Retired aeronautical engineer and Redstone resident Jim Cox recounts with detail the day he first was introduced to the art of etching. Upon the advice of an acquaintance who had seen his ink drawings of buildings, Cox paid a visit to a downtown St. Louis, Mo., art shop in the 1970s.

“I went to talk to this guy — and he was a gruff old guy — and I’m sure he thought, ‘Here’s this young engineer, what’s he trying to do?’ And all he had to say was, ‘Buy this book.’”

The book was “The Art of Etching” about Rembrandt and other artists of the 1600s and how they created etchings and prints. The pages were filled with information about the methods, the tools, the inks and plates, all the details used by master engravers.

It was the only instruction Cox had and so he used it as his own how-to book and jumped into the labor-intensive artform. He bought paper, inks, plates, acid and other materials.

“And, boy, they didn’t want to sell acid to me,” he laughed. “I had to fill out all the forms to buy nitric acid.”

When he completed an etching, he took it back to the old art guy who, after making a print for Cox, studied the results and told him straight out:

“Well, I’d have to say this is primitive, but if you stick with primitive subjects you’ll do all right.”

Rather than being discouraged by the feedback (Cox admits that it could’ve gone either way), he kept up with the etching on and off throughout those years, recognizing that his “primitive” style matched his favorite subject matter — old buildings.

Roughly three decades later, after retiring and moving to Redstone, Cox finally “bit the bullet” and bought a press so he could return to etching. He goes to what he calls his “cave” (his remodeled garage) with all of his equipment and experiments with the inks, acids and scribes, some of those things he first read about in a book he still uses for reference.

Cox is among the 44 artists displaying original work in the 13th annual Labor Day Weekend Art Show taking place Friday through Monday in Redstone.

In addition to displaying his copperplate etchings, Cox will be conducting a demonstration from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday. Additional demonstrations in sketching, painting, sculpting and basket weaving will be held each day.

The free opening reception is from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, with refreshments and live music by Mixed Emotions. Show hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday.

Held on the grounds of the Redstone Inn, this year’s show is the largest to date and features photography, baskets, paintings, sculpture, folk art, jewelry, purses, stone work, wood work and furniture created by artists who live in the Crystal River Valley.

Gale and Roberta Stokes, a husband-wife team co-chairing the show, said the event is an incredible display of both artwork and community support.

“It’s a tremendous community effort,” Gale Stokes said, explaining that residents help with all tasks, such as constructing panels, hanging artwork, checking in artists, creating art tags, closing up the show each night, and watching over the artwork through the night.

“We like to emphasize how much the community works on this,” said Roberta Stokes, who also is an exhibiting artist. Many volunteers return each year to help with what she described as a “massive production.”

“It’s eye-opening to me, absolutely wonderful, to see how this tiny community can pull this off,” she added. “Like Gale says, it’s a small town with big art … well, it’s also got big heart. It’s because of the heart of this community that we have art.”

Marion Lyons — a board member of the Redstone Art Foundation, which founded and sponsors the show — agreed that community effort has made the show a success over the years.

“It’s a feeling of community pride the way the annual art show has grown and prospered,” she said.

According to Lyons, there were 10 artists in the first show in 1995 held in the dining room of the inn.

“Over the years it has simply grown and grown and grown. When I say ‘grown,’ it has grown in the number of artists anxious to be in the show and also its image has grown” among visitors and artists from across Colorado and other states.

Proceeds from art sales go to scholarships for local high school students. For more information, contact the Stokes at 963-6765.