Bazaar December

December was about adventures in vending at many Xmas holiday bazaars. Art makes the best gift. When someone buys a piece of art as a holiday gift they are getting a something unique, something made locally, and something from the heart.

In anticipation of the sales created new small items to sell. Baby canvases were created from scrap canvas I had, some cardboard for the base and a magnet on the back. These were fairly easy to make and were quick to paint. The size made it easier to paint what I wanted, like red trees, toast and bacon, ducks and crab. They were such a hit at the events that I made a second batch. I also made prints of my paintings from  Forbidden Forest.

In studio

The first art sale I participated in was the nXmas Art Sale at the nX CoffeeClub ArtHouse. That day I was able to listen to every Christmas/Holiday song Ever Made including my favorites, Donde Esta Santa Clause, the Charlie Brown Christmas song, and Mr. Grinch.

nX CoffeeClub ArtHouse

There were about seven artists in this event who brought a wide variety of things. The art was placed in every open nook and cranny. Even ornaments on the tree were for sale.

SANTA!

 Santa showed up for the middle part and there was So Much Coffee!

The next event I took my art to was First Friday. It has always been near and dear to me since I had first started showing my art in 2009. The connections I've made from that single corner in the Arts District have been highly influential to my career as an artist. It has been a major reason for me to strive to be a better artist and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. 

First Friday, too, has grown. More artists art participating in the street vending, the galleries are taking on better and better exhibits and it's being publicized loads more.  I can't wait to see the future of Bakersfield's First Friday holds.

First Friday December

The next place I took my art to was Santa's Sweat Shoppe Art Bazaar a the Empty Space. Every December The Empty Space has a holiday art sale to help raise funds to keep the place going. Inside the lobby they have Art gifts for sale and along with that they have a Bazaar with many artists / vendors. There were nineteen vendors at the Bazaar. I was lucky enough to setup next to some girls selling fudge. I had seen them at the Empty Space Bazaar last year and was glad to see they had grown as a business. 

Santa's Sweat Shoppe Bazaar

My last stop on the holiday sale binge was The Foundry's Christmas Art Bazaar. This happened along with the art exhibit Whimsy and Wanting by Rusty Hatfield, as well as the member art display in the windows. I've been a member of The Foundry since 2010. Since then they have changed locations twice from growth and now have made it to 19th and Eye next door to The Metro. They currently have 84 members of artists and art lovers. A dozen member artists brought tables of small art items. The Foundry did free gift wrapping all day. Artist Mickey Percy won the contest for best table display.

The Foundry: Give the Gift of Art!

What I love about the Arts District if the closeness of the community. Right next door The Metro Gallery had the AIDS Quilts, a collection of quilts made in memory of those  who passed from AIDS, on display for the public. People who were there for the Foundry were able to see the quilts and people who were there for the quilts were able to see the some art.

A Major Award

Also, during the Foundry Member Christmas Party, I received the award for Most Improved Artist of 2012. It did so much work, so many studies, this year and winning this award makes it all worth it.

Other winning Foundry Members were Joel Arvallo was awarded Highest Sales In a Solo Show. Diana Cambel Rice was awarded Most Valuable Member. And Jason Stewart was awarded Highest Sales Outside a Solo Show.

I consider these events a great success. I able to talk to so many great people. The holiday spirit was everywhere. I got an award and I even got a commission. There was so much art!

For Further Reading:

nX CoffeeClub ArtHouse

The Foundry

The Empty Space

First Friday

Donde Esta Santa Clause?

Mr. Grinch

Etsy: Art Adventure Studios

"Don't Panic"

     "Have a Seat for the Arts" is a charity group art exhibit. Metro Galleries and The Foundry gave artists the task of creating, painting, or sculpting a chairinto a piece of art. This is the story of my "chair."
     The search for an inexpensive wooden chair that I could dismantle for a sculpture was fruitless; I couldn't find any that I could bare to tear apart and I was ona budget. So I built one of my own in the boiling heat of my backyard on what were my last days of summer.
     I decided to make a spider out of my chair because there are things in this world that bug me. Sometimes I place spiders in the bug category, after all, they do bug me, but they are really in a category all their own: arachnids. The truth is spiders eat bugs and would be okay to co-exist with humanity, if they didn’t bite us too.
     Cutting some of the chair legs apart, unscrewing most attachments completely, it slowly formed a spider. It didn’t seem exactly right the first try, so I cut a few more pieces from similar wood for an extra set of legs.  The basic shape I made was clumsy and wouldn’t stand alone. To amend this problem, I nailed feet to each leg and reinforced every elbow and knee with extra nails.

Spiderchair Process

 With leftover chair-wood, I fashioned a face with screws for eyes and nails for pinchers.  After all the amendments, the spider still retained a bit of her personality by refusing to have all feet in a symmetrical order. For the color I imagined a light blue or a purple. When I arrived at the paint store, there were cans of black, red,gray, and brown spray paint. At the end of the aisle there was a can of CameoPink. Steering clear of a “Spiderman” or black widow theme, pink was the best choice.

Spiderchair

Creating this sculpture was about overcoming my fears. The whole time I was sawing, nailing, wiring, etc., I thought to myself: "This is a spider. You're supposed to stay away from these things." Even as I was in the middle of sawing, a little brown spider came to visit. I paused to stare at it for a moment, and them promptly retreated inside until he left. This sculpture had to become an exception to the rule because I knew every corner, every foot; I knew how it came to be. It was no longer alien, but something one could keep as a pet. The CameoPink only compliments that. I affectionately call my sculpture "Don't Panic." Had the sculpture remained a chair, it might not have been noticed, even though it was hand crafted by yours truly; It's better this way.

Have a Seat for the Arts

About the Exhibit:

"Have a Seat for the Arts" is presented by Metro Galleries and The Foundry Artist Collective. Each chair will be displayed at various places in The Arts District of Downtown Bakersfield, and will be for sale by silent auction where 30% of proceeds will go directly to charity. The exhibit is part of October's "First Friday," aka "Art-Walk," October 7, 2011, from 5-9pm.