An artist with a heart for teaching

Pat Sunderland

Published on Wednesday, 03 February 2010 00:00

Dani Tupper’s spacious studio was designed by her architect son and features lots of northern light, a separate framing room and an area for up to 10 students to gather. Her framed artwork lines the walls.

Between teaching a weekly class, conducting periodic workshops, and organizing art exhibitions, it’s no surprise that Dani Tupper’s biggest challenge is finding time to devote to her own artwork.

“I’m a little bit overtaxed,” she confessed, as she talked about an upcoming workshop she’ll be leading in Phoenix, a trip to Mexico she’s taking with three of her students, and a national exhibition she’s co-chairing for the Western Colorado Watercolor Society.

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Historic buildings of Eckert

Verna Barr

Published on Thursday, 28 January 2010 16:09

Early Eckert Post Office

and Market

The Eckert Presbyterian Church is one of the iconic buildings of Eckert with its distictive rock face and dominating profile.

Eckert was named for Elizabeth “Izzy” Eckert States, the wife of Adelbert States. He was the ﬁrst postmaster of the ﬁrst post ofﬁce in Eckert established in 1891. The post ofﬁce was located in the States’ home, then other homes before moving to the store built in 1884 and operated by States.

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Udderly awesome suds!

Kami Collins

Published on Wednesday, 20 January 2010 00:00

The actual process of making soap is a relatively quick process – one batch takes about half an hour to make. Here, Heidi slowly stirs lye into ice-cold goat’s milk. It’s very important the milk doesn’t curdle, so the lye is added a bit at a time to the milk, and often the mixture is put into an ice bath. After the lye and milk are combined, Heidi combines that mixture with vegetable-based oils.

Heidi Simpson’s kitchen smelled deliciously of white tea and ginger. She poured a generous amount of the scented oils into a big pot ﬁlled with a thick, yellow combination of lye, oils and goat’s milk.

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A view in 3D

Bob Borchardt

Published on Thursday, 14 January 2010 14:52

3D is all the rage.

This is is an example of the quality stereoscopes crafted by Don Clayton of Cedaredge. The design dates back into the mid 1800s, when stereoscopes provided a “three-dimensional” view of world wonders.

With the movie “Avatar” now in theaters, the long list of 3D movies and the unveiling of the ﬁrst 3D television at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one can only wonder when and where all this three dimensional imaging started.

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Floating out the welcome mat

Hank Lohmeyer

Published on Thursday, 07 January 2010 14:58

Tourism promotion in Delta County treads a narrow path that winds between the goals of bringing tourism dollars to the local economy while striving to preserve the very things visitors find desirable — open space and agriculture, natural history and heritage, individual lifestyle choices, and outdoor recreation.

An open invitation to a unique brand of relaxing adventure beckons from this opening stretch of the Gunnison River at the Pleasure Park put-in.

The goal of local tourism promotion is finding and connecting with the right market niche that will attract that specific tourist segment to come here, experience and respect what Delta County has to offer.

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On the wild side

Pat Sunderland

Published on Thursday, 31 December 2009 12:48

The diversity of wildlife in Delta County captivates hikers, hunters, birdwatchers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Binoculars in hand, they scan the hillsides for signs of movement.

JOHN MONARCH WAS conducting winter wildlife surveys in the Mt. Gunnison area when this photo was taken by a companion. He has several friends who are more than willing to accompany him through the powdery snow. It’s helpful if they’re younger, he says — that way if he gets stuck the young riders are willing to help the “old guy” out.

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Dolce Voce . . . Sweet voice!

Verna Barr

Published on Wednesday, 23 December 2009 18:01

Dolce voce performed at the Chapel of the Cross in Pioneer Town in Cedaredge on Dec. 5. This program was the 19th annual christmas concert to be held at the chapel. Dolce Voce presented its Christmas concert in Montrose and Delta as well during December.

Dolce Voce (“sweet voice” in Italian), is a group of eight a cappella singers who have blended their voices and performed throughout the area since January 2004. Their program “We Wish You a Dolce Christmas” was presented at the Chapel of the Cross on Saturday, Dec. 5, and was repeated again in Delta on Sunday, Dec. 20.

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Restoring the past

Kami Collins

Published on Thursday, 17 December 2009 17:17

Jim Nichols and his wife Gail were out for a drive one day when Jim spotted an old beat up 1953 Ford Victoria. The car was parked in a lot in a trailer court near Durango.

Jim Nichols restored this 1953 Ford Victoria. His wife, Gail, researched the history of the car, and found the granddaughter of the original owner, whom the Nichols met in Cortez a few years ago.

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‘Real’ horse power for small scale logging

Bob Borchardt

Published on Thursday, 10 December 2009 16:58

Peter Miles is leaving his mark in the Grand Mesa National Forest, and the Forest Service is loving it.

Peter Miles works his team — Donna and Buddy — among the trees on the Grand Mesa. Miles is demonstrating the “old fashioned” way of horse logging can be utilized for small scale logging on public lands with minimal environmental impacts. The light snow cover actually makes it easier for the horses to haul logs around, extending the time they can work in the forest.

For some people, rapid advancements in technology, gas guzzling machinery and life in the “fast lane” just doesn’t cut it.

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