I had the pleasure this weekend of going to two days of the Utah Arts Festival down in Salt Lake at Library Square. Never have I had so much fun and been surrounded by so many amazing works of art by some of the most creative and talented people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. We were surrounded by sun and soul in the heart of the city and honestly it was the best day ever.
On Thursday night I went with a blogger friend of mine, the lovely dovely Shelby, and my best girl Niki to see a local band play. They are called Holy Water Buffalo and they were awesome! It's been a hot second since my last concert and I had forgotten how much I love live music. It seems like I always do that though. I forget how amazing it feels to have the loud beats jump starting your heart and the vitality of the crowd infusing with the air and making the night glow electric.
The band is local, a few boys from Heber and they were a delight and they all had the most glorious hair I've ever seen. Straight up. Check out that cutie on the keyboard. He was our favorite to watch because with every note he struck on those keys, his lion's mane struck back. They were all so passionate and I felt honored to be able to watch these boys do the thing they love the most. They were having so much fun and their passion was palpable. They had no inhibitions, only heart and zest. It was awesome. (ALSO... saw a blast from my past and it blew my mind, but that's a private story. HI SHELBY HI)
I just never want this festival to end. I don't want summer to end. I want more summer nights filled with music and friends.
On Friday my beautiful friends Kat and Dixie invited me to go back to the festival again and explore the booths for the day. And when I say for the day, I mean for the day. We got to the festival at 3 and didn't leave until about 9 and we spent the entire time in and out of booths, fawning over the artwork and the artists. We made an effort to go inside every booth and tried to cover as much of the festival as we could. I think we missed maybe two corners but we did see a great deal of vendors.
We stopped and looked at each individual booth, never skipping one. The variety between the art and the crafts was so inspiring. There was amazing paintings, crazy metal sculptures, hand crafted jewelry made from old car parts and fire extinguishers, breathtaking photographs, dancers flying across the glass surface of the library, and everything in between. I could have spent many more hours winding through the labyrinth of artists and getting lost inside paintings.
I walked away from the festival with two paintings and a beautiful ring. These pieces touched my soul and I couldn't leave the festival without them. They are gorgeous and captivating and perfect.
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| Buy her things here. They are amazing! |
How could I pass by that ring without slipping it on and falling in love? It felt like Cinderella slipping on the perfectly fitting glass slipper. It's sensational.
The first painting I bought was one of the first I saw as we started our tour. Part one. The artist was incredibly charming and handsome. If I wasn't a huge wimp, I would have asked him for his number but then I got distracted from flirting with my eyes and occasional hip sways because this painting caught my eye.
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| Visit his website here. This handsome guy is incredible. Also I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers. Hi Derek :) |
The colors were like a dream and it was both ominous and exciting. It's a sugar coated nighttime. It reminded me so much of the beautiful plantation house in one of my absolute favorite movies, Interview with the Vampire. Ever since I saw that movie years ago I've wanted a huge New Orleans plantation house. I walked over to the artist and asked if he could hold the piece for me so I could come buy it after I walked the rest of the festival. He slipped it between some other prints and told me it was based on the Oak Alley Plantation used in Interview with the Vampire. It was the house I thought it was; the house of my dreams. I thanked him for holding the piece for me and continued on way. Even through the rest of the show, that painting kept popping up in my mind. It wasn't long before I just had to go back and buy it and carry it with me, just so I could look at it while I walked. It's amazing.
But the booth that won me over was called Curtner Art. My favorite type of art is anything with words as the focal point. I'm a writer. Words are my lifeblood. To me, text and typography are the most beautiful things I could imagine. I love pictures with words hidden inside of them, mixed media with words tattooed across their surfaces. I turned the corner, walked into this booth, and tears filled my eyes. They slipped down my cheeks as I was overtaken by his pieces. Pictures filled with words stitched haphazardly across the canvas. Words holding the painting together like glue. It was like this artist knew my heart and knew what I needed to see. I was set on a print of a couple lying across the grass with books scattered around them until I saw this piece. The tears started flowing fresh when this caught my eye.
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| See more of my favorite art EVER here. |
More tears came and I can't thank her enough for this amazing gift. It will get a place of pride in any home I ever live in.
I wish I had all the money in the world and could have bought something from every booth we visited, but sadly college is a thing. And gas is a thing. And I'm not Jay Gatsby. There is always next year and until then I can frequent the websites of my favorite artists and obsess over my favorite pieces. Here are a few:
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| This is made from tiny pieces of soda cans cut into circles. They all hang separately like a cool disco ball of awesome art. Find the artist here. |
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| Blown glass ya'll. So cool. Find the artist here. |
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| Look at her eyes. This is charcoal on wood. UGH I WANT. Find the artist here. |
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| This is called "Nothing Darker than Light" This artist was so amazing. She's like Dali. Find the artist here. |
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| American Flag made in a suitcase with shirts, ties, jeans, and change. WHAT. Find the artist here. |
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| A typewriter made of recyclable materials. This is the same artist as the suitcase. Very talented and very kind. |
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| I just. I can't with this one. |
Please visit the websites of the artists I featured here and if you can get down to the art show DO IT. It's an incredible event and not one of my words or pictures can do it justice.
Thank you artists for sharing your gifts with me. You are lovely.
LOVE this. Obviously. Haha a blast from the past indeed! Haha I wish I could have had more time to go through the booths with someone who appreciated art the way you do.
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