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Question: What is art?

Art is a coming together of raw and semi-raw materials that when brought together create and evoke an emotion.

In Craig, we have for many years, had a steady flow of art and artists from and through the community.

On Saturday, Craig downtown businesses hosted their annual Art Walk.

The Art Walk is the one day that the community invites its local creative people to haul a sample of their craft to a downtown business for viewing.

The artists must pay to show their work on that day. Their work is presented to the community from 5 to 9 p.m., and the event is over till next year.

Now I ask?

What does this event do for the artisans and the businesses of Craig?

In all of the years of the event, what has it accomplished?

There are no businesses advertising to the outside world that you can find fine art as a come on to their businesses.

The event does not draw buyers to the community. This is another example of us presenting to us, rather than advertising this great resource that we have outside to attract buyers and thus making this a destination event for the whole valley.

What if the businesses had a year-round draw of art to their doors?

The state of Colorado has an annual source of revenue of $1.4 billion reported from the arts. It cost $1.4 billion to build the Craig Power Plant. To put that number in perspective, the power plant took nine years to build using a complement of 2,800 men.

I say again, what if the Craig Chamber of Commerce, Moffat County Tourism and the Economic Development Partnership joined with the downtown businesses and artists to present the people who create, not just one evening a year, but as a year-round draw to Craig businesses?

Our unseen developing artists have value, lots of value. The dollars brought into this community by artists in the past 20 years is well over $2 million.

Think about it. What if an added $1 million a year came into the community?

I have, in the past five years, from the sale of my artwork, up-graded my transportation, bought a horse and a horse trailer that in turn put me in the market for a saddle, hay, oats, horse shoeing and entry fees at the fair; fuel for hauling the horse, oh yes, and vet bills.

Think about it.

Bernie Rose