Build Guild

Build Guild logo with an anvil and hammer inside a multicolored circular ring

Building Art That Builds Community

The Build Guild is TLC's traditional arts branch where artisans pass down skills through hands-on workshops in wood and stone carving, metalworking, and clay. Guided by the principle that art builds community and community builds more art, we create tangible works that honor our valley's diverse cultural heritage while forging enduring friendships across generations.

What We Do:

  • Skill Shares & Apprenticeships

    Master artists lead workshops open to all skill levels, fostering the transmission of traditional techniques through demonstration and practice, a hallmark of traditional arts. These experiences often spark apprenticeships, pairing seasoned craftspeople with aspiring learners and ensuring these skills pass to future generations.

  • Cultural Regeneration Through Making

    The pieces we create together become public symbols of the community's diverse cultural identity, displayed throughout the valley. Each artifact tells part of a shared story: those indigenous to this land, those who colonized it, those who immigrated here, and those who were displaced.

  • Intercultural Exchange

    Our workshops bring together people of all backgrounds to learn traditional arts in an accessible, supportive environment. Through shared making, we recognize and honor the full spectrum of our valley's cultural heritage, creating space for intercultural exchange and understanding.


    For many, engaging in folk and traditional arts is considered a privilege. We're working to make it accessible for everyone.

  • Community & Belonging

    The Build Guild cultivates multigenerational friendships, strengthens our sense of place, and creates a community of makers who share ownership in preserving and revitalizing cultural traditions. Our endeavors build a vibrant, inclusive, multigenerational community where creativity blossoms and meaningful, supportive circles expand.

Current Project: Rooted Memory Flowering Beauty

We're completing a major community art installation on the exterior of The Hearth. This is an immersive monument to our valley's past, present, and future. Rooted Memory Flowering Beauty features an artistic rendering of a cottonwood tree, directly honoring the sacred Ute council tree that was cut down.


This collaborative piece integrates steel, carved marble, wood, and paintings created by community artists. It features symbols of protection from Indigenous, migrant, and agricultural traditions, medicinal plants, native animals, and visual storytelling of displacement, resilience, and regeneration. Interactive elements invite community members to engage with and become part of the ongoing story.


The cottonwood stands as both memorial and promise, acknowledging what was destroyed while rooting our commitment to cultivate meaningful relationships and honor Indigenous presence and wisdom.


Special thanks to the incredible work from Ira Houseweart & his team, Joe Bob Merritt, Elza Coyle, Tara Miller, David Heskin, Ivy Hunter and Summer Orr

Why Traditional Arts Matter

Our hands-on workshops result in physical manifestations of cultural heritage that serve as symbols of cultural identity and pride. Our artistic pieces are storytelling vessels that share the untold history of our valley. Through making together, we aim to preserve artisanal traditions for future generations while creating opportunities for intercultural understanding. Our focus is on building friendships that drive artistic initiatives, strengthen civic engagement and community bonds, and forge deeper connections to place and history.