The Art Base

Exhibition: Sam Harvey, Hunter Hogan, and Sara Ransford
2026-08-28 11:00 - 2026-09-25 17:00 (America/Denver) | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Opening Reception: Friday, August 28, from 5 PM- 7 PM
Artist Talk: Friday, August 28 at 5:30 PM
On view: August 28 to September 25, 2026

The Art Base is pleased to present A Sense of Place, a new exhibition featuring artists Sam Harvey, Hunter Hogan, and Sara Ransford. Though each artist works from a unique perspective, the exhibition reveals the many ways place can be interpreted as something deeply personal and continually evolving.
For Hogan and Ransford, artists who have spent decades living and working in the Roaring Fork Valley, the landscape is far more than scenery. Mountains, rivers, gardens, and canyon walls become points of departure for work that explores both the external environment and the internal landscapes of experience and identity.

Sara Ransford’s paper clay sculptures emerge from years of exploring the mountains, rivers, and canyons of the American West. Influenced by the forces of erosion, deposition, and water’s relentless ability to reshape the earth, her layered forms mirror both geological time and the emotional accumulation of lived experience. The repeated building, exposing, and revealing within her sculptures echoes the ways personal histories become embedded over time. Also debuting in this exhibition is a new series of ceramic trays developed during artist residencies over the past four years, where experimentation with multiple clay bodies and remnants of Japanese processes opened new avenues of exploration.
Hunter Hogan approaches place through observation of the living world. Her paintings are built from drawings, digital studies, and layers of gouache that evolve through an intuitive process in the studio. Recent works were inspired by three months spent in South Africa, where gardens, vegetation, and patterns found in nature became catalysts for abstraction. Rather than painting landscapes directly, Hogan distills the experience of being immersed in them, creating works that evoke the quiet complexity of the natural world.

For Sam Harvey, making is a way of responding to space and place. Working without a predetermined outcome, he allows each object to emerge through an ongoing dialogue with clay, testing ideas through making, remaking, and refining. Practical realities, including the scale of his kiln and the physical limits of the material itself, become active collaborators in the work. Clay, drawn from the earth, is both responsive and unpredictable; it can bend, break, or fail, reminding us that some aspects of making can be controlled while others remain unknowable. Harvey continually asks how far a form can be pushed in a particular time and place, inventing techniques as needed while exploring volume, body, and structure. His sculptures often recall walls, vessels, monuments, and ancient built forms, where hard edges retain the softness inherent to clay and become anchors for the space they occupy.
Although their practices differ, meaningful connections emerge throughout the exhibition. Ransford’s layered geological forms, Hogan’s botanical abstractions, and Harvey’s sculptural objects each explore how place is built, remembered, and experienced. Together, the artists reveal that our relationship with place is never static; it is continually shaped by time, experimentation, limitation, discovery, and renewal.
A Sense of Place invites viewers to slow down and reflect on their own connections to the spaces they inhabit and the places that continue to shape and inspire them.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by CCY Architects and Kathy Honea

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

Hues + Brews - Pastel Landscapes: with Brooke Bartlett
2026-08-25 18:00 - 20:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
All levels welcome
Supplies included
Bright colors, soft textures, and beautiful landscapes—what’s not to love? Come explore the magic of soft pastels as you learn easy techniques for blending, layering, and creating vibrant scenery. This relaxed, no-pressure class is perfect for trying something new and having fun with art.
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.

Sponsored by ASPEN OUT

Register

Young at heART - Every Thursday
2026-08-20 12:45 - 14:15 | Eagle County Community Center, 20 Eagle County Dr, El Jebel, CO, 81623, United States
Thursdays, 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
$10 supply fee suggested
Eagle County Building in Willits/El Jebel
Unleash your creativity in a fun, engaging, and inspiring senior art class where the only limit is your imagination!
Each session focuses on playful and easy-to-learn techniques, including watercolor painting, acrylics, pastels and more! Classes are perfect for all skill levels. Enjoy a stress-free artistic outlet designed to nurture your creativity while having fun.
No registration necessary. Just arrive the day of ready to create!
Upcoming Classes:
August 20 – Tish McFee: Drippy Trees (Liquid Watercolors)

The pARTy 2026
2026-08-15 17:00 - 21:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
30th Anniversary
10×10 Name Unseen Silent Auction + pARTy
The Art Base Oscars
10×10 Name Unseen Silent Auction: July 31 – August 15, 2026
Ticketed Summer pARTy: Saturday, August 15th from 5:00 – 9:00 PM

THE pARTy:
This unforgettable fundraiser supports our mission to foster creative expression in the visual arts, for all ages and abilities, through education and exhibitions—because when we invest in the arts, we invest in a thriving, connected community. The pARTy begins with our 10×10 Name Unseen Silent Auction, cocktails, and art-making activities, followed by fine dining, paddle raise, and a full celebration in Lions Park under the stars.
All proceeds from the auction and pARTy go to support the Art Base’s efforts to make art and creativity available to all.
pARTy details – coming soon!
Sponsors
Thank you for championing community, creativity, and accessible art education for all!

Young at heART - Every Thursday
2026-08-13 12:45 - 14:15 | Eagle County Community Center, 20 Eagle County Dr, El Jebel, CO, 81623, United States
Thursdays, 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
$10 supply fee suggested
Eagle County Building in Willits/El Jebel
Unleash your creativity in a fun, engaging, and inspiring senior art class where the only limit is your imagination!
Each session focuses on playful and easy-to-learn techniques, including watercolor painting, acrylics, pastels and more! Classes are perfect for all skill levels. Enjoy a stress-free artistic outlet designed to nurture your creativity while having fun.
No registration necessary. Just arrive the day of ready to create!
Upcoming Classes:
Aug 13 – Missy Prudden, Watercolor
August 20 – Tish McFee: Drippy Trees (Liquid Watercolors)

Winged Wonders: A collaboration with ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch
2026-08-10 09:30 - 2026-08-14 15:30 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
August 10 – 14, 2026
Monday – Friday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades 1 – 2 (2026/2027 school year)
This camp will be held at Rock Bottom Ranch
This week of Winged Wonders is taught in collaboration with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). Each day, campers will spend the morning with ACES educators exploring hands-on activities aligned with the camp’s theme. In the afternoon, TAB educators will guide creative art projects that build on and connect to the concepts introduced earlier in the day. These collaboration camps are perfect for children that love spending time in nature and making art!
Winged Wonders camp invites young naturalists to explore our incredible world of flying creatures. From dragonflies on the pond to herons in the rookery, Rock Bottom Ranch is home to flyers galore! We’ll dive into the ‘why’ behind wings, make wing-themed art, and soar through different flight-themed challenges.
Registration through ACES opens February 19. https://aspennature.org/activity/aces-summer-camp-2026/

Creek Critters: Collaboration with ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch
2026-08-10 09:30 - 2026-08-14 15:30 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
August 10 – 14, 2026
Monday – Friday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades 3 – 4
This camp will be held at Rock Bottom Ranch
This week of Creek Critters is taught in collaboration with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). Each day, campers will spend the morning with ACES educators exploring hands-on activities aligned with the camp’s theme. In the afternoon, TAB educators will guide creative art projects that build on and connect to the concepts introduced earlier in the day. These collaboration camps are perfect for children that love spending time in nature and making art!
Creek Critters invites young explorers to discover the hidden wonders of our wetlands. From macroinvertebrates to muskrats, each day will be dripping with new discoveries.This camp is perfect for kids that like to get a little muddy and experience science through hands-on activities, stories, and games.
Registration through ACES (Opens February 19). https://aspennature.jumbula.com/summer-camp

Art, Healing + Hope: with Sheri Gaynor
2026-08-08 09:30 - 11:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
August 8, 2026
Saturday, 9:30AM / 11:30AM
Open to all skill levels
Bring your own journal, all other supplies provided
Experience the power of visual journaling at The Art Base—an uplifting, FUN process for healing, stress relief, and decompression. Explore your inner world through paint, color, and images, making connections and drawing insight from within. All levels welcome; the focus is on process, not the end result. Bring a sketchbook/journal (or purchase one for $20). Supplies included. We can’t wait to see your creativity come to life!

Register

Young at heART - Every Thursday
2026-08-06 12:45 - 14:15 | Eagle County Community Center, 20 Eagle County Dr, El Jebel, CO, 81623, United States
Thursdays, 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
$10 supply fee suggested
Eagle County Building in Willits/El Jebel
Unleash your creativity in a fun, engaging, and inspiring senior art class where the only limit is your imagination!
Each session focuses on playful and easy-to-learn techniques, including watercolor painting, acrylics, pastels and more! Classes are perfect for all skill levels. Enjoy a stress-free artistic outlet designed to nurture your creativity while having fun.
No registration necessary. Just arrive the day of ready to create!
Upcoming Classes:
Aug 6 – Marti Barbour, TBD

Aug 13 – Missy Prudden, Watercolor
August 20 – Tish McFee: Drippy Trees (Liquid Watercolors)

Wagging Tails & Whiskers: with Brooke Bartlett
2026-08-04 09:00 - 2026-08-06 12:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
August 4 – 6, 2026
Tuesday – Thursday, 9:00AM – 12:00PM
Art Show on Thursday at 11:45AM
Pre-K (ages 4+)
Get ready to make art inspired by all your favorite animals—pets, critters, and fuzzy friends of every kind! You’ll explore bright colors, fun textures, and big imagination while trying new art supplies in a kid-friendly, hands-on studio. Expect a little mess, lots of giggles, and plenty of artwork to take home!
Register

Gnome Adventure: Collaboration with ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch
2026-08-03 09:30 - 2026-08-07 15:30 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
August 3 – 7, 2026
Monday – Friday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades 1 – 2
This camp will be held at Rock Bottom Ranch
This week of Gnome Adventures is taught in collaboration with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). Each day, campers will spend the morning with ACES educators exploring hands-on activities aligned with the camp’s theme. In the afternoon, TAB educators will guide creative art projects that build on and connect to the concepts introduced earlier in the day. These collaboration camps are perfect for children that love spending time in nature and making art!
Magic abounds at Rock Bottom Ranch and when you walk around our secret paths, you’ll find out why! Explore the forests, wetlands, gardens, pastures, and ponds at the ranch while looking for secret messages left behind by gnomes. Woodland Gnomes, Farm Gnomes, Garden Gnomes….you’ll learn the ways of our magical friends and even build your own gnome home!
Registration through ACES opens February 19. https://aspennature.jumbula.com/summer-camp

Plants & Potions: Collaboration with ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch
2026-08-03 09:30 - 2026-08-07 15:30 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
August 3 – 7, 2026
Monday – Friday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades 3 – 4
This camp will be held at Rock Bottom Ranch
This week of Plants and Potions is taught in collaboration with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). Each day, campers will spend the morning with ACES educators exploring hands-on activities aligned with the camp’s theme. In the afternoon, TAB educators will guide creative art projects that build on and connect to the concepts introduced earlier in the day. These collaboration camps are perfect for children that love spending time in nature and making art!
Step into a world of wonder where nature is your laboratory! During Plants & Potions, campers will dive into hands-on adventures that blend plant science with a touch of whimsy and wizardry. Campers will build their skills in plant identification, brew sun teas, paint with plants, and experiment with reaction potions. Leave this week with a better understanding of the hidden benefits and uses of plants that makes them magical.
Registration through ACES (opens February 19). https://aspennature.jumbula.com/summer-camp

Build, Design, Create: with Sophie Catto
2026-08-03 09:30 - 2026-08-07 15:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
August 3 – 7, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades: 2nd +
Build, Invent, and Imagine! You’ll design and construct buildings, vehicles, machines, butterflies, ladybugs—anything you can dream up. Using cardboard, recycled materials, simple tools, tape, glue, and lots of creative problem-solving, you’ll plan, prototype, and bring big ideas to life, then paint, customize, and add details to make each project uniquely your own.
Register

Opening Reception: 10x10 Name Unseen 2026
2026-07-31 17:00 - 19:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Bidding opens at 10 AM on Friday, July 31 – must register with a credit card of file
Opening Reception: Friday, July 31, from 5 PM- 7 PM
Artist Only Reception: Friday, July 31, 4 PM- 4 PM
On view: July 31 to August 15, 2026

The 10×10 Name Unseen Silent Auction is an exhibition showcasing local artists who have generously donated a 10×10 artwork. All panels are available for bidding starting at $100. All proceeds from the auction and pARTy go to support the Art Base’s efforts to make art and creativity available to all.
BIDDING IN THE AUCTION:

Bidding begins at 10 AM on July 31 and closes at 6:30 PM on August 15.
Opening Reception Friday, July 31, 5 – 7 PM.
All bidding will take place on your mobile device.
You will receive a text message if you have been outbid on an item.
All winning bidders will have their credit card on file charged once the auction closes.

Our sincere gratitude to all of the talented 10×10 artists.
More Information
Sponsors

Exhibition: 10x10 Name Unseen 2026
2026-07-31 11:00 - 2026-08-15 17:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States

Young at heART - Every Thursday
2026-07-30 12:45 - 14:15 | Eagle County Community Center, 20 Eagle County Dr, El Jebel, CO, 81623, United States
Thursdays, 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
$10 supply fee suggested
Eagle County Building in Willits/El Jebel
Unleash your creativity in a fun, engaging, and inspiring senior art class where the only limit is your imagination!
Each session focuses on playful and easy-to-learn techniques, including watercolor painting, acrylics, pastels and more! Classes are perfect for all skill levels. Enjoy a stress-free artistic outlet designed to nurture your creativity while having fun.
No registration necessary. Just arrive the day of ready to create!
Upcoming Classes:
July 30 – Carter Johnson: Watercolor
Aug 6 – TBD
Aug 13 – TBD
August 20 – Tish McFee: Drippy Trees (Liquid Watercolors)

Hues + Brews - 4x4 Community Canvas – A Collaborative Art Experience
2026-07-28 18:00 - 20:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
All levels welcome
Supplies included
Come join Aspen Out for a night of creativity and community collaboration!
Inspired by our upcoming 10×10 Name Unseen exhibition and silent auction, each participant will create a unique 4″ × 4″ artwork using a variety of materials and techniques.
Rather than taking your piece home, your artwork will become part of a larger community installation displayed in the Art Base gallery during our annual pARTy fundraiser. Together, these individual creations will form a vibrant mosaic that celebrates the many artists, makers, and supporters who help make the Art Base such a special place.
As part of our rotating Art Commons initiative, this project invites everyone, regardless of experience, to slow down, create, and contribute to something larger than themselves.
No experience necessary. All supplies are provided.
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.

Sponsored by ASPEN OUT

Register Here

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

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

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

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

Young at heART - Every Thursday
2026-07-16 12:45 - 14:15 | Eagle County Community Center, 20 Eagle County Dr, El Jebel, CO, 81623, United States
Thursdays, 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
$10 supply fee suggested
Eagle County Building in Willits/El Jebel
Unleash your creativity in a fun, engaging, and inspiring senior art class where the only limit is your imagination!
Each session focuses on playful and easy-to-learn techniques, including watercolor painting, acrylics, pastels and more! Classes are perfect for all skill levels. Enjoy a stress-free artistic outlet designed to nurture your creativity while having fun.
No registration necessary. Just arrive the day of ready to create!
Upcoming Classes:
July 16 – Tish: How to Paint Clouds (Acrylics)
July 23 – Carter Johnson: chalk pastel
July 30 – Carter Johnson: Watercolor
Aug 6 – Marti Barbour, TBD

Aug 13 – Missy Prudden, Watercolor
August 20 – Tish: Drippy Trees (Liquid Watercolors)

The Art of the Harvest : Collaboration with ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch
2026-07-13 09:30 - 2026-07-17 15:30 | Rock Bottom Ranch, 2001 Hooks Spur Rd, Basalt, 81621, United States
July 13 – 17, 2026
Monday – Friday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM
Grades 5 – 8
Held at Rock Bottom Ranch
The Art of the Harvest is a program where art, agriculture, and imagination come together. You’ll use vegetables from the ranch to create, carve, dye, print, and more. When you aren’t making art using vegetables, you’ll have the opportunity to play a role in our vegetable production.
Registration through ACES (opens February 19). https://aspennature.org/activity/aces-summer-camp-2026/

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

Art, Healing + Hope: with Sheri Gaynor
2026-07-11 09:30 - 11:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 11, 2026
Saturday, 9:30AM / 11:30AM
Open to all skill levels
Bring your own journal, all other supplies provided
Experience the power of visual journaling at The Art Base—an uplifting, FUN process for healing, stress relief, and decompression. Explore your inner world through paint, color, and images, making connections and drawing insight from within. All levels welcome; the focus is on process, not the end result. Bring a sketchbook/journal (or purchase one for $20). Supplies included. We can’t wait to see your creativity come to life!

Register

Art Lunch with Sabrina Piersol and Molly Altman
2026-07-10 12:00 - 13:00 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Friday, July 10
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
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
The Art Base is pleased to present Floral Panic, an exhibition featuring the ceramics of Molly Altman and the paintings of Sabrina Piersol. The exhibition explores the artists’ engagement with natural motifs and abstraction. By loosening the constraints of representation, Altman and Piersol envision new, unrestrained ecosystems. Please join the Art Base at our opening reception Friday, June 12th from 5 – 7 PM, with an art talk at 5:30 PM. Admission is free and open to the public.
The worlds within these abstractions emerge from different motivations. For Altman, there is an echo of the impossible bouquets of Dutch still life painting: arrangements that could never exist in nature and reflect on impermanence. Both appear to overcome natural limitations, creating an uncanny sense of abundance. Altman begins by collecting local flora such as thistle, mullein, and amaranth, coating them in multiple thin layers of liquified porcelain. After a meticulous process, the works are fired in a kiln, which vitrifies the clay while burning away the organic plant material and preserving its hollow shell. These delicate, semi-translucent objects are then assembled at impossible densities to create rich, lush environments.
Piersol approaches painting as a sensory collage—a combination of poetry, energy, and exploration. Floral imagery acts as a point of familiarity within her abstractions; its specificity grounds connections between poppies from California, irises from Colorado, and the mountains of Death Valley, bridging distant settings. The spaces within the paintings often hold moments of instability, as though their physics have not fully settled. For Piersol, this instability is formally similar to the Sapphic texts of Ancient Greece: classical poetry that exists only in fragments yet leaves room for projection in the gaps.
From these processes, fragility emerges as a central condition of being. In Altman’s work, the thin translucent ceramics preserve the delicacy of flora by translating it into a material that retains vulnerability, its intricacy demanding care. In Piersol’s paintings, the soft instability of space allows color, luminosity, and form to gently overtake fixed logic with delight.
For both artists, flora behaves like a melody: a rich interior language shaped through encounters with the natural world.

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

Figure Drawing: with Mike De La Rosa
2026-07-09 17:30 - 19:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
Join our bi-monthly Figure Drawing Class!
July 9, 2026
Thursday, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Open to all skill levels
Bring your own supplies
Join us for a relaxed evening figure drawing session open to artists of all levels. Working from a live model, participants will explore gesture, proportion, anatomy, and expressive mark-making through a series of timed poses ranging from quick sketches to longer studies. This monthly class offers a supportive, community-focused environment to practice, experiment, and sharpen your observational drawing skills. Instruction and light guidance will be available, making this an ideal space for both beginners and experienced artists to draw regularly and stay inspired.
Register

Young at heART - Every Thursday
2026-07-09 12:45 - 14:15 | Eagle County Community Center, 20 Eagle County Dr, El Jebel, CO, 81623, United States
Thursdays, 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM$10 supply fee suggestedEagle County Building in Willits/El Jebel
Unleash your creativity in a fun, engaging, and inspiring senior art class where the only limit is your imagination!
Each session focuses on playful and easy-to-learn techniques, including watercolor painting, acrylics, pastels and more! Classes are perfect for all skill levels. Enjoy a stress-free artistic outlet designed to nurture your creativity while having fun.
No registration necessary. Just arrive the day of ready to create!
Upcoming Classes:
July 2 – Nicole Gogolak: Watercolor Columbines
July 9 – Carter Johnson: Occasional Cards
July 16 – Tish McFee: How to Paint Clouds (Acrylics)
July 23 – Carter Johnson: chalk pastel
July 30 – Carter Johnson: Watercolor
Aug 6 – Marti Barbour, TBD
Aug 13 – Missy Prudden, Watercolor
August 20 – Tish McFee: Drippy Trees (Liquid Watercolors)

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

Art in Bloom: with Kathy Marquez - Cancelled
2026-07-06 09:30 - 2026-07-10 15:30 | The Art Base, 174 Midland Ave., Basalt, CO, 81621, United States
July 6 – 10, 2026
Monday – Thursday, 9:30AM – 3:30PM, Friday, 9:30AM – 12:00PM
Art Party at 11:45AM on Friday
Grades: Third +
Explore the beauty of the natural world. Dive into hands-on projects sparked by the colors, patterns, and textures of nature—from plants and animals to mountains, rivers, and skies. Throughout the week, you’ll experiment with fun techniques like painting, collage, printmaking, and mixed media as you create one-of-a-kind artworks such as botanical prints. Come ready to explore, get a little messy, and bring home a collection of nature-inspired masterpieces!
The instructor is bilingual. The class will be taught in English, with translation available if needed.
