Enough already with the novelty boxer shorts and trendy electronic gewgaws! Show some creative moxie this season and give that special someone on your Winter Solstice Holiday of Choice list something that’ll soothe and stimulate her/him for years to come. I’m talking art, of course – specifically Austin-made art. You’d be astonished how much a homegrown painting, drawing, sculpture, or print can make a humdrum wall or corner crackle with excitement and make you feel part of the city’s creative community.
I know, I know, choosing a work of art for someone feels like this huge risk, with much greater potential for disaster than picking out, say, a sweater. But this isn’t a marriage. You’re not buying a house. It’s art. You can be as simple or modest or whimsical as you like. There’s every kind of work imaginable. Just go looking until you find something that looks like your best beloved. Trust me, it’s out there.
Where to start? Well, one blessing of the Yuletide is the abundance of places showing large numbers of local artists together. One terrific one is the Blue Genie Art Bazaar, now in its fourth year. The big Blue Genie warehouse behind the Goodwill store on Springdale Road is stuffed with works by more than 80 artists and craftspeople, from the counselors at alternative gallery Camp Fig to Eyebeam cartoonist Sam Hurt to the jewelry and purse makers of the Naughty Secretary Club. (For a full list, visit www.bluegenieart.com.) The bazaar is open from 10am to at least 9:30pm every day between now and Dec. 19, and admission is free.
An equally hot spot is the “Xmas Expo” at Gallery Lombardi, which features work by local artists and artisans from Brian Alesi to George Zupp, more than 60 in all (including Chronicle Arts writer Rachel Koper). A number of the up-and-comers covered in these pages through the year are exhibiting here. The “Expo” is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon-6pm, and it extends well after Christmas in case you have a little cash left over and want to splurge on some art for your own self.
The Blue Genie Art Bazaar runs Dec. 9-19 at Blue Genie Art Industries, 916 Springdale. For more information, call 444-6655 or visit www.bluegenieart.com.
The “Xmas Expo” runs through Jan. 6 at Gallery Lombardi, 810 W. Third. For more information, call 481-1088 or visit www.gallerylombardi.com.
This article appears in December 10 • 2004.