My name is Maura Adamson. I am originally from Golden, a fourth-generation Coloradan. I have been the entire education department at Foothills Art Center since 2016.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career/accomplishments. What do you love most about what you do?
I have a BFA and Masters, both in Art, so being able to get paid for those degrees is pretty outstanding. I am thrilled about my career right now. I have a lot of autonomy and authority in my position at Foothills, and I feel like I make a real difference. I live in Lone Tree, and I am the chair of the Public Art Commission there. We have a second home in Salida, and I am the secretary of the Public Art Commission down there, so I just sprinkle art wherever I go. Both of those two cities have $60,000 projects going in. I think art makes communities better, stronger and weirder. I do. I feel like it is a privilege to this around the clock, and one day I will be an artist, too, but I need to find time for that.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants or breweries in our community?
I like the largest and the second-largest breweries. I love Coors Light, I do! I love the big boys of Coors Light, and Janine and Charlie at GCB/Golden City Brewery are the epitome of really wonderful Golden citizens. They make great beers, and my dog Marley loves it there, too. My sister works at Coors, so I have been to the special tap room inside. My favorite restaurants are Sherpa House and Bob’s Atomic Burgers. Also, I love what those owners do for their staff, for the community, and they have been really great partners with Foothills, too.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I was born and raised here. I went to Catholic school, so I didn’t go to school in Golden. Like every young person, you gotta get out of here as fast as you can. I had great adventures: I went to Western State, now Western University for undergrad; I lived on the West Coast and Portland for a couple years to figure things out. I then went to graduate school in New York and had a great adventure there. I always had to come back home. I think it is wild that I work in Golden now. If you would have told me that when I was growing up, I would have told you that you were crazy. This community is spectacular; the work we do at Foothills, and the support to do what we do there is so much fun! I thought I wanted to be at a bigger museum or gallery, but Foothills is the perfect combination. We support the economy, support artists of all different ages and levels, and it is so fun. I work with the most fun, smartest, kindest people. We all work so hard, and I just love what I do, I really do. I also get paid in hugs!
Q: What is one of your favorite hiking or biking trails?
When Marley, my big Bernedoodle, is with me at work, I love to walk the Mines campus. It is gorgeous. Their flowers! It is the most beautiful campus, gorgeous. It’s stunning. I don’t really hike unless I have my dog. In Salida, there is a hike named Browns Creek. It’s a 6-mile (3 up, 3 down) waterfall hike, and that is our most favorite thing down there.
Q: What advice would you give to yourself 10 years ago?
To make more of my own art, paint more, make more art. Be confident that it’s going to work out. Also, if you don’t like your job, leave it sooner!
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Foothills and now Foothills at the Astor House is going to be huge. This conversation helps me realize that the Astor House has never really been anything my whole life. I remember it being open a little bit as a kid. I remember being in an 1800s clothing fashion show when it was a museum. Now I get to make it the new community hub, in a really beautiful, big way. It will be a significant accomplishment in my life, to spread art like that into Golden. I came to work at Foothills; it wasn’t doing much; it was struggling. It’s really cool to see the formula we have as a staff. The people I work with are incredible. We are creating a stronger community through art. We have proof, by doubling our size and rehabbing a building that has been vacant for 20 years. It is exciting!
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
Fossil Trace celebrated its 20th anniversary, and I play in the ladies league on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. It is so fun! The pro has been there the past 20 years. He’s about to retire. Jim: awesome, amazing, nice guy. And a shout out to Matt. They are all city employees because Fossil Trace is owned by Golden. It is one of the best golf courses in Colorado. The ladies league is so fun!
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
I think it’s strange that quite a few younger ladies consider me a mentor. I don’t know when that happened. I was talking to one of them yesterday, and she shared big life news. I told her she was my family and that I was so proud of her being such a brave, creative lady. She said she learns a lot from me, and I empower and inspire her, but it’s the other way around. These women who I work with and who work for me are with me for six or seven summers. They turn into beautiful women going through careers that have nothing to do with art, and then they leave me but are summer employees. There is hope. I know I make a difference, just one person at a time, but I know they come back every summer because I am so protective of the type of environment I create and the way I lead it. All the little mentees!
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Art. Plants. Pets.
