Artful Durango 3

By Eilene Lyon

Durango has long had a spring and fall gallery walk downtown on a Friday evening. Recently, the Durango Creative District has begun a First Friday studio/gallery tour. On August 1, my sculptor friend, Suzie, invited The Putterer and me to join her at the Smiley Building on E. 2nd Ave. to celebrate the unveiling of a new mural.

Smiley used to be a middle school, but is now privately owned and rents out space to businesses, non-profits, and a café. They used to have fundraisers and entertainment in the old school auditorium, but it has been converted into an open art studio, where artists rent a set amount of floor space.

The new mural graces the north side of the old auditorium portion of the building. Brad Goodell’s four panels evoke the Works Project Administration’s mural project from the Great Depression era. The angular figures and bold colors mimic the style of those earlier murals. The subject matter, too, reflects industry and progress.

It’s almost ironic that the 1930s murals, painted in post offices, government buildings and railroad terminals, glorified the working man—whether farmer or factory worker—at a time when so many people could find no employment.

The Smiley mural contains scenes from around southwest Colorado. On the far left is a sawmill in the Mancos Valley, with Mesa Verde National Park in the background. The second panel is probably a powerplant—there were several early cutting-edge advancements in electricity production in this region. Third is the roundhouse at the Durango & Silverton Railroad. On the far right are hard-rock miners in the San Juan Mountains.

We also strolled down Main Avenue to several galleries, but another new mural caught my eye. This one, by Hannah Wilson, features a La Plata County legend, Olga Little. Little was a packer who ran a string of burros to carry supplies to miners high in the La Plata Mountains. It was an unusual career choice for a woman. There are many stories about her, which deserve a separate post.

Both these murals add to Durango’s growing reputation as an arts town.