Meet Dana Ewing | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dana Ewing and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dana, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Peak One Art Studio began in April of 2019 with a dream of becoming the sort of business that could intertwine a love for creating with the outdoor beauty and recreation that inspires my art. Peak One is one of my favorite hikes in Summit County, Colorado, and the journey up the peak has continued to captivate me since my first time adventuring up it in the summer of 2016. While I fell in love with Summit County years before that, seeing the area from atop the mountain–as compared to along the shores of Lake Dillon–really impacted me. The steep hike that gains 4,000 feet over four miles forces you to remember the end goal of epic views while your thighs burn in rebellion. I liken the experience of hiking trails like this to some of the goals I have in my creative experience too. Some parts of the journey aren’t always that easy as I grind out long hours of wood burning late into the evening, but I know the end goal of seeing a vision realized will be worth the hard work that my dream requires. I love how my passions for art and outdoor adventures intertwine in this way and make both journeys more beautiful in the way they align with life experiences in general. I also know these journeys through valleys and atop mountain peaks are very real human experiences for everyone, and it’s always been my hope that the meaning behind Peak One would resonate with the real, rugged, and authentic experiences we all travel through–be it good, bad or mundane moments that touch our hearts in different ways. I have so many ideas of how I want my business to evolve to not only provide creations of outdoors scenes to hang on walls, but to also provide tangible ways to wear and use the designs in both everyday moments and outdoor adventures. Hopefully these dreams grow into reality later this year!

I think what makes my work most unique and authentic is that I take the time to do every part of my pieces by hand, from drawing to wood burning to painting. I’ve seen other creatives expedite the wood burning design process by utilizing laser wood burning tools that crank out designs that are input into a computer. I think this loses some of the personal touch that I strive to share in my work. Not only do I think this is necessary in a purist sort of sense, but I also think it elevates the art and challenges me to enhance my skills with every piece that I work on. Of course, this means I may churn out less work, but I hope my buyers realize how much heart and love I put into my originals because of my approach. Of course, there is always an aspect of multiplying art, be it in print form, on apparel or products too, but in regard to the original art itself, I stand by the need to do all of it by hand. I’ve had market goers pass by my original wood burned pieces and mention to their friends that the laser work looks cool, but I want to be clear about how intentionally I work to perfect my craft by hand. It takes far more hours to achieve this, but I take pride in sitting over a piece of wood for hours to wood burn all the details with my own hands. Not to mention, the wood burned smell takes me right up to the memories of the best campfire chats with friends–it’s just that in the studio my friends become Bon Iver, Caamp, Mumford & Sons or any other great folky musicians that help me pass the creative time well. Apart from this aspect of my wood burning techniques, I also think my work brings a uniqueness to it in the ways I combine wood burning and paint together, and I’m excited to continue playing around with this combination on bigger pieces in the coming months.

Over the last year, I’ve been having fun with putting my art on more functional things like lazy susans, frames, and coasters. I realize not everyone likes to buy art for their walls, so it’s fun to see that some of my pieces that have a little more utility resonate with people too. I hope to expand in the coming year to sharing my art on apparel items as this would begin a journey into creating items that outdoors lovers enjoy wearing while sporting designs that fit their passions and lifestyle. I realize there’s a big outdoor industry with competing brands already, but my hope is to start small and set the studio apart with designs that feel uniquely different than what is already on the market. I don’t have all the details fleshed out yet, but just like all the hikes and journeys of life, I can sense there’s some exciting things ahead in this endeavor, and I want to hike on into the unkowns of it to see what awaits on the other end of the trail.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If a friend were visiting, I think I’d definitely take him/her up to Summit County, probably along the shores of Lake Dillon to start until acclamation to 10,000 ft. really sinks in. If this friend is the hiking type, I’d recommend we hike Peak 1, of course, or road bike along the trails in Frisco or Breck when the aspens are at their peak golden hue, preferably. If we wanted to venture further, I’d likely recommend we hit up Moab, Utah futher west along I-70 too. For one, the drive out there is pretty amazing through Glendwood Springs and Grand Junction. For two, being that a lot of my friends are back east in the Appalachians, I just think these spots are must sees, because there’s really nothing like Moab back there, and the uniqueness of Canyonlands and Arches National Park are definitely places I would say you don’t want to miss experiencing!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m going to throw in a little shoutout for my husband, Justin, because he’s going to become a pretty integral part of the studio’s dreams this year. Being a super talented creative and senior art director himself, he’s brought some great ideas to the table on how to revamp the studio brand and start integrating more of the ideas I’ve been sitting on for awhile but have yet to take action on. He’s been supportive for awhile, but now that he’s officially married into the studio dream since December of last year, it’s going to be exciting to see how his ideas will more permanently impact Peak One Art Studio. I often act on impulse and experimentation, but his input brings a level of polished expertise in both design and marketing that I know will aid the studio in exciting ways. Second, I want to give a shoutout to my mom, an artist herself, who continues to be my biggest fan in all things art. There’s never a project I’m working on that doesn’t excite her, and I appreciate her long-term interest in my creative pursuits. And lastly, I want to give a shout out to my art-loving, joy-filled, late Grandpa Carl who is a key character in a children’s book I’m working to illustrate this year. His zest for life and the beauty around him still gives me so much joy, and I’m excited to make a story about the beautiful way he lived come to life!

Website: https://www.peakoneart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peakoneart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/36919391/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peakoneart/