Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Jaramillo.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
5280 Beer Can Art started as an idea I had for a Christmas gift for my brother, Andy. We both share a similar interest in local, Colorado craft beer. I thought it would be a fun idea to recycle some of the cans, cut them up, and use the coloring on the cans to create a Colorado Flag. After completing my first piece, I started collecting cans and creating a variety of artwork. 5280 Beer Can Art then turned into an LLC based on the scripture 1 Peter 4:10 ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received in the service of others, as good and faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms’. After I found much of the money earned was going back to school and non-profit programs, I decided to turn 5280 Beer Can Art into a non-profit organization a few years ago. Today, I’ve made over 1,000 unique, individual art pieces. The non-profit is focused on sharing the unique beer cans and celebrate the amazing craft breweries we have in Colorado. Ultimately, the goal is to share joy through simple beer can artwork.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has mostly been smooth. My full time job is as a high school choir teacher at Cherokee Trail High School, so 5280 Beer Can Art has always been a ‘side project’ for me. The only struggles I have faced are time to get artwork done. As you can imagine, my teaching job takes a significant amount of time in my life. I always said that my students will always come first. As the process of putting beer can artwork together is so labor intensive, I’ve sometimes struggled to find time to make artwork. I suppose the cuts and slices on my hands are also a small struggle along the way.
The only other challenge that I am faced with is the decrease of small craft breweries. A few years ago, I found there to be SO many options for small business craft breweries who would can their products. Many of the small, small breweries have been bought up/purchased by bigger breweries. This is fantastic to see the growth of some breweries in the state, and is unfortunate to see such a decline of brewery options/can options for my artwork and peoole experiencing new breweries.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am the owner, operator, designer, creator, etc. for 5280 Beer Can Art. The non-profit specializes in using recycled, local, Colorado craft beer cans to create mosaic artwork. A goal of mine is to use small business brewery cans in my artwork. This supports the amazing small business brewery scene we have in our awesome state, Colorado.
As I mentioned previously, my full time job is as a high school choir director at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, CO. One thing that I am most proud of with 5280 Beer Can Art is the ways that I’ve been able to donate proceeds from the artwork created back to my school and other school programs. I am also proud to have been able to work with/give art to some professional athletes throughout my journey. I have worked with Dalton Risner (former Denver Broncos player, current Cincinnati Bengals player) on many campaigns to raise money, including setting up and selling artwork at his Risner Up Foundation Events. This connection has led to me being able to gift artwork to Noah Fant (former Denver Broncos player, current New Orleans Saints player) and Quinn Meinerz (current Denver Broncos player). I’ve also had the privilege of gifting artwork to a variety of Colorado Avalanche members.
What sets me apart from others is how unique the artwork is. Small, local breweries do a fantastic job with the artwork on their cans. Being able to celebrate their work is a highlight of what I am doing and trying to accomplish. One of my goals is to get my 1,000th piece into Ball Arena. I’ve created an 8ft x 4ft Colorado flag using all local, Colorado craft beer cans, mostly from the Ball Corporation. I want zero money for it. I simply want the artwork to bring joy to fans and help people reflect on a positive memory they might have from supporting one of the breweries on the flag.
What’s next?
As I mentioned in a previous answer, I have a goal to get artwork up in Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. I feel that my mission of recycling cans matches the Ball Corporations’ mission. I also am using mostly their cans in my artwork that supports local, small business breweries in our state. In the future, I also would love to continue sharing the artwork with the community in any way that I can. Long term, or short term, I’d love to donate artwork to the Colorado Convention Center, Empower Field at Mile High, more professional athletes, Denver International Airport, etc. As I mentioned previously, I do not need/desire any money for these high profile locations. I would simply like to share the joy of the artwork with the community. As the scripture says, I’d like to use this gift to bless others in any way I can.
As far as profits, I will continue to donate all of the excess money, outside of operating expenses, to local schools, non-profits, churches, charities, etc. Anyone interested in artwork, or even donating beer cans can contact me at 5280beercanart@gmail.com. As you can imagine, it takes many cans to produce the artwork, so any donations of empty (or full) beer cans are always accepted.
Pricing:
- Various Small Sized Artwork: $25-$100
- Various Medium Sized Artwork: $100-$250
- Various Large Sized Artwork: $150-$450
- Various Other Artwork: $50-$1,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://5280beercanart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/5280beercanart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5280beercanart/
