Artists chime in, channel Picasso during Arts Fest

As a child, Cynthia White cherished walking the shores of Walden Pond, Mass. while picking up twigs, stones and just about everything else she found in her path.

These days, she lives in Denver but kayaks rivers across the nation, picking up pieces of wood along the way to use in wind chimes that are a bit more finely-tuned.Some of the works stem from trips to Clear Creek in Colorado, while others were snatched from the waters of the Great Lakes, Washington and northern Oregon.Despite the hot and sunny conditions, there was still enough of a breeze to try out their creations.She uses the branches as the wind chime's heart, stringing intricate minerals and pipes - obsidian in some cases - that musically clang together."My mother used to joke that the whole house used to tilt to my bedroom because I collected so much stuff," White said."I like sound," White said. "I like something that's kinetic and moves."White agrees."Flipped the boat, but I held on to the wood," she said, pointing to a nearby wind chime that swayed in the breeze of an oncoming thunderstorm.Standing amid a gallery of wind chimes, White showed off her artwork Saturday during the Pikes Peak Arts Fest, which continues through Monday. About 90 artists are showing off their latest creations during the fair at America the Beautiful Park. Offerings include sculptures, paintings, jewelry and even a few lawn ornaments.And when the wind dropped too much, the youngsters broke into a sprint to help get the kites off the ground.Now Christmas shopping should be a breeze for you this year. With these three lovely Christmas present ideas you should be set for almost everybody on your list. The nice thing about buying wind chimes, wind spinners and bird feeders as Christmas presents is that they give you recurring gift ideas for years to come. Wind spinners and wind chimes all usually come in different themes so it�s easy to start a collection there. Bird feeders always need bird seed and a person can never just have one bird feeder in their backyard; the more the merrier.The children''s work will be displayed at the festival on Saturday and Sunday.-And yesterday the Hudson Road Primary School pupils spent the day at the Northern Area Playing Fields, in Usworth, Washington, giving their creations a test flight.Other jobs might pay more. But this "very organic" hobby keeps her smiling.Only now, she knows what to do with all those treasures.Call the writer at 476-1654.

Call the writer at 476-1654.

Author: JAKOB RODGERS