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"Meet Your Artist" - by Tricia Swenson Vail Daily dated 12/06/2023 Meet Your Artist: Rick Spitzer Get to know your Vail Valley artists The Vail Daily is showcasing area artists in a series called “Meet Your Artist” so you can learn more about those who create and what inspires them. If you are an area artist and would like to be featured in the series, email Tricia Swenson (tswenson@vaildaily.com). Q: How long have you lived in the valley and what brought you here? A: As a Colorado native, I moved to the valley in 2001 and was the technology director for Eagle County Schools. I retired from education in 2006. Q: Where did your passion for art come from? A: National Geographic and Audubon magazine were my primary influences. Q: Describe your style of art. A: My main passion is wildlife photography, but I also enjoy astrophotography. Q: Who are your favorite artists? A: Franz Lanting, Joel Sartore, Amy Gulick, Melissa Groo and others. Q: Tell us about one of your favorite pieces that you’ve worked on. A: My favorite photos were also one of my favorite experiences that involved a mountain lion west of Edwards. Q: Who has helped you along the way? Who/what inspires you? A: I really enjoyed the work I saw in National Geographic. The effort they put into their work has inspired me to try all kinds of photography and equipment. I have made some equipment to meet my needs as well. Q: If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing? A: My other passion is technology. The technology used to create and edit photographs is really incredible. Q: What do you hope people take away from your work? A: I would hope that people would look at my wildlife photos and be challenged to help save the environment and the animals that are in it. Q: Where is your work shown (a local gallery) or how/where can people view it? A: I have displayed my work at the Vail Valley Art Guild Gallery, all the county libraries and have had many Vail Daily covers and articles. Q: Anything else we should have asked, anything else you’d like to share? A: I do have a concern about where Artificial Intelligence (AI) will take us with fake photos in the future. I frequently see poorly modified photos pass off as real photos, but AI is making it easier to create work. Some photos I have seen that were competition winners were manufactured and not the “real deal.” It is getting more difficult to identify those fakes.

December is almost here and we have a lot of things coming up so you mark your calendars! You can also check out Upcoming Events on the VVAG website any time with our new easy tab under Events. We will be sending out reminders a few days before each event. If you have any questions please reach out at service@vvagco.org December Call for Submissions November 30th from 1pm to 5pm December 1st from 12pm to 5 pm Drop off Location: Eagle Gallery 108 W. 2nd Street Eagle, CO 81631 Please drop off up to three works that are your interpretation of the themes White and Winter Solstice. We also would love any smaller items you might have that make good stocking stuffers or small gifts. Vail Public Library Exhibit All month during normal library hours Location: Vail Public Library 292 West Meadows Drive Vail, CO 81657 In collaboration with the Vail Public Library, Guild member Traci O'Connor will present her exhibit called “Views from the Ascent” - a contemporary view of Colorado Wildflowers. Avon Public Library Exhibit All month during normal library hours Location: Avon Public Library 200 Mikaela Way Avon, CO 81620 In collaboration with the Avon Public Library, Guild member Raymond Bleesz will present his photography in an exhibit called "Portraits—Eagle County & Beyond". Christmas on Broadway December 2nd from 3pm to 8pm Location: Eagle Gallery 108 W. 2nd Street Eagle, CO 81631 Join us in the VVAG gallery for an assortment of yummy holiday cookies and sweets while you peruse the gallery for unique, one of a kind gifts. The EagleARTS Christmas Market begins at 3 pm on 2nd Street, the Annual Christmas Parade on Broadway begins at 5 pm and will end at 2nd Street where Second Street Tavern will be hosting a live band. It is going to be a great afternoon and evening so be sure to come out and get into your holiday spirit! We will be providing holiday cookies and sweet treats for the Christmas on Broadway Event on December 2nd. We would love for members to sign up to drop off cookies and sweets, such as brownies or other treats, on December 1st from 12pm to 5pm. Wassailfest December 7th from 12pm to 5pm December 8th from 2pm to 8pm Location: Eagle Gallery 108 W. 2nd Street Eagle, CO 81631 The annual Eagle Chamber of Commerce Wassailfest is happening again this year. Lots of Eagle and Gypsum businesses will have Wassail for people to taste so come on in and taste our delicious spiced cider. The business that wins the most votes gets a trophy, so please come out and help us win for the first year ever! We are also offering 25% off all treasure chest items in the gallery during Wassailfest only. 2nd Friday ARTwalk presented by EagleARTS December 8th from 2pm to 8pm Location: Eagle Gallery 108 W. 2nd Street Eagle, CO 81631 The last ARTwalk of the year is upon us. Help us celebrate the visual arts with local artist/photographer interpretations of White & Winter Solstice. Find unique gifts for family and loved ones! We also have gift certificates available for the art lover in your life that may (or may not) be difficult to shop for! We will also have warm spiced cider as part of Wassailfest, so please stop by to have a taste! We would love to have members bring small bites/appetizers and wine to the 2nd Friday celebration. We also need a few volunteers to help with serving cups of our delicious spiced cider for the Wassailfest celebration. The Annual VVAG Holiday Party & Potluck December 15th from 5:30pm to 8:30pm Location: Lynn Feiger & Woody Woodruff 344 Eagle River Street Minturn, CO 81645 Our annual festive potluck holiday party is December 11th from 5:30 to 8:30pm. Break out your Christmas sweaters or your best party clothes! Spouses and significant others are welcome! Please RSVP and tell us what you will be bringing - appetizer, salad, dessert or wine to share would be appreciated. Lynn and Woody will be providing a salmon. This is also the VVAG Board annual meeting. Officers are elected and business is ratified by a majority in attendance. Photography Group Member Meeting There is no meeting for the Photography Group in December

Thank you to our members and subscribers who took the time to fill out the survey we sent out in November! The goal of the 2023 survey was to provide the Board Members with feedback from our members and subscribers in order to inform decisions about programming for 2024 in regard to workshops, gallery use, member satisfaction, etc. The survey provided information about areas needing further survey questioning in 2024. There will be more opportunities to give us feedback in 2024 as the VVAG plans to send out targeted surveys to the Artist and Photographer Groups. Key Observations VVAG membership has increased from 89 members to 124 members in the past year, with an increase in membership from the Down Valley area. The Eagle Gallery is an integral part of downtown Eagle and is currently under-utilized. VVAG members would like opportunities to improve their skills, learn new skills and keep making connections with other members in the fine arts community. Members would like more exposure for themselves and their work through featured member months, solo exhibit opportunities and less restrictive themes. Need clarity and execution for membership tiers, donations, and benefits. Members showed interest in potentially having tiered membership with varying benefits. Find ways to communicate more transparently on how donations and funding are used for different programming. The attached report highlights the results of the survey. Note: Not all questions in the survey are presented in the report for clarity and brevity. Some items have been reserved for discussion at a later time.

About Us The Vail Valley Art Guild is dedicated to enriching lives by fostering and promoting artistic growth and building awareness of the visual arts in Eagle County. We do this by: Connecting local visual artists to an artistic community Creating exhibition and gallery opportunities for local visual artists Sponsoring classes and workshops in the visual arts Supporting visual arts education for our youth and underserved Building awareness of the artistic talent in the Vail Valley The Vail Valley Art Guild (VVAG) was formed in 2014 in order to fill a need in the Vail Valley for an organization created by and for visual artists. We are a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, nearly 125 members strong, serving the community and artists of all ages working in all mediums. Our gallery is located at 108 West 2nd Street in Eagle, Colorado. Membership benefits include exhibition and sales opportunities in our gallery, two of three Eagle County Public Libraries, the Town of Vail Public Library, and in special shows at Colorado Mountain College or venues such as the Eagle Airport Jet Center. We hold monthly educational meetings, offer discounts for workshops, publish a bi-monthly newsletter and organize art related trips.

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