Crawling Through Lowertown

Even though the front had gone through, and the mid-70s were past history, it wasn't quite as cold as last year's art crawl, just a light jacket was enough. And this year we sort of knew where we were going, where to park, etc., and tried to hit some different buildings as well.



And there was all kinds of food being served, loft by loft: wine and cheese, strawberries and champagne, M&Ms and pecan sandies... mmm. Art and food go well together, I think. :)














































In addition to the traditional paintings, drawings, photography and ceramics, there was installation art.




(honestly, the image didn't show up until I was getting ready to take the pic. Something about the 2-dimensionality of the image in the photo allowed the eye to see Obama and not the pastel Post-its. Strange.)



And there was some art I just didn't get at all. What is it?



And there was stuff that was really different, but in a good way:

























And always fascinating are the lofts where the artist not only shows their work, but where (s)he also lives. Some spaces were incredible:




Others more chic and tasteful:




others impressive in their openness:




But back to the art. There was some that I wanted to photograph to that I could crop and make into screen saver images. Gorgeous!



And there was other stuff I wanted to take home with me (and I did!)



Ha - I actually made this artist's very first sale. Ever. He must have been all of 22 or so. Reminded me of J2. He was so flustered at my wanting to buy something that he had to go get a friend to make change for me, and instead of a business card I got his name and email scribbled on a page torn out of his notebook. He was thrilled, and even if he doesn't sell another thing all weekend, he'll still feel good about himself and his art, because someone liked it enough to take it home.

I love to do that - leave people better than I found them. :) Even if it costs me something to do it. But it's worth the cost! (and naturally I gain a lot, too.) So I went back the next day to check on him and encourage him some more, and sure enough.. he had gotten some business cards made! That's a good boy...

And then there was art I would have liked to take home, but ... could not afford to, no matter how good it would make the artist feel!



The oddest thing of the night had to be the "art vending machine". All the art in it had to fit within a 2"x3"x1" space, and all cost $5 in quarters to buy. Bizarre. I didn't try it (already had my purchase in hand, which helped.)

The rest I will leave for you to scroll through on your own, as I need to head out to KC for the week. Suffice it to say that this city has a vibrant arts community, and it's fun sharing in it once or twice a year - even taking a little bit home for my own "gallery". :)