Santa Fe, NM La Fonda on the Plaza, March 2
This story was featured in the February 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
WITH THE SUPPORT of numerous donors and partners, Santa Fe-based ARTsmart has provided northern New Mexico’s youth with a variety of educational opportunities in the visual arts over the years. The nonprofit organization has helped children develop an appreciation for art, learn creative problem-solving skills, and even achieve their creative dreams. Guests who attend ARTsmart’s annual fund-raiser this month—fittingly entitled Shaping the Future—learn more about the group’s work and hear from several guest speakers, including a past recipient of ARTsmart’s Art Changes Lives scholarship. The ticketed dinner and auction is hosted in the elegant Lumpkins Ballroom at La Fonda on the Plaza on Saturday, March 2, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
This year’s honorary artist is Santa Fe artist, ceramics instructor, and gallery owner Heidi Loewen, who worked with Santa Fe High School students to design, shape, and paint their own ceramic sculptures of shoes. They were also encouraged to decorate their sculptures with a variety of expressive materials like fabric, feathers, dried flowers, and crystals. “Nowadays shoe design is so incredible,” says Loewen. “I told the kids they could look for designs online or even use the patterns of the shoes they were wearing, and they totally went to town. The title of the project was ‘I would like to walk a day in your shoes.’ I love the idea of people offering to learn from someone else, to walk in somebody else’s shoes.”
Ranging from sneakers to boots to stilettos, the students’ whimsical creations are all up for sale in the evening’s silent auction. Fifty percent of the proceeds go to the students, and the remaining half is donated to their school’s art program. Loewen herself creates stiletto sculptures, some of which are 6-feet-long and cast in aluminum. “Stiletto shoe sculptures are something I’ve gotten involved with as a sort of comic relief from my serious work doing pottery and sculpture,” says Loewen, whose porcelain and ceramic vessels, platters, and sculptures—often smoke-fired and enhanced with custom-pigmented waxes and gold leaf—are widely collected. The artist contributes one of her signature creations to the live auction (the pieces shown here are representative of her work).
Also up for bid are artworks from Santa Fe galleries, ceramic dinner and dessert plates featuring hand-painted designs by local fifth graders, and many other enticing items donated by local artists and businesses. —Kim Agricola
contact information505.992.2787www.artsmartnm.org
This story was featured in the February 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, books, videos & more from North Light Shop• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook
The post Show Preview | ARTsmart Dinner & Auction appeared first on Southwest Art Magazine.