Meet Lisa Berley | Visual Artist & Poet

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

Hi Lisa, how do you think about risk?

Many people in Boulder are here for the thrilling outdoor activities, taking big physical risks be it in hiking, cycling or climbing. I love the beauty of the foothills and the surrounding nature, but that’s not where I take risks. Making art and writing poetry is where I take risks. The poetry came later in life after a profound loss. The need to write about my feelings of grief were heightened by the trauma. I had little energy to work in the studio and a great need to process the grief. I wrote and wrote and with it came a curiosity that drove me down an unfamiliar path. It was exhilarating.

Integrating the words with images was a challenge, uncertain and new. After forty years of identifying as a visual artist, I was signing up for local writing workshops with other experienced writers. I audited a wonderful poetry class at CU with undergraduate students. It was intimidating at first, but I learned a lot in a short time about myself and the history of poetry. I kept writing about the loss and was eventually accepted into the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver for their yearlong Poetry Collective along with thirteen other poets and two mentors. The goal was to complete a manuscript and I did. A number of the poems have been individually published and I’m still looking for the right publisher. I continue making art and sharing my poems with live readings in the community.

Alright, so let’s move onto what has influenced you?
Urban life in New York City has also had a big influence on my art and poetry. Most of my abstract works on paper and visual poems are about deconstructing and reconstructing images and words with the use of collage, paint, erasure, and tape. I resource found images and words from the New York Times magazines to create visual erasure poems and collage in full color. These 2D constructs draw from feelings of loss and grief in an unconventional way and are punctuated by traditionally written poems . Erasure poems are similar to collage with the use of redaction to give new meaning to the found articles.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition? Wow, there are so many people and organizations I could credit for influencing my life and work in ways that pushed me to be a better person and artist. As far as the work I’m doing now, I think about one person in a profound way. After moving to Boulder, Colorado with my husband and children in 2016, my younger son, Aaron, died after an accidental fall in the foothills. Aaron was my inspiration,
and from love and grief came the need to write about those feelings in a nonlinear way that grief demands. I’m committed to sharing those feelings which are often unspoken. With visuals poetry I have written a ‘collage of loss’ in a collection of poems. I credit my son and also the amazing poet mentors from Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver for helping to create my poetry manuscript titled, “finding Nefesh”. I would also like to mention others who have supported my work. “Inverted Syntax” in Longmont for publishing my poems and art in their poetry journals. East Window Gallery for exhibiting banner size images of the erasure poems and inviting me to read from the poems. The Dairy Art Center for having me organize a reading about loss with myself and other poets and for giving me a show opening February 27th running through March 2025.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Boulder has a lot going on for a small city. Number 1 attraction is it’s physical beauty. The first place I take friends when they come to visit is a short hike at Bald Mountain. The drive is beautiful getting there as one drives the windy Sunshine Canyon Drive to the trailhead. The views are far and wide and spectacular! Great for travel and wedding photo shoots. The Boulder Creek path is a good city walk or bike ride with a stop at the farmer’s market (April-Nov). Other favorite hiking spots are Lion’s Lair and Anemone. Chautauqua Park offers iconic hiking, and dining and Chautauqua Auditorium for entertainment, but my favorite spot for culture is The Dairy Art Center. This is where the locals go for the independent film house, art gallery, dance, and theater. Boulder has wonderful film festivals too including the Boulder International Film Festival (in March), the Jewish Film Festival and JAx Fish House, Oak at Fourteenth, the annual Manhattan Shorts shown at the Dairy.

During the warmer weather Boulder has some great outdoor spots (and prices) for happy hour. Avanti is a food court with beautiful rooftop views. Rosetta is another food court with a beautiful bar and water mist rooftop in summer. Some of my favorite dining spots are Jax Fish House, Oak at Fourteenth, Basta, The Boulderado’s Corner Bar (great burger) and beer on tap and the new creative Mexican, Cozobi Fonda Fina. If you’re looking for a drive thru, then Good Times (all natural) and my favorite soft serve ice cream. Woodgrain has delicious Montreal bagel sandwiches. Sweet Cow has the best homemade ice cream and rated some of the best in the country. Good pizza is hard to come by here (says this New Yorker) but Fringe is very good and the best NY style pizza is Rosalee’s in Longmont. Five spice has some of my favorite Cantonese dishes.

Since walking is the best way to get to know downtown boulder you can’t help but notice that this is a dog town and dogs are welcome just about everywhere. for a morning and afternoon hangout Suti & Co is a new coffeehouse with vegan baked goods and handmade items from local artisans. Boxcar, Ozo and Laughing Goat are longstanding and excellent coffeehouses with some of the best pastries in town. Two Sole Sisters has great shoes and Apocolypse for used cool clothing and accessories.

North Boulder (NoBo) is growing and changing with a creative campus planned as part of BMoCA to start construction in 2027. There are galleries going up Broadway as well as walking/cycling paths along the Sanitas from Wonderland Lake and Foothills Park. Moxie Bread Co. has delicious breads and pastries.

Full Cycle bike shop is a bike store and one side of the shop has a bar, cafe and Jazz club. It’s a great hangout!

A walk around CU Boulder campus is worth a look as it’s a beautiful campus with great views of the foothills especially from Folsom Stadium.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow, there are so many people and organizations I could credit for influencing my life and work in ways that pushed me to be a better person and artist. As far as the work I’m doing now, I think about one person in a profound way. After moving to Boulder, Colorado with my husband and children in 2016, my younger son, Aaron, died after an accidental fall in the foothills. Aaron was my inspiration, and from love and grief came the need to write about those feelings in a nonlinear way that grief demands. I’m committed to sharing those feelings which are often unspoken. With visuals poetry I have written a ‘collage of loss’ in a collection of poems. I credit my son and also the amazing poet mentors from Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver for helping to create my poetry manuscript titled, “finding Nefesh”. I would also like to mention others who have supported my work. “Inverted Syntax” in Longmont for publishing my poems and art in their poetry journals. East Window Gallery for showing banner size images of the erasure poems and inviting me to read from the poems. The Dairy Art Center for having me organize a reading about loss with myself and other poets and for giving me a show opening February 27th running through March 2025.

Website: https://lisaberley.com

Instagram: @lisaberley

Image Credits
Lisa Berley