Treadmills. Ellipticals. Kettlebells. Heavy, metallic appliances are in no short supply at Arroyo Grande’s FitForever Gym, where weightlifters and cyclists would be hard-pressed to find any apparatuses made of glass, beads, pearls, or shells.
At the gym’s upcoming Artisan Market, however, there’ll be an eye-catching assortment of handcrafted jewelry made of those and other majestic materials. The Aug. 17 event’s participating vendors include artists that hail from Santa Maria, Nipomo, Oceano, and other areas along the Central Coast.
Arroyo Grande resident Tina Doherty organized the Aug. 17 event with collaborator and FitForever Gym owner Lauren Westbay. Those scheduled to showcase and sell their wares at the market were charged an entry fee in order to participate. The majority of those fees, minus some event expenses, will go toward supporting a local cause close to Westbay’s heart.
“I said, ‘What’s your favorite charity?’” Doherty recalled asking Westbay while planning for the market, which will include artisan booths stationed along the gym’s outdoor patio area.
The gym owner’s answer was Le Woof Rescue, a grassroots group based in Los Alamos that helps find forever homes for dogs it rescues from overcrowded shelters, euthanasia lists, and other dire circumstances. Westbay is one of the organization’s volunteer foster animal providers.
Doherty had previously worked with Westbay on sip-and-shop-type events before collaborating with her on the Artisan Market, which will feature paintings, fabric art, quilt art, floral arrangements, and more from more than a dozen participants.
Nipomo residents Cheryl Carlson and Maggie Pickering and Arroyo Grande resident Nancy Valentine are among the names found on the market’s list of featured jewelry designers, which also includes Doherty.
“I’m always trying to find things that might inspire me,” said Doherty, who has collected oodles of jewelry-crafting materials over the years from estate sales, thrift stores, and other outlets.
With a home studio supplied with ample amounts of beads, crystals, and other resources to work from or save for future projects, Doherty said there’s “a fine line between hoarding and knowing you’re going to use something and actually use it.”
A variety of Doherty’s handcrafted earrings and necklaces will be available for sale at the Artisan Market. Among the various media slated for inclusion, there will be paintings available from a handful of artists, including Santa Maria residents Craig Trapp and Adrian Luna and Nipomo residents Myles Herman and Anne Kunzig—who previously used acrylics before zeroing in on a painting method that requires a computer rather than a brush.
For the past two years, Kunzig’s favorite art form has been digital painting, specifically through the Paint.NET program. The local retiree first used the software while working as a landscape designer.
“I was using the program to show clients before-and-after pictures,” Kunzig said. “I would take a picture of their garden and do a mock-up of what it would look like.”
Guests of the Artisan Market can look forward to seeing a collection of Kunzig’s digital paintings, many of which are colorful landscapes and seascapes that incorporate elements of realism and fantasy.
“I’ve always liked to put some quirkiness in my work,” said Kunzig, who once painted a boat with butterfly wings instead of sails. “I’ll add some imaginative elements ... to make it more fun and whimsical.”
If Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood was a Star Trek character, he’d be Captain Quirk. Send comments to [email protected].
