Tag Archives: Fort Collins Studio Tour

Transforming Clay from the Simple to the Sublime: Three Fort Collins Artisans at Work

Chris Wolff of Fort Collins has made countless one-of-a-kind pieces of pottery over the years.

Have you ever wandered through an art fair or exhibit and marveled that there could be so many variations of a mug . . . or a pot . . . or a pitcher?

Besides their boundless imagination, artisans have an amazing number of down-to-earth choices for letting their creativity take form in clay.

My education in ceramics began unexpectedly on the Fort Collins Studio Tour late in June. If you read my post on August 6, you know about my visit with Susan Sternlieb, who showed me how a well-flattened slab of clay can slump to become a bowl.

Later on the tour I met three artisans who continued my education: Chris Wolff, Cindy O’Neill, and Heather Bartmann. Through them I began to grasp how many choices go into each one-of-a-kind ceramic piece. Continue reading →

With Fiber, Wire, and Strips of Glass, Megan Tilley Weaves Her View of Life

Megan Tilley brings together her passion for both sculpture and weaving in this fiber and copper wire wall hanging.

In her home on the west side of Fort Collins, Megan Tilley surrounds herself with her art – and not just for the Fort Collins Studio Tour, when I met her. Permanent, focused lighting brings out the best in her wall hangings, mobiles, and sculpture. Her home has become both her studio and her gallery.

Megan calls her work collectively Raw Life Expressions. As she talked about it, I realized that what I need words to do, Megan does with fiber, metal, and glass. No wonder the results are so unique.

Megan specialized in sculpture during her undergraduate days as a fine arts major at Colorado State University. She took a weaving class simply to fill a requirement – but fell in love with it on the first assignment.

Now a loom sits across a corner of her living room with all the aplomb of a baby grand piano. Continue reading →

Handmade Furniture Takes a Woman’s Touch at Anne Bossert’s Studio

The same dye that colors Anne Bossert’s textiles brings stunning color to birch, maple, and other woods she uses. (Photo by A. Bossert)

When I started planning “Handmade on the Front Range,” I wondered what I would say about artisans who work with wood. That’s a “guy thing,” right? Bulky equipment, saws, sawdust . . . What would interest female readers?

One of the joys of meeting artisans and learning about their work is having my preconceived ideas blown away. That’s what happened when I met Anne Bossert, fiber artist and furniture maker, on the Fort Collins Studio Tour.

Anne’s studio lies on the northeast side of Fort Collins, in one of the practical, no-nonsense-looking buildings a few blocks north of Mulberry Street. Not exactly the place where I would expect someone with artistic sensibilities to hang out.

Any skepticism evaporated the moment I walked inside. At the far end of Anne’s meticulously cleaned workshop stood three tables that made me gasp. Let me show you why. Continue reading →