If you walk into the Greeley Creative Arts Center this month, you might feel like you’ve grown overnight. Their latest exhibition challenged local artists to present work that’s only three inches by three inches – no bigger than the size of a Rubik’s cube.
Get top headlines and KUNC reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
“We've just been experimenting with how to use our large scale art rails to display very small pieces of art,” Greeley Creative District Executive Director Becca Vaclavik said. “I think we're actually going to end up just using a lot of command strips rather than our giant art rails.”
The Micro Art Festival features more than 100 tiny pieces of art created by more than 30 local artists throughout Northern Colorado. They range from teenagers all the way up to artists in their 80s, providing everything from fiber arts to sculptures to watercolor. And every piece is up for auction.
The district came up with the idea after seeing Post-It Note art shows and wanting to do something similar. Several artists from the community said they’d participate if they broadened the mediums. The goal was not only to give artists something new to try, but to make art more accessible to everyone.
“There are many artists on display here who sell work for thousands of dollars. Typically for a young family or college student, collecting art at that scale is probably not financially on the table for them,” Vaclavik said. “To say that you have an original work by so and so, but you could afford it because it was a tiny piece, gives you the chance to begin collecting art and enjoying art in your own home.”
Vaclavik added that many are often shocked when they visit Greeley and see the variety of murals and sculptures throughout the downtown area, or when they find out that they have their own dedicated Greeley Creative Arts Center building with classes and makerspaces. She hopes this gallery shows visitors that it’s not much of a surprise.
“I have often been told that Greeley is the secret ingredient of Northern Colorado, and I like to say I don't want to be a secret ingredient anymore,” Vaclavik said. “I want everyone to know how wonderful we are. My dream would be that every artist who is on display has a new audience member who loves their work.”
For some artists, creating on this small scale is not their status quo. Armando Silva, for example, is known for his large-scale mural works in Greeley and across Colorado. He created some small wooden pieces that incorporated fast food wrappers.
Artist Megan McBride-Kennedy usually goes a lot bigger with her works, too, but she had experimented with this scale before. She contributed four works to the gallery – two acrylic and oil paintings of women, and two watercolors of animals.
“I could really be experimental with the miniature piece,” McBride-Kennedy said. “They do take a few days, but yeah, it was good to go this small. It can be really fun to let the creative inspiration flow.”
McBride-Kennedy said the hardest one was her Palms piece, since it incorporates henna designs on the hands. But in other ways, the smaller piece had its advantages.
“When I blow it up bigger, maybe some color theory is going to get a little bit hard,” McBride-Kennedy said. “Skin has a lot of blue in it, and a lot of green, and a lot of like oranges in different parts. I would say starting mini was easier.”
Regardless of the size, Vaclavik wants visitors to be curious and have a look.
“I think it is easy to assume, ‘Well, I only enjoy this medium, or I only enjoy this scale, or this type of artist,’” Vaclavik said. “I have been shocked by some of the pieces, like someone who really likes broad sweeping abstract strokes, who did something with a ton of minute details.”
The miniature pieces will be on display now through July 26 at the Greeley Creative Arts Center, which is generally open Thursday through Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. It’s free to attend.
The auction for the artwork will start later this month. The district will also host an event on July 25 as part of Greeley’s larger Culture Pop festival.
