Feather your nest for the season at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival
 DANVIILLE - A visit to the Danville Fall Crafts Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. October 22 and 23 is the perfect way to herald the fall season and feather your nest for the holidays. Unique craft items, Avenue of the Giants sculpture garden, Halloween costume parade and music and dance are all part of the family fun.
The Danville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Danville mark their 20th year hosting the festival on Hartz Avenue, between Diablo Road and Hartz Way.
More than 200 artists from across the U.S. and California gather to show paintings, photography, jewelry and ceramics and wood, metal, leather, glass, fiber and mixed media.
“I enjoy the quality arts and crafts displayed each year at the Fall Festival,” says Shelby McNamara, president of the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce, and also an artist herself. “I look forward to strolling down the Avenue of the Giants.”
The Avenue of Giants is a display of large, metal sculptures by Phillip and Chad Glashoff in a mixture of whimsical and contemporary styles. This must-see display is at Prospect and Hartz avenues.
Special to the Fall Crafts Festival is the Halloween Costume Parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, beginning at Hartz Avenue and School Street with safe-trick-or-treating both Saturday and Sunday. Also that day, local dance troupe Next Step Dance will perform at 1:30 p.m.
Local merchants don’t miss a beat in supporting the festival when the Alamo Danville Artists Society hosts plein air demonstrations on East Prospect October 22 and 23. Artists will also have completed paintings to sell.
To serenade festival-goers, musicians will play in street corner concerts and the Beverage Garden, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, will have its own entertainment along with fine wines and microbrews. Fine food abounds throughout the event.
Admission is free to the Danville Fall Crafts Festival and parking limitations will not be enforced during the festival weekend. For more information, call (925) 837-4400 or visit www.mlaproductions.com.
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Walk among Giants
DANVILLE - Among the artist displays, the new Avenue of the Giants will be hard to miss. Large, metal sculptures by Phillip and Chad Glashoff will dominate the corner of Prospect and Hartz avenues, showcasing a mixture of whimsical and contemporary styles.
Phillip Glashoff often uses salvaged machinery, fire extinguishers, compressor covers and equipment from his Suisun Valley ranch in Northern California to create his quirky and often humorous sculptures. His land is dotted with steel sculpted cattle, giant banjos and archways made of street signs.
“If I could, I’d bring all the big stuff but some of it requires a forklift,” says Glashoff. “For me, I make fun of the human race. It depicts the human spirit in whimsical settings for the most part. So I get inspiration on daily basis from people in normal activities.”
Chad Glashoff is following in his father’s footsteps, with a bit of a twist. He favors a contemporary free-form style inspired by Picasso, and many of his works are abstract and geometric. This artist is still finding his way and his work shows the range of his experimentation.
Both Glashoff’s will create their own world along the Avenue of the Giants.
Come out and enjoy all the beauty of Danville at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival on October 22 & 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For those wishing to park close by, there will be unlimited parking in all city-owned parking lots and along street curbside parking spaces. For more information visit www.mlaproductions.com or call (925) 837-4400.
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Enjoy music along with the arts and crafts
DANVILLE- Enjoying the fall arts and crafts scene is even easier with music filling the air. Musicians perform on street corners throughout the fair, and Edgar and Pepa will entertain at the Beverage Garden.
Edgar and Pepa play South American World Grooves – music with a Latin beat. You’ll hear tango, samba, bossa nova, mambo, even reggae and ska. Edgar plays guitar while Pepa sings in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Their high-energy show will set the Beverage Garden in motion.
The music continues with Bob Culbertson on the Chapman Stick. The Chapman stick is like a piano combined with a guitar and creates a unique, melodic sound. Culbertson is well-versed in his instrument and is sure to create some beautiful sounds.
Bona-fide Americana, with Mike Stenberg and Maria Murillo on guitar and violin, have a passion for roots music. Blending blues, folk, jazz and country styles, they create their own magnetic atmosphere.
Admission is free to the Danville Fall Crafts Festival and parking limitations will not be enforced during the festival weekend. For more information, call (925) 837-4400 or visit www.mlaproductions.com.
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Knitting together a great look
DANVILLE - Bright colors and easy lines mark the fabric art of San Franciscan Gabriel Borensztejn. The artist knits and weaves shawls, wraps, ponchos, scarves and sweaters in contemporary styles.
“I’m an artist by training,” says Borensztejn who attributes his modern look to his studies as an architect. “I started (out) doing jewelry.”
The fabric shawls were the natural progression for the artist, who likes to master a new technique every two years to incorporate into his work.
“I always try to see what the material tells me and how to use it appropriately… What it can do for you,” he says. The one-size-fits-all ponchos and shawls can be worn many different ways and come with directions. A visit to www.lolindo.com shows Bornesztejn’s many styles as well as the decorative aluminum pins he creates.
At the festival, look for his next new thing: felted scarves in spiral and flower motifs. Borensztejn likes to mix it up for his customers.
Come out and enjoy all the beauty of Danville at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival on October 22 & 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For those wishing to park close by, there will be unlimited parking in all city-owned parking lots and along street curbside parking spaces. For more information visit www.mlaproductions.com or call (925) 837-4400.
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Crafting leather that lasts
DANVILLE - Each leather purse, backpack and wallet created by Judith Smith has a unique element. It could be a different color combination, a texture, or lining.
“Even though it’s the same style, each is one-of-a-kind,” says the artist, who owns Eugene Leather Works in Oregon.
Because Smith works with remnants, a wide variety of colors and textures are available to her. Plus, “it makes the bags a limited edition,” she says. You’ll find embossed leather, some with floral prints, basket weaves or sculpted styles. There are also silkscreen patterns and ones with gold foiling. “They make unique gorgeous bags,” Smith says.
All pieces are 100 percent leather, which ensures longevity, and Smith warranties her work.
A variety of styles can be seen at www.eugeneleatherworks.com. But you can also see her working at her booth. She travels with a sewing machine and is always working on projects, even while on the road.
“I have a lot of fun designing and crafting these bags. I put my heart and soul in it, and I want people to be extremely happy with them. They are esthetically pleasing as well as functional,” she says.
Admission is free to the Danville Fall Crafts Festival and parking limitations will not be enforced during the festival weekend. For more information, call (925) 837-4400 or visit www.mlaproductions.com.
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Throwing tradition in their pots
DANVILLE - Shizuko and Toshi Shichishima create traditional Japanese ceramics, offering vases, bowls, platters, plates, cups and teapot and teacups.
The San Rafael artists were trained in Japan in traditional techniques that reflect their modern esthetic.
Nerikomi is a marbling technique where multicolored clays are mixed together says Toshi Shichishima.
Mishima is an inlaying technique used for 500 years, and Kakiotoshi is a carving technique.
“The pieces are never the same and cannot be duplicated,” says Shichishima. “They are traditional but not common or easy to make.”
Traditional Japanese imagery adorns some of the work including cherry blossoms, the national tree, and cranes.
The crane is good luck in Japan, known for long life,” says the artist. “Nature inspires our work.”
While galleries of work are presented at www.ciscocollection.com, the artists enjoy displaying their work at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival. “Danville treats us nice,” says Shichishima about the festival goers. “They understand and appreciate our work.”
Come out and enjoy all the beauty of Danville at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival on October 22 & 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For those wishing to park close by, there will be unlimited parking in all city-owned parking lots and along street curbside parking spaces. For more information visit www.mlaproductions.com or call (925) 837-4400.
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Sharing their world view
DANVILLE - Sarka Holeckova and Richard Trager have traveled Cuba, China, Vietnam, Spain, Morocco and the Czech Republic, as well as their home in San Francisco, to capture unique photographic images.
Their work encompasses a broad range of experiences including architecture, still life, landscapes, portraits and abstracts. The world travelers are not afraid to venture off the beaten path to find a different view.
Saturated colors, composition and lighting show the professionalism of their work as both photographers compose, print, mount and matt their photos. The lighting and color you see in the prints are captured with their digital cameras, not manufactured in the printing process.
The two met through their shared passion for photography, and “what was a dream became a reality for us,” says Richard Trager of meeting, marrying and traveling together. The two often travel to Czech Republic where Holeckova was born.
“We’re grateful to make a lifestyle and career out of what we’re passionate about,” he says.
An extensive portfolio can be viewed at their Web site www.sarka-trager.com, and you can listen to stories of their travels in person at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival.
Come out and enjoy all the beauty of Danville at the Danville Fall Crafts Festival on October 22 & 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For those wishing to park close by, there will be unlimited parking in all city-owned parking lots and along street curbside parking spaces. For more information visit www.mlaproductions.com or call (925) 837-4400.
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Engineering beautiful jewelry
DANVILLE - Even though Victor Yurivilca was attending civil engineering classes at a university in Lima in his home country of Peru, he dropped out at age 25 to come to the United States, where he’s made a successful career fashioning jewelry.
“I love to make jewelry because I can express myself designing small, architectural pieces of art into jewelry. For me, it is like continuing my civil engineering school,” says Yurivilca.
He started out “very, very simply. Nothing intricate like today,” he says, using fundamental, traditional methods. Over the years, he learned new, more sophisticated techniques and discovered his own ways to treat the metal.
World travel through Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and through most of the U.S. has inspired his designs. While working, he’ll listen to such diverse music as heavy metal, Native American, Hindu, Chinese and songs from his native Andes.
His choice of material is unique as well.
“I love to work the spiny oyster shell, because once you start cutting the spikes and start polishing, you can see the beauty of it, and the natural orange color of it. It is amazing.”
Stop by his booth to view his intricate designs and bold use of elements.
Admission is free to the Danville Fall Crafts Festival and parking limitations will not be enforced during the festival weekend. For more information, call (925) 837-4400 or visit www.mlaproductions.com.
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