CARBONDALE, Colorado – If mixed media artist Wewer Keohane could ask anything of October, it is for the autumn month to catapult creative women to the next level artistically.Keohane is one of the more than 60 women participating in the Roaring Fork Valley’s Supporting Women Artists Now (SWAN) art celebration running now through Oct. 22.”SWAN gives women an opportunity to shine in a world still dominated by male success in the art world,” Keohane said. “A tiny percentage of work exhibited and owned by museums is by women, although those percentages are growing. “Support Women Artists Now gives us a focus, and we are grateful to the Carbondale Council on the Arts and Humanities [CCAH] and the R2 Gallery for showcasing us,” she said.In its second year, SWAN month features visual artists, designers, dancers, choreographers, musicians, singers, songwriters, comedians, actors and authors as part of a worldwide celebration that honors women of art. Keohane is exhibiting her piece, “Back to the Place I’ve Never Been,” in CCAH’s new gallery exhibit, “Vision to Voice: Contemporary Work from Women Artists in the Roaring Fork Valley.” She created the mixed media artwork with holistic sustainability in mind, incorporating found objects of acupuncture sheaves, twig, feathers, wood and wire.”I loved creating a piece for entry in this exhibit, having that extra reason for creating gets the juices going,” Keohane said. “Back to the Place I’ve Never Been is one of my many recycled efforts. The nest within the cage is made from old acupuncture sheaves. The cage has been cut open with the giant scissors, and the birds have flown the nest. “The viewer can go as deep or as light with the message as she wants,” she said. “The deep meaning for me is connected to my spiritual beliefs and better left unspoken.”The organizer of the show and the myriad events taking place in October is professional artistic photographer Sue Drinker. She has been working with Keohane, artist Ro Mead, and CCAH executive director Amy Kimberly to provide a month of female-centric art, all housed in Carbondale. Curators Alice Beauchamp and Dean-Bowlby, well known in the valley’s art scene, will jury the CCAH gallery show.”This year’s exhibit is the first we’ve done with a curator and awards, and that is further impetus for women to exhibit their best work,” Keohane said. “There is also a camaraderie that is built through organizing and attending these great events throughout the month.”Showcasing everything from visual art and choreography to theatre and songwriting, Kimberly said last October’s premier of SWAN month was well received in Carbondale’s close artistic community. “As to the relevance, what we found last year was that the exposure and chance for so many women artists to gather developed some strong relationships that are yielding great work and interaction amongst the artists,” she said.This month, SWAN events take place at Third Street Center and Thunder River Theatre in Carbondale. This weekend’s events in the Round Room of Third Street Center include “Woman Songwriters In the Round,” billed as an evening of song by valley singer-songwriters Meagan Goodwin, Shanti Gruber and Olivia Pevec, at 7:30 p.m. today. Also in the Round Room is “Rhythm and Expression: An Evening of Dance,” which brings jazz, contemporary and classical ballet, lyrical, blues, African and contemporary Armenian dance at 7 p.m. Saturday. Thunder River Theatre hosts a matinee of “Ghost-Writer,” a drama about writing, creativity and love starring Valerie Haugen, Eileen Seeley and Lon Winston, at 2 p.m. Saturday.”This month of events also inspires women to create and connects all of us with a greater community of artists in the world,” Kimberly said. “It’s all very exciting and inspiring to those who choose to participate, either as an artist or an attendee.”For a complete list of SWAN events and ticket information, visit http://www.carbondalearts.com/ uncategorized/october-is-swan-month-at-ccah.