Snapshot: Ironton Studios & Gallery

Creative juices run wild in the RiNo District

What do you get when you put six painters, two wood workers, two metal artists and two stone sculpting studios together in one building? No, this isn’t an intro to a funny joke—although you would think so with the setup. We’re talking about one of Denver’s most well-known artist studios, Ironton Studios & Gallery located in the heart of the RiNo District five minutes from downtown.

When we printed up our Google Maps to lead us to Ironton, we didn’t know what to expect. Would it be a hoity toity, snubby art gallery where a mere sneeze might freak them out? Or would the art be entirely over-priced and underrated? Well, after visiting Ironton for a couple hours, we found out that Ironton was none of the above and were pleasantly surprised by the relaxed nature of the studios.

Ironton is filled with an intense creative energy. We left with the feeling of wanting to pick up a paint brush and try our hand at painting. That was the effect a few of the resident artists left with us. We first met with Heidi Jung, who is a contemporary botanical ink and charcoal artist. “I have been into art since I was a kid, so you either need it to survive or you don’t—and I need it,” says Jung about her love for her lifestyle. We enjoyed our time with Heidi and could see ourselves spending hours chatting about art, Texans and what it is like for her to be one of the only Colorado natives left in the state.

The second artist we met was Sharon Feder, a former sign artist turned oil on canvas painter. Sharon had a calm nature about herself which made us feel at ease just by chatting with her for 10 minutes. We chatted about her time living in the Roaring Fork Valley to her successful actor son who is often spotted at the Denver Center Theater Company lighting up the stage. Clearly Sharon’s love for art has trickled down to her offspring.

We asked Sharon to describe her art to us and were left with about 30 seconds of stuttering and looking to the ceiling before having our answer. “In artist talk, I have had opportunities to learn more…there’s an underlying grid and I build off layers and element. The vibration of two colors makes work have mysteries to them and that’s what fascinates me to solve them by using color and volume to construct them. I use all oil and 95 percent of the time I only use a palette knife…as artists, it’s in our nature to be secluded. I’m so grateful I don’t have to perform my art form.”

After visiting with two very different, yet highly talented artists, we didn’t know what else was in store for us during our time at Ironton. Our third artist we met was Patricia “Murph” Murphy who is a drawer on the side and judicial work horse by day. She acquired the nickname Murph in second grade and has been called that ever since. She is a conceptual drawer and is currently working on two separate series on ideas and life. She goes on drives and walks a lot to try and get inspired by an idea and hopes to god that something interesting will happen. She will listen to people to try and find something that will set off her creative juices or just look around. Right now she is working on a series called Rose’s Garden. “Rose is a dysfunctional person who has unusual feet, making her way through the garden,” Murph says as she explained her series.

She is also working on a series of swimmers, “I’m scared to death of swimming, so I wanted to paint something that I am emotionally attached to,” and she went off about Trudy Ederle, who was the first woman to swim the English Channel.

When asked about Ironton, Murph said “Ironton is really connected and it’s an artist community. We all learn a lot from each other.”

We couldn’t have said it better. Ironton was inspiring to visit to say the least. Everyone we came across all had interesting stories to share and pieces of work that deserve to be seen by all.

If you want to see the artist’s work at Ironton, visit their showroom every weekday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon-4 p.m. While you’re there make sure to look around the garden outside at all the art and structures scattered throughout. There’s always something interesting to look at everywhere you turn—like a bus cut in half, for instance.