Shoreline Arts Festival – Artist Marketplace Preview

Shoreline Arts Festival – June 28 & 29

Shoreline Center 18560 1st Ave NE

The Artist Marketplace is the beating heart of the Shoreline Arts Festival, with approximately 60 artists of all kinds; this section of the festival is a hard-won, hand-made dream.

Pursue paintings, ceramics, jewelry, and pretty much every other kind of art as you saunter through the sunshine and decide which of the masterpieces on offer will grace your mantelpiece. Enrich your home with hand-made art, support local artists, and show the world where you stand as a curator of great taste. Here's a quick preview of a few artists who will be selling their work at the festival:

Abigail Heyer
Abigail Heyer Fine Art

Abigail Heyer - Abigail Heyer Fine Art

Describe a typical day in your studio.

The first thing on my mind when I wake up in the morning is my art, so a typical day in my studio begins in the morning when I pickup where I left off the day before. My work consists of three phases -- either I am working on putting together a still life, which is slow going to get it just right, or I am constructing a tiny paper house which features in much of my work, or else I am slowly painting a canvas. No matter what, I am always a little disappointed when it is time to stop and accomplish other things!

What advice would you give a young artist?

My best advice for any aspiring artist would be just to do it! So much of the time I hear people who want to pursue an artistic lifestyle but just don’t. Their voice fills with longing and they seem sad that they are not fulfilling their dreams. I say that even if you sit down to make something only once a week, you will still make progress. You can’t be an artist without making art, so the best thing to do is to just start making something.

Tamera Mickelson
T.M. Originals

Tamera Mickelson – T.M. Originals

If you could use only one color what would it be?

Black - because I could at least make graphic images and it goes with everything!

Describe a typical day in your studio.

When I'm doing a batch of resin work I will typically spend most of a day sorting and laying out watch parts into frame pendants and such until I arrive at a layout that pleases me. I often work in layers so this process may be repeated the next day and over several days for larger items.

Are you a full-time or part-time artist?

I started as a part time artist. After the bottom dropped out of the economy and I had spent 2 1/2 years looking and interviewing for work, I decided it was a sign that it was time to get serious about my art. I work part time jobs for two other artists to help make ends meet.

Antoinette The Henna Artist
Magic Magpie Studio

Antoinette The Henna Artist – Magic Magpie Studio

What makes your work new or fresh?

I spend a LOT of time on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram looking at art. Other henna artists, tattoo artists, typographers, illustrators, painters, sculptors, crocheters and knitters ... I find inspiration in a lot of places. I will sometimes find an artist that particularly interests me, and then look at their work over and over until the way they create a design is embedded in my brain. Then I'll turn around and incorporate those designs into my own work. I'm constantly evolving my art!

What advice would you give a young artist?

Don't stop. Practice ALL the time. Find that thing that makes your heart beat faster and your fingers itch, and then do it, over and over and over. You will be horrible at it, and your art will look nothing like you expect it to. And then there will be a small change, some kind of shift, that will give you a glimmer of the artist you will become, and that will give you hope. Keep practicing. Fail miserably, and come to the moment of "I will NEVER be able to do this right." And then don't stop. Keep practicing. Only through long hours, months, years of practice will you become satisfied with your work. And because it makes your heart beat faster and your fingers itch, you will do it. You will keep on failing and you will keep on going. Also, save at least a representative portion of your art. Put a date on everything. So 5 years down the line, you can pull out your practice work from now, and say "Wow. Holy cow. Look how far I've come!" That will give you the best pick-me-up when you feel like you should stop. And then ... don't stop.

Are you a full-time or part-time artist?

I have been a full time artist for 6 years, however I have only just recently been able to quit my part-time "paycheck" job and become even more of a full-time artist!  I am so excited!

The Shoreline Arts Festival provides two extraordinary days of music, dance, theatre, literary arts, visual arts, and food, plus the Shoreline Philippine Festival. This creative community event, sponsored by the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council, will be held at the Shoreline Center, 18560 1st Ave NE. Visit our website for applications, deadlines, or additional information or call the Arts Council at 206-417-4645

The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to nurture all of the arts in the community through programs and events, arts education, advocacy, and support for artists and arts organizations.