Cambridge WRAP Show

For some time I've wanted to enter one of the new WRAP "pop-up" shows and finally did so with the Cambridge WRAP held on May 4th.

The appeal of a Pop-up WRAP is that it all happens in one day. Rather than needing to travel to drop off the work and then later come back for the workshop day, participants bring their art in the morning and display it on tables (artists furnish their own table easels). While the morning workshop is going on, the show is judged. Award winners are announced after lunch followed by the critique of the work.

This compact format makes for less travel for the artists, and in some cases enables some local groups to sponsor a WRAP who wouldn't otherwise be able to do so because they do not have an exhibit space they can tie up for more than a day.

A win-win all around, so this format has become quite popular, as evidenced by the number of exhibitors in the Cambridge Pop-up - almost as many as enter the Madison WRAP show! I liked it too - Cambridge is a bit of a hike from Mineral Point so I appreciated not having to make two trips.

Helen Klebesadel was both the show judge and the workshop presenter. Helen is a watercolor artist and a former WRAP program director at UW. For the workshop we made a book from a single sheet of paper. We then filled the pages with marks inspired by prompts such as "joy", or "fear", or "confusion." It was interesting to see how much similarity there often was in people's choices of color and/or style of marks for some of the prompts.

I entered my Haughty Lady collage and a new collage - Sharon's Rhino, loosely inspired by Durer's Rhinoceros. Haughty Lady won a State Award.

Shake Rag Alley Artisan Jewelry Sale

For several years Shake Rag Alley sponsored an annual Artisan Jewelry Sale, but it's been a few years now since the last one. So it was nice to see this event resurrected, this time to coincide with the Jewelry Boot Camp set of workshops on May 4th and 5th.

Shake Rag Alley jewelry instructors and jewelry students, past and present, were invited to submit pieces. Fourteen artisans responded, including Wednesday Night Women's Art Party group members who donated a number of pieces. I showed some of my mixed media "dangle" jewelry - four necklaces and three sets of earrings.

It was a nice show. The newly designated Shake Rag Alley "Art Cafe" was the perfect intimate venue for showcasing jewelry. Lots of people stopped by to look...and buy!!!




Some samples of my dangle jewelry: