OLD COLORADO CITY — If you're looking for any sort of relief, physically or mentally, during these times of uncertainty, one local artist says try taking a deeper look at the canvases around you.
"Art is breath, it is breath that is unique and it gives you that joy and expectation for the next moment," said Fine Art Specialist Rhonda Conn-Parent.
Conn-Parent says life is full of beauty even in the most trying moments. Sometimes it takes someone with a brush stroke to point it out. Conn uses her own brush stroke to teach kids at the Pikes Peak Artist Collective. She's in charge of a program called 'Art 2 U,' a virtual art camp for parents who aren't comfortable bringing their kids to the studio.
"Art for me art is the catalyst for hope, and it's that expression of we'll get through this, and we'll keep moving," Conn-Parent explained.
At the Pikes Peak Artist Collective, it's hard not to see the bigger picture. The school is located in Colorado City, where even the gates surrounding it are picture perfect. But on the inside, there's work to be done in bringing the canvas to the creators.
Each week, Conn-Parent packs a toolkit for her students and delivers them to their doorsteps. Each toolkit is full of art supplies that the kids will need for their upcoming lessons.
Meanwhile, the adults meet in groups of 10. The art school still hosts lessons in person for all ages, but everyone must wear masks while uncovering their creative side.
"Just having some sort of normalcy has been very therapeutic and helpful," explained Pikes Peak Artist Collective Owner Rebecca Baum. "Especially with how art is. It can help keep your mind off of other things."
Baum and Conn-Parent both agree that art, whether created in person or virtually, is good for the soul.
"That creative spirit of the human condition has to be exercised and when it's not, it can be suffocating," Conn-Parent said.
