The Louisville Art Association held thee Fall Member Show and Sale at the Louisville Arts Center Nov. 16-19. (Andrea Grajeda/ Staff Writer)
The Louisville Art Association Fall Member Show and Sale is an opportunity for local artists to display their work and for residents to discover the artistic talents of their neighbors.
The fall show was held this weekend at the Louisville Arts Center, 801 Grant St.. The LAA nonprofits have members from Loveland to Louisville to Littleton to submit their best work. Paintings, photographs, felted work, ceramic sculptures and more covered the walls of the center for many nearby residents to look at.
The LAA nonprofit is a volunteer-run organization focused on creating opportunities for artists to display their work, learn new techniques and find their local artistic community.
Jane Evans, LAA member, said the nonprofit has over 200 members and the shows are an opportunity for them to display their work. She explained sometimes an artist can create and create but never actually show others their work, and the LAA wants to help those artists show off their work. She said the show is a chance for the community to discover local artists and there is a deeper connection someone has to art when they know the artist is one of their neighbors.
Helen Harrison, workshop team leader for the LAA, said alongside the show selling artwork, members can also sell crafts at the fall show.
The fall show is not juried, and Harrison said this means there is room for many kinds of artworks. Some art was abstract, others more decorative and some with more political meanings. She highlighted LAA board member Dori Stickles’ watercolor art.
“You can see the detail. (The artwork) looks like it would be a manipulated photo, but she does this very meticulous kind of watercolor art and it’s so detailed,” Harrison said.
Stickles was selling reproduction prints of her work on cards as well as some other crafts. Harrison explained artists have a habit of not being able to stop creating, so it is beneficial to sell some of those creations and have an excuse to continue creating.
“If you’re an artist and you are earnest about it, you have a lot of extra art and you’d like to find a home for it,” Harrison said.
Peter Herod, LAA member, had his piece “you know i can’t do that” on sale. The painting is part of his “octopisms” collection, which demonstrate a boy’s relationship with life typically alongside animals. He describes the series as a “quirky and sometimes satirical” perspective on life.
Herod explained that he stopped doing art and pursued music for a while, however he lives in the same neighborhood as the Arts Center and he figured an artist should be involved in their own local art organization.
“Artists struggle with expressing themselves, we’re a little weird. And this is just one way we get that expression out,” Herod said.
He said seeing other people connect with his art is therapeutic. Everyone has their gift in life, Herod said, and he is creating connections through art about those feelings that can not quite be put to words.
The LAA also hosts art demonstrations and workshops for members and nonmembers. More information about the LAA is available at louisvilleartsassociation.org.
