How much fun can you have in two hours? The Ah Haa School for the Arts is willing to bet that you can indulge a good number of your creative urges between 4 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 11 at the school's 15th annual birthday party in the Silver Bell Building.

The party features festive snacks and lots of fun activities. You can get your face painted, make a print with Sally Davis to take home and even design a tile for the building's mosaic project, making your art part of the Telluride landscape.

"The mosaic project was started a few years ago to help give Ah Haa an outward appearance of being an art school," said Denise Dugan Cupoli, marketing director. "We have since attached the ceramic mosaic pieces from the 2003 birthday party to the perimeter of the Silver Bell Building and would like to add more. This is a great way for community members to have a piece of their art permanently displayed at Ah Haa."

For those who would rather observe than create, youth art will be displayed inside the gallery from this fall's classes, including ceramics, prints and metal arts from artists in kindergarten through high school. Youth art honors culminate in the announcement at 5:30 p.m. of the winners of the 2005 Youth Art Awards contest for middle and high school students.

Supporting Ah Haa can extend beyond attendance to contributions, and guests are invited to become a friend of Ah Haa, with memberships starting at $25 for adults, $5 for kids. Shoppers can enjoy a whole host of items to purchase including T-shirts, tote bags, holiday cards and Ah Haa cookbooks, all of which benefit the school.

"As Ah Haa enters its 15th year, we are celebrating so much more than just the arts," said Cupoli. "We are celebrating community and Ah Haa's outreach throughout our region by offering a variety of classes from painting to language to cooking, as well as programs like the Out Loud Lecture Series and the Telluride Writers Guild and exciting art exhibitions. We are celebrating our changing community, welcoming new babies into the world in our Kindermusik classes; saying goodbye to some board and staff members who have been with Ah Haa for many years as we look to the future and our desire to meet our community's creative needs."

Speaking of creative needs, Ah Haa is currently seeking submissions for the upcoming Cheap Art show in December.

Finding unique holiday gifts is never an easy task, so this year Ah Haa invites local artists to help put the touch of the artist into affordable gifts. The Cheap Art exhibition is scheduled to open Noel Night, Wednesday, Dec. 7 in the Silver Bell Gallery. Local artists are invited to create beautiful, affordable fine art for sale throughout the holidays.

"This is our second year, and the show is about offering an exhibit to target people who are looking to buy art as holiday gifts," said Judy Kohin, Ah Haa's executive director. "Our show is intended to compliment the Telluride Artisan's Guild Holiday Bazaar. Whereas that show focuses more on craft, our show's focus is more on fine art, but fine art that is affordable. We just think that handmade fine art makes the best gifts."

Last year's show, which had a theme of Miniatures, was a success, Kohin said, and the more affordable things were the top sellers. This year, Kohin said the artist board has assigned no theme to the show, but is emphasizing the focus of affordability.

"The 'Miniature' theme was a little restrictive, so this year we decided to open it up more," said Kohin. "The real emphasis this year is on affordability, but we don't want to define what that is; we're leaving that interpretation up to the artist. When submitting work, however, we are encouraging them to think of the pieces as work for sale that people can afford."

The show is not juried and artists are invited to submit up to five pieces. They are requested to contact the Ah Haa School at 728-3886 if they are interested in submitting so Ah Haa knows what to expect. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 1, and items will be chosen for inclusion depending on the space available. For local artists the show is not only great exposure, but also an opportunity to infuse the mass-market gift giving with a touch of the human spirit. As Kohin says, "There is nothing more wonderful than handmade fine art objects – they are the best gifts you can give."

For more information, call Ah Haa at 728-3886.