Janet Elich presents on canvases, wallpapers
Summit Daily News
Local artist Janet Elich presents “Backdrop of Life,” the first in this year’s Artist Speaker Series, taking place at 4 p.m. Sunday at Summit County Commons, 37 County Rd, #1005 in Frisco. After taking last year off, the free series returns for a third year, sponsored by the Summit County Arts Exhibit Committee.
“The series aims to present the public to local artists and their work so people can get to know who these artists are and understand how they do their work and why,” explained Sandy Greenhut, chair and founder of the committee. Colorado artists who live in the county for at least six months of the year are featured.
On Sunday, Elich will share her knowledge about how canvases are made and where they came from before talking about her current work, which includes wall surface plaster finishes, wall glazing and wallpapers.
Elich, a Summit County resident since 1984, started working with canvases and wall surface plasters when a local company needed backdrops for some photo shoots and invited her to produce them. Nowadays her art can be appreciated in a number of locations in Summit County, from private homes to the Bay Street Company in Breckenridge, the Remax building and a mural on Frisco’s Main Street.
Currently, she is working on projects exploring bigger and more textured surfaces. “When you work with wallpapers, the sky is the limit. All images can be transported to this kind of surface,” Elich said.
The artist speaker series will showcase an artist from a different background every month. Architect Suzanne Allen-Guerra is the guest in February; musician Randall McKinnon plays in March; local elementary students host an exhibit in April; and photographer Jim Sapp, some of whose pictures were featured in the recent Summit Daily calendar, showcases his work in May.
“I’m really proud of this event because when I first moved here, about 30 years ago, there was nothing – no events related to art at all. Summit County was all about skiing,” recalled Greenhut.
“Events like this show the local talents we have in the county, who I think deserve to be known,” Greenhut said. “People here are wonderful and really support the artists.”
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