The value of art is not something Coloradoans have historically struggled to understand. Vibrant communities span the entire state, supporting a diverse array of artists and building their work into their very identities. As a celebration of the talent and diversity that resides here, the Governor’s Art Show selects artists from all over the state to participate in the show each year. Hosted at the Loveland Museum, the show doubles as a fundraiser for Thompson Education Foundation, working to provide education consistency and support for students and families experiencing homelessness. For this month’s women’s issue we wanted to highlight three incredibly talented local artists participating in this year’s show. Jane DeDecker, Crystal Despain and Margueritte Meier's art will be on display in the Loveland Museum through May 21st and opportunities to meet these and many of the other incredible artists can be found at governorsartshow.org
Margueritte Meier - From an early highschool graduation to working as a paramedic in Nicaragua, then teaching college courses before eventually earning her own degree, Margueritte Meier’s path has never been conventional. It was only when she realized she might not be able to dedicate herself fully to careers in medicine and art simultaneously that she decided to focus on just one, later managing to blend her passions for creative and healing arts.
“I don’t know how I could not paint,” Meier says of her lifelong pursuit. She remembers being scolded for painting on walls and promptly having paper and paint set in front of her in order to spare the plaster. “It’s in my blood.”
Primarily working in water-color she blends media and techniques to create touchably real natural scenes, playing with light and color to create immersively detailed imagery. She describes her approach as ‘contemplative’ blending practices of mindfulness and meditation with creative techniques. Her art and preferred media has gone through its seasons of course, a return to watercolor is just the latest.
“It’s just the phase I’m in, I just love it,” Meier says of her dynamic and shifting style over the years.
Meier often paints Plein Air, having coordinated groups and taught classes in the discipline over the years. Currently she instructs contemplative art courses sharing the benefits she’s found in pursuing art in that fashion. When she’s not returning to her favorite natural places to work on a piece she’s working in her Fort Collins studio, surrounded by works in progress, she often finds herself switching from one to the next to avoid exhausting herself on a piece.
“Right now I’m really focused on the earth and all of the elements that are on earth and need protection and stewardship,” Meier says of her recent collections, much of which has been inspired by the Poudre River. She hopes her work can inspire that connection with nature and encourage people to consider their relationship with the natural world.
“Maybe we should be kinder and we can learn more about how to help nature together.”
Crystal Despain - Art has always been an important part of Crystal Despains’ life and was always in her career trajectory, whether playing the oboe through college or striving to capture authentic snapshots of life in oil paints. After having not painted regularly for some years, feeling the pressures of motherhood and beginning her family, it was becoming increasingly clear to Despain that art was missing from her life. Encouraged by her husband she decided to embark on a project called 52 Weeks of Free Art, which is precisely what it sounds like. Every week for a full year Despain would create and give away an original painting. People submitted requests and inspiration from all over the world and through this process of committing effort to creativity Despain was able to regain her artistic voice and settle questions of self confidence that had troubled her after taking those years away from painting regularly.
“That was transformative for me,” Despain says of the project and how it helped her to rebuild her confidence and connect with people all over the world to find a deeper value in her work.
Now Despain has successfully found her way back into painting, and is open with her blog readers about how working towards her career goals while also raising 5 boys can be a struggle. Working from source materials she creates in photoshoots, or taking the opportunity to study life directly she dedicates her time in her Windsor studio space to practicing her craft, bringing beautiful moments from reality into a dreamworld filled with all of the right details beneath an ethereal filter, capturing the intangibles and connections that give them life.
“When I’m painting figures, there’s a moment when you start seeing not just the shapes being correct, you start to feel a glimpse of that person,” Despain says of her process, “that’s the thing that I chase, I love that.”
This will be Despain’s second year at the Governor's Art Show and she’s looking forward to seeing both familiar and new faces celebrating Colorado art together. While she’s already quite accomplished, Despain says she has a powerful drive to learn more and improve her technique which keeps her moving from one painting to the next.
“I think that’s what art is, you’ve gotta love the journey more than the destination.”
Jane DeDecker - Jane DeDecker had initially thought she would be an art teacher, but through college and after an apprenticeship with a local sculptor it became evident that she was destined to create. Now, 35 years in, her extensive body of work includes nearly two-hundred sculptures in 35 states, revealing her passion for commemorating important times, movements, moments, and people in history. DeDecker works with her clients to design a sculpture that reveals the essence of her subjects and conveys not only their stories, but the sometimes complicated emotions that are involved in them. Working with clay warmed by the sun in her Loveland studio, she reveals remarkable likeness of historical figures from all walks of life, most recently focusing on some of history's most groundbreaking women, from suffragettes and millworkers to early doctors who sacrificed everything to do what they knew in their hearts was right. Every detail is considered, down to the authenticity of the textures, patterns and buttons in their clothes with news clippings, photos, small scale clay models and clothing samples for her subjects readily available.
Her most recent passion project, spearheading an effort to create a women’s suffrage monument in Washington D.C., earned her a spot on USA Today's list of women of the year. The project recently reached an important milestone with the passing of a bipartisan bill to create the monument being signed into law.
“It’s a big big project,” DeDecker says of the monument, “It’s gonna take a team.” While they are still some months away from beginning to build, she’s ready to collaborate with other artists to celebrate women on a national scale. “It’s so exciting to think about!”
In addition to her life-like public works DeDecker also creates stunning abstract pieces, often still centered on the human form but working to convey a feeling as opposed to representing a specific person or movement. She calls this process, “creative house cleaning,” a sort of emotional purge, allowing her to freely participate in potentially art’s most important function, self expression and exploring her own emotions. Keeping up with her family and community, DeDecker hopes her work can inspire people to find their voices and be heard.
“Life is an expression and you have your unique voice.”