Local artist Katie Vuletich is wrangling sheets of paper the size of beach towels that are blowing in the wind.
It’s a sunny weekday in Broomfield, and the paper containing outlines of flowers, plants and animals is refusing to lay flat on the sidewalk so Vuletich can trace them, instead taking turns to flutter and fold over in the breeze.
But misbehaving materials and unpredictable weather are to be expected for artists like Vuletich, whose passion for public art and community investment is unmistakable.
“I see it as a very small way to give back to the community, beautify different spaces, engage the community in new ways and hopefully create something that speaks to the community and involves them,” Vuletich said.
Vuletich’s current Broomfield projects include a sidewalk mural in the Baseline neighborhood that looks like a giant coloring page and a hop-scotch obstacle course where community members will be able to color it in with chalk.
Vuletich is also working alongside emerging artist Paige Brown on a sidewalk mural on Broomfield’s ARTery, which will include 12 mini-murals creating a pollinator pathway connected by animal tracks.
While Vuletich, 29, has been creating art for as long as she can remember, her interest in public art has grown since she graduated from college and began working as a professional artist.
Vuletich’s work has been shown in galleries and public spaces across the metro region, including through chalk art installations at the Broomfield Library.
The temporary nature of chalk art is something Vuletich said she loves most about the medium.
“One of the things that really appealed to me when I started doing it is I could go really large, and if I hated it it would just be washed away,” she said.
Chalk art is also a pseudo-performing art, Vuletich said, and despite describing herself as an introvert, she finds herself drawn to the community involvement in public art.
“It doesn’t take very long to install a piece and it takes a lot of intention to involve the community, but I find people are more invested in their community and their surroundings when they actually see someone put it together and are involved themselves,” she said.
This also means reconnecting people with their artistic sides — in some cases for the first time since elementary school art class.
“I think it’s a huge confidence boost for people to know they can be artists. As public artists we hear frequently, ‘I can’t do that, I’m not an artist, I can’t draw.’ But little kids have no shame. If they see someone drawing something on the sidewalk, their first question is, ‘Can I join?’ and sometimes it’s not a question, they just go for it,” Vuletich said.
The key is to get people to connect to that same interest and excitement they had as children, Vuletich said. And sometimes that means a little bit of faking it until you make it.
“I think 50% of being an artist is lying to yourself until you believe the lie,” Vuletich said, laughing. “Sometimes you have to keep doing it and persisting and keep trying to do better, especially when it comes to things we let go of when we were kids.”
