Crafty & Creative Carbondale

The Craft 2 Wear Show was a big hit at the First Friday Art Walk in Carbondale.  The stage was set for the December 4th festivities with single digit temperatures but that didn't stop a large crowd from shopping and dining along Main St.  It didn't slow down Santa either as he was escorted by the elementary school children to the 4th St. bonfire.

I was stationed at the CCAH Gallery and main office doing a variety of things from serving a  hot cider/rum concoction, to passing out fliers about the new Third Street Center, and also taking a few candid photos of the evening.  The hot cider/rum drink was the favorite of the evening as bone chilled shoppers thawed themselves in the Gallery.

I was so impressed with the creativity of the local artists and their displays in the Craft 2 Wear Show.  Who knew that making a purse from tabs of soft drink cans could look so stunning when woven with metallic threads?

Multi-talented Barbara Sophia displayed her handmade jewelry made from hand-picked Hawaiian pearls and her hand-painted silk scarves and gorgeous kimono were on my "must have" list.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kathy Hansel's creative and stunning handmade jewelry was a feast for the well-dressed woman's eyes.  The rich colors of Kathy's jewelry pallette would give a warm touch to any ensemble. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Felt was also very creatively revealed from fingerless gloves and scarves to children's darling booties. Lovely color combinations with the soft texture of felt made me want to buy everything I saw.


The crowd was quite interesting to watch too. Tonight was the night to wear that crazy stocking cap or fun scarf.  The main point tonight was STAY WARM!  Carbondale has some of the most colorful people. There's something about the residents of a mountain town that makes you want to dig deeper into their background and history.

It's amazing too to see the many volunteers working with the Town of Carbondale and the Carbondale Council on the Arts and Humanities.  Lea Z. for example with her winning smile was hard at work selling Carbondale T-shirts decorated with an advertisement-laden pick-up truck (a nice use of advertising coupled with art.)

I mentioned earlier about the Third Street Center.  This is a project that will be a milestone in the Carbondale arts history.  Carbondale in it's famous tradition of collaboration and recycling will be transforming a former elementary school on Third St. into a 45,100 square-foot home for over two dozen nonprofit organizations. It will serve not only Carbondale but all the areas around in the Roaring Fork Valley including Rifle and Basalt.  The CCAH hopes to move in by March 2010 and the projected completion for all of  the construction is May 2010.  Visit the Third Street Center's website and find out how you can be a part of the history with your generous contributions or volunteer work.

To end the evening, David and I took a brisk stroll down Main St. to find a good restaurant.  In Carbondale, there are so many great places to eat and many are award winning.  We tried to get into the new Hestia but the wait was a litle too long for us.  Obviously everyone else wanted to try out the new place in town too.  We were pretty hungry so we stopped at Russet's and what treat that was!  With the chilly air still inside us, we melted into our chairs with a lovely hot buttered rum and a sweet Turtle Delight beverage.  Delicious hot appetizers warmed our bellies and we were contented for the evening.  Russet's is a great place with friendly service, classy atmosphere and terrific food.  We'll definitely visit there again soon.