West Portal Avenue’s 19th Annual Sidewalk Arts and Crafts Show Returns to San Francisco

The 19th Annual Fine Arts and Crafts Show takes place in the heart of one of San Francisco’s well-known neighborhoods along West Portal Avenue – an area bustling with activity, quaint retail stores, restaurants, bookshops and coffeehouses. The two-day event will run Saturday and Sunday, April 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day on West Portal Avenue between 15th and Ulloa.

The show is free to the public and sponsored by the West Portal Avenue Association and Dimitra’s SkinCare & MediSpa. Local residents and tourists alike will flock to admire the works of 75 artists displaying everything from photography, paintings, wood sculptures, handmade bath and beauty products, jewelry and much more.

Among the artists presenting at this year’s festival are Vivian and Neil Blanck of Pleasant Hill, California who have developed a form of painting spherical shapes of wood that result in painterly and sculptural works. The items range in size from three inches to two feet in diameter. The couple also designs a complete line of wooden jewelry to include necklaces, broaches and bracelets in a similar fashion that uses maple wood painted with acrylic and ink, and a permanent finish using a clear resin.
Andy Byrne of Pine Grove, California is a featured artist who makes bowls, mirror frames and other objects from recycled steel. He is inspired by metal as a material for fine art because of its permanence. Byrne’s work is permeated with design elements derived from his fascination with contradictions - an example is his frequent use of refined finishes on crude raw materials such as old hardware (nails) and recycled pipe. Using hardware in an untraditional manner, he makes something interesting and provocative out of simple elements. “My completed works are a commentary on both the absurdity and the relative impermanence of our lives,” says Byrne.
Gayle Mayhew of West Point, California will be showing her whimsical jewelry that includes rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Her unique designs are carefully crafted in silver and glass. “One of my creations, the Crazy Chain necklace, embodies the jewelry I create, with compelling design in silver and glass that is fun to wear – and you can play with it too since several of the beads slide along the sterling silver snake chain.” To create such a piece, she makes lamp-worked glass beads from rods of Italian glass that are melted over a tabletop torch. She then shapes and manipulates the molten colors around a steel mandrel, which creates a hole in the finished bead when it’s removed. Since each bead is made by hand, one at a time, the end result ensures that no two beads are identical.
Among other artists participating will be Patty Herrera of South San Francisco displaying her hats and hair accessories; Cheryl Lish of Arroyo Grande, California displaying her vibrant paintings; Jeff Nelson and Hans Schwyter of Ossining, NY showcase their marquetry; and Kelly Smith of San Francisco with her natural handmade soaps, lotions, body wash and other body products.

For more information about the West Portal Avenue Sidewalk Arts and Crafts Fair contact the West Portal Avenue Association at (415) 566-3500 or Pacific Fine Arts at (209) 296-1195 or www.pacificfinearts.com.