Taking over City Hall for one night only this Friday, the Pancakes & Booze art show is exactly that -- a showing of work by local artists combined with a smorgasbord of sweet treats and liquor. The traveling party originated in Los Angeles in 2009 and now makes a circuit of cities across the U.S. a couple of times a year, adding live local music and painting to the mix at each stop.

Creator Tom Kirlin says that after living in Denver more than a decade ago, he recognized that this city's thriving art scene was a prime location for his conceptual party. "Denver isn't a huge city, but the amount of artists working here is amazing," he notes.

See also:
- 3 things to do for free this week, November 26-29, 2012
- Artists were less starving than usual at Pancakes and Booze on Saturday night
- Cherry Creek Arts Festival launches Art Shop website to sell work year-round

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Bill Amundson, "I Saw The Figure Sixty In Gold (Thinkin' Positive)," pencil and colored pencil, 2012.

In town for just a short time from his native "cheese gulag" in Wisconsin, former Denverite Bill Amundson will leave a mark nonetheless: Tonight the artist/raconteur is the featured speaker at the Denver Art Museum's Logan Lecture series (see the DAM website for details and tickets).

And on Friday, Amundson will premier a small show of brand-new works during a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, November 30, upstairs at Plus Gallery. He'll share the spotlight with portraitist Austin Parkhill, whose own exhibition debuts in the Plus main gallery.

See also:
- Bill Amundson
- Bill Amundson's Blurred Vision: A sight for sore eyes
- Bill Affair: Bill Amundson says bye, bye tonight at Plus Gallery

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Jewelry by Casey Sheppard, featured on Art Shop.

The artwork featured at the Cherry Creeks Arts Festival will now be available for purchase all year with the launch of the organization's new website, Art Shop, which launched last Wednesday. To celebrate, Art Shop is featuring commemorative festival posters from 1991 through 2012 -- and they will be 50 percent off through Friday.

See also:
- Photos: The art and people of the 2012 Cherry Creek Arts Festival
- The Best Art at Cherry Creek Arts Festival
- Pudgy pizza, monster sausages and tacos: Food porn from the Cherry Creek Arts Festival

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Dmitrii Baltermants

The University of Colorado may not be able to win a football game, but the CU Art Museum has scored big with its traveling exhibition, "Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust." The show, which debuted in Boulder in September, was curated by David Shneer, CU professor of history, and Lisa Tamiris Becker, director of the CU Art Museum; it was based on Shneer's book, Through Soviet Jewish Eyes.

See also:
- Korean artists keep it real at the CU Art Museum
- Museum studies: The CU Art Museum is part of a museum-building boom

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Tobias Fike and Matthew Harris, "Repeated Failures."

It's a busy Third Friday in D-town, particularly at the Laundry on Lawrence, where eleven artists came together in "an exploration of soft materials." Not surprisingly, the concept takes many directions in a variety of mediums, with both individual and collaborative results.

See also:
- Artist Theresa Anderson explains how narrative plays into her drawings
- Photos: At two local galleries, feminism is as urgent as ever

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Ellie Caulkins Opera House

For the past month Westword has been profiling the winners of the 2012 Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Since 1986 these awards have honored creative individuals and organizations that make artful impact in the community -- but this year they were split into three new categories: Youth Arts, Entrepreneurial Arts and Impact Arts. The awards ceremony for the winners -- Denver's Arts District on Santa Fe, Emmanuel Gallery and Denver Ballet Guild -- will be held tonight at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

See also:
- 2012 Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts: Denver's Arts District on Santa Fe
- 2012 Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts: Emmanuel Gallery
- 2012 Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts: Denver Ballet Guild

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At the recent R-Squared: Risk and Reward conference held in Telluride, Cengage Learning offered a $5,000 reward for the library/librarian that came up with the most innovative way to engage the library's customers. Basically, how to make libraries cool again.

Joseph Sanchez, an employee of the Auraria Library, came up with an idea that falls right in-line with the Colorado state of mind -- and we aren't talking about Amendment 64. Read on to learn about Sanchez's award-winning concept.

See also:
- From Auraria's Archives: Allen Ginsberg's postcards to Ed White
- From Auraria's Archives: Degrees of separation from Thomas Hornsby Ferril's autograph

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"Edges," Alisa Banks

It's fitting for the small Abecedarian Gallery to end the year with an exhibition of small-scale art. All the two- and three-dimensional works in the Modest in Scale show are twelve inches or smaller in every dimension. "It's a great show to have right before Christmas because people are out looking at art in a different way," says Alicia Bailey, owner and director of Abecedarian. "Maybe with a more intimate look at things, they might be getting as gifts or for themselves."

The exhibition, curated by Chicago's Doug Stapleton, consists of 43 pieces by 30 artists from around the country, including eight Colorado artists. It opens with a reception at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 16, and will run through December 15. Keep reading to see some of the works that will be featured.

See also:
- Modest In Scale Exhibition
- Interactive Artifact and Music Bo(o)x at Abecedarian Gallery: Please touch the books.
- Photos: Minikin Madness showcases art on tiny surfaces

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© 2012 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Vincent van Gogh, Postman Joseph Roulin, 1888

Michael Paglia visits the Denver Art Museum for this week's review, "Go van Gogh." The exhibit expands on the work of the revered post-impressionist artist, and it deserves the sold-out attention it's receiving. Continue reading for photos from Becoming van Gogh.

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Photo by Terry Shapiro

Every year since 1986, Denver has recognized creative individuals and organizations that make an artful impact on the community with the Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts. The 2012 winners were recently announced, split into three new categories: Youth Arts, Entrepreneurial Arts and Impact Arts.

The winners will be honored at the Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts reception on November 15 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. In the meantime, Westword has been profiling the winners. This final installment is devoted to the recipient of the Youth Arts award; the Denver Ballet Guild.

See also:
- 2012 Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts: Denver's Art District on Santa Fe
- 2012 Mayor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts: Emmanuel Gallery
- Photos: 2012 Mayor's Design Awards honor homes, breweries and restaurants

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