In the Spotlight: The We ART the People Folk Art Festival and Lauren Tobey!

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Earlier this year, The Studio featured Lauren Tobey's beautiful work and her jewelry school/studio, Meltdown Studio. In today's post, Lauren tells us about her recent experience at the “We ART the People” folk art festival here in Albuquerque. Also, If you're as inspired by her work as we are, be sure to check out her wonderful rectangle cuff bracelet project on RioGrande.com!

Off Center’s annual "We ART the People" folk art festival is one of Albuquerque’s hidden gems. This quirky arts-and-crafts fair has been going strong for ten years now, and each year it seems to get better and better.The non-profit organization, Off Center, provides art supplies, an accessible venue, and classes for anyone and everyone who seeks a creative outlet. Annually, they put on the “We ART the People” folk art festival to feature not only their own artists, but other local artists as well.

I look forward to this event every year, regardless of whether I'm a vendor or a shopper. I have found some exceptional folk art pieces at this festival, and met some very inspiring artists. Secretly, I choose to participate in this singular local craft show with the underlying agenda of trading with other artists!

The overall highlight of the event is the giant recycled art puppet parade that makes its way around the park, featuring art created in the on-site kids’ art tent, various percussive instruments made from recycled materials, and all-around fun people! With ongoing musical and dance performances, food trucks lining the perimeter of the park, and even a homemade bake sale, this early fall festival is THE show for me.

For this year’s show, I focused on keeping my price point within a reasonable range so that festival attendees would have no problem picking up a Meltdown Studio original design to bring home.

To achieve this, I incorporated silver-filled discs and sheet metal in my fabricated pieces, and offered several styles in sterling silver as well as bronze for my cast components. These strategies proved to be effective, as the show turned out to be a great success! And to top it all off? A few traded treasures from my fellow vendors...