Art in the Outdoors
Art in the Outdoors is a collaboration between Outdoor Education, Bemis School of Art, CC Press, and the Arts and Crafts program that offers unique experiences for students to engage with the natural environment through an artistic lens. This program focuses on developing artistic skills, knowledge of the outdoors, and ways of looking that shift how we engage with nature. Students have first priority for the Arts in the Outdoors program, and staff and faculty may register if there are remaing spots available. We are working on an Arts in Outdoors trip specifically for staff and faculty this summer.
Art in the Outdoors: NON-HUMAN NAVIGATION with Artist Nina Elder
Block break trip Friday, September 22nd-Sunday, September 24th
Have you ever wondered if clouds use maps? Do trees make plans? Are deer following directions? This fall break excursion is a fascinating exploration of how the non-human world navigates. As the world changes rapidly and human impacts are felt on an increasing scale, this 3-day trip will help you tune into how nature is forging forward. This will be a fun and creative adventure, and you might gain insight that will help you in science communication, climate empathy, and creative processes. We will hike, star gaze, draw, and play. While most of this activity will take place outdoors, none of it will be exclusively rigorous or demand specialized gear. This program is co-sponsored by Outdoor Education, Bemis School of Arts and Arts and Crafts, so we will bring a sense of adventure, creativity, and tons of art supplies! A full description of the day-to-day activities will be available the week prior to the trip. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Arts and Crafts Director Rebecca Parker at rparker@coloradocollege.edu.
We will leave campus Friday morning at 8am and make our way up to the Colorado Colleges Gilmore Stabler Cabin in Divide, Colorado. Transportation and all meals are provided as part of the program. There are no fees, but limited spots are available for this trip.
Capturing the colors of Fall
October 19th: Hiking Trip to Golden Gate Canyon 8am-6pm
October 20th: 2-5pm CC Press
Join us for this two-day fall adventure to record this beautiful season. The workshop will begin with a day long trip to Golden Gate Canyon State Park to hike and record the colors of the fall season using a range of traditional and alternative photo processes including cyanotypes and Polaroid's. On day two of the workshop, we will head to the CC Press on campus and the new Printer of the Press, Jillian Sico will lead us in creating a book using the photos that we’ve taken during the hike. Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and learn some new art making processes along the way!
Experimenting with clay at the Paint Mines
Saturday, November 4th 12:30pm-6:00pm
The Paint Mines Interpretive Park is a unique landscape within western Colorado that consists of clay deposits and geological formations including winding gulches, hoodoos, and spires. This hike will give you many perspectives of this site and while hiking and learning about the clay in the area we will create experimental clay sculptures and collaborate to make a large-scale ephemeral collective sculpture within the landscape.
Experiments in Lights
Studio Light Experiments, Tuesday, February 6th 4:00-6:00pm
Wednesday, February 7th 4:00-7:00pm hike and visit to Skyspace
We are excited to announce the winter edition of Arts in the Outdoors: Experiments in Light an investigation of light in the landscape. This half-day trip to Greenbox Arts in Green Mountain Falls will be an experience to remember. The trip will consist of a hike up to the James Turrell SkySpace light installation where we will have a private viewing of the work of art. The following day we will engage in a series of art and light experiments in the studio. If you haven’t yet been Greenbox Arts, you can find out more information about Skyspace here: https://greenboxarts.org/skyspace/. The Arts in Outdoors program is a collaboration between Outdoor Education, Bemis School of Art, and Arts and Crafts to inspire engaged ways of interacting and creating with and in the outdoors.
All things Icy: Ice Sculpture Festival, ice walk, and ice dyeing
Studio Ice Dyeing: Friday, February 23rd 3-5pm
Trip: Saturday, February 24th 11:30-6pm
Join us for this ice-inspired Arts in the Outdoors two-part studio creation and outdoor adventuring. On Friday evening we will work in the Arts and Crafts studio to ice dye your own shirt. Ice Dyeing is a process of tie-dyeing with ice which allows for a dynamic flow of the dyes. On Saturday, we will head to the Cripple Creek Ice-Festival to see artists carve large scale ice sculptures followed by a trip to Victory Colorado to take a short ice hike up to meet Rita the Rock Planter a giant wood sculpture troll created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. It will be two fun filled days of everything ice!
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