Meeker artwork adorns CNCC’s new Craig campus

MEEKER I The work of three Meeker artists graces the new CNCC facility in Craig. Andy Goettel, Sondra Garcia and Pat Sheeran Daggett were among 13 artists whose submissions were chosen to decorate the new CNCC facility. Nineteen works of art from the 13 artists will be on display beginning this month. The other ten artists are from Moffat County.
Three art curators from the Front Range served as judges for the contest, selecting the 19 chosen pieces from a total of 81 submissions from 36 different artists.
Two of Daggett’s paintings, “Distant Shores, Turbulent Waters” and “Priest and Nuns,” will be on display at the Craig campus. Daggett, owner of The Upstairs Gallery in downtown Meeker, is well-known for her depictions of local and regional places. She has been a full-time artist and taught art classes at CNCC “off and on” since 1981.
“I was pleased and honored that both pieces were selected for the new building,” Daggett said.
She submitted “Distant Shores, Turbulent Waters” for its subject matter.
“It was a painting of a friend’s son watching the first Father’s Day canoe race on the Yampa River many years ago. His father (Mick Havrilla) and oldest sister (Aimee) participated in the race. The boy (Eric) in the painting is now in his late 20s. The painting reminds me of the many good friends and times we had in Craig. It feels appropriate that this painting should find a permanent home in Craig,” Daggett explained.
Two of the five pieces she submitted were selected. The other piece is the only one of the five that is not directly from Northwest Colorado, she said.
“I chose it because it was a pastel of the ‘high desert’ country. It was a good piece and I felt I had captured the early morning light on the Priests and Nuns well.”
Sondra Garcia has painted only in watercolor for the past 20 years.
“I’ve always loved to draw and my art teacher through middle and high school, Laura Hertzke, was my inspiration,” she said. Garcia submitted four pieces in the competition, and “Fall on the White River” was selected by the jury.
“The piece that was selected represents Meeker and the White River valley, and I believe that is one of the reasons it was chosen,” Garcia said. The painting is a depiction of a scene from one of the bridges that crosses the White River. “It was such a beautiful fall day and the colors were spectacular. I tried to capture that beauty in this painting.”
Garcia has attended classes at CNCC taught by local artist and sculptor John Kobald “since his first class 20 years ago, and I’m grateful to have such a talented artist to work with.”
Her diligence to her craft has rewarded her, and will now reward those who visit the Craig campus. “I am so proud to have been selected to have a piece of my art permanently displayed at the new CNCC facility in Craig. It’s a real honor to represent Northwest Colorado and Meeker in this way,” Garcia said.
Andy Goettel’s name is synonymous with “art” in Meeker, and not just because he taught art at the high school level in Meeker for many years. Goettel’s medium of choice is clay and he is recognized for his unique and alluring ceramic creations. For the CNCC contest, Goettel submitted a large stoneware vase glazed in organic colors which was chosen by the three-person jury for display on campus.
“I think is is a nice gesture on CNCC’s part to decorate their new Craig facility with local art,” Goettel said. “We do have a large number of very talented folks in the region.”