Sometimes you just need a change of pace.
Usually this time of year I would be working on my coverage from the Long Beach Comic Expo. This year however I needed a change of pace this year to decompress from a rough few weeks. So I did something a little different this Presidents Day Weekend. I ventured east a few miles to the Arizona Fine Art Expo in Phoenix to check out what Monte Michael Moore (theartofmontemoore.com) was up to. If you don’t know who I am talking about, Monte created the Vixenation image that I often use with my more creative posts, and more recently the Jason Momoa inspired Aquaman commission he did for me.
For the Arizona Fine Art Expo Monte has ventured into a different genre. We are used to his Lady Death, Star Wars, Dragons, Mermaids and Maidens and many other comic book or fantasy inspired pieces which can be found at Mavarts.com. This time however, he has gone western, and he is doing it with style.
Though I made the trip specifically to get to see Monte at a show that doesn’t have the insanity (for either of us) or San Diego Comic Con, I didn’t simply go visit his booth. Leaving my gear at Monte’s booth after lunch it was time to explore the rest of the expo. Though you might think… Fine Art is not what GoGeekGirl enjoys, it was art and artists and thus it was definitely a pleasure.
Wandering the show, admiring the art that was on display, chatting with artists about their work and even observing them creating new pieces was a nice break from the craziness of our world. From being able to ask Stacy Bayne, who was working on a cast for a new bronze sculpture, questions about what she was doing. To Dan Valentine who shared the inspiration for his pieces as he took a break from a new sculpture he was creating. To Charles Huckeba who took time as he was working on a commission to talk about what he was doing and why the piece was shaped the way it was, long and narrow, to fit a column that was below two other commissions he had done for the same patron. Even chatted with Heather Kinkade, a Gourd Weaver, (though I don’t know that weaver really fits what I was seeing) about the difference of using wood-burning tools to design on gourds versus wood. These are just a sampling of the artists as each that I paused to admire the work was more than happy to chat about their art.
However, one of the best parts for me was observing the artists sharing tips and tricks with each other.
The Arizona Fine Art Expo is running until March 25th, and if you are able to get there I highly recommend it. Pleasant atmosphere, cool artists, beautiful creations around every turn, and if you happen to be leaving around sunset you might catch one of the glorious Arizona sunsets like I did.
Here is a glimpse of some of what you might see while there, including the little bird that was scavenging nest materials while we had lunch at the Expo.
For those paying attention, in the photos they might also spot a holster by Gabriele Stazi that was part of the decor in Monte’s booth. Gabriele is an Italian leather artist who crafts some amazing pieces. I was fortunate enough to meet Gabriele at Monte’s SDCC booth last summer. He brought a suit of armor he had crafted that was simply breathtaking. To learn more about Gabriele check out The Leprechaun.
