Create art that opens your heart at GoPro Mountain Games
Artist Pat Milbery’s hats featured at the CoLab stage with a free kids event
Pat Milbery/Courtesy photo
Throughout the weekend you may have seen some cool, colorful custom trucker ball caps at the GoPro Mountain Games. The heart and soul behind the design was created by Colorado-based artist Pat Milbery. Milbery is no stranger to the Mountain Games, which embraces the arts with its motto Athletes, Art, Music and Mountains. Look for his large community mural by the CoLab stage in Gear Town in front of Solaris. Milbery is asking the public to share their artistic talents to create a communal piece of art. You can also decorate a trucker hat to match your own style. Bring the kids to Milbery’s session at the CoLab on Sunday where he will get the youngsters up on stage and engaged in art.
You may have seen Milbery’s work around the valley. His brightly-colored, larger-than-life murals can be found at the Vail Village parking structure, Lionshead bus stop, Golden Peak base area and the Avon Recreation Center. Some of his artwork is in private residences and in public schools.
“I try to spend as much time making art up here, my dad lives in Edwards. I first came out here when I was 14 years old and that was my first taste of Colorado and the Vail Valley and I fell in love at first sight and never wanted to leave,” Milbery said.
This weekend, Milbery is featuring his Open Hearts collection, which is a whole movement and he’s teamed up with local nonprofit SOS Outreach to share his talents and message. SOS Outreach brings youth get out on the slopes and trails for year-round programming through outdoor-based mentorship.
“I do a lot of volunteering and mentoring with SOS Outreach. We have our Open Hearts collection, where we are creating products that serve purpose and create more purpose and help you practice your mental health every day,” Milbery said.
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Milbery created Open Hearts after going through his own heartbreak. A failed marriage was the trigger, and Milbery felt lost. He described the heart symbol as typically depicted as round and smooth, but Milbery’s heart felt raw, and full of edges, points and dimensions. So, he thought about the imagery of the heart in a new way and came up with amazing, colorful designs.
“Creating the Open Hearts collection, I was able to see a way out, to see a brighter future and a start to a new journey,” Milbery said in a video on SOS Outreach’s website.
Open Hearts’ mission is to add purpose and intention to already great products by contributing thoughtful design that reminds people to shift their perspective and open their hearts.
“With our Open Hearts collection, we give back a percentage of every sale to SOS Outreach, which is a really special and fun thing to do,” Milbery said.
Milbery’s connection to SOS Outreach lies in his snowboarding background. “I filmed probably 20-plus video parts for my snowboarding up here and around here and have been on the podium with some of the greats like Shaun White and Travis Rice right here at events back in the mid-2000s,” Milbery said.
Milbery’s GoPro Mountain Games community.
“The GoPro Mountain Games obviously showcases and welcomes the outdoor enthusiasts, but it’s just built such a solid community. This summer kickoff event brings so many families together and brings so many of us collectively together to not only appreciate each other’s presence, but also host something that’s free and accessible and that’s really, really important,” Milbery said.
Throughout the event, Milbery has been facilitating the creative side of people with a space to personalize their own Open Hearts design.
“We have a couple of tables in Gear Town and you can come and color your hat and create something all your own. It’s like a blank canvas that I did with a bunch of line art with nature and a big heart,” Milbery said.
“People can take a moment for themselves and be creative and make something really grounding that can remind them of their self-worth,” Milbery said. “They can be proud of what they’ve done, they’ve made a memory of Vail, a memory of the GoPro Mountain Games, but it’s also a physical reminder, a mental health message that ‘this is something I did, and I did it with intention’ and you can be proud of that.”
Stop by the Open Hearts booth and make a free hat of your own and check out The Kids Art Show with Pat Milbery at the CoLab stage at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday. For more information and a full schedule of what’s happening at the CoLab, go to MountainGames.com/Colab.
