The Cheesman Park Art Fest

I drove over to Denver's Cheesman Park yesterday afternoon to check out the annual Cheesman Park Art Fest.  It is only a few years old, but is becoming very popular, with artists from all over the country displaying their work.  I especially like it because there is a lot of photography on display, and their work gives me on ideas that I can incorporate (i.e.steal) for my own work.  Cheesman, by the way, along with nearby Congress Park, were Denver's first parks.  They were originally cemeteries, and the city paid a contractor to move all the graves to cemeteries on the outskirts of the city.  He made a mess of the job, desecrating many of the bodies and leaving many of them still on the grounds,  which is why it is reputed to be haunted, and why it is a good thing the art fest ends before dark.

In any case, I enjoyed looking at all the art work, and ran into Joe Higgins, my friend and former University of Denver Bookstore colleague, and a full time artist and teacher at the Art Students League of Denver.  Joe was not displaying his work at this festival, but was visiting some of his art students, who did have booths there.  Joe is still working 2 days a week at the DU Bookstore, teaching 2 days a week, and spending the rest of the week working on his own artwork.  Joe is pretty happy with that schedule, and I must say it sounds like a great routine. Good to see you, Joe! Be sure to check out Joe's artwork and website at  http://www.joehigginsmonotypes.com .

As I was talking to a photographer from Idaho displaying  her work, none other than my friend Darrel, another  former DU Bookstore colleague, called out my name and said hello. Darrel and his wife Linda,  who are now both retired, decided a year or so ago that spending the weekends doing yard work and upkeep on their house was getting a bit old, and so sold their house and moved to an apartment right next door to the Denver Botanic Gardens.  Talk about a great location.  They can now take daily walks through some of the nicest areas of Denver, and are only a car or bike ride from downtown, not to mention just a short walk from the bookstore where I work.  And just for fun I decided to take a photograph of Darrel with his apartment building (the tall white structure) in the background.  As you can see, Darrel and Linda are also very close to Cheesman Park.  Just don't walk around there after sunset, guys.  Good to see you, Darrel!