Meet Judi Mitchell | Gallery owner, artist, and art teacher

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

Hi Judi, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting Burd’s Nest Art Gallery was very simple. I heard about an opportunity to rent, at a low fee, the building we are currently in Olde Arvada, which is a building I have thought for years would be a great art gallery. I was informed in the evening in a mass email to a different galleries artist list that there was this opportunity. Within five minutes I had written an email to the current landlord (Arvada Urban Renewal Authority) that I was interested, who I was, what I had done in my life, and why I believed I could make this work as a gallery.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
While I am the owner of the gallery, I set it up as a cooperative style so that there would be no employee wages, taxes, and other benefits to cover. In doing this, I am able to give the artists a higher percentage of their sales. I also wanted to have this gallery be a launching point for many of the artists, as many have never shown their work anywhere before. I want to give them the confidence to say that they are a selling artist.
I was given the opportunity to use this building, and my goal was then to give others an opportunity to grow their artist endeavors. I also felt that I was helping Carlos, who was my food truck owner, get a start with his food truck. Helping others along their journey is a strong belief of mine.

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?
First, I would take them to my gallery so I could show them all of the wonderful art work that there was inside. I would have them eat from Carlos’s food truck, which is currently located across the street from the gallery (so he could have a warm place for people to eat). So now I would send her across the street to try Carlos’s food. I would also take her to the Stone Bistro as I think their food is excellent. We would then spend time at my house doing art projects, from clay, to fused glass, to painting with watercolors, acrylics, and oils. We would watch a funny movie and have a few glasses of wine.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I need to thank Amy Ward who alerted a different galleries artist list about the opportunity to lease a building on a short-term basis (while the potential new owners were going through the entitlement process with the city). I also want to thank Amy for then agreeing to be an artist in this new gallery, along with all of my other artists who decided to take this leap of faith with me. A special thanks goes to Teri Connelly who found most of the shelving units and got them to the gallery, as well as my daughter Lacie Esser and her husband Jake Esser who helped me with electrical, security, setting up shelves, etc. Additionally I need to thank Carlos Lezamos for his help in maintaining the property.

Website: https://artbyjudi.com

Instagram: JudiMitchellArt

Facebook: Art by Judi Mitchell

Image Credits
Art by Judi Mitchell