Shanna Lewis

About the Cover Photographer: Shanna Lewis

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Shanna Lewis is a Central Colorado-based photographer, journalist and writer. Once a denizen of the darkroom, digital photography changed Shanna’s world – for the better. With the cost of film and processing removed, she found the freedom to experiment: to try new angles, techniques and compositions. Shanna sees the world through the eyes of both …

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Hay 101

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Article by Shanna Lewis

Agriculture – August 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

AN OLD ADAGE says it’s wise to make hay when the sun shines, and last year ranchers in the Wet Mountain Valley did just that. Starting in June, after a snowy winter and wet spring and summer, tractors rolled out into acres of lush grass. Verdant swaths crisscrossed the Valley floor and sweet clover perfumed the air. Soon huge silver-tarped stacks of bales sprouted along the county roads and the dark echoing hay sheds filled up. It was a good year.

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Grace Wever: Fabric Collage Artist

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Article by Shanna Lewis

Local Artist – July 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

AFTER MONTHS OF WORKING on a new home, fabric artist Grace Wever was finally back in her studio. Ready to make art, she got out her materials and tried to begin. Nothing came. Stymied, after such a long hiatus, she couldn’t get started. “I was at loose ends. I’d walk to the drawing board and walk away again,” she said. So she did something she wouldn’t normally do. Picking up her bible, she said, “Lord, I never play bible roulette, but please, give me a verse.” Opening to the powerful poetry of King David ignited a spark of inspiration for her.

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No Jazz Festival this summer

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Brief by Shanna Lewis

Events – July 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Since 1984 jazz lovers have converged in Westcliffe during the annual Jazz in the Sangres festival for a weekend of “hot jazz in a cool place.”

Now, it looks as though the festival’s days may be coming to an end. Due to dwindling attendance numbers during the last few years, festival organizers decided to give it a break this summer.

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Some suckers deserve an even break

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Article by Shanna Lewis

Wildlife – May 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

THERE ISN’T ONE BORN every minute, but things are looking up for a few suckers in the San Luis Valley — the Rio Grande Sucker fish. Once abundant, the numbers of these little brown Colorado native fish deteriorated so much, they were placed on the state endangered species list in 1993.

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Bones: A passion for percussion

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Article by Shanna Lewis

Local Musician – June 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

WILD APPLAUSE, WHISTLES AND CHEERS. It’s not the typical response a bunch of high school kids usually give an instructor after a lesson, is it? Yet that’s what happened at the end of a recent performance at Salida High School by a master percussionist known simply as Bones.

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