Meet Terry And Carlee Burnett | Artists and Art Gallery Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Terry And Carlee Burnett and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Terry and Carlee, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In 2022 Carlee had the pleasure of managing an art gallery after taking a stained-glass class there. I was excited to be part of that atmosphere and supporting all of the amazing artists we represented ended up being my favorite part. Since leaving there we have become way more active in the arts community and have had the pleasure of connecting with multitudes of wonderful humans who happen to be artistically talented. It really just came down to conversation about what our community needed and how to make that happen. We’re really fortunate to live in the community that we do, and we wanted to find a way to pour more into it in a way that made everyone feel like they were part of it. We knew we had some logistics to work out and that people were going to have to want to be a part of it to make it work, and as our vision came to life, more and more people got involved, donated, and wanted to be a constant part of what we were doing.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Canvas 35 Gallery was a bit of a dream for us, and we hadn’t planned on it happening, but it did. After having worked in an art gallery, there was a part of that experience that we wanted to bring to life in our little town. It was really neat watching someone purchase a piece that you not only knew they were going to love, but you also knew that the artist was going to feel loved and supported. That, along with our faith is what set the foundation for our gallery. We don’t want it to just be about buying or investing in art, we also want it to be about investing in human relationships and connections. We want the community to know what an amazing human the artist that created each piece is. We’ve been watching these beautiful connections happen between our buyers and artists that not only is creating a bigger sense of community but is also building relationships between humans where they invest in each other. It’s such a beautiful reciprocal thing. We are also heavily involved in our community and are hoping to grow and be able to continue to find new ways to involve and support our community in any way we can. Our goal for the new year is to offer events and workshops that inspire our community members, support mental health, and support creatives in all areas. We’re hoping to collaborate with our farm and agriculture community, and we have a few project focuses for next year, including working towards getting paid art teachers into our elementary schools.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well that would be no easy task, there’s so much to our little town!!

Id have them first stay in an AirBNB or VRBO, just because there are so many cool little ones here, including Our Lady of Perpetual Motion, an old Catholic church that has been converted and is beautifully artistic and architecturally inspiring.

We’d have to get coffee at Bestslope (Nationally Recognized), Aspen Street Coffee, or Morning Mission. They all offer delicious drinks and breakfast yummies. Terry actually designed and built the Morning Mission building to make it look like an old mission church.

Then choosing what you would do for the day…..there’s so many options! We could paddleboard or float down the Colorado River, go hiking in the Colorado National Monument or on the Grand Mesa, and if you love to ride bicycles, we have endless options here!

For lunch, i’d highly recommend Camilla’s Kaffe or Munchies, both have a great variety of delicious foods, beverages, and desserts. And they both have great patios if the weather is good!

For the afternoon, you could spend some time browsing the cool little shops along Aspen Street. The Vintage Common and Rhema offer some really cool clothing pieces, and both carry a wide selection of vintage and modern records. If you’re a plant fanatic like myself, Vintage Common has a ton of cool ones to choose from.
And we’d definitely have to go check out all of the local food options in Skips Market, there are some seriously yummy things! And of course, you’d have to make time to check out both of our local art galleries, Orbit Artspace and Canvas 35. We both carry local artists and have two different but cool vibes. Lithic Bookstore sits above Orbit, and you don’t want to miss it. It has a vibe all its own that just invites you in like you are part of the space, not to mention the selection of local authors and events that they offer. It’s a favorite for sure.

For dinner, we have a few great options, and some new ones on the way. I’m partial to being a foodie, so I love the upscale offerings at Base Camp. Their drink selection is pretty great too, and they have a patio with spots for live music and cornhole. Karma Kitchen is an amazing Indian food place. Then only complaint we ever have is that we eat too much because it’s all so good!! We like to get the sampler so we can mix and match and combine things, its always a win! There is also our newly opened BBQ spot, Reckless Roadhouse. These guys do BBQ right!!! Not to mention they brew their own beer, and constantly have live music. Its a great place to hang out, and the entire staff is made up of amazing people.

After we’re full of delicious food, I actually like to go walk around Snooks Bottom. Its a local open space you can walk your dogs and hike around, and it’s just far enough out of town that the stars at night…..oh its beautiful! There are a couple of little hiking trails by it that you can climb around on. Or, take a little drive up over the monument and look at all of the lights across the valley. It’s actually my favorite thing to do when Im feeling down, it makes my world and problems seem so small when I look out over the vast space.

That’s probably just a snippit of things, but it would make a trip to remember for sure!

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?
Honestly, our community and other artists. Everyone jumped in to help us make this a reality. All the way from giving our floor an incredible epoxy treatment, to lending us beautiful shelves and pedestals to display the beautiful work, to creating our logo and helping promote us. We’ve been so blessed with all of the love and support from our entire community.

Website: https://canvas35gallery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canvas35_gallery/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565223665262

Image Credits
All Self-taken 🙂