From the bottom of our art

Artrageous event expands from Fridays to entire weekend.

By Rachel Krause

Published Oct. 13, 2009

Organizers for the first-ever Artrageous Weekend lured crowds to downtown Columbia last weekend with unique performances, local art and live music.

Artrageous Fridays have been a part of the Columbia art scene for three years, but after the Festival of the Arts was discontinued, planners decided to dedicate an entire weekend to the event.

Artrageous Fridays organizer Jennifer Perlow had high expectations for the event, which encapsulated 23 venues.

"It has grown such a great amount over the years and we have more people coming out each time," Perlow said. "We have a very vibrant community in the arts and we want to see people interact with it."

Columbia residents were treated to a spirited and somewhat eccentric "Art Busk" at the Columbia Art League Friday night. A "busk" is a British term referring to performances by street artists, Columbia Art League education director Patty Jaconetta Groening said.

Accompanied by dancers and drummers, Rock Bridge High School art students splattered paint, scribbled pastels and glued 3-D attachments onto pieces of cardboard. Every few minutes a whistle blew, instructing the students to change easels or mediums.

Columbia Art League Executive Director Diana Moxon invited Sharyn Hyatt-Wade's art students, Groening said.

Hyatt-Wade said she was ecstatic with the end product.

"I thought we'd make it more fun by working with non-traditional materials and non-traditional techniques and have a little music alongside it," Hyatt-Wade said.

A street or two away, Poppy on 920 E. Broadway hosted jewelry-making husband and wife duo, Bryan and Andrea Ring. The couple displayed its collection, Amuck Jewelry, and performed jewelry-making demonstrations for visitors.

What's unique about Amuck Jewelry is all the pieces are made of recycled materials, such as street signs, license plates and old jewelry pieces.

She originally started using found materials because she wanted more color in her metal work.

Also playing with color, Columbia artist Dennis Murphy is the second contributor to the anti-graffiti program sponsored by the Columbia Police Department and Office of Cultural Affairs.

Those who have been downtown recently might have noticed a colorful traffic signal box on the corner of Broadway and Hitt Street. Murphy endured the chilly weather Friday night and Saturday to speak with visitors about the work, which he said took approximately 200 hours to complete. The traffic box is adorned with a fairy-tale painting depicting a street view of Columbia from various directions.

"I wanted it to look as if there were windows on each side," Murphy said. "One side looks north at Columbia College. And then we go around to the other side looking at Hitt Street, there you can see Jesse Hall and the top of the Pasta Factory."

Fellow Columbia artists and owners of Animalia Pottery, Karen Pritchett and Todd Shelby, had one of nearly 30 booths at the North Village Artists' Market on Saturday.

"I think the market is a great idea," Pritchett said. "The town totally needs something run by artists for artists and locals."

Jane Domkey, Columbia resident and glass artist, visited the market and was impressed with what she saw.

"I think we're exceptionally lucky to have as much art as we do in Columbia, and as an artist, I think it's great that the community supports artists to the extent that they do," Domkey said.