Boulder’s gem of a mall, world-class in its classiness, and there for all to enjoy, once again plays host to art. Today, Labor Day Sunday, is the last day for this year’s craft fair. We just hosted an art fair which served as a display platform for a gaggle of great artists with their creations. Artists from our Boulder Valley, Santa Fe, as well as from much of the rest of the Southwest we call ‘home’, shared their vision. Our audience included artists and ‘civilians’. We were all there to stop, shop, look, and learn, and to enjoy! Art, at its heart, is created for a myriad of reasons.

Dylan Montanio And His Buffalo.

Whatever motivates artists, we get to ogle at their collective cornucopia of creativity. Whatever their media choices might be, it is hung on the Mall for all to freely wander, free. To my ongoing delight, the quality of the work includes the work and magic of a wide variety of framed and unframed pictures which demonstrate everything from oils and acrylics to leather, silver, copper wire, cyanotype, and more.

The Earrings Were Plentiful, Playful, and Original! Even Hinges Found Their Way Into Earrings.

Of particular interest was cyanotype. Fascinating T-shirts and more featured cyan-blue pictures created by a process which is both mystical and beautiful. A negative of the picture is printed on special clear paper, with an everyday ink jet printer. The T-shirt is coated with a waxy material. The negative is laid on the waxy coating and the assembly is placed in the BRIGHT sun. Wherever the negative is dark, the coating is shielded from the sun and stays dark cyan on the shirt. The lighter the area of the negative, the more the sun hits the shirt and the coating, lightening that area. The resulting picture is haunting. The process is near at hand for budding students of this most unusual medium. Happily, this technique is within the reach of all of us. Simpler than being faced with a paintbox filled with color options and a palate for mixing those colors to create a boundless offering of options, we are presented with one color, cyan blue, printed on fabric. The technique is ancient, and hung for us to enjoy.

Corey Godbe At Work

Another ancient craft which caught my attention was the embossing of leather. Danne Marie and Corey Godbe of Ferron, Utah, shared their work in this form of artistic expression. Featuring everything from decorative holsters and sheaths to other leather art, the display also featured Corey Godbe hard at work hammering happily with his leather tools, including his mallets, and and his smile for all to see.

Most important, Corey and I agreed, was his willingness to share his craft with young future artists. As I was lamenting the passing of many of these ‘hands-on’ processes, two young ones walked up with their eyes exploding with curiosity. Better than just seeing what Corey was doing, these fans of his work were led through a hands-on lesson in how to do what Corey is so practiced with. They got to use the tools, hammering with smiles and mallets as Corey guided them through the process. The video game alternative took these students of leather to the next level along with something to show for their efforts. Hammering the impressions into the leather, one stroke at a time, results in beautiful and useful presentations of this craft. Corey shared the method with these future leather workers, enjoying every blow they struck in their new-found entertainment and creative outlet.

Sharing With Younger Generations Is A Beautiful Thing

Lenny Lensworth Frieling

Shared Knowledge Is Power!

Leonard Frieling Pen Of Justice

• Multi-published and syndicated blogger and author.
• University lectures at University. of Colorado, Boulder, Denver University Law School, Univ. of New Mexico, Las Vegas NM, and many other schools at all levels. Numerous lectures for the NORML Legal Committee
• Former Judge
• Media work, including episodes of Fox’s Power of Attorney, well in excess of many hundreds media interviews, appearances, articles, and podcasts, including co-hosting Time For Hemp for two years.
• Life Member, NORML Legal Committee, Distinguished Counsel Circle.
• Photographer of the Year, AboutBoulder 2023
• First Chair and Originator of the Colorado Bar Association’s Cannabis Law Committee, a National first.
• Previous Chair, Boulder Criminal Defense Bar (8 years)
• Twice chair Executive Counsel, Colorado Bar Association Criminal Law Section
• Life Member, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar
• Board Member Emeritus, Colorado NORML, and prior chair during legalization, as well as pre and post legalization
• Chair, Colorado NORML, 7 years including during the successful effort to legalize recreational pot in Colorado
• Senior Counsel Emeritus to the Boulder Law firm Dolan + Zimmerman LLP : (720)-610-0951
• Board member, Author, and Editor for Criminal Law Articles for the Colorado Lawyer, primary publication of the Colorado Bar Assoc. 7 Years, in addition to having 2 Colorado Lawyer cover photos, and numerous articles for the Colorado Lawyer monthly publication.
• http://www.Lfrieling.com