cbellamy@heraldsun.com; 419-6744
DURHAM – Sandra Elliott, an interior designer and painter, will be working on several of the 365 paintings she is seeking to complete before the end of the year to benefit the Free the Children organization that builds schools in Africa. Libby Lynn will be demonstrating encaustic painting, and will allow visitors to try painting a work of their own.
They are among the artists who will be demonstrating their skills and selling their works at the Third Annual Christmas Market at Guglhupf Bakery Saturday. Outsiders Art & Collectibles teams up with Guglhupf to present the market. This year, the market is trying to give visitors more hands-on activities, said Pamela Gutlon, owner of Outsiders. “We’re trying to make it a very family friendly, interactive event,” she said. “It was very important to me that the artists I chose were willing to do their work while sitting” at the market, she said.
Happymess, an art and teaching space that shares the building with Outsiders, will have a craft table for children. Lakewood Avenue Children’s School also will be accepting used children’s books for the Book Harvest organization, and will offer free gift wrapping.
Elliott, a Chapel Hill interior designer, got inspired to do a painting for each day of the year after visiting Kenya with a friend. She needed a break from the pressures of her day job, and when she realized that a small amount of money could go far in helping children in Kenya, she decided to take a year off for her 365 Paintings in 365 Days Project. At Saturday’s market, she will be painting several works in progress, and will have some completed paintings for sale.
All proceeds go to help Free the Children. So far, she has “earned enough to build two school houses, which is really exciting,” Elliott said.
Lynn learned the basics of encaustic painting at North Carolina’s Penland School of Crafts and has been working in the medium since 2007. The technique uses bees’ wax, tree sap and pigment. Wax is painted on a hard surface, and a heating device helps fuse multiple layers of wax to make them stable.
Adults and children will be able to try their hand at making an encaustic painting. Lynn, who is trained in other media as well, said that other than acrylic painting, encaustic painting “is the most versatile medium I have come across.” Every person who tries the medium paints differently, and the possibilities depend on the individual, Lynn said.
She will have small and large works for sale at the event. She also has taught herself to make her own paints. For market visitors “who get completely obsessed with it like I did,” she will offer inexpensive starter kits for sale with the tools for making encaustic paintings.
Other visual artists who plan to demonstrate and offer pieces for sale are Sam Ezell, paintings; Erica King, quilting and fiber arts; Jena Matzen, handmade jewelry and metal work; Jackie MacLeod, metal work; Tarish Pipkins (Jeghetto the Puppetmaker), puppets, paintings and other works; Lurena Williamson, handmade dolls; Lisa Veronica Wood, sculpture and painting; David Sparrow, whirligigs made of recycled steel.
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Go&Do
WHAT: Third Annual Christmas Market
WHEN: Dec. 10, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Guglhupf Bakery, Patisserie and Café, 2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.
ADMISSION: Free
