Lisa Issenberg

Presented by the Telluride Tourism Board and Telluride Inside…and Out

Examples of Telluride exceptionalism abound: no lift lines; big town cultural activities, but small town access; an award-winning library; wall-to- wall creativity and a major art school; and trash disposal containers. Yes, you heard right: garbage (and recycling) receptacles. The cool, bear-resistant bins are the work of artist Lisa Issenberg, a metal artist and photographer who designs personal and home accessories.

Lisa’s focus is innovative, custom metal craft, but she works in all types of mediums, from fine art photography to fabric. Her pieces are three-dimensional, functional and distinctive, inspired by the grace of the natural world and a passion for minimalism. Her process combines craft and technology. No two pieces are alike: each and every object is hand-finished, and so perfect in its imperfection.

Locally, the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art has featured Lisa’s work since 1994, especially her distinctive charms, that combine metal work and photography fashioned into bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Another of her most popular items is a wall clock that tells Telluride Time. (Not certain it actually runs more slowly than conventional timekeepers.)

On the home front, Lisa’s projects include tables, chairs, benches, railings, and wine storage. Donor walls, plaques and awards include work for The North Face, Mountainfilm in Telluride, the Michael D. Palm Theatre, Telluride, and the Telluride Medical Center.

Lisa holds a B.A. from Tufts University (in social psychology) and a master of industrial design degree from Pratt University. In addition to executing her never-ending list of commissions, Lisa teaches metal arts and design workshops at Telluride’s Ah Haa School for the Arts and the Weehawken Creative Arts Center in Ouray, Colorado.

Lisa lives in Ridgway, Colorado, where she creates in her studio and steel shop, skis, bikes and hikes in the surrounding San Juan Mountains.