For most artists, there’s nothing about them outwardly that gives them away. You might never realize how creative a person is until you see their name next to a piece on a gallery wall.

Shining a light on the talents of students and members all around us is one of the goals of the Foothills Art Center’s two new exhibits — the 2019 Members’ Show and The Power of Process, A Jeffco Student Exhibition. Both exhibits are on display at the center, 809 15th St. in downtown Golden. The Members’ Show runs through April 21 and The Power of Process is on display until March 31.

“The Members’ Show is really like open mic night for the Foothills Art Center,” said Eriq Hochuli, curator at the center. “It’s a super diverse show that remains mostly a showcase for local artists.”

“More than any other, this show requires a strategy. Before we’ve grouped the show on things like genre or medium, but this year we decided to go with color,” Hochuli explained. “We thought color is similar to how a person would lay it out at home.”

The Power of Process exhibit showcases 70 works of county student from kindergarten through 12th grade. Not only does it highlight just how talented students are, but it gives many a first taste of the professional art world.

“The size restrictions are no more and emphasis is placed on the creative journey that students travel to create their work,” Hochuli said. “We want all the of work from both shows to balance out each other rather than competing.”

For more information, visit www.foothillsartcenter.org/current.

Clarke’s Concert of the Week: JJ Grey at the Boulder Theater

Some of the best musicians are those who can take elements of other styles and organically blend them into something new. Florida’s JJ Grey and Mofro have been making an endlessly listenable blend of blues, rock, gospel, funk and R&B since their 2001 debut.

The group will be bringing their special Americana blend to the Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. in Boulder, at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 8.

Grey’s most recent album, “Ol’ Glory” is one of their strongest creations yet. It’s full of songs that tell personal stories of southern life through gritty songwriting and eclectic instrumentation.

For a concert sure to provide a stomping good time, get your tickets at www.bouldertheater.com.

Take a walk through the forest with the LSO

People may not think of classical music as the go-to genre for earworms that can prove almost impossible to get out of your mind, but as someone who first heard Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” in elementary school, I can assure you that melody never leaves.

Not only is the piece impeccably crafted from first note to last, but it’s an elegantly simple way to introduce young listeners to the pleasures and range of orchestras.

The Lakewood Symphony Orchestra will be bringing this iconic work to audiences at its family concert, held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway in Lakewood. Joel Hillan of CBS4 will play the role of the narrator.

This is one of those rare pieces of music that has the power to delight all ages. Get your tickets by calling 303-987-7845 or visiting www.lakewoodsymphony.org.

Little house on Colorado’s prairie

The life of a homesteader could never have been an easy life, but doing it by oneself adds a whole level of difficulty to proceedings. Yet that is just what Estelle Siglin did in Akron, Colorado, at the turn of the 20th century.

History fans will have the chance to learn about rural life in the state at Dr. Rena Fowler’s Colorado Women Lecture: A Woman Homesteader in Eastern Colorado at the Center for Colorado Women’s History at Byers-Evans House, 1310 Bannock St. in Denver. The lecture will be from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2.

Dr. Fowler will be sharing Siglin’s experiences as a homesteader while a single woman in the plains of eastern Colorado, all of which she detailed in letters to her fiancé in Iowa.

For more information on the lecture, visit www.historycolorado.org/center-colorado-womens-history-byers-evans-house.

Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail.com.