CEDAR CITY – Artisans Art Gallery at 94 W. Center St., a tiny gallery shop sandwiched between Studio West and The Pastry Pub in Cedar City, was packed to the brim Saturday night with a lively group of soup lovers and artists supporting the “Soup for your Soul, Art for your Bowl” event.
The evening raised over $1,500, gallery director Steve Yates said. It was held to support the Artisans nonprofit group that provides venue and programs for artists of all levels and ages. Click here to read more.
Over 130 hungry artists and community members showed up at 6 p.m. to support the event when the doors opened; so hungry, Yates said, that almost all of the 12 different homemade soups were emptied from their crocks before 7 p.m. leaving only two pots left for latecomers to choose from.
Though the crowd dissipated, energy was high and laughter filled the air. Both the front gallery space and the back room where the food was served were alive with discussions of community and art appreciation.
Art pieces were flying off of the walls and shelves faster than artist and gallery volunteer Debbie Robb could write up sales.
Yates said he lost track of how many pieces sold, but was ecstatic to see a variety of new and familiar faces amongst the crowd. Of the 140 bowls made for the event, he said, there were only two left by the end of the night.
Theater icons Fred Adams and R. Scott Phillips of the Utah Shakespeare Festival hobnobbed and rubbed elbows with well-known regional artists like Arlene Braithwaite and Brad Holt.
After taking just one look at Braithwaite’s tiny painting of a canyon stream, Adams said of his purchase, he knew he just had to have it in his home. It was the lighting that drew him in, but the scene that captivated him, he said.
The fundraiser pretty much cleared out an hour early leaving behind only those who had become close like family after years of networking through Artisans.
“One thing that’s for sure, this has become a tight knit family over the past five years,” Yates said. “Everyone gets together to go and do things. A bunch of artists paint together now and call themselves the Kolob Society – it all started by being a part of Artisans.”
The impact that Artisans has had on the artist community was an unexpected one, he said. It gives him more hope that his overall vision for a venue where all forms of art – music, poetry, performance, sculpting, jewelry making – anything an artist can conceive of, can live harmoniously under the same roof, offering something for everyone.
“I am like this mad scientist of the art world,” he said. “I just have this vision, and I think a lot of other artists in the community can see it too.”
Artisans Art Gallery is open for winter hours Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Chatter around the dessert table, Artisans Art Gallery, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2015 | Photo by Carin Miller, St. George News
Artist Brad Holt sticks around to help clean up after the crowd dissipates, Artisans Art Gallery, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2015 | Photo by Carin Miller, St. George News
Friendly chatter around the dessert table, Artisans Art Gallery, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2015 | Photo by Carin Miller, St. George News
Art in observance, Artisans Art Gallery, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2015 | Photo by Carin Miller, St. George News
Arlene Braithwaite engages discussion with gallery supporters, Artisans Art Gallery, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2015 | Photo by Carin Miller, St. George News
Art in observance, Artisans Art Gallery, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 21, 2015 | Photo by Carin Miller, St. George News
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