{Collabs} by AwA
THE HOTTEST COLLECTIBLE in Steamboat is the new wildlife card collection orchestrated by local artist Jill Bergman. Over the 2021-22 school year Jill was part of the Colorado University Boulder Art + Science + Action Partnerships Program where she learned ways to combine art and science with public engagement. “The goal was to collaborate in creating a project that would emphasize climate issues with a focus on our local community issues and interests,” said Jill. The initial result was a zine that brought together stories and information about climate impacts to certain animals, but the project didn’t quite hit the mark for Jill. Inspired by her daughter’s illustrated postcards of wildlife around the world by Dieter Braun, she reached out to Routt County artists to illustrate local wildlife and then gathered content from local wildlife biologists and wildlife experts. The result is a set of collectible cards and greeting cards featuring facts, issues and ways to help local wildlife. For the artists involved, the images became a way to share their love of the wild creatures around them. Artist Carla Jones lived next to a naturalist who took her family to watch the Sage Grouse dancing in spring. Over the past couple of years she has made it a personal project to video and photograph the Sage Grouse. She hopes the postcards will “help people become aware of the Sage Grouse’s disappearing habitat and help them from disappearing altogether.” 40
Winter 2022
“Dear Deer,” by Maggie Smith, is a memory of a deer waiting by the side of the road to be photographed. “We share the land and our world with animals that were here long before we came to live here. The postcards with their images of Colorado wildlife will remind us of this,” said Maggie. “Of all the wildlife in Steamboat, the osprey, in particular, reminds me of home here. My house is a short walk from an open space along the Yampa where an osprey mating pair has been coming back every spring/summer for years now,” said artist Sista Luna. “It’s always reassuring to see them nesting and hunting on the river in the warmer months.” Judy Jones started photographing smaller, typically ignored animals as a way to show how we are all interconnected in nature. Sandi Poltorak hopes the cards will ignite a chain reaction that triggers a desire to help protect our environment. “One person shares their passion with another and so on and so on,” Sandi said. The combination of different styles, memories and inspirations creates a truly unique set of postcards that serve as art miniatures and also remind people what they can do to protect the wildlife in this community. ELEVATE THE ARTS: Visit Pine Moon Gallery to buy a set of collectible cards and share them with friends and family or buy a greeting card and make someone’s day by sharing why that animal is special to you. AwA Wildlife Cards Art, artists left to right, top to bottom are: Abby Jensen, Dedi Knox, Sandi Poltorak, Sista Luna, Carla Jones, Jill Bergman, Debbie McCulliss, Jason Santucci, Maggie Smith, Jill Bergman, Pat Walsh, Kathryn Fresques, Kevin Dietrich, Cyndi Marlowe, Sandi Poltorak, Joanne Orce, Gael Fetcher, Judy Jones, Julia Ben-Asher and Audrey Bortz.
Art with Altitude