Artwork by Aida McDowell will adorn the cover of the coloring book. (City of Cortez/Courtesy photo)
The coloring book contains artwork from a variety of local artists
After months of preparation, the H24istoric Cortez Coloring Book is available online and at the Montezuma Heritage Museum and Cortez Cultural Center.
The coloring book was created in collaboration with the city, the LOR Foundation, the Cortez Retail Enhancement Association and the Public Arts Advisory Committee and the city’s Historic Preservation Board.
Starting Friday, it will be available for purchase for $5 at the Montezuma Heritage Museum and the Cortez Cultural Center. A free, downloadable version is available online at https://bit.ly/corbook.
This spring, the city received more than 70 submissions from 20 people for the coloring book pages and eight for the cover. The youngest contributor was 6 years old.
A jury then selected 32 submissions for the print book. The more extensive digital version will include at least one submission from each artist.
Jurors included the LOR Foundation, Mesa Verde Country, Cortez Cultural Center, Montezuma Heritage Museum, Cortez Community and Economic Development Department, Cortez Historic Preservation Board, and Cortez Public Arts Advisory Committee, among others.
TJ Zark of HelloZark helped design both coloring book versions.
Contributors to the physical coloring book include Abby J. Fox, Aida McDowell, Alia Trice, Anne Englert, Ashley Nolan, Blake Pirslin, Cynthia Switzer, Jim Siscoe, Kathleen Giebler, Natalie Whitmer, Olive Gray, Ronin Wise, Sandra Beirne, and Sophia Borchers.
McDowell’s article was selected for the cover.
Artists who received honorable mention and are featured on half a page in the book include Deb Silverman, Joel Gamache, Kate Rowan, Piper Green, Ryan Spittler, Susan Keck and Teegan Schlagel.
Additional submissions from Annalise Cunningham, Carson Achter, Cecilia Cunningham, Darbee Iverson, Erik Quiroz, Jessica Lykins, Rafe Obrien and Tommy Tunnell will be included in the digital version of the coloring book.
