- 4 days ago
I was late to the gate when I learned about an outdoor art market being hosted by the Acworth Arts Alliance and Qualusi Vineyards.
I've been to Qualusi before. It's a fun local vineyard and winery behind a suburban neighborhood in Acworth (Georgia). Driving there for the first time, I confess I started to wonder where the heck is this place?? (It's there; I promise.) I've also participated in previous art markets with the Acworth Arts Alliance - The Art House. Always a good time.
So...being the shameless self-promoter I am, I reached out to see if I could still nab a table to share my art, which happens to be writing. When the amazing organizers graciously said yes, I did a little last-minute social media promo, packed up my vehicle, and headed to the vineyards.
When I say the organizers of this event were amazing, I mean A-MAZ-ING. Michelle, Cathy, and Maria, along with their life partners and other friends, provided help whenever and wherever needed to assemble tents, lug heavy items, find a table for someone who forgot hers(!), and handle all sales and logistics.
(I greatly appreciated the extra helping hands as my publicist/roadie/favorite husband was busy overseeing advanced voting that day, leaving me to work the event solo. Not that he didn't provide moral support and cheer me: "May the amount you make selling books surpass your bar tab." Oh, Rice....)
What can I say? With temperatures in the 90s, I did enjoy (and highly recommend) Qualusi's wine slushes. (And I did sell a few books, too.)
As I continue to celebrate creativity this year, I'd like to give a shout-out to ALL the wonderful artists who showed up to share their work and celebrate the inaugural Art in the Vines event on June 12th. I'm sorry I didn't have time to meet and greet everyone, but I did want to pass along contact info for a few individuals I met throughout the day who inspired me to keep on creating.
I can't imagine packing up art supplies to lug into 90-degree weather and then proceeding to create WITH A SMILE, but these two artists did it with grace.
Christina Wysocki (top L & R) is a self-taught artist who enjoys working in both acrylic and oil. She particularly enjoys painting landscape and still life. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-wysocki-b9643368/
Dorothy Reavis is a multidisciplinary artist who believes artwork should provoke thoughts, feelings, and conversations. She teaches as well as creating. https://www.dorothyreavis.com/
Lindsey Dobbins (top L & R) enjoys melding bold color, movement, and emotion into her expressive acrylic paintings. https://www.thebeeskneesartistry.com/about-1
Debbie Elliott-Aloisio (bottom L & R) enjoys painting (for pleasure or on commission), participating in traveling art shows, and creating novelty items such as the paper vases recently displayed at Qualusi Vineyards. https://www.instagram.com/elliottaloisio.art/
Dawn Doty (top right) owns Precious Foundations and creates beautiful wire-wrapped jewelry. https://www.instagram.com/doty.dawn
Ollie and Angie (top left) are passionate about music, whether performing together, solo, or with other musicians. Their jazz rocked at Art in the Vines! https://www.facebook.com/ollie.patterson1 https://angietillmanmusic.com/home
Don Kirk (bottom right) owns dek Art Glass, where he specializes in creating stunning fused glass art. For more information, email Don at dekirk01@gmail.com
The Dream Team of organizers are artists themselves. Check out their work. They deserve to be seen, too.
Cathryn "Cathy" Green (above left) is passionate about painting, specializing in watercolors of homestead family memories and new properties alike. She is an Acworth Arts Alliance's -Art House founding member and currently serves as its executive director. https://www.cmgreen-artist.com/
Michelle Carpenter (top right) is an Acworth Arts Alliance board member and artist. She served as event coordinator for this year's inaugural Art in the Vines event. Kudos, Michelle.
Marie Starr (bottom right) is a familiar face at The Art House, where she works as an artist, teaches classes, and also handles a lot of behind-the-scenes to-dos. Her specialty is pottery. https://www.potteryofthestarrs.com/shop
For more information on member artists, go to https://www.acworthartsalliance.org/
For information on planning a wine-and-relaxation stop, go to https://www.qualusivineyards.com/
