Melanie Hoshiko is a Colorado-born artist, educator, and community advocate who lives in Hotchkiss, Colorado, and serves as Executive Director of the Creamery Arts Center. She joined the Creamery’s Board of Directors in December 2025 and stepped down from the board in January 2026 to accept the position of Executive Director. A valedictorian graduate of Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design with…

My name is Melissa Carlson, and I am the current President of the Board of Directors at the Creamery Arts Center. Following a career as an obstetrician and gynecologist my husband and I moved to Hotchkiss, Colorado and my focus shifted from running a 40 physician practice to small town living. For me, that meant community engagement, building friendships, and enjoying retirement! I happened upon…

Kit Masaracchia is an award-winning web developer and lifelong creative. For more than fifteen years, she has worked at the intersection of technology, design, and storytelling, building digital projects for clients including Spotify, Tillamook, AT&T, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Today, she is the founder and developer behind Townie, a digital platform connecting people…

Loretta has been an art teacher in the public schools for over 21 years and has facilitated a variety of art camps. She began her college career leaning towards science and math and her journey led to art. She taught art through the lens of folk stories. She is drawn to folk art as it provides a glimpse of what traditions make up different cultures. Loretta loves exploring and experimenting with…

Award-winning artist, Lisa Fairbank, moved to the North Fork Valley with her family in 2001 after purchasing Hardin’s Natural Foods in Hotchkiss. Upon retiring from her business in 2022, she took up oil painting and has since become involved in various art and cultural organizations in the valley and beyond. She currently serves on the board of directors of The Creamery Arts Center, as the Plein…

With a family heritage in sheep ranching and ryegrass farming, as well as a love of gardening, moving to Hotchkiss in 2025 was a natural fit. Hillary, her husband — a Colorado native — and their three children (one daughter and two sons) have lived throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Southeast Alaska. Most recently, the family called Leadville, Colorado home, making them no strangers to…

Wayne is a fine art painter living in Cedaredge, Colorado. He received his BA from Buena Vista University in Iowa in 1979 and has a background in commercial art and illustration. He has had several one-person exhibitions at galleries in the Southwest. His paintings have received awards at national shows and galleries in Colorado, Utah, Texas and New Mexico. He is also one of the painting…

David Strong is a professional ceramicist who has been making a living with his art since the 1970s. After college in Ohio, he took an apprenticeship, taught high school art and helped to establish a community clay studio in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He then took an opportunity to work with Paul Soldner at the newly developed Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado. He worked there as a workshop…