We Are Pueblo

The Blacksmith

A piece of steel. A guitar. Mixtures of paint. A camera. By themselves they are empty artifacts of potential. For lifeless objects to become windows into our souls they require, even demand a spark, a steady hand, a passionate soul, a driving vision to forge them into something that has never existed before and never will exist again. Art is that stationary point in continuous, unyielding change, reflecting a spark when the human forged infinite greatness—his soul—onto the unrelenting, cold march of time.

Tim and Alex, forgers…

The Blacksmith from Tim Sparks on Vimeo.

“Before recorded history there have been professions that have been tempered and preserved through time and still exist today. None of them have been more important than that of the metal worker. No other artisan could work with out the tools they made and no warrior could succeed in battle with out their forged weapons. In ancient times such a person was known in their world as ‘The Blacksmith.’

One man in Pueblo, Colorado is living out his dream as a professional blacksmith.” - From Tim Sparks video description of ‘The Blacksmith’.

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‘The Blacksmith’ will be shown at the Spirit Indie Film Festival at Colorado College. For more information on the festival, look here. We’ll try to bring you times Tim’s film will be shown. 

Photo taken as a screenshot from the film.  

The Blacksmith is Alex Chavez, who owns Govannon Iron Works, in Pueblo. Click over to the Vimeo site for his contact information. 

Pueblowood: Pueblo’s Piece of Hollywood

This week we’ll be spotlighting Sparks Bros. Media.  On a personal note, both of us here a WAP were taken aback on two story lines this week - one we’ll feature this week and one we’ll cover later.  The first is the work of Timothy Sparks and the second is the work of ‘The Blacksmith’.  Today is an introduction to Timothy Sparks and Sparks Bros. Media. Grab some popcorn, dim the lights, we’re ready for the show…

Pueblo has its own movie production company. Sparks Bros Media has been around for a few years specializing in short films, but they recently took a giant leap into the consciousness of major production companies after winning PULP’s 24 hour film festival. Shortly after winning, Timothy Sparks (owner and founder) was hired as Director of Photography for a movie filmed in the Pueblo/Canon City area. Actors and Directors were flown in from Los Angeles, Phoenix and other cities. “It was a great experience working on something that was this large-scale” said Timothy. And indeed it was.

He and long time friend Clint Stewart have come a long way from the days of editing videos on VHS and producing sound tracks with cassettes. Since their Jr. High days here in Pueblo, Timothy has been in love with filmmaking. Learning to edit on those VHS tapes, with bulky camcorders and poor microphones, taught Sparks Bros. the patience needed to create beautiful works of art- which we will be sharing as the week continues.

Sparks Bros. Media has brought recognition to Pueblo through its IMBD page as well as their participation in indie film contests. Currently they are preparing to shoot a film for the Spirit Fest film festival and they could use our support. From actors to grips, electricians, lighting experts, writers and even people whose sole gift is standing in one spot (you can hold a boom mic). They are looking for support and encouragement and help. This may be your chance to say, “I knew Tim when…” before he’s the one flying around the country filming blockbusters. So look them up on facebook and offer your support and make sure when you see a film screening brought to by Sparks Bros. Media, you show up and let them know we appreciate the attention they are bringing to Pueblo.

Sparks Bros Media Demo from Tim Sparks on Vimeo.

Part 2 of Educating Molehills to Become Mountains

The following is the second of two articles (the first can be found here) on educating Pueblo’s youth of the importance of Earth Science at the Mountain Park Environmental Center (Pueblo Mountain Park), in Beulah, from David Anthony Martin, a ranger at the Center.  

Making Tracks Toward Spring

by David A. Martin

Pueblo Mountain Park was blessed with some badly needed mid-winter snowfall, at times accumulating quite deep. The children from Pueblo arriving at the park were quite excited when they saw all that snow. Several weeks of light snow prior to the heavy snow made it a real joy to teach Earth Studies as the subject of Session Four is Mammals and Tracking. There were plenty of animal tracks to follow through the snowy woods; squirrel, rabbits, deer, fox and even bobcat. In the periods between snowfalls, there were often periods where there were tracks to be found in the frozen mud.

Indoors, the lesson delves into the subject of mammals with the explanation of the special traits which differentiate mammals from other animals and how these traits are advantageous to their success. Exploring the various roles mammals play in the food chain and the interdependent complexities of the food web lead children to speculate about how the plants and animals within an ecosystem are connected and how the precarious balance of the natural order can easily be destroyed when any one part is missing.

Continue reading…