Rancho Mirage's Art Affaire, the last major art festival of the year here in the Palm Springs desert takes place this weekend, November 14-15. The 9th annual event is held in Whitewater Park, a gem-of-a-park with appealing contours and gorgeous mountain vistas of the nearby San Jacinto Mountains. It's a perfect venue for this intimate gathering of 100 selected artists, all of whom look forward to participating since the event sparks on every count—for both artist and guest.
Hosted by the city of Rancho Mirage, public entry is free and so is the icy bottled water and servings of Smooth Jazz. The musical offerings take place on the tented hilltop next to food and drink from some of the city's most popular restaurants.
Today visitors were treated to Lori Andrews, one of the few harp soloists in jazz history. Tomorrow's headliner is guitarist Nils, back from a successful 2006 visit and presenting his newest release, "Up Close and Personal," characterized as "a funky, brawny new smooth jazz project."
Visual artists encompass a wide variety of mediums and I was thrilled to see two of my personal favorites in attendance.
Husband-wife team Michael and Sumati Colpitts hail from artist-rich Sedona and their enticing booth is a perennial favorite at every art show. As their motto states, "Creating in clay is our passion," and this emotion is manifest in their lovingly-rendered ceramic creations of both animals and people. Their slab and handbuilt sculptures employ an amazing variety of textures, glazes and metallic oxide washes. I love to watch artgoers discover their smile-inducing creations.
The one-of-a-kind artwork includes a wide range of wild animals, from hippos to pikas, hares to pelicans. My 50th birthday gift to myself was a foot-high mouse sporting bronze feet and tail! Now, I've got my eye on this acorn-wielding squirrel!
Michael Colpitts is successfully expanding his artistic horizon to exlore the medium of paint. The couple's expanded booth now features his boldly sized and colored canvases which incorporate fabric and materials.
I look at their wide-ranging array of artwork and just wonder how they manage to pack and move it from show to show!
Check out their website Artful Ceramics to peruse their amazing talent. If you don't catch them at tomorrow's show, they'll return to the desert for next spring's Southwest Arts Festival and the La Quinta Arts Festival.
Another favorite artist returning for her second season is Vicki Banks, an LA sculptress specializing in limited-edition bronze ravens both large and small. Her whimsical creations often incorporate objects trouvees and antiques; one of her pieces today was inspired by a thick multi-ringed slice of tree trunk toped with a loving pair of ravens. I especially love her fountains on which the inquisitive birds wet their toes.
Check out her unique creations:
Morrie Elmer, from Concho, Arizona, is a very tall man with a very long beard. He makes the most exquisite turned-wood vessels I've ever seen. Using exotic woods from ebony to ironwood, manzanita to cherry burl, his bowls are artfully inlaid with streaks of semi-precious stones. The sensuous results cry out to be stroked. I obliged. Someday, I'll own one of his creations. In the meantime, I took this picture of a fortunate artlover purchasing his wares.
I did buy an irresistibly cute pendant from local artist, Stevie Weinberg, for a girlfriend who adores baking. Stevie will also be participating in a small crafts show next weekend, November 21-22. Art in the Dunes Festival will be held at The Vintage Nursey, one of the many Darby Road plant nurseries lining the Bermuda Dunes road off Washington. Entry fee for the family-oriented event is $3-$5. 760/772-9053
Stevie's line of affordable, one-of-a-kind jewelry can be viewed at her website:
Gerald and Kelly Hong from Petaluma make exquisite creations from the humble medium of clay. These animal memorial boxes caught my eye. What a unique way to remember a beloved pet.
You can view their meticulously rendered Asian-inspired panels, bowls and boxes from their website
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