FAC Member Salon
Take a peek at beloved objects and art displayed in the homes of FAC Members’ and hear, in their own words, what makes them so special.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Artwork from Nicole Gustafsson titled “Landscape”
When/how did you acquire it?
As a freshman at Hastings College, Nicole won Best in Show in 2004 with this piece, which we purchased afterward.
How do you display your item?
Always prominently in our living room because we love it so much.
Why do you love it?
Nicole has become an accomplished professional artist (nimasprout.com), and her work is so creative. Even more so, it started us on the path of collecting student art and, later, local art, that helps us trace our lives through all of our transitions.
–Steven and Karrie Lincoln, FAC Members
FAC Fact: Nicole Gustafsson currently works as a full time illustrator, specializing in everything from woodland characters and environments, to pop culture based projects.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
A portrait of our daughter taken from a photograph. It is charcoal and stain done on plywood.
When/how did you acquire it?
We commissioned Dareece Walker to paint this when he was still going to school at UCCS. I believe it was in 2014. Dareece is creating amazing art in New York with themes such as Black Fathers Matter. He is a wonderful human being that sees the world through very real eyes.
How do you display your item?
Above the breakfront in our dining room. It can be seen as people walk into our house.
Why do you love it?
Even though Dareece never met our daughter, Millie, he captured her perfectly.
–Terri & Cecil Harrison, FAC Member and staff
FAC Fact: Dareece Walker was featured in an exhibit at the Fine Art Center in 2017 entitled Floyd Tunson and Dáreece Walker: Force/Resistance.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
A wooden pull toy by artist Keith Haring
When/how did you acquire it?
I bought it at the Pop Shop in Manhattan in the late 1980’s
How do you display your item?
On my living room mantel
Why do you love it?
Its whimsical simplicity and bright colors. I’m a big Keith Haring fan.
–Debby Patz, FAC Member
FAC Fact: In April 1986, Keith Haring opened the Pop Shop, a retail store in Soho, NYC. Haring considered the shop to be an extension of his art and was intended to allow people greater access to his work at a low cost.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
“Four Flowers” by Emilija Pasagic, oil paint and bee’s wax on canvas
When/how did you acquire it?
Purchased from a gallery on Michigan Ave in Chicago, 2005. I was attending a medical conference at a nearby hotel, and this caught my eye during a lunch break. I loved it so much that I purchased it for our new (but as yet unbuilt) home without my husband seeing it (no camera on my cell phone back then), even though to that time it was the most expensive art purchase we’d ever made.
How do you display your item?
Above the mantle in our great room. (The size and colors ended up being perfect in the new house, by the way.)
Why do you love it?
In my mind, this very clearly represents my family of four (I was disappointed to learn the artist had intended the subject matter to be flowers). It shows our family’s closeness, and the colors make me happy.
–Jane Ridings, FAC Member
FAC Fact: Emilija Pasagic is originally from Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia and studied landscape architecture at Belgrade University.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
“Phoenix Rising”, it is a sculpture by Loveland, CO artist Ellen Woodbury, Colorado Yule Marble from Marble, CO, 30 x 21 x 17 inches.
When/how did you acquire it?
I purchased the piece in 2015.
How do you display your item?
Since it is a large sculpture, it is on a pedestal in my living room. The photo was provided by the artist Ellen Woodbury, since it was professionally done.
Why do you love it?
It took me several viewings of “Phoenix Rising”, every time it called out to me. The brilliant white of the Colorado Yule Marble which has snowflake like crystals that sparkle in the light. The Phoenix is simple yet intricate with the curved wings.
–Bill Kasper, FAC Member
FAC Fact: Colorado Yule Marble was used to construct the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier the exterior of the Lincoln Memorial.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Poem
When/how did you acquire it?
I wrote it recently
How do you display your item?
I don’t display it, but share when appropriate
Why do you love it?
It describes how standing at the base of a waterfall is a place of peace
–Martha Meinert, FAC Member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Oil Painting of sheep in New Zealand by NZ artist, John Badcock
When/how did you acquire it?
Purchased in New Zealand in 2001
How do you display your item?
On wall of great room
Why do you love it?
It’s a wonderful impression of how the sheep, fields, hedges and clouds appear in NZ
–Martha and Philip Meinert, FAC Member
FAC Fact: John Badcocks’ works are held in major New Zealand public collections including The Hocken Library, Dunedin, Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington, Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru and Andersons Park, Invercargill. He also has work in the Sackman Corporation collection in New York.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
“Expresso” by Milt Kobayashi
When/how did you acquire it?
1998 in Taos at his one man show at Total Arts Gallery
How do you display your item?
We tend to rotate its location so we see it in different lights/rooms
Why do you love it?
It was our first piece of original art. When we met Milt and he described why and how he created this painting, we fell in love with it and had to have it.
–J & M Villane, FAC Member
FAC Fact: Kobayashi credits a casual visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where he saw Velazquez’s portrait Juan de Paraja, for permanently altering his artistic direction.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
It is a walking bowl.
–Mike Mitchell, FAC Member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
A piece of fused glass depicting whimsical birds
When/how did you acquire it?
Created in Fused Glass art class led by Garrett Oaks at Bemis Art School last fall.
How do you display your item?
On a shelf on a hutch in the dining area
Why do you love it?
It’s one of the few art pieces I’ve ever done that I liked. The scene makes me happy and reminds me of Spring.
–Janet Risovi, FAC Member
FAC Facts: Glass fusing is the technique of joining two or more pieces of glass by heat in a kiln.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
“Horse in the Style of Kandinsky” by Michael Reardon. Plywood mounted on canvas and acrylic.
When/how did you acquire it?
My dad was an artist and did a series of horses in the style of famous artists. He gave this to me a few years before he passed.
How do you display your item?
We built a house a few years ago, and I designed a space in our dining area just for this piece. It’s big and wildly heavy, so I made sure the contractor had studs in the right places for it, and installed art lighting. Now I can look at it every day while I eat with family and friends.
Why do you love it?
My dad’s art is all over our house, but I have a crystal clear memory of him cursing up a storm as he tried to figure out how to get the curved plywood mounted to the board. He was generally a very patient person, but it took him a long time to get that right for the series. When I saw the Kandinsky horse in process, I asked for it before my sister or mother could get to it. If my house sets on fire, this is the first thing out. The kids are on their own.
–Maria Capp, FAC Member & Staff
FAC Fact: Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter and art theorist (1866-1944) and is credited as a pioneer of abstract art.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Erin Jones Self Portrait
When/how did you acquire it?
3 years ago
How do you display your item?
On the wall
Why do you love it?
It is a masterwork by an up and coming Colorado Springs/Denver painter
–Eric Cole, FAC Member
FAC Fact: Erin Jones was juried into “Wunderkind 2008” at the Business of Art Center in Manitou Springs, an annual exhibit spotlighting 12 of the top high-school art students in the Pikes Peak region.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
A pencil drawing of a horse
When/how did you acquire it?
1964 after my grandmother’s death
How do you display your item?
It hangs on a wall in my bedroom
Why do you love it?
Because it’s one of the few things I have from my grandmother and because she drew it without ever taking an art lesson
–Suzanne Kemp, FAC Member
FAC Fact: Horses can sleep both lying down and standing up.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
I call this “here’s some paint and paper, go outside”
When/how did you acquire it?
I acquired it last week, it was a gift from my 3 and 7 year old girls.
How do you display your item?
It’s now displayed on the door of my new home office, which also serves as a Zoom background.
Why do you love it?
It’s happy, colorful and brought me peace and quiet for a solid couple hours as it was created.
–Dori Mitchell, FAC Member & Staff
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Poster for the Festival D’Avignon, the large theatre “fringe” festival in the walled city in France, from 1999.
When/how did you acquire it?
That’s a funny story. When my wife and I were in our early dating phase, we spent a week traveling around France and stumbled on this wonderful festival. We bought a handful of posters from festivals from the past, and were excited to hang them in what would become our first apartment together in NYC. As we got on the train that would take us from Avignon to Nice, we realized that we left all the posters in the trunk of the taxi that we took to the train station, never to seen again. Many years later, I got my hands on this poster, to represent the summer that we were in Avignon together.
How do you display your item?
It looks perfect against this brick wall in our home, just above a century-old telephone table that belonged to my Great Aunt before it was passed down to me.
Why do you love it?
See the story above…but also, the nine squares represent so much of what I love about theatre in general.
–Scott RC Levy, Director of Performing Arts & Producing Artistic Director, and FAC Member
FAC Fact: The Festival d’Avignon was founded by Jean Vilar in 1947 and today is one of the largest international contemporary live performance events.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Two small retablos made by my parents, Moe Graham and M. Barbara Graham, during a class with artist Lydia Garcia in Taos, NM
When/how did you acquire it?
Around 2005. The original retablos from the class were sold to raise money for some good cause. These are color photocopies. I wish I’d had an option to buy the originals myself!
How do you display your item?
On the wall in our kitchen, where I pass them dozens of times a day
Why do you love it?
My mom went to seminary and became ordained at age 50. She’s the most people-centered, affirming person you’ll find. Her idea to form the angel from obituary names and place that cloud of black-and-white faces around her is so consistent with the kind of person she is. And my dad’s retablo, on the left, has a curiously perfect asymmetry. I love the toes, the face, and the almost marbled-looking wings.
–Julia Mesnikoff, FAC member
FAC Fact: A retablo is a small devotional painting, mainly using iconography derived from the Catholic Church. Rooted in European history, the art form was brought to Mexico with the arrival of the Spanish.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
A mounted piece of wood from Kenmare, Ireland
When/how did you acquire it?
It was a wedding gift from my parents after our wedding in Kenmare
How do you display your item?
On the coffee table
Why do you love it?
Kenmare is a special place for us. In addition to it being where we tied the knot, my late father, an Irishman, vacationed there as a child. It makes me think of him and our wedding day. Plus, it makes for a great North Mountain from Frozen. Most often than not, my kids have their little Elsa and Olaf figurines tucked into it!
–Lauren and Joe Ferrara, FAC member
FAC Fact: The name Kenmare is the anglicized form of Ceann Mara, meaning “head of the sea”, referring to Kenmare’s location at the head of Kenmare Bay.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Pastel painting by Ethel York dated 1895
When/how did you acquire it?
From my grandmother
How do you display your item?
In my bedroom
Why do you love it?
It reminds me of my grandmother and I love the lady, she’s so angelic.
–Cathi Minerich, FAC member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
This painting of a roughly-articulated head is about 12″x15″ and was painted by Luke Winfield
When/how did you acquire it?
I work at Colorado College and saw this hanging on the wall of student art in Armstrong Hall. I was drawn to it immediately and stopped to look at it for a long time. I went through various channels to get in touch with the student who painted it, and purchase it from him. It was the first original piece of art I ever bought.
How do you display your item?
It hangs on my bedroom wall where the morning sun illuminates it, and it changes mood with the light throughout the day.
Why do you love it?
When I first saw this painting, I was working on my coursework for my Master’s degree in Intercultural Relations, and completing a module on intercultural identity development. I remember thinking that this painting looked to me how identity development has felt over this last decade of becoming who I am; the vibrant colors, the energy coalescing, but also flying out the top of my head, expanding all the time with every new idea, new person, new place. This painting felt like growing and beauty, held electrically into one being.
–Heather Powell Browne, FAC member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
The Gatherers by Robert Mulder
When/how did you acquire it?
Approximately 30 years ago; a gift from my eldest brother
How do you display your item?
In my home office
Why do you love it?
Love the colors, contemporary look and the message it conveys
–Mark Hoffman, FAC member
FAC Fact: Robert Mulder was a part of the Portland Saturday Market from 1972 to 1997 with his paintings, silk screenings, watercolors, oils, acrylics, and ink and pencil drawings. The Portland Saturday Market is an outdoor arts and crafts market in Portland, Oregon and is the largest continuously operated outdoor market in the United States.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Casimir. Haitian art–village scene, 1950s or so
When/how did you acquire it?
Washington DC. Adams Morgan Day. Sooo many people, and a hot day. I saw an empty alleyway, with a fellow sitting at a desk, alone. He owned a Haitian art gallery. I purchased it, 30 years ago, for a month’s rent!
How do you display your item?
Living Room. Over gas fireplace.
Why do you love it?
Oh, the colors. The energy. The life. The angles. The joy. The white and blue sky. the green hills. It gives me life. It’s a dear old friend, been with me thru so much!
–Roger Butts, FAC member
FAC Facts: Laurent Casimir (1928-1990) is credited as one of the originators of a Haitian archetype, the market painting, done in his trademark colors of red, orange and yellow.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
African busts
When/how did you acquire it?
Approximately 40 years ago
How do you display your item?
They display on a shelf in my home office
Why do you love it?
They have “personality” and commemorate my eldest brother’s trip to Africa
–Mark Hoffman, FAC member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Wall of local art
When/how did you acquire it?
After my home burned in the Waldo Fire, I couldn’t replace our collection of folk art, so, I decided to buy art that I love from local artists.
How do you display your item?
All over the walls in my home – specifically in my living room
Why do you love it?
It makes me happy!
–C.J. Moore, FAC member
FAC Fact: The FAC’s Deco Lounge also functions as a gallery, showcasing and selling the work of Colorado’s finest local artists with First Friday events and displays managed by the FAC Museum Shop.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Oil on canvas painting by local artist Martha Manns. A view of Garden of the Gods from Red Rock Canyon open Space.
When/how did you acquire it?
Purchased at the Palmer Land Trust’s “Art for Lands Sake” show and sale in 2007.
How do you display your item?
Over Gary’s desk in his Real Estate office.
Why do you love it?
It is a peaceful and warm scene if the Colorado foothills as they might have looked 200 years ago, without any evidence of modern development.
–Gary and Sally Conover, FAC members
FAC Fact: Students from the FAC’s Bemis School of Art joined Martha Manns for a painting workshop in Taos, NM in the Fall of 2019.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
I believe that these are Chinese Mud Men. The Shekwan ceramics are commonly known as mudware, mud figures or figurines, mud people, mud men, mudd men, or mudmen. Over 1000 years ago, Chinese artisans during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), were creating landscape bonsai, miniature landscapes in a tray, a practice known as Pen’Jing.
When/how did you acquire it?
They belonged to my mother.
How do you display your item?
On a bookshelf.
Why do you love it?
They are a family heirloom.
–Deb Ross, FAC member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
My grandparents wedding picture and marriage certificate.
When/how did you acquire it?
From my grandmother when she came to live with us.
How do you display your item?
On the wall in the living room
Why do you love it?
It reminds me of my childhood and the time spent with my grandparents
–Anna Lopez, FAC member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
“Where’s Your Hat?” By local artist Ed Penner
When/how did you acquire it?
A wedding present from the artist- 3 years ago
How do you display your item?
On a shelf with a turquoise background
Why do you love it?
A serious ask in a whimsical situation
–Eve Courson, FAC member
FAC Fact: You can view a 20ft mural by Ed Penner and co-artist Sandy Dale in Florence, CO at the Florence Pour House.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Oil painting from the Terracotta Warrior series by Colorado Springs artist, Nancy Stage Robinson
When/how did you acquire it?
2014, purchased at Cottonwood Center for the Arts. This was my first big art purchase after rebuilding following the Waldo Canyon Fire.
How do you display your item?
It hangs above my mantel in my great room.
Why do you love it?
I love this because I still see something new every time I look at it. The colors are beautiful.
-Lisa M., FAC member
FAC Fact: Nancy Stage Robinson was featured in a one person paper show at the FAC in 1991.
What is the object? Describe it to us!
It is an old painted plate that is over 100 years old. No one in our family has been able to identify the artist as there are no marks or date on the back.
When/how did you acquire it?
My grandparents acquired the plate back in the early 1930’s when an old house full of antiques was burned in upstate NY. My mother gave it to me after my grandfather died.
How do you display your item?
It hangs in our master bedroom.
Why do you love it?
As a little girl I thought it was a painting of my grandmother. I think the woman is beautiful and I like the mystery behind it.
-Dana C., FAC member
What is the object? Describe it to us!
Lithograph of women in hats 1/23 from 1983 by Colorado artist Margie Kohlstad.
When/how did you acquire it?
It had been gifted to my brother by the artist 1983, and was passed on to me in 2019.
How do you display your item?
It now lives in our Dining Room. Anyone who visits our home can enjoy it.
Why do you love it?
It has always made me smile and somehow distills how I feel about living in Colorado.
-Jean Truty, FAC member & Staff
Karen Khoury's beloved painting, After the Rain
