One great side effect of moving is an automatic re-prioritizing, both of the things required from a new home (the subject of my article last week), and from old belongings. As I go though this process for the 4^th time in my adult life (and getting increasingly better at it), I’m learning what, of my ‘stuff’, is worth consigning, moving and showcasing.

Without a doubt, collecting and displaying art has become priority #1 for my home’s evolving style. Art personalizes and humanizes. It speaks to you and of you. It warms, rarefies, energizes, entertains, and provokes. No piece of furniture can do that.

In keeping with the Boulder’s ‘love the local’ motto, supporting the artists in our community is both essential and practical. For one thing, there’s incredible talent in these 25 square miles. Most have lived, studied and apprenticed all over the world, choosing to live in Boulder for the same reasons we all do. And since this is not New York, San Francisco or Miami, the price point reflects a considerably more affordable commitment.

My favorite local artists, whose work comprises a sizable percentage of my collection, are Will Clift, a Stanford-educated sculptor whose collection has shown in galleries in Santa Fe and Hong Kong, with two commissioned pieces in Denver’s swank Four Seasons Hotel; Kevin Hoth, a multimedia artist, photographer and educator, currently teaching at The Art Institute of Colorado and The University of Colorado in Boulder, with 70 national exhibitions under his belt; Pattie Lee Becker, a Brooklyn transplant, Rhode Island School of Design and Columbia University graduate and recipient of numerous grants, awards, and fellowships; Nico Toutenhoofd, an art photographer and retired photojournalist of 10 years whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and Life Magazine, among others.

The only thing more impressive than their credentials is the work itself. Take a look and see what speaks to you.