Colorado Gallery of the Arts at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton has hosted the annual and diverse Kaleidoscope Art Exhibition for the past 18 years, but this year, photographers, painters, potters and creators of crafts submitted images of 100 entries when gallery director Trish Sangelo sent out a call to artists.

The exhibit is in virtual format and can be found easily on ACC’s website at arapahoe.edu/kaleidoscope.

Oils, watercolors, mixed media, acrylic paintings, prints and handcrafted items are included in the “entries varied in many media, subject matter, style and technique,” Sangelo writes, adding that “the COVID-19 pandemic instantly changed how we temporarily view art ... As juror, artist, professor and gallery director, I focused on three main areas of critique: formal elements, technical competency and individual expression. Each piece must stand alone on its merit.”

Entries, as always, vary widely, but are consistently created with technical skill — including photography, oil painting, watercolors, oil and cold wax, mixed media, acrylic painting, pastels, plus handcrafted works in wood, clay, fiber and more — a greater variety of techniques, media and imaginative use of material than the average exhibit which may have limitations in some of those areas ... And the viewer may find a perfect gift here, to be delivered later. I did note a “sold” sign on something and would encourage more.

We’ll become accustomed to more virtual art exhibits in the future, I’d imagine.

“Individual expression has a way to evoke emotion, talk to us, pose a question, make us think and consider a new perspective,” Sangelo said.

Find the exhibit on the Arapahoe Community College website and scroll through it several times — different details stand out with each pass. A touch on the image flips it to reveal the artist and more information on materials. A couple of clicks enlarges it for closer inspection …

Sangelo has worked hard to make the exhibit as accessible as possible. (I wish dimensions were included on the website — they would be another tool for the viewer, as one becomes accustomed to a different way of experiencing art.)

Most of these artworks are for sale, and would be a welcome addition to one’s home, or as a special gift ... contact Sangelo at ACC if something strikes your fancy by writing to trish.sangelo@arapahoe.edu.

Works vary from Tippy McIntosh’s beautifully finished piece created with hand-rubbed oils on camphor wood (which I badly needed to touch) to paintings of subjects ranging from landscapes, sunny and stormy, to radishes and a finely rendered cabbage — and textures including architecture, an old metal truck grill and Carol Broere’s clay “Circles.”

In another category of color, inspiring an inclination to stroke the surface, is Centennial Elementary teacher Gayla Ruckhaus’ “Anaheims” created with bright felted wool and silk ... What a perfect gift for a pepper aficionado.

Littleton artist Shirley Lamb’s entry is called “Spider Tree” and Susan Blosten exhibits a mixed media piece she named “Out on a Limb.” Note a print called “The Boatman” by Cynthia VeltmanMarshall.

We hope the beautiful Colorado Gallery of the Arts will be open again to the community soon for in-person visits, but in the interim, be sure to experience the virtual Kaleidoscope.