Issue No. 8 | December 22, 2025

Weekly Edition Sponsor

Note from Publisher, Denise Leslie

As the holidays settle in, I hope you’re finding time to gather with family and friends and to enjoy the quiet beauty of winter here in Southwest Colorado. Living in the mountains of the high desert reminds us to pay attention — to the land, to the seasons, and to the care it takes to protect the places we call home.

This year, that awareness became personal. When a favorite tree landed on the fire-mitigation list, I asked for a little more time — just long enough to celebrate one last Christmas with it. For nine years, that tree stood beside our home, quietly holding space for conversation, laughter, and pause. Honoring it this season felt like the right way to say thank you before letting it go.

This week’s stories carry that same spirit of reflection and care. They remind us that creativity can be felt through touch, through memory, through a few carefully chosen words — and through the land and work that sustain us. Revisiting the story of Michael Naranjo feels especially fitting right now — a powerful reminder that art is not only something we see, but something we feel deeply and carry with us long after the moment has passed.

May this issue offer a moment to slow down, reflect, and celebrate the season. Wishing you warmth, light, and meaningful connection this holiday.

With holiday cheer,

Denise Leslie

Publisher & Editor, Arts Perspective

Jesse Ogle | Musician & Community Builder

I am an artist and active participant in contemporary music performance and youth music education, motivated to bring people together—especially working musicians—and to support a healthy live music ecosystem that benefits future generations of artists. My work is rooted in Colorado’s music community, with a long-standing focus on Durango.

CULINARY ARTS, Farm to Table | sponsored by KSUT PUBLIC RADIO

Rooted in Flavor: The Heart of Podunk’s Ranch

In the quiet rangelands just beyond Cortez, where the horizon stretches out in gentle blues and golds, Lanea Donahoo is tending to something far bigger than a herd. At Podunk’s Ranch, she’s building a relationship with the land, her lineage, and the people who gather around their tables to enjoy honest, beautifully raised beef. It’s a type of work that feels both timeless and urgently important—especially in a region where food and heritage are closely connected.

LITERARY ARTS | SHORT STORIES | Flash Fiction | sponsored by KSUT Public Radio
Old World Elegance Author, David Feela

The photo in the magazine glowed with the kind of luxury reserved for families of wealth, a financial torch passed down for generations with nobody getting burned, so I made my reservation for two nights and asked if they offered an AARP discount.

Read the Story

Stay Tuned—Arts Perspective is launching a call for Short Story Fiction and Artist collaborations!

VISUAL ARTS | sponsored by Arts Perspective Magazine
Revisiting: The Kinesthetic Vision of Blind Sculptor Michael Naranjo
By Leanne Goebel | Originally Posted: Issue #31, Winter 2011

Sculpting is dimensional, physical, and even touchable (though we rarely get to run our hands over an object).

Michael Naranjo, however, encourages viewers to touch his sculptures. To caress the smooth ebony finish of his bronze figures. To detect the bark of a tree or the wings of a bird. Feeling provides meaning and allows viewers to comprehend mass, form, and shape. For Naranjo, who is blind, his fingers are his eyes, and he has received special dispensation to touch artwork throughout Europe. In 1986, he touched Michelangelo’s David. But there is one piece he would like to see again.

Read the whole article and the publisher’s note on Arts Perspective...

EVENT SPOTLIGHT | sponsored by Mancos Creative District

Mancos Youth Theatre presents The Wizard of Oz

A beloved story, reimagined through light and shadow.

Mancos Youth Theatre invites the community to experience The Wizard of Oz in a magical new way—blending musical theater with the ancient art of shadow puppetry in a free, youth-led performance at the Mancos Opera House.

Thank you to our Weekly Edition Sponsor | "It could be YOU!"

Quote for the Week: “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light.” – written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis

Your Eye on the Arts is free to read and share. We believe stories about creativity should be accessible to everyone, which is why there’s no paywall. If you find value in our work, we welcome donations or ongoing support through our Buy Me a Coffee platform — every contribution helps bring more stories to life.

Thank you all, Barbara Grist, Shell Simonson, Heather Freeman, Tad Smith, Moni & Jonas Grushkin, Milt Beens, Aunt Victoria & Jim, Cinda Wassmer, Randy Hays, and Patricia Burk!