An art show featuring work by more than 50 Aspen-area artists will benefit the grief counseling services nonprofit Pathfinders on Tuesday and Wednesday at the CMC Gallery at Colorado Mountain College\u2019s Aspen campus.<\/p>\n
Curated by artist and Pathfinders supporter DeDe Brinkman, it was coordinated by artists Kathy Honea and K Cesark. The show till feature works from prominent valley artists like Isa Catto, Richard Carter, Mark Cesark, Norm Clasen, Chris Cox, Jody Guralnick and Missie Thorne.<\/p>\n
The pieces are priced from $55 to $1,800, but Brinkman underscored that the show is about more than fundraising.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not so much about the money,\u201d she said Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s more about awareness and about helping people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nonprofit is facing unprecedented demand for its services, Pathfinders director wrote in a recent letter to supporters, due in part to the series of Aspen-area deaths by suicide, avalanche, car accident and illness during the winter of 2018-19 that shook the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been an intense winter,\u201d Daily wrote.<\/p>\n
The organization has grown \u201cexponentially,\u201d according to Daily, while responding to community losses and also expanding school programs. Clients include those suffering from both expected and sudden losses. In recent months, that\u2019s meant serving immigrant children separated from their parents by federal authorities along with the vast number of children and young people grieving environmental educator Arin Trook and high school lacrosse coaches Owen Green and Michael Goerne, all three of whom died in avalanches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were intimately involved following both avalanches that killed three men who worked closely with the children in our valley,\u201d Daily wrote. \u201cWe have supported the kids in the schools as well as the families and friends who experienced the loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization\u2019s school-based programs been expanding this academic year, with group and individual counseling for students and teachers in 14 schools from Aspen to Rifle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we do not do crisis work, Pathfinders counselors are often called in shortly after a tragedy or diagnosis of serious illness, and we are there for the months and sometimes years after,\u201d Daily wrote. \u201cWe are the safe place people process their grief or illness. We are the place caregivers can come to be nourished.\u201d<\/p>\n
The art show will run Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day. This summer, Pathfinders also will host a 5K Fun Run on July 20, in cooperation with Sunlight Rose, which supports breast cancer survivors.<\/p>\n