The Art Base

Thursdays - Youth Art Academy (Printmaking)
2026-04-30 15:30 - 17:00 (America/Denver) | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Printmaking: with Sarah McMahon (4 Classes)
Thursdays, April 9-30
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Ages 9+

This is a beginner friendly printmaking class designed just for kids – no experience needed! Young artist will design, carve, ink and create their own original prints in a fun hands on environment. All materials are provided, and kids will get to take home their own unique prints.
Register

Collage Project, A Creative Workshop for Moms: with Angilina Taylor
2026-04-30 17:30 - 20:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
April 30, 2026
Thursday, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Open to all skill levels
Supplies provided
Turn your kids’ art into a modern collage you’ll be proud to hang. As mothers, we save these little masterpieces to honor creativity and hold onto milestones—yet they often end up tucked in boxes or binders. Let’s slow down together. Join other mothers for an afternoon of reflection, mental fitness, and creativity as we explore the intersection of motherhood and well-being, then transform 20–30 saved pieces into meaningful new artwork. Bring: 20–30 pieces of your kids’ art.
Register

Saturday, May 2 - Crafternoon with Open House at the Art Base
2026-05-02 12:00 - 15:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
A Special Crafternoon runs alongside the Art Base Open House!
Our Open House event will celebrate the Art Base’s 30th Anniversary. Stay tuned for more details.

The Art Base Community Open House
2026-05-02 12:00 - 17:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
We’re opening our doors wide to welcome YOU, our community, for a special day of art, connection, and creativity at the Art Base on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
The Art Base, established in 1996 (formerly the Wyly Community Art Center), has been dedicated to fostering creative expression in the visual arts for all ages and abilities for 30 years. This event is our way of saying thank you and sharing the joy of what we do.
Join us for the full experience or drop in when you can!

The Art Base Community Open House
Saturday, May 2
12 PM – 5 PM

12 – 4 PM
🎨 Hands-on Art Making
🖍️ Crafternoons
🖌️ Button-Making
🖼️ Collaborative Mural
✏️ Chalk Art

12 – 2 PM
🐾 Sticker Tattoo Station

3 – 3:30 PM
🗣️ Bilingual Guided Tour

4 PM
📣 Public Talk and Champagne Toast
with Founder Deb Jones and artist, Reina Katzenberger

All-day activities!
Fun for all ages and abilities!
Free and open to the public!

We hope you’ll join us!

Exhibition: Savanna LaBauve "Echoes"
2026-05-08 11:00 - 2026-06-06 17:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Exhibition Details
On view: May 8 – June 6, 2026 Opening Reception: Friday, May 8 | 5:00–7:00 PM Location: The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave, Basalt, CO Admission: Free and open to the public
Artist Talk/Interactive Public Art Event: includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM in the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.
Public Events with the Artist:
Textures of Topography
Opening Reception Friday, May 8From 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Please join us the night of Savanna LaBauve’s opening reception, visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.
Art Lunch with Savanna LaBauve – Public Event
Thursday, May 28 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Free and open to the public Art Lunch is our routine excuse to gather around the table. Bring a bagged lunch and let conversation roam.
Closing Reception with Savanna LaBauve
Saturday, June 6
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Free and open to the public

Join artist Savanna LaBauve at the close of Echoes for an artist talk and the unveiling of Textures of Topography. During the opening reception, the community was invited to leave their barefoot mark on a large slab of clay — that piece has since been fired and returns to the gallery transformed. Come see what we made together, hear more about the ideas behind the show, and celebrate the close of the exhibition.

About the Artist
Savanna LaBauve is a ceramic artist based in Carbondale, Colorado. With a background in painting and drawing, her practice has evolved over the past six years into a deeply tactile exploration of form, material, and process. Her work investigates repetition, memory, and transformation through hand-built ceramic forms that balance structure and fragility.
About Echoes
The Art Base is pleased to present Echoes, a solo exhibition by Carbondale-based ceramic artist Savanna LaBauve, on view May 8 through June 6, 2026. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 8, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, with an artist talk at 5:30 PM. Echoes is a sister show to Orbit, opening a few weeks later at Seesaw Gallery in South Denver; together, the two shows thematically explore the idea of constellations and their points of intersection. In LaBauve’s practice, echoes are the reverberations of previous choices and ideas, returning from somewhere else slightly anew — distorted by time and experience. The connective tissue is what gets left behind, and how that memory shapes what comes after.

This exhibition is sponsored by Karen White Interior Design, and we are grateful to our 2026 Annual Exhibition Sponsor, Alpine Bank.

Present in this exhibition are what LaBauve calls “portals” — rectangular forms built around a deliberate absence, a cut-out at the center that draws the eye inward. Some of these portals feel like longstanding caverns, others are suspended in their forward momentum, a snapshot in time. The portals carry a sense of struggle: to puncture primarily, but also to preserve the space between. As the mass around them presses in, there is a sense of vulnerability in how they resist the weight of the clay. The work suggests that an absence is contingent: a space can is best perceived when it is in danger of collapsing. These sculptures ask the viewer to consider the space as the subject — a thin threshold between what is, what was, and what could be.
A recurring theme in the work is bifurcation, where one becomes two, like trees branching or rivers forking. In the series of pierced sculptures that resemble baskets, this plays out through a dialogue between object and shadow. A cyanotype, a sun-printed photographic record of shadow, captures the outline of one structure, and that shadow becomes the blueprint for the next. The process repeats, as each shadow inflects and distorts the form of the next sculpture— a process LaBauve likens to memory. Solid and inanimate become interchangeable, as the work moves forward, alternating between directions — the shadow sometimes leading the form for a change. For LaBauve, the work is formed by pinch and touch, a slow process of mark-making with an emphasis on remaining a physical record.
The exhibition opening also includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM at the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.

Opening Reception: Savanna LaBauve "Echoes"
2026-05-08 17:00 - 19:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Exhibition Details
On view: May 8 – June 6, 2026Opening Reception: Friday, May 8 | 5:00–7:00 PMLocation: The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave, Basalt, COAdmission: Free and open to the public
Artist Talk/Interactive Public Art Event: includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM in the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.
Public Events with the Artist:
Textures of Topography
Opening Reception Friday, May 8From 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Please join us the night of Savanna LaBauve’s opening reception, visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.
Art Lunch with Savanna LaBauve – Public Event
Thursday, May 2812:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Free and open to the publicArt Lunch is our routine excuse to gather around the table. Bring a bagged lunch and let conversation roam.
Closing Reception with Savanna LaBauve
Saturday, June 6
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Free and open to the public

Join artist Savanna LaBauve at the close of Echoes for an artist talk and the unveiling of Textures of Topography. During the opening reception, the community was invited to leave their barefoot mark on a large slab of clay — that piece has since been fired and returns to the gallery transformed. Come see what we made together, hear more about the ideas behind the show, and celebrate the close of the exhibition.
About the Artist
Savanna LaBauve is a ceramic artist based in Carbondale, Colorado. With a background in painting and drawing, her practice has evolved over the past six years into a deeply tactile exploration of form, material, and process. Her work investigates repetition, memory, and transformation through hand-built ceramic forms that balance structure and fragility.
About Echoes
The Art Base is pleased to present Echoes, a solo exhibition by Carbondale-based ceramic artist Savanna LaBauve, on view May 8 through June 6, 2026. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 8, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, with an artist talk at 5:30 PM.
Echoes is a sister show to Orbit, opening a few weeks later at Seesaw Gallery in South Denver; together, the two shows thematically explore the idea of constellations and their points of intersection. In LaBauve’s practice, echoes are the reverberations of previous choices and ideas, returning from somewhere else slightly anew — distorted by time and experience. The connective tissue is what gets left behind, and how that memory shapes what comes after.

This exhibition is sponsored by Karen White Interior Design, and we are grateful to our 2026 Annual Exhibition Sponsor, Alpine Bank.

Present in this exhibition are what LaBauve calls “portals” — rectangular forms built around a deliberate absence, a cut-out at the center that draws the eye inward. Some of these portals feel like longstanding caverns, others are suspended in their forward momentum, a snapshot in time. The portals carry a sense of struggle: to puncture primarily, but also to preserve the space between. As the mass around them presses in, there is a sense of vulnerability in how they resist the weight of the clay. The work suggests that an absence is contingent: a space can is best perceived when it is in danger of collapsing. These sculptures ask the viewer to consider the space as the subject — a thin threshold between what is, what was, and what could be.
A recurring theme in the work is bifurcation, where one becomes two, like trees branching or rivers forking. In the series of pierced sculptures that resemble baskets, this plays out through a dialogue between object and shadow. A cyanotype, a sun-printed photographic record of shadow, captures the outline of one structure, and that shadow becomes the blueprint for the next. The process repeats, as each shadow inflects and distorts the form of the next sculpture— a process LaBauve likens to memory. Solid and inanimate become interchangeable, as the work moves forward, alternating between directions — the shadow sometimes leading the form for a change.
For LaBauve, the work is formed by pinch and touch, a slow process of mark-making with an emphasis on remaining a physical record.
The exhibition opening also includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM at the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.

Textures of Topography with Savanna LaBauve
2026-05-08 17:00 - 19:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Textures of Topography
A public art event with participation from the public
Friday, May 8
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
A part of Savanna LaBauve’s exhibition, Echoes, includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM at the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.

Exhibition Details
On view: May 8 – June 6, 2026 Opening Reception: Friday, May 8 | 5:00–7:00 PM Location: The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave, Basalt, CO Admission: Free and open to the public
Public Events with the Artist:
Textures of Topography
Opening Reception Friday, May 8 From 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Please join us the night of Savanna LaBauve’s opening reception, visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.
Art Lunch with Savanna LaBauve – Public Event
Thursday, May 28 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Free and open to the public Art Lunch is our routine excuse to gather around the table. Bring a bagged lunch and let conversation roam.
Closing Reception with Savanna LaBauve
Saturday, June 6
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Free and open to the public

About the Artist
Savanna LaBauve is a ceramic artist based in Carbondale, Colorado. With a background in painting and drawing, her practice has evolved over the past six years into a deeply tactile exploration of form, material, and process. Her work investigates repetition, memory, and transformation through hand-built ceramic forms that balance structure and fragility.
About Echoes
The Art Base is pleased to present Echoes, a solo exhibition by Carbondale-based ceramic artist Savanna LaBauve, on view May 8 through June 6, 2026. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 8, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, with an artist talk at 5:30 PM. Echoes is a sister show to Orbit, opening a few weeks later at Seesaw Gallery in South Denver; together, the two shows thematically explore the idea of constellations and their points of intersection. In LaBauve’s practice, echoes are the reverberations of previous choices and ideas, returning from somewhere else slightly anew — distorted by time and experience. The connective tissue is what gets left behind, and how that memory shapes what comes after.

This exhibition is sponsored by Karen White Interior Design, and we are grateful to our 2026 Annual Exhibition Sponsor, Alpine Bank.

Present in this exhibition are what LaBauve calls “portals” — rectangular forms built around a deliberate absence, a cut-out at the center that draws the eye inward. Some of these portals feel like longstanding caverns, others are suspended in their forward momentum, a snapshot in time. The portals carry a sense of struggle: to puncture primarily, but also to preserve the space between. As the mass around them presses in, there is a sense of vulnerability in how they resist the weight of the clay. The work suggests that an absence is contingent: a space can is best perceived when it is in danger of collapsing. These sculptures ask the viewer to consider the space as the subject — a thin threshold between what is, what was, and what could be. A recurring theme in the work is bifurcation, where one becomes two, like trees branching or rivers forking. In the series of pierced sculptures that resemble baskets, this plays out through a dialogue between object and shadow. A cyanotype, a sun-printed photographic record of shadow, captures the outline of one structure, and that shadow becomes the blueprint for the next. The process repeats, as each shadow inflects and distorts the form of the next sculpture— a process LaBauve likens to memory. Solid and inanimate become interchangeable, as the work moves forward, alternating between directions — the shadow sometimes leading the form for a change. For LaBauve, the work is formed by pinch and touch, a slow process of mark-making with an emphasis on remaining a physical record. The exhibition opening also includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM at the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.

(Rescheduling for Fall 2026) Quickscapes - Landscapes and Libations: with Matt Hays
2026-05-14 18:00 - 20:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
May 14, 2026
Wednesday, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Supplies Provided
No experience necessary
Learn dynamic acrylic speed painting techniques to quickly create imaginative environmental landscapes in this painting class with Matt Hays. This class focuses on building scenes from your imagination using bold brushwork, efficient layering, and expressive color. Snacks and beverages included.

Painting from Within: with Alissa Davies
2026-05-16 10:00 - 16:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
May 16, 2026
Saturday, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Open to all skill levels
Supplies Provided
Create a series of 12” x 12” abstract paintings using a rich mix of materials—including acrylics, graphite, oil pastels, collage, and charcoal. Learn how to prioritize process over product, using intuitive mark-making and layered surfaces as a pathway for emotional release and for uncovering your own unique artistic voice. Through demos, prompts, and supportive instruction, the instructor will gently encourage you to trust your instincts and listen to your inner (and wise) artist. As your paintings evolve through layers, you’ll bring in thoughtful attention to value, color, and design, refining what’s already emerging on the page.
Register

Hues + Brews - Create Your Own Blueprint: with Ethan Merritt
2026-05-26 18:00 - 20:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
All levels welcome
Supplies included
Study and Sketch like an architect. Learn to draw and render plans and elevations. Perfect for beginners and experienced makers alike.
4th Tuesday LGBTQIA+ Art & Social Night On the 4th Tuesday of each month, local LGBTQIA+ community and allies gather to socialize, make art, network, and have fun—optionally with an adult beverage. Enjoy a rotating mix of creative projects in a variety of media; no art experience needed. Come as you are, meet new friends, and explore creativity in a welcoming, low-pressure space.

Register

Sponsored by ASPEN OUT

Art Lunch with Savanna LaBauve
2026-05-28 12:00 - 13:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Thursday, May 28
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Join us for Art Lunch with our exhibiting artist, Savanna LaBauve, as we dine and discuss art and anything else! This is a great chance to walk through their current exhibition, Echoes, and ask questions or connect.
Art Lunch is our routine excuse to gather around the table. Bring a bagged lunch and let conversation roam. Some weeks we’ll toss in a discussion prompt to get things rolling, but mostly it’s about food, company, and a potluck of ideas.
Exhibition Details
On view: May 8 – June 6, 2026
Location: The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave, Basalt, CO
Admission: Free and open to the public
Public Events with the Artist:
Textures of Topography
Opening Reception Friday, May 8
From 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Please join us the night of Savanna LaBauve’s opening reception, visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.
Art Lunch with Savanna LaBauve – Public Event
Thursday, May 28
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Free and open to the public
Art Lunch is our routine excuse to gather around the table. Bring a bagged lunch and let conversation roam.
Closing Reception with Savanna LaBauve
Saturday, June 6
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Free and open to the public

Join artist Savanna LaBauve at the close of Echoes for an artist talk and the unveiling of Textures of Topography. During the opening reception, the community was invited to leave their barefoot mark on a large slab of clay — that piece has since been fired and returns to the gallery transformed. Come see what we made together, hear more about the ideas behind the show, and celebrate the close of the exhibition.
About the Artist
Savanna LaBauve is a ceramic artist based in Carbondale, Colorado. With a background in painting and drawing, her practice has evolved over the past six years into a deeply tactile exploration of form, material, and process. Her work investigates repetition, memory, and transformation through hand-built ceramic forms that balance structure and fragility.
About Echoes

The Art Base is pleased to present Echoes, a solo exhibition by Carbondale-based ceramic artist Savanna LaBauve, on view May 8 through June 6, 2026. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 8, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, with an artist talk at 5:30 PM.
Echoes is a sister show to Orbit, opening a few weeks later at Seesaw Gallery in South Denver; together, the two shows thematically explore the idea of constellations and their points of intersection. In LaBauve’s practice, echoes are the reverberations of previous choices and ideas, returning from somewhere else slightly anew — distorted by time and experience. The connective tissue is what gets left behind, and how that memory shapes what comes after.

This exhibition is sponsored by Karen White Interior Design, and we are grateful to our 2026 Annual Exhibition Sponsor, Alpine Bank.

Present in this exhibition are what LaBauve calls “portals” — rectangular forms built around a deliberate absence, a cut-out at the center that draws the eye inward. Some of these portals feel like longstanding caverns, others are suspended in their forward momentum, a snapshot in time. The portals carry a sense of struggle: to puncture primarily, but also to preserve the space between. As the mass around them presses in, there is a sense of vulnerability in how they resist the weight of the clay. The work suggests that an absence is contingent: a space can is best perceived when it is in danger of collapsing. These sculptures ask the viewer to consider the space as the subject — a thin threshold between what is, what was, and what could be.
A recurring theme in the work is bifurcation, where one becomes two, like trees branching or rivers forking. In the series of pierced sculptures that resemble baskets, this plays out through a dialogue between object and shadow. A cyanotype, a sun-printed photographic record of shadow, captures the outline of one structure, and that shadow becomes the blueprint for the next. The process repeats, as each shadow inflects and distorts the form of the next sculpture— a process LaBauve likens to memory. Solid and inanimate become interchangeable, as the work moves forward, alternating between directions — the shadow sometimes leading the form for a change.
For LaBauve, the work is formed by pinch and touch, a slow process of mark-making with an emphasis on remaining a physical record.
The exhibition opening also includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM at the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.

Closing Artist Talk with Savanna LaBauve
2026-06-06 16:00 - 17:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Closing Artist Talk with Savann LaBauve
Saturday, June 6
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Free and open to the public

Join artist Savanna LaBauve at the close of Echoes for an artist talk and the unveiling of Textures of Topography. During the opening reception, the community was invited to leave their barefoot mark on a large slab of clay — that piece has since been fired and returns to the gallery transformed. Come see what we made together, hear more about the ideas behind the show, and celebrate the close of the exhibition.

Exhibition Details
On view: May 8 – June 6, 2026 Opening Reception: Friday, May 8 | 5:00–7:00 PM Location: The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave, Basalt, CO Admission: Free and open to the public

About the Artist
Savanna LaBauve is a ceramic artist based in Carbondale, Colorado. With a background in painting and drawing, her practice has evolved over the past six years into a deeply tactile exploration of form, material, and process. Her work investigates repetition, memory, and transformation through hand-built ceramic forms that balance structure and fragility.
About Echoes
The Art Base is pleased to present Echoes, a solo exhibition by Carbondale-based ceramic artist Savanna LaBauve, on view May 8 through June 6, 2026. An opening reception will be held on Friday, May 8, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, with an artist talk at 5:30 PM. Echoes is a sister show to Orbit, opening a few weeks later at Seesaw Gallery in South Denver; together, the two shows thematically explore the idea of constellations and their points of intersection. In LaBauve’s practice, echoes are the reverberations of previous choices and ideas, returning from somewhere else slightly anew — distorted by time and experience. The connective tissue is what gets left behind, and how that memory shapes what comes after.

This exhibition is sponsored by Karen White Interior Design, and we are grateful to our 2026 Annual Exhibition Sponsor, Alpine Bank.

Present in this exhibition are what LaBauve calls “portals” — rectangular forms built around a deliberate absence, a cut-out at the center that draws the eye inward. Some of these portals feel like longstanding caverns, others are suspended in their forward momentum, a snapshot in time. The portals carry a sense of struggle: to puncture primarily, but also to preserve the space between. As the mass around them presses in, there is a sense of vulnerability in how they resist the weight of the clay. The work suggests that an absence is contingent: a space can is best perceived when it is in danger of collapsing. These sculptures ask the viewer to consider the space as the subject — a thin threshold between what is, what was, and what could be.
A recurring theme in the work is bifurcation, where one becomes two, like trees branching or rivers forking. In the series of pierced sculptures that resemble baskets, this plays out through a dialogue between object and shadow. A cyanotype, a sun-printed photographic record of shadow, captures the outline of one structure, and that shadow becomes the blueprint for the next. The process repeats, as each shadow inflects and distorts the form of the next sculpture— a process LaBauve likens to memory. Solid and inanimate become interchangeable, as the work moves forward, alternating between directions — the shadow sometimes leading the form for a change. For LaBauve, the work is formed by pinch and touch, a slow process of mark-making with an emphasis on remaining a physical record.
The exhibition opening also includes a participatory artwork and public event, Textures of Topography, on Friday, May 8, from 5 – 7 PM at the Art Base gallery. Visitors are invited to make barefoot impressions in clay, adding their marks to those already there. Over the course of the event, these layers will overlap and change one another. The finished piece will be fired and returned to the gallery later in the exhibition, creating a shared record shaped by many people.

Nature’s Art Toolbox: with Sarah Schlichter
2026-06-08 09:30 - 2026-06-12 15:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
June 8 – 12, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM, Friday, 9:30AM – 12:00PM
Grades: 1+
What if your art supplies grew on trees? In this hands-on camp, young artists will explore nature like an art store—responsibly foraging leaves, twigs, grasses, and more to make brushes, stamps, and texture tools. Back in the studio, students will use their handmade supplies to create prints, collages, and original artworks to take home.
Register

Exhibition: Molly Altman and Sabrina Piersol "FLORAL PANIC"
2026-06-12 11:00 - 2026-07-24 17:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Opening Reception: Friday, June 12 from 5 PM- 7 PM
Artist Talk: Friday, June 12 at 5:30 PM
On view: June 12 to July 24, 2026
Molly Altman’s ceramic sculptures explore the fragile balance between resilience and impermanence in the natural world. Working with flora gathered from the Carbondale landscapes and flowers, leaves, vines, and grasses, she dips these materials in porcelain and fires them, transforming organic forms into delicate, ghostlike structures. By reassembling these elements onto hand-built ceramic frameworks, Altman creates intricate micro-environments that echo the ecologies from which they came. Her work honors the abundance and vulnerability of the Roaring Fork Valley, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship to a rapidly changing environment.
Sabrina Piersol’s paintings emerge from a spark of inspiration a loose sketch, a color palette, or a single natural form before unfolding into an intuitive, responsive process. Guided by presence and improvisation, she follows each mark as it appears, allowing the composition to evolve with the same unpredictability and openness found in meditation. Her work prioritizes the relationships of color, form, and movement, resulting in dynamic, emotionally resonant paintings shaped by both intention and discovery.

Generously sponsored by Krista Klees and Palladium Group, and Z-Group Architecture & Interior Design

Thank you to our generous 2026 Annual Exhibition Sponsor, Alpine Bank

Opening Reception: Molly Altman and Sabrina Piersol "FLORAL PANIC"
2026-06-12 17:00 - 19:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States

River Critters: with Brooke Bartlett
2026-06-16 09:00 - 2026-06-18 12:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
June 16 – 18, 2026
Tuesday – Thursday, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
PreK (ages 4+)
Dive into a river adventure! Explore rivers, rocks, and ripples—and create art inspired by the creatures that live in and around the water. Paint swirling currents, design fish and frogs, make dragonflies and turtles, and build a colorful river habitat with collage and simple sculpture. Use playful materials and plenty of imagination as you create, explore, and take home a splashy bundle of river-inspired masterpieces!
Register

Birding & Brushstrokes: Cedar Waxwing
2026-06-16 17:00 - 20:00 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
June 16, 2026
Tuesday, 5:00PM – 8:00PM
All levels welcome
Supplies included
Collaboration with Aspen Center for Environmental Studies
This class will be held at Rock Bottom Ranch
Join us at the inspirational setting of Rock Bottom Ranch for an evening of birds and watercolor! The class will start off with a short birding outing with ACES Bird Guide Rebecca focusing on the Cedar Waxwing and other resident birds, their behavior, and how they interact with the environment. The students will then explore with Amy the various techniques, materials, and tools of watercolor to paint several perspectives of the Cedar Waxwing. One of the valley’s most beautiful birds, its silky plumage of browns, grays, and yellows is accented by its bold black mask and expressive crest. Let your creativity fly!
Register

Art on the Edge: with Sophie Catto
2026-06-22 09:30 - 2026-06-26 15:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
June 22 – 26, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM, Friday 9:30AM – 12:00PM
Art Show and Hip Hop Performance on Friday at 11:45AM
Grades: 4 – 6 (2026/2027 school year)
Big style and big energy! Learn how to create graffiti-style letters and bold artwork using spray paint, stencils, paint, and collage. Customize your own skateboard deck and trucker hat, then hit the dance floor to learn hip hop moves. Finish the week with a super-fun dance performance and art show to show off your art (and your moves!).
Register

Bees, Baskets & Bread: Collaboration with ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch - ADDED
2026-06-22 09:30 - 2026-06-26 15:30 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
June 22 – June 26, 2026
Monday through Friday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades 5 – 8
This camp will be held at Rock Bottom Ranch
Come to Rock Bottom Ranch to learn traditional skills such as bread-making, beekeeping, and basket-weaving using natural materials gathered right here on our property. This week blends outdoor adventure, practical skills, and creative expression, fostering a meaningful experience rooted in tradition, teamwork, and the rhythms of ranch life.
Registration will be done through ACES, and opens February 19. https://aspennature.jumbula.com/summer-camp

Bugs. Butterflies . Beetles
2026-06-23 09:00 - 2026-06-25 12:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
June 23 – 25, 2026
Tuesday – Thursday, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Art Show on Thursday at 11:45 AM
Pre-K (Ages 4 +)
Jump into the mini world of bugs and make art that crawls, flutters, and sparkles! Paint bright butterfly wings, build beetles with shiny patterns, and create wiggly worms and busy ants with collage, clay, and mixed materials. Try stamping, splattering, cutting, gluing, and drawing as you explore spots, stripes, and wild nature designs. Make bug masks, garden scenes, and tiny critter sculptures—then take home a collection of creepy-crawly masterpieces!
Register

The Wizarding Art of Harry Potter
2026-06-29 09:30 - 2026-07-03 15:30 | CO
June 29 – July 3, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM, Friday, 9:30AM – 12:00PM
Art Show on Friday at 11:45AM
Grades: 2+
Step through Platform 9 3/4 and let all things Harry Potter be your artistic muse. Make a papier mâché Sorting Hat, create a one-of-a-kind magic wand (that even Garrick Ollivander would approve of), produce potions and bottles, craft a Big Book of Monsters, design your own Flying Golden Snitch, and more! Celebrate the last day of class by making your own Butterbeer.
Register

Bees, Baskets & Bread: Collaboration with ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch - TWO
2026-06-29 09:30 - 2026-07-03 15:30 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
June 29 – July 3
Monday through Friday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades 5 – 8
This camp will be held at Rock Bottom Ranch
Come to Rock Bottom Ranch to learn traditional skills such as bread-making, beekeeping, and basket-weaving using natural materials gathered right here on our property. This week blends outdoor adventure, practical skills, and creative expression, fostering a meaningful experience rooted in tradition, teamwork, and the rhythms of ranch life.
Registration will be done through ACES, and opens February 19. https://aspennature.jumbula.com/summer-camp

Forest Friends: with Brooke Bartlett
2026-06-30 09:00 - 2026-07-02 09:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
June 30 – July 2, 2026
Tuesday – Thursday, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Art Show at 11:45 AM on Thursday
PreK (ages 4 +)
Step into the forest and start creating! Explore the world of woodland animals and make art inspired by trees, trails, and all the creatures that live under the leaves. . Use paint, paper, and simple sculpture materials—plus plenty of imagination and play. Come ready to create, explore, and take home a bundle of forest-inspired masterpieces!
Register

Dream It, Write It, Draw It! Make and Illustrate your Own Book: with Rebecca Stirling
2026-07-06 09:30 - 2026-07-10 15:30 | Basalt Regional Library, 4 Midland Ave, Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 6 – 10, 2026
9:30AM – 3:30PM, Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 12:00PM, Friday
This camp will be held at the Basalt Library
Grades 3 + (2026/2027 school year)
Write and illustrate your own story—then launch it into an adventure! You’ll dream up a hero (you, or a character from your imagination), build a whole new world, and send your story off on an epic journey. Create a comedy, a mystery, or a magical quest—travel from fairy tales to knights in shining armor, from the ocean to the mountains, and everywhere in between. You’ll sketch characters, design settings, and bring your tale to life with words, drawings, and lots of imagination. By the end, you’ll have a storybook that’s completely yours—the story of your dreams!
Register

Portfolio Building: with Joe Hoff
2026-07-06 10:00 - 2026-07-10 16:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 6 – 10, 2026
Monday – Friday, 10:00AM – 4:00PM
Grades: 9 – 12
Build a portfolio that’s ready for college applications, contests, grants, and artist residencies. Learn how to photograph and document artwork, organize digital files, curate a strong sequence, and strengthen your work through critique and revision. Explore digital and physical portfolio platforms, then draft an artist statement and artwork captions that connect your ideas and goals across media.
Register

Animals - Scales, Shimmer & Patterns: with Rebecca Stirling
2026-07-13 09:30 - 2026-07-17 15:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 13 – 17, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM, Friday, 9:30AM – 12:00PM
Art Show on Friday at 11:45AM
Grades 1st + (going into 2026/2027 school year)
Get ready to zoom in and make art that shimmers! Have you ever looked closely at a butterfly wing, snake scales, or a dragonfly’s see-through wings? Animals are covered in incredible patterns—and you’ll get to recreate them in your own bold way. You’ll draw, color, paint, and collage using all kinds of paper (even clear cellophane!), plus markers, crayons, glitter, and more. Make spots, stripes, swirls, and scales, then take home a collection of wild, beautiful pattern masterpieces!
Register

Explore.Make.Create - Art Around the World: with Rebecca Stirling
2026-07-20 09:30 - 2026-07-24 15:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 20 – 24, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM, Friday, 9:30AM – 12:00PM
Grades: 2 – 5
Pack your imagination and get ready to travel with art! You’ll explore creative styles, patterns, and projects inspired by places around the world—then make your own colorful masterpieces along the way. Paint, draw, collage, and build as you create art inspired by maps, landmarks, animals, celebrations, and designs from different cultures. Every day is a new “destination” with hands-on projects and lots of creativity—plus plenty of artwork to bring home from your world art adventure!
Register

Waves, Wonders & Mermaids - Ocean Explore: with Brooke Bartlett
2026-07-21 09:00 - 2026-07-23 12:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 21 – 23, 2026
Tuesday – Thursday, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
PreK (ages 4 +)
Dive into an underwater adventure—mermaids included! You’ll explore the ocean world and create sea-sparkly art inspired by waves, coral reefs, and amazing sea creatures. Design mermaids (and merfolk!), paint swirling water, build colorful fish and jellyfish, and make “treasures” you’d find on the sea floor. We’ll use paint, collage, and simple sculpture—plus shimmery materials for extra ocean magic. Come ready to imagine, create, and leave with a bundle of under-the-sea masterpieces!
Register

Color.Cosmos.Creatures - Art + Science: with Lillian McIntyre and Sophie Catto
2026-07-27 09:30 - 2026-07-31 15:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 27 – 31, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM, Friday, 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Grades 2 – 4
A collaboration with Aspen Science Center – held at the Art Base
Dive into a week of messy experiments and masterpiece-making! You’ll mix art and science as you explore anatomy and biology, create color-chemistry art (including chromatography), engineer creative builds, and make projects inspired by fossils, space, and planets. Get ready to test, tinker, splash, and discover—then head home with a stack of amazing creations.
Register

Wildlife Explorers: with Brooke Bartlett
2026-07-28 09:00 - 2026-07-30 12:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 28 – 30, 2026
Tuesday – Thursday, 9:00AM – 12:00PM
PreK (ages 4 – 6)
Grab your explorer hat and head out on an art adventure! You’ll create art inspired by wild animals from forests, rivers, mountains, and meadows—think bears, foxes, owls, deer, fish, and more. Paint big animal shapes, collage furry and feathery textures, build masks and puppets, and sculpt tiny creatures with clay. You’ll stamp tracks, make habitat scenes, and use bright colors to bring your wildlife discoveries to life. Get ready to make a little mess, try new materials, and take home a whole collection of wild masterpieces!
Register
