giant” – three weeks elapsed from conception to getting the image. He scouted locations, marked the corners where his camera’s tripod would go, established tripod height, and then waited for the exact right light.

   On a trip to Alaska, a friend of Don’s said, “I’m taking pictures and you’re making photographs.” That statement sums up the difference in the images taken by these photographers and those taken by the rest of us.Hitting the Big Leagues - Orchestra's Holiday Concert an annual treat   The sounds of a full orchestra warming up fill the air with electricity and when the conductor steps up to the podium, the first notes herald the news: the holidays are upon us.   For many people, the Steamboat Springs Orchestra's December concert marks the premiere of the bustling holiday season. "It's exciting and something I look forward to," says conductor Ernest Richardson. "The players and the audience have so much energy. It's a unique point in the space/time continuum when it all comes together."Conducter Erneset Richardson is set to deliver another standing-ovation performance at the Steamboat Springs Orchestra's Holiday Concert. Photo by Corey Kopischke.   Each year, the event builds upon its past successes. "What's ne(this year) is the addition of the Mountain Madrigal Singers and the Yampa Valley Singers," Ernest says. "I like to involve as many people from the community as possible." The entire second half of the concert is devoted to familiar holiday music. Members of the full orchestra, as well as the organization's Youth Orchestra, will participate. If history is anything to go by, Ernest may also recruit young audience members to add dimension to the percussion section.   The concert opens with Mozart's Symphony No. 40. "I enjoy presenting these great masterpieces, even if it's part of a holiday concert," Ernest says. "For Mozart, G minor is the darkest key. So as the piece goes on, he moves from that darkness to light. That seems like a great way to start a holiday concert."   What began as a quaint, amateur orchestra in 1992 has grown to become the only professional orchestra in a major resort community. It is currently in a spiral of self-fulfilling success that is propelling it to greater heights with each performance, Ernest explains. "We have very capable players who are committed to the performances. They become convinced that they can do this. So the better they do, the better they think they can do. The orchestra is noat the point where we can do a more professional calendar," says Ernest, who also conducts the Omaha Symphony and is the artistic director and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory.   The premiere performance of the Steamboat Springs Orchestra Holiday Concert will be at Craig's Moffat County High School on Friday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. The next two performances are in Steamboat Springs at the Christian Center: Saturday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m. Tickets: $20/adv; $25 at door; $10 students/children under 9, free; available on line at steamboatorchestra.org, or at All That Jazz, Vino or Off the Beaten Path.

Western Art Shines at Three Forks   A visit to Three Forks Ranch north of Steamboat Springs is mind-boggling. The trout are so prevalent that one guest caught (and released) 80 of them in one day and that was before lunch. The acres-wide lawn is manicured like the Cardinals' outfield, which is not surprising considering the ranch's owner also has a stake in the St. Louis team.   An equally astonishing aspect of the ranch is its art collection, housed in the luxurious 38,000-squarefoot lodge. The collection consists of approximately 180 major pieces of Western art, plus antique European rifles and shotguns.   The pièces de résistance are two paintings by the legendary Charlie Russell, painted on barrel heads. "On the Brink" and "On the Move" both depict Indians on horseback. "On the Brink" "Hot on The Trail" by Billings, Montana's Mike Casper. Photo by Deborah Olsen.focuses on a warrior crossing rocky, mountainous terrain, while "On the Move" illustrates a woman with a papoose crossing the plains.   Some of the artwork seems specifically designed to inspire smiles: a cowboy gazes with longing at a saloon girl, perched on the edge of the bar in a sculpture by Mark Lundeen, whose art has two main focuses: the Old West and baseball.   At the other end of the bar is an equally humorous sculpture of a barefoot cowboy, plunked down at the base of his mailbox reading the latest catalog.   The centerpiece of the bar is a wall-sized oil by Oaklahoma artist Wayne Cooper. "War Clouds Over the Middle Fork" was painted at the lodge. Close examination reveals the white chalk cliffs of the Middle Fork Tributary of the Little Snake River. Wandering down to the meadowhere the imaginary battle is taking place, it's only too easy to envision the Utes camping there.Three Forks guests enjoying a cocktail at the bar in fron of "War Clouds Over Middle Fork" by Wayne Cooper. Photo courtesy of Three Forks Ranch.