Local Business Spotlight: Showcase Art Center
A Greeley institution
Showcase Art Center has been fostering community and providing resources for artists for 29 years!
This month the Greeley Creative District Board had the opportunity to meet in this beautiful space.
Unless you are one of the artists renting creative space or taking classes, chances are you may have driven by the building without fully grasping all that it has to offer. Inside her unassuming a-frame, owner Colette Pitcher has crafted an entire creative ecosystem to empower artists to learn, collaborate, make and sell work.
Through the front door guests are greeted by a beautiful bronze bear sculpted and casted by Colette. A tangible example of the breadth of Colette’s talent and varied pursuits, he is an ambassador welcoming all to explore the arts with his whimsical palette that nods to various artistic disciplines. Behind him, custom made jewelry, art prints, carved paint palettes and an array of art pieces are for sale. In a tiny-but-mighty nook, art supplies are also for sale. With beginner, intermediate and professional grade materials, there is a little something for everyone. The goal isn’t necessarily to compete with big craft stores, but rather to offer an affordable, local option and to supplement the fine art supplies creatives would otherwise have to order or commute elsewhere to find. Along the edges, private studios rented by artists hem in the space. On the right side of the building, Colette and her partner Carol Kreps operate a small frame shop with samples (Carol builds the frames in a woodshop in the basement). And behind that she has a large classroom with long tables and plenty of space to work where she teaches. Finally, in the basement the Ginger Cat Crafting Community rents space to meet.
Born and raised in Greeley, Colette graduated from Greeley West High School and subsequently The University of Northern Colorado (UNC). Though she spent some time in New York, where she earned her MBA from the University of Long Island, (briefly working for illustrator Mercer Meyer and Arthur Anderson), she eventually returned to Weld County to live on a small farm east of Eaton. After the tragic death of her first husband, Colette wasn’t sure if she would remarry especially as she considered the prospect of a confirmed bachelor in her social circle. Eventually though, his kindness and their mutual love of old cars caused her to reconsider and now Gary Pitcher has been her partner in life and creative pursuits for 23 years.
Today Colette strives to build community and relationships through her business, her art lessons and her own creative practice.
“A lot of the folks in my community are retired and they need a place to come. They are longing for connection.”
Though Colette has taught in person the classroom at Heath Middle school, at UNC, Aims or in her own space, through the pandemic she learned how to create and distribute online tutorials to stay connected. In the future she hopes to explore this medium further. Her books Acrylic Painting for Dummies and Watercolor for Dummies have been translated and distributed globally–she wonders if this content could be adapted to digital mediums to reach a new audience. This type of a bold and brave dreaming falls in line with the advice she lives by and extends to all creatives: