Charles D Hardy

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Charles D. Hardy on February 20, 2025, after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer. Charles was a beloved son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, teacher and friend whose presence touched the lives of many. Born August 12, 1944, in Montrose, Colorado, Charles grew up with a passion for art, learning, and education and was an original creator and artist in every aspect of his work and life.

Charles grew up in and around Grand Junction, Colorado. After graduating from Grand Junction High School in 1962, he attended Mesa Junior College (now Colorado Mesa University), obtained his BA in Arts from Colorado State University, and received his MFA from the University of Arizona in 1972. In 1979, Charles joined the art department at Colorado Mesa University where he taught sculpture, drawing, painting and printmaking. He taught as an exchange professor in Japan at the Yamagata Design School where he developed a strong attachment to the country, its culture and people. He said, "I feel a kinship with the Japanese aesthetic and lifestyle." His later work exhibits this Japanese influence.

After retiring, Charles worked in an infinite variety of media including jewelry, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and painting. He considered himself a craftsman and a maker of things as much as he did an artist. In an interview he said, "Each media draws something different out of me. With figure drawing, I simply try to record the beauty of the human form; in sculpture there's usually not a narrative, but it's about the beauty of the stone, the three-dimensional form; in painting and pastel, most often it's the landscape that interests me. The content and what comes across depend on what medium I'm working in." Charles was also an avid hiker, rockhound, and fly fisher. He loved nothing more than to wander the Colorado and Utah deserts and spend summers fishing on Grand Mesa with his wife, friends, and canine companions.

Charles was preceded in death by his mother Mary Helen Hardy, his father Duane Dutcher Hardy, his younger brother John Hardy (Viki) and his father-in-law Robert Michels (Ruth). He leaves behind his wife of thirty-three years Danna Michels; a brother James Hardy (Karen); three sons Taylor Hardy, Ronald Walz (Shaleen), Robert Walz (Felicia); six grandchildren Tamara Walker (Jayden), Shane Walz, Kaylon Hardy, Maiya Walz, Gabriel Walz and Mila Walz; mother-in-law Ruth, sister-in-law Anita Bornschein (Danny) and one great-grandson due in August. He was also a host-father to Kazuko Tsuchiya from Yamagata, Japan. He leaves behind a multitude of students who continue to carry on his legacy in art and creative living.

Charles donated his body to science, and a celebration of his art and life will be held late summer. It is requested that donations be made in his name to Hope West Hospice or The Art Center of Western Colorado. His spirit continues in the artwork he has left behind as well as in the students and friends he has taught and influenced throughout his years as a teacher, mentor and friend. He will be deeply missed but never forgotten.