When the artists who participated in October's big Art Crawl met last weekend for a wrap up party in the timbered studio of artists Joanne and Andrew Dunkerton, they were exhausted but happy with their Crawl experience.
From Oct. 21 to 23, artists from Langdale to Lund tidied up their studios and galleries, put up signs directing visitors up rural roads to their locations and exercised their smile muscles until they were sore.
As one of the biggest art weekends of the year, the Crawl, presented by the Coast Cultural Alliance in partnership with Coast tourism and B&B associations, recorded 11,000 studio visits on the Sunshine Coast, an increase over last year's approximately 7,000 visits.
At press time 20 per cent of participants had not yet reported, so final figures are estimated at up to 15,000 visits. In all, some $58,500 changed hands with visitors purchasing hand-crafted or created items, sometimes in the price range of $2,000 to $3,000 per item. As the fee to participate in the Crawl was $85, most earned their money back. (Figures do not include the participating artists in the Powell River area.)
At the debriefing last Sunday, organizer Linda Williams introduced the committee that put the experience together, asking for comments from the gathered artists who represented about 30 of the 108 on show during the intensive weekend. Most pronounced the experience positive.
"I loved the buzz that people bring to my studio," said artist Suzy Naylor.
"I thought we'd get maybe ten people," said writer and visual artist Jan Jensen, because we're off the highway in Secret Cove. We had over 50!"
"I didn't even have time for lunch," said artist Marleen Vermeulen. "I was blown away."
Blacksmith Kelly Backs of Tree Studios in Roberts Creek suggested his metal-working demonstrations were like performance art. He does not usually do public demos as it is too noisy for visitors and it interferes with production. For the Crawl, he hammered metal leaves for two days and 205 people showed up to keep him busy.
"I was in bed by eight every evening," he laughed.
Cindy Buis of Artworks Gallery & Framing was happy for the exposure at her relatively new location and benefited by having a special event on Friday evening with painter Donna Swain.
Rob Studer of This Is It design studio praised the Art Crawl saying, "It makes us all look professional, like we know what we're doing."
He added that it was interesting to hear what attracted the many off-Coast visitors to the area.
"They wanted to talk about the art," said Sheila Page whose studio is in Davis Bay. Most artists agreed that the interaction with visitors was the best aspect.
Of the Art Crawl participants, John Conway was perhaps one of the busiest. In his role as the Green Man, he hosted the Friday evening performance show at the Raven's Cry Theatre organized by the Sechelt Festival of the Arts that ran concurrently with the Art Crawl.
On Saturday, Conway showed his hand-crafted, upcycled driftwood beds, then rushed to the Arts Centre on Sunday to give a children's performance, also on the Festival's agenda.
On Saturday evening, the Festival put on a second show of eclectic collaborations to an almost full house. Artist Mardi Ahmed was in her element while painting on stage to the hypnotic sounds of fine musicians led by Gaetan Bergevin in a non-stop musical interlude.
The Rakish Angles, a string quartet, were projected on wide screens as they performed to a light show and special effects by DJ Honeybee. The Creek Big Band changed their repertoire for the evening, giving up a Latin set under the direction of Graham Ord, while Definitely Diva sang and joked, even trying a short dance number with Sylvain Brochu. This show had it all.
The blend of Sechelt Festival of the Arts and Art Crawl worked to mutual satisfaction by most accounts. Plans for next year's Art Crawl are already underway; it will likely be on the weekend before Halloween.
