Denver Life

#5: Kim Shively One of Westword’s newest crop of MasterMinds (all of whom will be honored this Saturday at Artopia 2014), Kim Shively expresses herself in images, rather than words, as a video artist and technician who’ll take on any subject matter, from Wesley Willis to Lucha Libre wrestling, not…

The eighteenth annual Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show took place this past weekend. Full of furry friends doing fun tricks, this event at the National Western Complex was a must-attend for dog enthusiasts. Our photographer Danielle Lirette was there to catch all the tricks and adorable pups. See also: Super…

#6: Nora Burnett Abrams Nora Burnett Abrams makes exhibits happen, and that’s not easy: As curator at MCA Denver, she can’t just pick up artists at a supermarket. Instead, it’s about developing a relationship — with a little detective work on the side — and getting inside each artist’s head…

Travis Conklin is an artist who explores a variety of mediums. As co-owner of F4D Studio, he photographs, films and creates beautiful imagery through his lens. But with Conkwear, his clothing company, Conklin has found a new way to share his art. What started as a way to get his…

A tattoo artist, teacher, writer and musician, Dave Regan likes to keep busy. Originally from Baltimore, he has lived in Colorado for almost five years and currently works at Landmark Tattooing. He also writes for Tattoo Artist and Tattoo Culture magazines. In his latest article, he chronicles his motorcycle road…

#7: Tricia Hoke Tricia Hoke is first and foremost an artist, but hers is an artistry that translates into the folds and drapes of her ingenious clothing designs, which morph into different style configurations with the slightest inside-out turn or flip of fluid fabric. As a dance costumer, she’s unparalleled,…

#8: Jose Mercado A Greeley native who left for schooling and a chance at the limelight in L.A., Jose Mercado returned to the state after garnering praise and awards on the stage in California. He took a job teaching theater at North High School in Denver, and his future path…

#9: Nikki Pike Nikki Pike is a poster girl for the new artist: She doesn’t do just one thing, she does it all — from performance to sculpture to installation to multimedia and cross-disciplinary works to art as activism. The former instructor at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design…

A man designing for men was once a rarity in the fashion business, but Denver has several male-focused male designers — including Shawn Regan, owner of Primary Ties, a men’s neckwear shop that is wrapping itself around the stylish men of Denver. We recently caught up with Regan to talk…

On this week’s episode of Under the Gunn, the designers faced the fun challenge of creating a performance outfit for seventeen-year-old Zendaya, author, actress and star of the Disney Channel’s Shake it Up.Zendaya gave very specific directions for the outfit: It had to be something she could move in, with…

When The Wind Rises opens February 28 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, it will be the last new film from anime legend Hiyao Miyazaki, who is retiring. In honor of that auspicious occasion, the Alamo is paying tribute to the master with Miyazaki Madness, a series of seven of his…

#10: Manuel Ramos Manuel Ramos looms large in Denver’s Chicano arts and political communities: A veteran legal-aid lawyer for more than forty years, Ramos found voice as a writer when he wasn’t fighting for justice, though even that vocation is imbued with an innate understanding of the struggles of the…

#11: Marie Vlasic Like many of her portrait subjects, painter Marie Vlasic has nothing to hide. There’s no pretense to her hyper-realistic work: She paints what she sees — a lot of it skin, much of that skin tatted and otherwise permanently decorated. But her visual observations also peer deeply…

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and love is in the air. Lists of romantic movies. Articles on romantic date ideas. Five easy tips to please your lover. Love here, love there, love fucking everywhere. It gets a little tiresome, honestly, especially if you’re one of those people who isn’t…

Here is an easy way to borrow your best friend’s blouse or that dress you have always coveted: host a fashion swap party. The brainchild of Stacey Johnson, these canned parties are an easy way to build a new wardrobe and save money. Between landing great finds while swapping, Johnson…

So, you’ve got a kid, huh? Whether it’s your own rambunctious preschooler or the bratty nephew you’ve been charged with keeping alive for the next five hours, the most important thing is leaving your house where valuables are liable to be destroyed and seeking refuge on somebody else’s property. In…

#12: Anthony Garcia Sr. Raised in Globeville, Anthony Garcia Sr. knows the street, but his artist’s vision only wants to make the street more beautiful — with grassroots public art and murals. Garcia may have moved on from Globeville, but his heart remains in the community, where members of the…

I don’t even remember what I was doing on Valentine’s Day 2013. That’s because I’m the kind of person who lets the individual feeling of each holiday be dictated by my own current selfish standing in the world. Last year, I was so far from being in love that Valentine’s…

If you grew up in Denver, you’ve probably shopped at or at least heard of Kazoo Toys — or remember the interactive toy store by its original name, Kazoo & Company. After taking on a new space in Cherry Creek North for less than a year, Kazoo Toys is closing…

#13: Lynne Bruning Denver-based but with an international following, Lynne Bruning studied neuroscience and architecture, but found her place in the world as a weaver, designer and well-traveled e-textile expert active in the worlds of the Internet, Maker Faires, hackerspaces and Burning Man. In a brilliant twist, Bruning blends an…

A Colorado native, Dominic Vasquez just returned to his hometown after spending seven years in San Diego. He now tattoos at Sol Tribe Tattoo, where he’s working toward building a client base in Denver. In San Diego, Vasquez is well known for large, Japanese-style tattoo, from full back pieces to…