For Kelly Lewis, choosing art as a career was natural.
“I have always been drawn to art (pun intended!),” the artist writes. “It has been a way to make sense of life, find community, and share beauty and joy. It was something that came naturally at a young age, but I have chosen it over and over again as I moved through life.”
Lewis, who studied art in undergraduate and graduate school, currently serves as a high school art teacher and on the board of the Pagosa Community Initiative (which grew out of an after-school art program), calling it “an honor to facilitate the learning of young artists” and adding, “My students blow my mind daily.”
“Creating brings us so much in life and I feel very fortunate that I have been able to make a career that keeps creating at the heart of everything I do,” she states.
She also works to bring joy to others through her art.
“I like to use bright colors, gestural marks, and expressive subject matter to create a relationship between the viewer and the work that promotes positivity and happiness,” Lewis states.
In Pagosa Springs, she does that through multiple public art installations that help bring character, heart and joy to the downtown area (see the related map in this guide to explore the local public art, such as the bears Lewis completed with Madeline Bergon and Chad Haspels).
Lewis relays it was a no-brainer for her to jump in when the town began focusing more on public art.
“I have had the immense pleasure of creating public art in other places, but it feels exceptionally special when I get to put work up in my home, especially when it means collaborating with incredible town staff and even other artists (like I was able to with Chad Haspels with the bear at Yamaguchi Park),” she writes.
As you wander around town and view the art created by Lewis, you’ll notice a distinct theme of nature.
“My art is all about our connection with nature,” Lewis writes. “Here especially, we are surrounded by so much wilderness. The first summer I lived here, we had not one, but three bears that would try to get into our trash every night. We had a huge male at 2 am, a younger male at 3, and a mother would come by with her cubs just before the sun came up. It was both terrifying and magical to see these magnificent neighbors of ours so close up. We have a very intertwined relationship with nature here in Pagosa and showing animals up close in a positive light can provide a great way to advocate for positive relationships with the National Forest, wilderness, and wildlife in our area.”
Lewis is one of many talented artists who call the area home, and that is not lost on her.
“I cannot express how incredible it is to be a part of such a creative community,” she states. “For how small Pagosa is, we are bursting with so much talent. From tattoo artists, to craftsman, potters, silversmiths, photographers, painters, sculptors and so much more, Pagosa is overflowing with phenomenal makers of all kinds!”