Holiday lights map 2023

Dec. 16—For many in town, the lighting of the iconic Boulder Star that shines from Flagstaff Mountain officially kicks off the holiday season. Every year, the Boulder Chamber commissions a local artist to design a holiday card featuring the star, whose light beams down on the city from Veteran's Day until January.

And every year, the result is a unique, one-of-a-kind creation. Some of the past cards depict a wintry scene in the heart of Boulder, capturing familiar downtown landscapes with warmly-lit windows and holiday lights. Others capture scenes of nature with snow-covered mountains, trees and wildlife.

Daria Chechushkova, the artist behind this year's holiday star card, is a Russian immigrant who's been creating art in some form for most of her life, and her story is as unique and compelling as her work. She agreed to speak with the Daily Camera via email for this story since English is not her first language.

Chechushkova was born in the medieval city of Vladimir, Russia, roughly 120 miles east of Moscow. She started painting at a young age and attended a local art school for children.

"Vladimir is an early Medieval town, one of the oldest in Russia, and it survived the Mongol invasion and many wars," Chechushkova wrote. "You still can see the 10th-century architecture and art in its churches and the fortress. I learned to appreciate the beauty of architecture and historical landscapes."

Eventually, she started honing her artistic skills through painting tourist guides and postcards. And although Chechushkova went on to earn her master's degree in history and become an archeologist, she has continued to create art. Her favorite technique is a combination of watercolor painting and digital illustration, but she also does oil painting. And in her pieces, she especially enjoys capturing architecture and scenes from everyday life.

But Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 changed everything for her. Chechushkova and her husband protested the invasion, she said, and he was arrested for a peaceful protest. The two decided to flee the country.

Chechushkova described the harrowing journey she and her husband made, stopping in several countries before finally reaching the U.S.

"It was a complicated trip with many intermediate stops in Nepal, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, where we were waiting for our U.S. visas and CDC approval to import our family dog," Chechushkova wrote. "While in Kazakhstan, we almost died in (a) fire as the house we were renting caught fire in the middle of the night."

Finally, though, Chechushkova and her husband arrived in the U.S. They received an invitation from the University of Colorado Boulder to collaborate on research, and the two came to Boulder in November 2022 to work with CU's Museum of Natural History.

What inspired this year's holiday card? Chechushkova said she came across the Chautauqua Auditorium as she was driving and walking around Boulder, looking for a recognizable place or building to feature in her card design. She chose to make it the focal point of her piece partly because of the mountains in the background, which also gave her a way to incorporate the star.

"This was just a perfect match," she wrote.

Readers can buy this year's holiday cards from Art Source International (1237 Pearl St.), Chautauqua General Store (100 Clematis Dr.), Lucky's North (3960 Broadway #104) or McGuckin Hardware (2525 Arapahoe Ave.) while supplies last. Individual retailers may be low on inventory or sold out.

Alternatively, the cards can also be ordered in boxes of 10 through the Boulder Chamber website at bit.ly/48aSlFE. These boxes can't be shipped, but are available for pickup from 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Boulder Chamber, 2440 Pearl St.

A portion of the proceeds from card sales will support care and maintenance of the Boulder Star.

Chechushkova can be found on Instagram at @chechu_illustrator.