Dillon hosts first fridays

Lake Dillon Art Center's first fridays are gaining steam. This month, the space presents EarthTones, featuring Timothy Faust's photography, Nancy Branca's mixed-media landscapes, Jenn Cram's sculptural ceramics and Chris Hosbach's functional ceramics.

Faust is an award-winning, adventure-travel photographer and writer, who has been published in National Geographic, Outside and Freeskier.

He's a firm believer that it's necessary for photographers to actively participate in the activities they shoot, in order to gain full appreciation and understanding of the subject. His mantra is “adventurer first, photographer second.” He's traveled alongside adventure racers in covering Primal Quest Utah, 2006, rafted part of the Colorado River for his 2008 work in National Geographic Adventure, and has climbed numerous mountains around the country to photograph other climbers.

His current project, “Faces of the Himalaya,” is a collection of portraits taken while traveling the Himalayan regions of Tibet and Nepal in Asia. It will be on display today through the month of July in Obscura at the Lake Dillon Arts Center.

Mixed media and ceramics

Branca teaches at Summit High School and Colorado Mountain College. She believes art-making is the production of a visual journal, representing the artist's individuality, experiences and spirit. She uses mixed media to create both expressive and representational drawings and paintings. Her art interprets the natural environment and landscapes in which she has lived or traveled through.

“(My) various techniques and approaches are developed through discovery and imagination,” Branca said.

Cram is the long-range planner for the Town of Breckenridge, the vice president of the Summit County Arts Council and administrator of the Arts District and public arts programs.

She studied architecture and fine art with a focus in printmaking, but her creative palette expanded to include ceramics and found objects, making them her favorite medium. She incorporates prints, ceramic pieces and found objects into art that helps her connect to her environment.

“My thoughts and emotions are expressed best with symbolic, minimal gestures,” Cram said.

Hosbach thinks perfectly smooth, round ceramic vessels are boring.

“I do not, however, want to imply that a smooth, round pot is an ugly pot,” Hosbach said. “A smooth surface may be both beautiful and graceful, but to me, clay begs to be manipulated and textured.”

Natural patterns and textures, especially those in wood, heavily influence his work. He aims to not only have his functional ceramics serve a utilitarian purpose but also an aesthetic purpose.

“Having my work be both pleasing to the eye and stimulating and intriguing to the touch is something I strive towards,” he said.