By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
This weekend art lovers will have a chance to engage in a scavenger hunt of sorts.
Eleven artists will be selling their wares in seven locations around Bowling Green and at Schooner Farms in Weston. (Click to view the map.) The tour will be open Saturday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Spring Open Air Art Tour is a spin off from last December’s art tour. That tour, spearheaded by Becky McOmber, was staged after other venues for selling arts and crafts were canceled because of the pandemic.
“Becky had the idea of selling art out of our homes,” recalled artist Ann Beck. “It turned out great. … I think we got a lot of people who thought it would be a safe way to Christmas shop. They could drive by and see it was safe. And a lot of people liked the idea of a scavenger hunt.”
While it was planned a “one-off, a COVID thing,” the artists considered staging another.
After all, Beck said, the virus is still in our midst. So McOmber, Beck, Kathy Pereira de Almeida, and Becky Schooner formed a committee.
Again each stop will be as safe as possible with face coverings strongly encouraged. The exhibitors include some returnees, as well as new recruits.
Beck said they wanted to make sure they offered a variety of media.
The artists exhibiting will be:
- Jewelry and paintings by Ann Beck, 717 Brittany Ave.
- Little Bare Furniture, 751 Sand Ridge Road.
- Pottery by Mary Dennis, 161 Eberly Ave.
- Pereira de Almeida family – paintings by Andrea, ceramics by Isabel, and encaustic paintings by their mother Kathy (on Instagram @kpalmeida), 1209 Lynn Road.
- Photographs by Louis Staeble, 137 Leroy Ave.
- Leatherwork by Becky McOmber, 420 Knollwood Road.
- Watercolors by Marge Meserve, on Instagram @margemeserve, also at 420 Knollwood Road.
- Art by Lynne Helm and a spring plant sale at Schooner Farms, 14890 Otsego Pike Weston.
Beck said prospective patrons can visit the artists’ social media sites, and decide where who they’d like to visit.
After this weekend, the artists will meet and discuss the results, and consider whether this avenue for selling their art is worth pursuing.
In the meantime, the summer art fair scene is starting to open up. Beck, who had five shows cancelled last year, said fairs are taking a variety of approaches, some are encouraging wearing face coverings, while others have not specified any public health measures.
