Come on.  We're going on a trip to the Western Colorado Center for the Arts. (Simply called The Art Center here).  It won't take long, but it will WELL be worth your while!

As we drive up to the building, you'll notice the exterior is a little quirky.  Multiple metal birds moving in the breeze gaze down upon us from the roof.  Manicured green grass creates waves as it moves up and down the exterior walls.  This certainly isn't an architectural masterpiece, but don't let looks deceive you!

Entering The Art Center, we are warmly greeted by a woman with a kind smile and twinkling eyes.  Meet Carolyn.  She can help us with just about ANYTHING!  And her gracious welcome alone is worth the trip. 

Oh, but wait, looking around we see a great assortment of art adorning the walls, pedistals, art bins, bookshelves, jewelry cases and more.  This is the gift shop and it offers wonderful "treats"  (for others AND yourself).  There's great variety here and all creations are very reasonably priced. 

To the right notice large, encased display shelves. These house many three-dimensional (mostly pottery) treasures of The Art Center.  Everything from historic artifacts and creations from The Art Center's Permanent Collection, to contemporary pots thrown by local ceramics guru Terry Shepherd.  OK, time to peel ourselves away from this great display and move on to the next.  We've hardly started!

In the first gallery, we are greeted by an exhibit that at once intrigues and soothes.  It is the Pastel Society of Colorado's Annual Member Show.  Luscious landscapes, tempting still lives, moving portraits and appealing abstracts from artists all around the state lure us in.  With more than 80 works of art in this exhibit, we could be here for a while. It's interesting to note that even though the use of pastels dates back to cave paintings over 15,000 years ago, it wasn't until the later twentieth century that it became a serious art medium.

OK.  After a bit it's time for us to move on to the next gallery.  Wow, this is fascinating.  Welcome to the National Collage Society Postcard Exhibition.  Computer chips, photographs, rusted metal, mirrors, hand-painted papers, porcupine quills, wood, string and more adorn these small art creations.  The name of the show is "Wish You Were Here"  and you'll notice that each postcard tells it's own story.  This is so cool.  Collage is one of my favorite art "mediums" because it is so textural.  We're very fortunate in Grand Junction to have an active Collage Society that exhibits, educates and cultivates artists who delve into this unique art form.

We spend quite some time exploring the intricasies of the pieces in this show, but now it's time to to be "wowed" by the next exhibit.  Onward to "How They Made It", a show featuring three artists who normally don't show their creations in a gallery setting.  A scale model for the stage set of "Man of La Mancha" immediately grabs my eye.  Hmmm... check out this incredibly detailed colored pencil and acrylic drawing of the set for "Beauty and the Beast."  These and many more are all creations of David Cox, Professor of Theater Arts at Mesa State College.  His award winning set, costume and lighting designs have graced more than 450 productions. 

In the same fascinating exhibit we find some very cool creations by game artist, Paul Warzecha. I never really thought of the artistic process that goes behind all video/MP3 games.  Heck, I don't even know what the proper technological terms are or what they do!  But, I can certainly appreciate the artistic skill of each of these designs and I love learning about new (to me, at least) forms of art.  It's also interesting to note that Warzecha is the lead character artist at Blizzard Entertainment where he heads up character modeling and texturing for the "Diablo 3" team. 

Wait.  What is that geometric sculptural object across the room?  Wow, it's a beehive!  And behind it are wonderful, collage-like creations of structures and rooms.  I've never seen architectural drawings like these before.  They are truly a work of art.   The artist, architect Lancer Livermont owns the architectural firm of LLa Architecture Ltd. here in Grand Junction.  And, his architectural drawings were recently exhibited at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.  Very cool.

We're running out of time, so it's on to the next exhibit, The 2009 Student, Instructor Open Studio Exhibit.  One of the most important events of the year, this exhibit showcases the creations of teachers and students alike who are either refining their medium of choice or trying something completely new.  I'm loving the variety!  Everything from ceramic pots to vivid abstract paintings and just about everything in between greets us.  This is truly eye-candy.  And because many of the artists are just starting out, several of these wonderful peices of art are offered at insane prices.  It's a great time to start collecting.  You never know who will become famous!  We have a multitude of highly collected artists from this area. 

Oh my.  I'm done.  How 'bout you?  I say let's go up the street and grab a latte or glass of iced tea.  We always can (and will) come back for more as The Art Center constantly offers incredible exhibits for visitors and residents alike.  Thanks Art Center for all you provide this community!  And thank YOU for taking the time to visit The Art Center with me.  Have a great day!