Art takes flight -- this year's butterfly project has community aflutter

That’s right. It’s butterfly season again.

The really big kind you’ll only see in “Butterflies and Friends,” a public art project that raises money for art programs in area schools.

The 30 artists involved this year — among them Douglas Rouse, Laura BenAmots, Kim Polomka and Don Goede — finished their transformations of the large, metal butterfly templates at the

end of July. Now their pieces — butterflies either 42 inches by 56 inches or 36  inches by 42 inches — have found their way to 15 locations around town.

The sponsors, the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs and Imagination Celebration, are hoping the appearance of the colorful insects will nudge art collectors and local humanitarians to step up during the Sept. 19 gala and auction. The proceeds support arts programs in two District 11 schools: Monroe Elementary and the Bijou School, an alternative high school.

Last year, the project raised about $45,000 for Helen Hunt Elementary School and West Elementary and Middle School.

“District 11 schools are really suffering from funding cutbacks in arts programming,” says Harold Eichenbaum, Rotary spokesman for the 3-year-old project. “By giving them funds that they can use to enhance programs, we’re helping to educate the children. It’s one of our missions.”

Mary Adoretti

“Geometric Wings” (small)

Antlers Hilton hotel, 4 S. Cascade Ave.

Art has been a passion of Adoretti’s from a very early age. She started her education in Massachusetts, studying fine art at Holyoke Community College, The Hill Institute in Florence, The Studio Guild in Northampton and taking adult education classes in the area. As her journeys took her to Colorado, she expanded her knowledge in commercial art, graphic art, and fine art.

Laura BenAmots

“Comforting Caring Community”            (small)

Hunter-Wolff Gallery, 2510 W. Colorado Ave.

BenAmots lives in Colorado, where she paints, serves as associate professor and gallery director at Pikes Peak Community College, and is an active advocate for public arts projects in Colorado Springs. www.laurabenamots.info

Juanita Canzoneri

“Kirkland’s Vibrations” (large)

Garden of the Gods Club, 3320 Mesa Road

Seeing Denver artist Vance Kirkland’s work in a recent Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center exhibit inspired Canzoneri’s butterfly design. Kirkland’s use of color, dots, and texture fascinates her, and she used this project to play with some of his techniques.

Phelan Carrasco

“Lepidoptera Chemica” (large)

Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

No information available.

Lupita Carrasco

“The World is a Rainbow” (large)

Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

Carrasco draws her inspiration from the natural world, religion, and social and political themes. This year she has challenged herself to donate as much art as possible. www.cottonwoodcenterforthearts .com/Lupita-Carrasco.html

Antonia Chastain

“Precious” (large)

Antlers Hilton hotel, 4 S. Cascade Ave.

Chastain is a multifaceted artist accomplished in diverse media including painting, concrete, fiber-glass, epoxies, steel, wood and papier-mâché. Her third year with “Butterflies and Friends,” Chastain used her butterfly to show “how precious the gift of life is and that the gift is able to pass something of beauty on to others.”

Milly Chastain

“Dippin’ Dots” (small)

El Paso Club, 30 E. Platte Ave.

At 11, this is Milly’s second year participating in “Butterflies and Friends.” She named her butterfly after her favorite summertime treat, “Dippin’ Dots,” tiny multi-colored ice cream droplets. She said she is excited for this piece to go toward helping other children.

Neil Fenton

“Dragon-Fly” (large)

Corner of Tejon Street and Pikes Peak Avenue

No information available.

Fuse

“Urban Flight” (large)

Corner of Tejon Street and Pikes Peak Avenue

Since the mid ‘90’s, Los Angeles artist Fuse has taught graffiti art classes at various schools and has helped troubled teens channel their energy and creativity. He recently completed a 50-foot  mural at CityRock Colorado Springs, 21 N. Nevada Ave., one of the tallest murals ever completed in Colorado.

Don Goede

“Colorado Reflections” (small)

The Squash Blossom, 2531 W. Colorado Ave.

Goede’s art is “all over the place.” He won illustration awards early in high school and has continued working as a graphic designer and art director. He is a photographer, writer, sculptor, musician, “agitator” and publisher. In his spare time he enjoys art on almost every level possible.

Evette Goldstein

“Appearances” (small)

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St.

Artistic inspiration of the world around Goldstein gives her the freedom to continually experiment with subjects and styles from representational abstract to abstract expressionism. Goldstein is passionate about sharing artistic vision and opportunity, especially with youths. www.artbyevette.com

Mary Helsaple

“Ode to the Garden of Hope” (small)

Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

“I painted the Gulf Fritillary (or Passion Butterfly) to draw attention to the disaster affecting the wildlife species impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We see lots of news of how the disaster in this region has affected people and wildlife, but smaller things like the grass, flowers and the butterflies are harder to see.” www.helsaple.com

Julie Holladay

“Pattern Within” (small)

Pine Creek Gallery, 2419 W. Colorado Ave.

Holladay, who is also a full-time art teacher at Castle View High School in Douglas County, finds that the complete satisfaction in working with this medium is “the freedom and unpredictability of its very nature. My art comes from being continually inspired and stimulated by our natural world. My attempt is to breathe life into my paintings through strong, vibrant colors.” www.jewelsink.com

Gloria Lynch

“Je me souvien” (“I Remember”) (small)

Swan Law Funeral Directors, 501 N. Cascade Ave.

Trained as a stage designer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Italy, Lynch is currently applying her technical skills and ability to paint works as varied as large scale and faux finishes and design. “I’m attracted to ‘Butterflies and Friends’ because I firmly believe, today more than ever, in the value of creative thinking to bring positive change and resolution. Fostering art education in schools is just one very effective way to stimulate it.”

Mia Lynch

“Millefiori Poppies” (small)

Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, 1805 N. 30th St.

“The inspiration of my butterfly came from the explosion of colors in my mom’s garden and the amazing ‘miracle’ of the return of the good season. The garden that seemed empty and devoid of life just a couple of months ago is now a riot of happiness and blooms.”

Sarah Milteer

“Vintage Springs Postcards” (large)

Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, 1805 N. 30th St.

“I am dedicated to ‘Butterflies and Friends’ because I believe in art education for public schools and find it disgraceful that some district schools do not have the luxury of taking this for granted through conventional means. If this is what it takes for schools to have an art program, then I am glad to help.” www.sarahmilteer paintings.blogspot.com

Pikes Peak Decorative Painters

“Pikes Peak Takes Wing” (large)

Rocky Mountain Bank, 755 Cheyenne Meadows Road

This butterfly is a collaborative effort of the members of the Pikes Peak Decorative Painters, an affiliated chapter of the Society of Decorative Painters (www.decora tivepainters.org ) since 1978. www .pikespeakdecorativepainters.com

Kim Polomka

“Conflict of the Roses” (large)

El Paso Club, 30 E. Platte Ave.

Polomka’s work is a synthesis of superrealism and surrealism. He is “passionate about the importance of art in the lives of young people.” www.kimpolomka.com

Brigitte Reydams

“Springtime in Colorado” (small)

Garden of the Gods Club, 3320 Mesa Road

No information available.

Douglas Rouse

“Steampunk Magic Butterfly” (large)

Cornerstone Arts Center, Colorado College, 825 N. Cascade Ave.

Douglas Rouse is a local muralist and award-winning chalk artist. Realizing his talent at a young age, he taught himself to embrace challenges. “Butterflies and Friends” is one of those out-of-the-norm projects that inspires him. www.rouse66.com

Mallori Rouse

“Retro Flower Butterfly” (small)

Antlers Hilton hotel, 4 S. Cascade Ave.

Mallori Rouse was born in Colorado Springs and she took her first art and acting classes at Bemis Art School as a youngster. She is involved in various art- and design-related endeavors. Rouse “delights in the beauty of art and life when self-expression is uninhibited and candidly crisp.”

Tanya Sansoni

“I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free.” (small)

Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St.

Sansoni is a native of Colorado Springs and has been involved in the art community since she was in pigtails. “Since I was tiny, my mother always told me to imagine and create, and I have been doing so ever since!”

Dusty Shutt

“Building a Better Butterfly” (small)

Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

“Because my formal art and photography education has been attained in the public school and community college venues, I feel it is important to help ensure that my first love, art, isn’t sacrificed to my second love, math. Art is integral in helping one think outside the box when solving technical problems.”

Jill Spear

“Flutterby” (small)

Donna Dell ’Olio Law, 431 N. Cascade Ave.

“Inspired by the texture and essence of life on earth, I love the moment when the physical process of painting begins. … The completed painting documents my creative journey and joyfully celebrates life.”

Sarah Stevens

“Dreaming of a Colorful Tomorrow” (small)

Antlers Hilton hotel, 4 S. Cascade Ave.

Stevens is a local artist, high school art teacher, and “lover of all things rich in age, meaning, and color.” She relocated from Pennsylvania in the ‘90s. Her work has transformed from traditional painting and drawing to a variety of media and a more organic, holistic approach influenced by her life and travels in Colorado and other parts of the Southwest.

Kat and Bob Tudor

“Doing Yoga with the Rotary Club” (large)

Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St.

The art installation team of Kat and Bob Tudor have been supplying art to and enlightening the Colorado Springs public for more than 12 years. Their work materializes in forms that bewilder, amuse and inspire.

Jenyva Turner

“Birdwing” (small)

Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

“To me, there is nothing more awe-inspiring than a bird in flight. A main characteristic that birds and butterflies have in common is the wonder of flight, which led me to design ‘Birdwing,’ which is also a species of butterfly found in Australasia. On my piece, you will see five species of birds represented: the vulture, crane, hornbill, swan and raven — all of which have special meaning to me.”

Ani Rose Whaleswan

“Elemental” (large)

Bancroft Park, 2408 W. Colorado Ave.

Whaleswan is a mom, friend, advocate and artist. She believes “the most powerful force we know is, in fact, love — an energy of transformation and truth. I think one person makes all the difference, and the most important global work I can do is to constantly be working on myself.”

Sally Ann Wilson

• “Fractal Butterfly” (large)

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St.

• “Gaston Julia Butterfly” (large)

Antlers Hilton hotel, 4 S. Cascade Ave.

“The intense joy that comes from completely losing myself in the painting process is a powerful experience in and of itself. When the finished painting resonates with another person, there is a joy and sense of communion that is deeply satisfying.”

Steve Wood

“Planet Butterfly” (large)

Cornerstone Arts Center, Colorado College, 825 N. Cascade Ave.

Wood is a public artist and the director of Concrete Couch, which “builds community through creative projects.” www.concrete couch.org

Artsandfriends.org AND adoretti.com contributed to this story.

butterflies and friends gala and auction

When: 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19

Where: The Cheyenne Mountain Resort, 3225 Broadmoor Valley Road

Tickets: $75, Rotary Club of Colorado Springs, P.O. Box 38282, Colorado Springs 80937, 502-5301, artsandfriends.org

buyabutterfly@hotmail.