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CAMPFIRE DRAW ALONGS

The DMB Collective (Donald Fodness, Michael Bernhardt, and Barry Whittaker) seeks to provide a public service intended to act as a beacon of hope in these troubled times. By drawing on the rich visual and oral traditions of the American West and Southwest, the DMB endeavor to honor, reflect, confuse and resist the romanticized stereotypes of this region through the ubiquitous technologies we now rely on for connection. They will share descriptions of iconic images, suggestive of cowboy poetry spoken by an open campfire, creating an ambiance saturated with the smell of smoke and beans.

Participate in the DMB Campfire Draw Along in 4 Easy Steps

  1. Listen to the audio guide in the video below.
  2.  Relax and draw along as you listen. The guide is not meant as directions or instructions. You are free to draw how and what you want using the audio as a suggestion.
  3. Submit your drawing to DMB Collective to post on their Instagram page and eventually on their website. The best way to do this is through the direct message feature on Instagram. A submitted drawing is understood as consent to post. DMB will do their best to attribute appropriate credit in the caption.
  4. Enjoy drawings of those who participated in the DMB Campfire Draw Alongs (see Instagram feed below video). The overall feed should reflect a quilted exquisite corpse of the collective consciousness of the DMB community, which now includes YOU!

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Share Your Drawings

Submit your artwork to: dmbartcollective@gmail.com 

Recent Drawings:

Creative Team

Donald Fodness

Donald Fodness earned a BA degree in Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and an MFA in Painting from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Fodness has an interdisciplinary practice that includes drawing, sculpture, furniture and installation. His drawings have been exhibited nationally and internationally. Regionally he has created site specific installations for the Denver Art Museum, The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, The Gallery of Contemporary Art in Colorado Springs, two Biennial of the Americas, and Harmony Hammond’s Material Engagements at Redline. His work has been published in New American PaintingsSculpture Magazine, Yahoo home page, Found MagazineThe Creators Project, and art LTD.

Fodness is an active community member, curator, and collaborator with The Flying OHNO Twins and The DMB Collective. He co founded Showpen Residency, is a founding member of Hyperlink, he is an Artnaut, and a member of Tank Studios. He served as an educator at the college level for nearly seven years at various institutions including University of Denver, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and Metro State University of Denver.  He currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

Michael Bernhardt

Michael Bernhardt was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, and lives and works in the Denver metro area. He earned his BFA in Pottery and Art Education from Colorado State University, and his MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Colorado-Boulder. His interdisciplinary work explores innovation and improbable problem solving infused with hopefulness and humor, often appropriating furniture and digital 3D objects and pairing them with fabricated display elements. Bernhardt has shown nationally in Colorado, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Illinois, and New Mexico, and internationally in Columbia, France, Australia, and China. His work has been published in New American Paintings, Studio. Public, and was included in the online Propeller Magazine with the collaboration Barchael. Bernhardt currently serves as Associate Professor of Art and Studio Foundations Coordinator in the Department of Art at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Barry Whittaker

Barry Whittaker is a multi-media artist, designer, musician, and Associate Professor of Art at the University of Toledo. He teaches graphic and interactive design, is a member of the Art in Public Places Committee of the Toledo Arts Commission, a University Advisory Committee member with the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, and is the Education Chair and a board member for the Toledo chapter of AIGA. As an artist, Whittaker explores mythology, language, miscommunication, cultural hybridization, and play through a variety of technology and collaboration-based projects. He often collaborates with other artists.  Whittaker has ongoing collaborations with Sam Sheffield, full-time faculty of Game Design at the Maryland Institute College of Art, creating interactive installations and games under the name “SaBa,” 2D images and installations with Michael Bernhardt, Associate Professor of Art at Metropolitan State University of Denver, under the name “Barchael,” and performances and multi-media installations with independent artist Donald Fodness and Michael Bernhardt under the name “The DMB Collective.” Whittaker has taught in the U.S., France, China, and Japan, and his work has been exhibited extensively across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Selected exhibitions include: ArtFarming a collaborative project with the Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, Japan; Hors Pistes Japon, organized by the Centre Pompidou and presented in Tokyo, Japan; Throwing Things at the Sky, which opened at 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan; #TAGGING ART#, an exhibition and print project through Vision Magazine, Shanghai, China; Supernova Digital Animation Festival, Denver, Colorado; STROBE Network, at FLUX Factory, Long Island City, NY; and Playpublik at FORUM, Krakow, Poland. A native Texan, Barry Whittaker received a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He divides his time between his home in Toledo, Ohio, and Nara, Japan.

3×3 Projects: Creative Collaborations from Isolation

Artists collaborate all the time, but not always from a distance. In our present reality of isolation, artists must find different avenues for the creation and presentation of work. With this in mind, the Fine Arts Center and Performing Arts at Colorado College invited artists of the Rocky Mountain West and American Southwest to pitch collaborative, multidisciplinary projects to premiere in the online world in the coming months.

Support for the 3×3 Projects provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant for Southwest Arts and Culture, Performing Arts at Colorado College, and the Colorado College Cultural Attractions Fund.