Four Corners Arts Forum Margy Dudley

Leesa Zarinelli’s elegant fiber and textile art has been shown in galleries and art centers around the world. She has had solo exhibtions in Japan and throughout the US and has participated in over 25 juried and invitational shows as well. Her work has appeared in multiple publications including Japan Times, Art Quilts International and Fiber Art Now where she had the front and back covers. In addition Leesa has also written articles for European Textile Network and Surface Design Journal to name a few. Although she grew upon in a creative family of “makers” with a father who owned a successful bakery and a mother who was an accomplished seamstress, her passion for fiber arts really flourished during her 9 years of living in Japan with her husband who was teaching school there. As a culture the Japanese have an historical connection to fiber arts, surface design and natural dying using foraged plant material. In this interview we learn from Leesa about the process of making plant dyes which can be unpredictable depending on the PH of the soil creating wonderful unexpected color variations in the fabric. She uses the liners of Kimonos which are pure white silk because the Japanese women keep their Kimonos for life only changing out the liners which then Leesa uses for her extraordinary art. We also learn about the Japanese art of Shibouri, a stitch resist technique which she incorporates in her pieces. All of this Leesa learned from many workshops with local women weavers and and from dying and weaving coops in Japan. 
Now she’s getting ready to exhibit new work at an upcoming show this fall 2024 at Studio & Gallery here in Durango, Colorado. This is a chance to see her exquisite art pieces!
You can also view her artwork on her website at www.leesazarinelli.com

Join me for a conversation with local artist and master printmaker Ron Fundingsland whose beautiful art is recognized internationally. He is affiliated with the American Society of Graphic Artists, The International Print Triennial Society and The Boston Printmakers to name a few. His work is in the public collections of the Denver Art Museum, The Seattle Art Museum, The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. He is also represented by many galleries including the Robischon Gallery in Denver, Morgan Gallery in Kansas City and Gravestone Gallery in San Francisco among others. He started his career by entering juried shows and hitting the pavement with his portfolio to find gallery representation and attending contemporary print exhibitions around the world. Being included in the International Print Triennial in Krakow Poland gave him the chance to travel there and visit the city. If you are lucky at times you might find some of his work at Studio & in Durango. He received a BFA from The University of Colorado in 1970 but is mostly self-taught creating these brilliant pieces of art in his studio in Bayfield, Colorado. His intaglio printing process which has been done for centuries is very involved beginning as a pencil drawing which is then etched on a copper plate and pressed onto heavy rag paper. Sometimes two plates are required if there’s color in the image. His subject matter is random, whatever comes into his mind leaving much of the interpretation up to the viewer. In many cases he limits the editions of the prints to 30 or 50 prints, some of them are diptychs or triptychs as well. His images are subtle, yet powerful, timeless and lush using light and shadow to create mystery. When asked about all of his accomplishments he’s still very modest. To see his work visit his website at
www.ronfundingsland.com
 

Join me in this episode as we learn about the art of roasting coffee beans and making coffee “from seed to cup”. Brice Ward and Matt Steffans are co-owners of 81301 Coffee House and Easy Coffee Roasters located on North Main Avenue in Durango. Matt and Brice bought the business in July 2022 although they’ve worked together for 6 years. Matt is the head roaster working in back while Brice is the face you will come to know as you walk into the Coffee House. To roast perfect coffee it is important to control the temperature, time and airflow optimally for producing the best taste for each blend. They source their beans from many different countries in Central America as well as Kenya and Ethiopia in Africa. Spending time in Costa Rica with their importer/exporter gave them the chance learn about the growing process and the harvesting of the beans. They hope to be able to bring some of their employees as well to the coffee farms in the future to fully educate them on the process. The roasting is done in the back of the coffee house where you can see “how the gravy gets made”. Coffee is a daily ritual for so many people and 81301 is a community gathering place where you can still get a cup of drip coffee for $2. They’ll limit their retail business to one location but their wholesale coffee business is where they plan to grow. It’s been a successful journey so far with a lot of hard work and dedication but as they would say “you just need to show up and good things happen”.
Visit their website at www.81301coffee.com

Join me for a conversation with Bindu Bammi, a local artist who was born and raised in India, lived in the Philippines, Indonesia and Philadelphia before settling in Durango in 2016. She is a designer, painter, art educator and art therapist with two masters degrees. Bindu is part of the Art Room Collective at the Smiley Building where you can find her in her beautiful studio at 1309 East 3rd avenue. Her art celebrates both her Indian culture and western cultures around the world. In high school she became interested in art and specifically textile design after which she went on to earn a Master’s Degree in educational technology and a second Master’s Degree in Art Therapy. She spent two decades teaching art at the Jakarta International school in Indonesia dedicated to the bring art into the lives of young students as they develop their critical thinking skills. Much of her art therapy was done one-on-one with autistic children and then developed into individual and group sessions with women focusing on art therapy on women empowerment. Bindu’s own acrylic paintings are done in an abstract style letting color and texture guide her movements as the painting takes on a life of its own. She also has embraced watercolor paints and gold leaf in a similar abstract style. In addition to painting Bindu creates beautiful jewelry using polymer clay, beads and leather. Lately she has used AI and digital art as another art form creating unique designs for her silk scarves. As a teacher in Indonesia she promoted digital art through a program she developed with her late husband for the students there. You can see all of her exquisite art when you visit her studio at the Smiley Building and on her website at www.spicedred.com
 
You can also join Bindu for regular art talks on the last Thursday of each month at Create Art and Tea from 4:00-5:30. More information at www.createartandtea.com
 

Gail Harris retired from her job in 2001 as the highest-ranking African American female in the U.S. Navy. She has written a memoire called “A Woman’s War” about her experiences and has also become an event speaker about the intelligence community and her role in it. As a double minority she faced her challenges with humor and grit which gained her respect among her male peers but she also never took ‘no’ for an answer. Through all of her life’s challenges she found that music and the support of her family helped to ground her. Retirement has given her the chance to pursue music as her second career. In 2019 she applied to Julliard School of music in Manhattan and spent a year studying there. During and after the pandemic she has been able to continue her studies online composing musicals in her home studio on her three keyboards. Completely immersing herself in her projects she spends 18-20 hours a day working on her compositions. She applied and was invited in 2023 to The Vocal Arts Festival in Italy which she attended and has also been invited back to this year’s festival. In addition to all of this Gail finds time to be on the board of the Durango Playfest and has previously been on the board of Music in the Mountains, a classical music festival in Durango through which she has developed a connection with Julliard to provide opportunities for local high school and college music students to take courses online through their extension program. She was invited to work with the Durango Police Department in their diversity, equity and inclusion program offering the department feedback and for many years was a DJ at KDUR radio hosting a rhythm and Blues program! 
To find out more about the Julliard student scholarship program visit https://musicinthemountains.com/education/education-scholarship-programs/

Dr. Michael Rendon, a long time Durango community member is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Political Science here at Fort Lewis College. He is also the President of the Board of the San Juans Citizens Alliance among many other things. In the past he’s been on the City Council and Mayor of Durango as well as the first male Director of SASO, Sexual Assault Services Organization. Although he is very busy with his community involvement, he still finds time to play violin with the band Carute Roma, a high energy Southwest Colorado based gypsy music band bringing diverse sounds to festivals, weddings and parties. The band has also produced two CDs, the most recent one called Roma Road. As a violin player Michael is mostly self-taught and took his violin by sailboat to the Roma Festivals in Eastern Europe to experience the local cultures and the music. The eight band members of Carute Roma sing in six different languages and play everything from traditional gypsy music to original songs of their own. Gypsy music also has many styles including folk, French swing, jazz, Russian love songs and Spanish Flamenco that will make you feel like dancing. To hear the band perform, you will have the opportunity on May 3rd at the iAM Music Fest and on May 4th at the Mancos Brewery. Come enjoy the unique sounds of the fiddle, accordion and trumpet backed by the guitar, bass and drums. To find out more you can visit their website at www.caruteroma.com