Fairbury’s First Friday Art Walk Expands

Fairbury First Friday Art Walk Expands To Include More Artists

Downtown Fairbury’s art galleries and specialty stores will be open for “First Friday” coming up Friday, March 1st.  Venues will be opening their doors to visitors from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. as part of the “First Friday Art Walk” in historic downtown Fairbury. The March Art Walk will highlight three featured artists,  a wine tasting and live music amongst four stops, all within walking distance downtown.  Participants in the walk will be given punch cards which can be picked up at any of the participating Art Walk locations. All completed cards will then be placed in a drawing for a grand prize. The winner of the February Art Walk grand prize was Wilma Bartels of Fairbury.

Located at 515 4th Street, New Earth Clay Pottery features locally made stoneware pottery by Bill Robbins of Fairbury and is Fairbury’s only working pottery. The gallery regularly features (for viewing and for sale) functional stoneware pottery, ceramic art, handmade tiles, jewelry, porcelain, paintings, hand-made paper, photography, sculpture and art glass pieces produced by local & regional artists.

The March Art Walk at New Earth Clay Pottery will feature works of photographer Art Whitton (www.ArtWhitton.com). Visitors to New Earth Clay Pottery during the March Art Walk will have an opportunity to meet Whitton and learn first-hand about his work. Whitton’s works will be on display and for sale at New Earth Clay Pottery all month long. “Since moving to Nebraska I have grown to love the landscape. Most of my recent work is large prints of the mid-west landscapes, focusing on the brilliant sunsets,” said Whitton.

The Jefferson County Art Guild is located at 511 5th Street, across the street from the Campbell Bros Circus Mural. The featured artist for the March Art Walk Art at the Jefferson County Art Guild is Cory Carstens of “Art Gone Haywire” (www.ArtGoneHaywire.com). Started in 2012, Art Gone Haywire is in the business of designing handcrafted pieces made from haywire/softwire, copper and other metals, then decorated with paint, beads, gems and/or rocks. “There is such joy found in creating that perfect piece for someone that once I found it, I was hooked!” according to Carstens. Visitors to the Guild will be able to meet Carstens and enjoy refreshments.

Also included on the March Art Walk will be Lady George and The Dragon, located on the east side of the square at 416 E Street (www.LadyGeorgeAndTheDragon.com). Owners Georgia Acker and Myron Peak offer something unique for all ages. Visitors to their shop will find a variety of items ranging from soy scented candles, hand cast chess sets, and carved Viking runes. They have expanded their product lines to include hand blown glass vases, paper weights, figurines of real and fantasy animals, wind chimes and swords.

Visitors to Stagecoach Mall Antiques and Tasting Room can view the “century-old” brick wall and massive limestone fireplace made entirely of sculpted concrete, created by artist Thom Hunt of BB Studios of Fairbury (www.BigBambooStudios.com). Mary Stapaules, owner of Creative Jewelry By Mary of Fairbury is the featured artist for March at Stagecoach Mall Antiques & Tasting Room. Stapaules will be displaying her newest hand-made jewelry designs for show and sale. Custom orders are welcomed!

Live Music, Wine Tasting – New Location!
For the March Art Walk, the Fairbury Elks Lodge will host  a wine-tasting event featuring Glacial Till Winery of Ashland, NE (www.GlacialTillVineyard.com) . Glacial Till will be offering a variety of handcrafted, Nebraska-made wines available for sampling and for sale (must be 21). The Fairbury Elks Lodge will also be featuring the live music of The Dirty Low Dogs of Lincoln, who will be entertaining First Friday attendees from 6 – 9 p.m. To compliment the wines, a selection of nibbles and treats will be available. Tammy Wurm of Plymouth will be preparing hors d’oeuvres featuring products and ingredients from Tastefully Simple (wwwTastefullySimple.com).

A limited number of tickets for the event are available for $10 by calling Julie Katz at 402.613.2063 or by email at Julie@Fairbury.com. Tickets can also be purchased online by visiting www.Fairbury.com. Proceeds from the wine tasting event will benefit local art projects and future First Friday Art Walk events.

Each month, new artists, new locations and new events are featured for the Fairbury First Friday Art Walk. For upcoming First Friday events, log on to www.FairburyFirstFriday.com. Everyone is encouraged to come downtown on First Friday beginning at 5 p.m. Enjoy the art, meet the artists and help support the arts in Fairbury!

(Also see ad in Feb 27 Hebron Journal Register)