On Jan. 6, six artists will showcase their skills through music, comedy, dance, storytelling and even painting — all at Carbondale Arts’ Launchpad from 6pm to 8pm as part of Alya Howe’s award-winning Salon series. Titled “Caught By the Light of Creativity,” the curation of artists this round is sure to shine.
Howe, Carbondale local and founder of Under Alya’s Umbrella, will host the talents of Roaring Fork musician Natalie Spears, midwestern stand-up comedian AJ Finney, guitarist Chris Phillips, hyper-realistic painter and Marble resident Tracey Harris and Denver-based tango dancers Cynthia Giannini and Dominic Bridge.
Howe enjoys building her Salon lineups with local and non-local creatives to inspire the community and help artists network, or in her words, make “magical connections” with each other.
“I want them to be able to bring us into their creative world. When we’re lit up by creative force, we get caught up in a wave of inspired ideas and unusual directions. At the beginning of the year, when artists share mistakes that became wonderful discoveries — oh no’s become oh yeses — it hopefully helps inspire our community to hop into their light of creativity,” Howe said.
Each artist will have 15 minutes to showcase their talents, and those involved who spoke with The Sopris Sun expressed their excitement for the event.
Giannini, a returning talent of the series, stated: “It is always a pleasure to participate in, as it is not only a good opportunity for me to share my art, but also witness all these other artists in theirs. It’s a great vehicle for sharing your work with the public in small doses, and It is always a very inspiring experience.”
Giannini has been living and breathing the art of Argentine tango for over 12 years. She described the dance style as her third biggest passion in life — next to ballet and motherhood — saying that she looks forward to interacting with the community through the demonstration she and her dance partner will perform.
“It is a language you learn over time,” she said of partner dancing. “It’s not so much about the steps, but communicating with someone else, nonverbally, through movement, connection, music and dance.”
She continued, “The way I like to communicate my dance is through the light that shines inside of me, which is always the inspiration I have based on the music and often storytelling of the dance I offer.”
Also looking forward to the storytelling aspect of the Salon is Finney, who has been a stand-up comedian for 20 years. He explained that he came across the Salon series after meeting Howe following a set he performed at Marble Distillery in Carbondale roughly six years ago. Once she learned of his love of storytelling, she invited him.
“Had I not gone up and spoken to her, I may have never been introduced to the Salon,” Finney stated. “I’m most looking forward to connecting with the audience through the art of comedy and story. With the performance that I am planning to give, I hope for us to share the healing art of laughter, and to show the similarities in all human experiences with a relatable, vicarious ride through my life.”
Harris, meanwhile, said she is stepping out of her comfort zone by stepping on stage. As a self-described hermit who does her own thing, she has been a full-time painter for 20 years with shows in galleries from Massachusetts to California. She typically interacts with the public only when presenting solo exhibitions. Her work focuses on challenging gender roles and social norms through still-life paintings.
“I rarely get to interact with people and tell them the stories behind what inspired different series. That’s what I’m going to focus on,” Harris said. “People know I did book paintings, but they don’t know what transpired to get to that place. There’s some funny stories about how they came to be, or what inspired me to do them.”
To purchase tickets for the one-night-only Salon, Jan. 6 at 6pm, visit: www.bit.ly/2024Salon