Author: By Amanda Hancock [email protected]
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Colorado Springs native honors dive bars, neon signs, nostalgia with art
When Jon Francis thinks of Colorado’s beauty, his mind doesn’t just go to the mountain views. He thinks about the neon signs and brick storefronts around his hometown of Colorado Springs. He’s not as inspired by natural landscapes. It’s those “urban landscapes” that inspire Francis. “I love seeing aspens and Garden of the Gods,” he…
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Old Colorado City studio offers a ‘treasure hunt’ of pretty things
The store’s shelves are so pretty that owner Kit Hutchinson sometimes can’t help it. There needs to be a “shelfie” taken. Each level is perfectly organized, yet overflowing with colorful items, from candles to prints to mugs to greeting cards. The tables have a similar look, as Hutchinson often has to play a version of…
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Art rides on 2 bicycle wheels at themed Colorado Springs hotel
As Torie Giffin prepared to open her bicycle hotel five years ago, at least one thing was missing: bicycle art. “As I was trying to scrape the money together to buy the hotel, there were so many expenses,” Giffin said, speaking about renovating a century-old property. “So how am I also going to make the…
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A piano on the sidewalk in Manitou Springs brings confusion, smiles and healing every day
The piano doesn’t belong here. That’s why so many people passing by give it the look. Or, a look. Follow the eyes. How they light up. Or how they glare with that confused tilt. How they can’t help but stare. People might keep walking by or keep their conversation going, but, for a few seconds,…
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Colorado woman builds beautiful sculptures out of scraps of wood
Debi Candelora spends a lot of her days hiking. Or, as she likes to say, trancing around the woods. She usually has a mission. She’s hunting for things other people might trip over, ignore or pick up to make a fire: pieces of wood. She’s looking, or “shopping,” she might say, for unusual pieces to…
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Colorado woman builds beautiful sculptures out of scraps of wood
Debi Candelora spends a lot of her days hiking. Or, as she likes to say, trancing around the woods. She usually has a mission. She’s hunting for things other people might trip over, ignore or pick up to make a fire: pieces of wood. She’s looking, or “shopping,” she might say, for unusual pieces to…
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World-traveling ‘crazy fiddle lady’ makes second home at Colorado Springs Irish pub
There’s a reason she’s called the Crazy Fiddle Lady. That’s the name Nerea Gourlaouen picked out for her YouTube channel when she was 15, thinking it would be funny. Fifteen years later, after playing gigs around the world, she typically goes by Nerea the Fiddler. It gets the point across, and it doesn’t require people…
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Colorado Springs woman’s homemade moss art is another way to bring nature into your home
Something good came out of all those Zoom calls for Courtney Arnstein: She started to get a lot of compliments on that thing behind her. Arnstein’s backdrop showed something far cooler than bookshelves or a blank wall. And people on the other side of the screen couldn’t help but ask, “What is that?” It was…
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Colorado mountain pizza favorite features odd toppings with ‘love and integrity’ | Craving Colorado
LEADVILLE • Stand close enough to Vicki Koch and you’ll be sprinkled with flour. That is, if you’re in the kitchen when she’s making pizza dough for the second time that day. Her muscled arms create a faint cloud of white as she stirs. Never mind the flour dust. You’ll want to stand close enough…
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Colorado couple turned their ‘adventure kitty’ into their hiking companion
Laura Klein’s cat was stealing the show. And it was her own fault. Quickly after adopting her cat Remy in October, Klein started posting pictures of her furry friend on Instagram. Before Remy entered the picture, the Denver art teacher and artist used her Instagram profile to share her artwork, including pet portraits and handmade…