Dave Colangelo with his artwork, Mask Anatomy 101, during the opening night of the Masks Exhibition at the Museum of Art Fort Collins March 3. "I'm an occupational therapist, so in school I studied anatomy and physiology and had to learn all the ins and outs of the human body," Colangelo said. "I don't use any of that now, really, but I was always inspired by the art that these doctors and these artists put into these textbooks, so I did kind of a humorous take on what a face would look like. Fake muscles - with a little bit of real muscles - and silly colors." Colangelo has been a contributor to the exhibit for six years and spent two months on this year's mask.
Ariel Sophabmisay shares her painting, "Outside In", at the Colorado State University Student Art Exhibition Nov. 29. "What I'm exploring is the juxtaposition between outdoors and inside and how humans have used the environment to survive," Sophabmisay said. "I chose to represent it in a magical, surrealist way because it's so hard to imagine that the environment could take us over instead of us taking it over." Sophabmisay is a sophomore art student and said she would like to use her degree to study Laotian art because of her family’s heritage.
Dylan Barber shares his painting, "3-Piece Combo", a the Colorado State University Student Art Exhibition Nov. 29. "To me it represents the lifestyle of poverty, growing up in poverty in America," Barber said. "The country dangles a lot of these things towards poor people. And we want them, we go for them — it’s a trap, though. I grew up homeless and painting and creating art is something that means a lot to me, so I'm trying to put that into the painting but also keep the childlike sense of creativity and passion for art that I had since I was a kid." When asked where this passion comes from, Barber shared stories from his childhood. “My Nana is an artist,” Barber said. “She's a brilliant artist, and I think it was passed down to me but also, my deepest memories, I think I was like four years old, and my grandpa was teaching me how to draw Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes characters and I thought it was the most amazing thing. He could draw them perfectly in two minutes. It looked just like the cartoons and so as a kid that was something that was very inspiring.”
Colorado State University freshman Sophia Galier shares her artwork at the CSU Student Art Exhibition Nov. 29. "This is one of my pieces from my senior AP art portfolio," Galier said. "My art portfolio focused on sexual assault and the aftermath of it. This piece specifically is focusing on directly after the sexual assault and how the red hands, they're not actually there, but even though the assault has already happened, the victim can still feel it. It kind of just represents how sexual assault is not something that goes away easily and it sticks with you."
Ann Baron poses with her artwork at the Local Women Artists Market at Art Lab Nov. 5. "I've always enjoyed doing creative things," Baron said. "Even as a child I would sew and cook, take pottery classes, painting classes, and then the last few years really focus more on the mixed media greeting cards. A friend of mine, Renee, and I decided to do this together, invite other local women artists to participate, and really just share the love of art and creativity with the public."
Renee Walkup poses with her artwork at the Local Women Artists Market at Art Lab Nov. 5. "I've always loved mosaics, but I didn't know how (to do them)," Walkup said. "My dream was moving to Colorado about six years ago, and then I had no idea I was going to love it and it would become all-encompassing. I live, read, eat, sleep, everything mosaic."
Michael Vanatta, Ethan Watne, Elena Anderson, Kyle Nakaji, and Karsten Gulsrud of Fort Collins, Colorado band LOUDHOUSE perform at the KCSU Battle of the Bands Sept. 8. Anderson said the band formed "about eight months" ago with Colorado State University senior Ethan Watne on drums, and Vanatta said the best part of performing is "just being able to play for the awesome people. These guys all love music and so do we. It's really just about sharing that experience with everybody."
Kevin Larusso holds a sign saying "Fire Addazio + Parker" on the Lory Student Center Plaza at Colorado State University Sep. 14. "It is an absolute embarrassment that after Mike Bobo was fired for an underperforming team that was not able to put any excitement out there, they went and hired the literal worst possible option," said Larusso. "The guy has no idea what he's doing out there and that is very obvious."
Nate Clark works at La Piadina August 5. La Piadina claims to be Fort Collins' smallest restaurant, occupying a repurposed shipping container in The Exchange, and serves Italian street food using a recipe dating back to 1371.
Singer and guitarist Daniel Ondaro performs in Old Town Square May 31. Ondaro, who has played guitar for "maybe twenty years," says his favorite part of performing is "seeing the audience's reaction, seeing the smiles".
Blake Hill uses an edge finder to calibrate a milling machine in Colorado State University's Engineering Manufacturing Education Center, Mar. 4. 4. Hill says his favorite part of the Introduction to Manufacturing Processes class is "just being able to be in person and come back, and being able to work with my hands instead instead of sitting there with a pen and paper all the time."
Sebastian Griffin practices landing a trick on his skateboard outside the Clark building, Mar. 3. Originally from Boulder, Colorado, Griffin came to Fort Collins for Colorado State University's Agricultural Sciences program. Griffin practiced his trick for "about thirty minutes... it requires you balancing on your back wheels so it's kind of hard," he said.
