Get ready for the 4th of July Parade at the Ah Haa!

This week at the Ah Haa so many great classes are geared to getting your young ones in the spirit of the 4th!  Fun can be had for all ages at our Fabulous Fridays!  This Friday have your children jump into painting red, white & stripes on bisqueware, handpainting patriotic flags to wave high at the parade,  creating topsy turvy 4th of July top hats to march down Main Street, and much more! 

The Ah Haa staff will be participating in the fun on Sunday, July 4th!  Come cheer us on as we stroll down Main St. in the ARTopia VW Beetle and the custom welded Cow Cruiser!  Both of these items will be auctioned off at this year's Ah Haa Art Auction!  So many great items will be showcased at this year's auction and you may bid early at www.biddingforgood.com/ahhaa!  Check out the fabulous items now!

What I Love About the Ah Haa....

The Depots back patio that sits on the Telluride River Trail is one of my favorite summer hangouts (even outside of work). Steps adorned with painted birdhouses, flowers everywhere and bistro chairs and tables is the ultimate setting for just being quite and listen to the river and catching rays. I read, I space out, I meet friends. Come check out this secret location and see if you don't stay a little longer than you thought. The only thing missing is nice ice coffee.

Batik Prayer Flags just finished up this week. Check out some of the amazing creations. We ARE blessed :)

Beautiful Weather for Bluegrass

Telluride is filling with people for this year's Bluegrass Festival.  On your way down the river trail to Town Park, stop by the Ah Haa and check out the psychedelic art of Bill Kreutzmann, former drummer and founding member of the Grateful Dead.  His colorful and vibrant work is hanging in our East Room Gallery.  Bill just happens to be the Celebrity Artist for the 18th Annual Ah Haa Art Auction and this year's live auction line up includes a pair of custom Wagner skis featuring his original artwork.  Mark your calendar for Friday, July 23rd and be sure to register early to bid on these one of a kind skis...tickets to this year's auction go on sale today!

Summer has Returned at the Ah Haa!

You know it's summer at the Ah Haa when you find people entering through the back door from the river trail finding out about classes or what the new exhibition is in the gallery.  Or the many little children flying around on the patio in their favorite superhero costume they just made.  Ah Haa is alive!

This weekend, the Ridgway Museum Galloping Goose Train will be running on Saturday, June 12 from 11 am to 4 pm for the celebration of Heritage Fest.  Children, along with adults will step foot onto the historic Galloping Goose Train just like in the old days when people boarded the trains at the Depot station.  This is a fun filled event including face painting, singing, and more!  What better way to enjoy the weekend than stepping back in time and reliving the days of historic Telluride.

What I Love About the Ah Haa....

I love the Ah Haa School for the Arts for the diversity of people and creativity that walk thru the doors. From kids to adults, it is always a joy to watch all the fantastic things that come to life here. It's like a peak into everyone's imagination. And with kids summer camps starting next Monday, I am sure to be blown away on a daily basis! Check back for my Fantastic Creation posts!

Mountainfilm Gallery Walk Tonight!

The Ah Haa School is excited to be a part of the Mountainfilm Gallery Walk tonight from 3:30 to 6:30pm. On our front deck you can see Anthony Holbrooke’s intricate and varied marble sculptures. In our East Room gallery you can view the works of Charlotta Janssen whose depictions of the Freedom Riders cleverly incorporate original photographs. Finally, the Daniel Tucker Gallery is filled with the breathtakingly vibrant (and sometimes heartbreaking) photography of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Be sure to stop by the historic depot to view these three amazing exhibits!

Summer is exploding with kids classes at the Ah Haa!

Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grown up." I came across this quote a few months ago, while our staff was busy crafting our largest catalogue yet, this summer's 2010 catalogue. When I got to the kids section, I remembered this quote and decided to make this summer's catalogue the answer to that question, or as close to it as I could come anyway. The more we worked on the catalogue, the equation became simple: amazing instructors (the ones that excite and inspire), combined with free and open projects (the ones that allow kids to really soar) and seasoned with a rainbow of different artistic disciplines (the kind which adult artists use for making sense of the world around them). This was the equation. Treat everyone like an artist and give them room to run.

I think that the reason why adults sometimes fail to "remain artists", as Picasso puts it, is because we fail to remain kids. We replace responsibility for our mortgage, or our jobs, with responsibility for our hearts, or the exercizing of our imagination. I was a classroom teacher for the six years prior to my time at Ah Haa and when creating that kids portion of our catalogue, I've often had to fight against my "adult-teacher" instinct to map out all the learning that will take place in each class.

How do I do that?

I help out in classes, where I can hang out with kids and watch my wonderful open instructors work towards smiles and imagination. I ask kids what they're making and listen and where their inspiration comes from, no matter how much sense it makes. Most of all, I ask my adult artists. They don't need to try and think like kids....they never really left.

Come to the Ah Haa this summer. 150 kids classes and 60 adult classes. Reconnect with your imagination.