Sacramento Arts Festival
By Sandy Carriger
Staff Writer
October 2nd thru 4th celebrated the 12th annual
 Sacramento Arts Festival and was
held at the Sacramento Convention Center. Artists hailing from all
over California as well as from Oregon and Washington displayed
their creations. Everything was available to purchase from whimsy
to fine art works. I strolled the aisles, booth by booth, chatting
with some of the artists whose works caught my eye. The exhibitors
consisted of 225 craftspeople and fine artists original works in
several medias; ceramics, fiber (wearable and decorative),
furniture,
 glass, jewelry, leather, metal,
paintings, photography, sculpture and wood. I was able to
photograph some beautiful pieces and caught some of the artisans in
action, sculpting or drawing. We were also treated to some
wonderful entertainment on the main stage of jazz and blues by GG
Amos Band (blues trio), Kurt Ribak Quartet (jazz) and Dirk K (jazz
guitar). Plenty of food and drink were available too!
Photos: Convention Center (upper right), and Kurt
Ribak Quartet (bottom left).
In this day and age of the 3r's (reduce, reuse and recyle), I was
particularly impressed with the artists who used recycled materials
to create their masterpieces. I stopped to chat with JoAnne Hunot
www.lostandfoundangels.com. She is an assemblage artist who
makes angels and other objects from everyday items she finds at
thrift stores, antique stores and garage sales to honor the women
in our lives. She can turn a discarded pan and a couple of old
spoons into a work of art! JoAnne is also one of the organizers of
the art festival. I had the pleasure to chat with Jhaya E.
Warmington www.jhaya.com, a
sculptor who now hails from the Bay area. She creates from recycled
items, wood shavings, twigs, corks, bottle caps and assorted other
items she finds or has given to her. Her horse and other animal
sculptures are what caught my eye. Jhaya likes to capture the
American rural west through her art by incorporating modern urban
objects.
Josh Cote
www.cotesculpture,blogspot.com is a wire sculptor. His pieces
are made from recycled aluminum, copper or steel wire manipulated
with just a needle nose pliers! Fiber artist, Pamela Day
www.poozles.com makes wearable
art from recycled wool, cotton and Sari Silk from Nepal and
displayed some gorgeous handbags and hats.
 I chuckled and admired the whimsy of
others. Like Chris Efstratis' ceramic head sculptures
www.chrisefstratis.com
done in bright colors on a large scale (up to 6 feet tall) with
comical overtones. Chris is Sacramento born and raised. He not only
sells his works, but gives pottery lessons as well. Bill Coleman of
Custom Furniture Art and Accessories will measure and carve your
posterior into his benches for actual custom fit seating. Bob and
Laurie Kliss www.klissglass.com
 create their own
Kliszewski glass art. Each piece is hand made in beautiful shapes
and colors. Fun Santas were on display by Shelie and Richard McCall
www.stonesoupsantas.com.
Shelie sculpts the polymer clay head, hands and face and creates
the vintage costumes, while Richard creates the forms and does much
of the assembly.
Photo: Stone Soup Santa (upper left) Kliszewski
glass art (lower right)
Lisa Paige
www.lisapaigetextilearts.com creates wonderfully embellished
wall hangings. Most of her work contains elements derived from
nature which she accomplishes by machine as well as by hand. She
uses colorful dyed fabrics and weavings that enhance the beauty of
her textiles.
The most interesting and probably most disturbing exhibit was
Trevin Prince,
www.trevinprince.com. Trevin calls his art "Blood Work" which
is the actual medium he chooses to paint and draw with. Trevin
literally opens a vein (his own) every time he creates a piece. His
paintings are in varying shades of red preserved on Plexiglas in
resin.
There were literary artists, like ZooDoc,
www.zoodoc-stories.com,
who professes to be a "sculptor of words" writing juvenile/young
adult stories and was available to autograph a copy of his book War
Star Rising! Henna artist, Kendra Williams,
www.crescentmoonhenna.com, was there showing this ancient form
of skin art without the pain and permanency of a tattoo. The list
goes on. With over 200 artistic individuals displaying their wares,
it is impossible to mention every one of them.
 Lastly, I need to mention the Schools
Gallery which featured the works of students ranging from
elementary thru high school. These works were entries in the
Sacramento-Area Schools Art Competition and displayed the winning
entries. Some of these kids are amazingly talented and well
deserving of the honors they received. Next year's 13th annual
Sacramento Arts Festival will be held at the Sacramento Convention
Center October 1, 2 and 3, 2010. More information on the festival
and the exhibitors can be found at their website
www.sacartsfest.com or by
contacting American Art Festivals, Inc. P.O. Box 3037, Atascadero,
CA 93423 phone: 805-461-6700.
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