Art & Coffee @ Saxby’s

Jennifer Shipley

ArtLoveMagic’s Art & Coffee events are so multifaceted they are hard to describe.  For an evening artists and art lovers, musicians and music lovers, barristas and coffee lovers come together to share the joy of art, music and coffee.

Dianna Hawkins-Rushing was there with handmade books.  Sketchbooks with handmade paper and natural elements woven in, accordion books, and altered books lined her table.  The one that intrigued me the most was two books in one contrasting the family grown up in with the family you create.  The first side was dark–all done in blacks and browns.  It told a story of abuse, fear and neglect. The other side was the rest of the story done in vibrant greens which told of health, healing and joy.

Jennifer Shipley pulled out a blank canvas, quickly sketched with pencil and over the course of the night, we watched the colors come together to form a flower in front of our eyes.

Josh Dryk

Poet, Maggie Smith’s clever constructions engaged me deeply and later–as I sat listening to Will Richey’s poetry, a blast of fire caught the corner of my eye–so of course, I had to investigate. With spray paint and a blow torch, this artist (someone please comment with his name) was creating on sheets of plywood. Luckily this distraction happened after Will’s piece “I am in love with a hypocrite.”  The piece was so moving, I find that snatches of it still play in my mind this morning.

As with all ArtLoveMagic events, the postive energy of the crowd was elevating.  Kelly Nygren aptly said, “Art & Coffee is like methadone for Girl Show.”

Too true…

–Posted by Cathy Hutchison