Last winter, the Genuine Steamboat Story contest, sponsored by Steamboat Group Realty, proposed the question: “Why do you think Steamboat Springs is a Genuine Place to Live or Visit?” The group’s web community voted on their favorite entry, and CMC student Dustin Eldridge was the winner. Dustin’s entry was printed in Steamboat Magazine.  We’ve reprinted it below.

Poster image used to illustrate the Genuine Steamboat Story submissions in Steamboat magazine.

I am part of one of Steamboat’s fastest growing demographics — CMC students. I finished my freshman year last year.

After seeing the complete cycle of seasons in Steamboat, I have fallen in love with this tight-knit mountain community. The genuine spirit of Steamboat’s characters is apparent everywhere. On a bus anywhere else, various screens occupy most riders, who are busy avoiding human interaction. In Steamboat, friendly conversation is the norm. It’s difficult to find a place where a bus trip is a treat, but Steamboat is just that place.

Riding my mountain bike down Spring Creek last summer, I popped a tire and had to walk a good distance back to the car. On the way down, almost every person I passed asked if I needed help or an extra tube. The citizens of Steamboat look after and care for one another, giving Steamboat a genuine community feel.

Steamboat’s genuine nature also comes from what it’s not. Anywhere in town, it’s obvious that mountains dominate the landscape. It’s nice living in one of the few places where nature still reigns supreme over civilization. Steamboat is a genuine mountain town (look in any direction).

Because nature is still in charge around here, Steamboat is an excellent place for a genuine adventure. From the slopes of Mount Werner to the winding Yampa, North Routt, Rabbit Ears and Buff Pass, Steamboat exudes opportunities for adventure. And these aren’t your tourist-tailored babysitting trips. You had better be prepared when you step foot out your door in Steamboat, because you can never tell what your day will have in store.

Uncertainty is a necessity for a genuine adventure. And I was certainly not expecting that we would need three extra bike tubes just to defeat the 26-mile Dumont trail, or that my short winter split-board tour out to North Walton Peak would leave me lost and confused for hours. I hadn’t planned to lose three lures in three consecutive days of trolling on the Yampa. But these uncertainties led to a more genuine experience than one without problems.

Steamboat doesn’t give out its secrets easily, and you must learn from your mistakes to enjoy the full experience. Through real-life lessons, I’ve learned to love my summers; full with fishing, mountain biking, summits and kayaking. I’ve learned patience; waiting for the resort to open, tying lures onto fishing line, and the constant challenge of mountain bike maintenance.

Steamboat’s genuine beauty can’t be bought with a ticket; it has to be experienced in-person with open eyes. My appreciation for Steamboat was paid for with sweat equity and grows with each new stream, lake, mountaintop and bear sighting. Steamboat is genuine, because you have to live it to know it.

notes to my father

healing

may 6 – june 24

Words and personal experiences have always informed my art.  Since 1992, my work has been inspired by various aspects of the Shoah*.  During this very personal journey, I have discovered my own need for healing.  I seek spirit in my art whether it is in recalling the destroyed shtetls (Jewish communities) of Europe or seeking reconciliation with my Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters in the shadow of the Shoah.

carolyn h. manosevitz, mfa – april, 2013 – nisan, 5773

Shoah – Hebrew meaning catastrophe, a term used by contemporary scholars to define Hitler’s final solution.

Healing after the Shoah explored through mixed media

ArtShare Gallery features exhibit by Holocaust scholar, adjunct faculty

By Stefanie Kilts

“We all need to heal,” said carolyn h. manosevitz, mfa. Her artwork – three-dimensional paintings on paper and paper sculptures – addresses the human experience after a catastrophe.

In manosevitz’s case, this catastrophe is the Shoah, a Hebrew term used by contemporary scholars in reference to the Holocaust. She has been involved in the world of Holocaust studies both in her art and her teaching for the past 15 years.

“I use the Shoah as a vehicle, a bridge to connect with my Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters,” she said.

The artist was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, the child of Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine. Her father was the youngest in a family of 12 children and emigrated to Canada in the early part of the 20th century ahead of his large extended family.

By the late 1930s, when all of his remaining siblings wanted to come, Canada had closed its doors. Although he had desperately tried to obtain visas for them, he could not procure them. Her father’s brothers and sisters were all murdered in 1942 during the Shoah.

Her family’s heritage and history, and her journeys across the U.S. and the world, have led her to address the themes of healing and memory in her mixed-media art. Her exhibit, healing, will be shown in Glenwood Springs at the CMC ArtShare Gallery. The exhibit will showcase 20 works from her exhibit on spirituality, reconciliation and healing in the shadow of the Holocaust.

World travels, history inform art

She recalls one such journey when she visited the oldest university in Poland, in Kraków. She was listening to a lecture by the archbishop of Poland, and one line especially spoke to her.

“He said the absence of the Jewish people had left a ‘hole in the landscape,’” she said.

She was so struck by that line, especially by a religious leader in Poland, that she created the work hole in the landscape.

manosevitz has exhibited widely both in the U.S. and Canada. Her work is part of private and corporate collections in North America and Israel.

She also uses her exploration as an artist and scholar for teaching. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Colorado Mountain College for the past 15 years and is a visiting lecturer at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where she has taught Spirituality and the Holocaust since 1996.

She has also taught at the University of Texas, Southwest Texas State University, Austin Community College and St. Edward’s University (Texas).

The exhibit healing will be on display May 6 to June 24 at the CMC ArtShare Gallery at 802 Grand Ave. in Glenwood Springs. A free, public opening reception is set for Thursday, May 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. The artist will give a gallery talk at 6 p.m. during the opening reception.

The ArtShare Gallery is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

CMC student Eldomir Vasquez is a second-year student at Colorado Mountain College. A writer and poet, Eldomir also works backstage in CMC Theatre productions. He recently interviewed several CMC Theatre students to offer an insider’s view of the program. The first of his interviews, published below, first appeared in Eldomir’s blog, Elevate and Grow.

Colorado Mountain College Theatre student Graeme Duke.

CMC Theatre is a program that offers so much experience that directly correlates to one’s success and interest in theatre itself. CMC Theatre has also shaped and influenced many, many students.

In this post, I will share an interview with Graeme Duke. In my next post, I’ll share my interview with Jaime Slavos, a CMC theatre student who acted in the recent play “Tongue of a Bird.”  Jaime, a second-year student, traveled here all the way from Canada to be a part of CMC’s Theatre program. First up: Here’s Graeme.

Me: How long have you been in theatre?

Graeme: I really only started in theater my senior year of high school. That was when I got my first acting role. After that I took a hiatus from school before coming to CMC and fell into the theater program here.

Me: What is it that you like about acting?

Graeme: My main love is acting for the stage and perhaps it will always be that way. But in no way does that diminish my love for all the effort and art that goes into all forms of theater. A production plan can truly make or break the experience of the play.

Me: You recently involved in CMC Theatre play “Tongue of A Bird”. Please described your contributions to it and your role?

Graeme: I was the stage manager for “Tongue of the Bird,” which meant I was director Sue Lavin’s second in command, to put it simply. As opening night came around the director of the play will usually step aside as their work is done. It is the stage manager’s job from there to run the show in all facets. It really was a fun and challenging experience.

Me: What do you love about being in CMC Theatre Production?

Graeme: Mainly acting and working with all of my classmates, who really have become some of my closest friends. Without them, the experience at CMC would be quite different.

Me: How do you plan to use your experience in the future?

Graeme: Well I recently auditioned for Aspen Stage’s summer production of Les Miserables, and plan to audition for Defiance Theater’s production of Beauty and the Beast in the fall. Until then, you can see me as Greg in CMC’s next production entitled “Bleacher Bums.” My next step in my acting and theater career I believe is to really branch out into the valley and be more involved in community theaters.

Me: What does it feel like when the curtain closes and you hear that applause? !

Graeme: It is an amazing feeling to get an applause. Whether up on stage, or in the booth calling the shots, it always feels good to receive recognition for your hard work.

Me: How was it being stage manager?

Graeme: Difficult but rewarding. I was a part of rehearsals from day one and to see the tremendous growth of the wonderful actresses involved in the play was a treat. Seeing Sue Lavin at work as a director was equally inspiring as well. It truly was a wonderful experience.

Spanish Translation

Me: ¿Cuánto tiempo ha estado en teatro?

Graeme: realmente, yo sólo comenzó en el teatro mi último año de la escuela secundaria. Que fue cuando me compré mi primer papel. Una vez que me tomo un hiato de la escuela antes de venir a cmc y cayó en el programa de teatro aquí.

Me: ¿Qué es loque gusta de actuar?

Graeme: Mi principal amor está actuando para la etapa y tal vez no siempre será así. Pero de ninguna manera que disminuir mi amor a todos el esfuerzo y el arte, que entra en todas las formas de teatro. Un plan de producción realmente pueden hacer o romper la experiencia de la obra.

Me: Usted hace poco en CMC obra de teatro “La lengua de un pájaro.” Por favor, describe sus contribuciones a la misma y su función?

Graeme: yo era el director de escena de “la lengua de los Pájaros” lo que quería decir que era el director de Sue Lavin segundo en el mando a decirlo de manera simple. Como apertura vino la noche alrededor del director de la obra suele hacerse a un lado como de su trabajo está hecho. Es la etapa de trabajo los administradores no se muestra en todas las facetas. Lo que realmente era un divertido y desafiante experiencia.

Me: ¿Qué es lo que te gusta de estar en el CMC Teatro producción?

Graeme: Principalmente actuando y trabajar con todos mis compañeros de clase, que realmente se han convertido en algunos de mis amigos más cercanos. Sin ellos, la experiencia en CMC sería muy diferente, y aburrido jaja.

Me: ¿De qué manera piensa utilizar su experiencia en el futuro?

Graeme: Bueno, recientemente hizo una audición para Aspen etapa de producción de verano Les Miserables y el plan para la audición por desafiar la producción de teatro Bella y la bestia en el otoño. Hasta entonces, puede verme como Greg en CMC la próxima producción titulada “batanero Vagabundos”. Mi siguiente paso en mi carrera interino y teatro, creo que es realmente a incursionar en el valle y se involucren más en comm

Me: ¿Qué” ¿parece que cuando el telón se cierra y se oye que el aplauso?

Graeme: es una sensación increíble para obtener un aplauso. Si encima del escenario, o en el stand, que siempre es bueno recibir reconocimiento por su duro trabajo.

Me: ¿cómo fue que stage manager?

Graeme: difícil pero gratificante. Yo era parte de los ensayos de un día para el otro y para ver el tremendo crecimiento de la maravillosa actrices implicados en el juego era un lujo. Ver Sue Lavin en el trabajo como director fue igualmente inspiradora así. En verdad fue una experiencia maravillosa.