The end of August marks the beginning of harvest season — crush season — for wineries throughout Wine Country. On Labor Day, artists in Fairfield and across Solano County are coming together for an important seasonal celebration of their own.
The Crush, an annual open studios event, is dedicated to showcasing local artists in Fairfield. Four local galleries and home studios will open their doors to visitors. This is the second year that event organizer Dennis Ariza has worked to broaden the scope of The Crush by bringing in multiple locations and more artists.
Last year, The Crush branched out into eight different locations. This year, it is scaling back and working out some of the kinks, says Ariza. The event will cover four locations and highlight the work of 25 local artists including ceramic artists, jewelry workers, watercolor and acrylic painters and more.
One of those artists who will be showing at Village 360 Winery is Carl Bradford III. An artist and a musician for as long as he can remember, Bradford, who lives in Vacaville, spends most of his time creating mixed-media portraits of jazz musicians.
“I’ve been affected by (jazz) my whole life,” he says. Bradford’s early experiences with jazz feel like a nearby memory, his father playing music throughout his childhood. “It’s like waking up on a Saturday morning — Sunday morning — for breakfast, hearing Sarah Vaughan.”
He developed a greater understanding and appreciation for the genre as he developed his own skills as a jazz drummer. He even got to play with the Count Basie Orchestra once as a child before a performance.
“Here I am swinging as hard as I could swing,” Bradford remembers with a laugh.
That love of jazz is infused in all of his artwork. “I try to represent the industry and keep it alive,” he says.
Bradford, who has shown at The Crush before, says that it is his favorite event of the year.
“We have such a cool diverse group of people, you know, it’s great,” he says. He loves seeing the same people come back year after year to check in on his latest work, whether it be a portrait of a new jazz musician or a painting of a classic performance. “We try to bring it every year,” says Bradford.
Bradford and Ariza agree that bringing so many artists together for this event helps light a spark in them creatively. “It’s been educational,” says Ariza. “I’ve learned more about art from seeing their work and seeing how they can create it.”
Ariza, the President of the Fairfield Suisun-City Visual Arts Association and the founder of Fairfield Arts in downtown Fairfield, is about as connected with the local arts community as anyone could be. He says over the years, he’s gotten to know all of the artists that will be showing their work at The Crush and their work has “given me some great ideas on things to do.”
The four locations featuring artists are Village 360, Fairfield Arts, The Jane Loveall Studio and the FVAA Solano Town Center gallery. In addition to the art, the various locations will feature live music by Quiet Nacho and AMAZE, food and wine by BackRoad Vines.
Learn more at fvaa-arts.org
If you go …
- WHAT: The Crush Open Studios
- WHEN: Sept. 1, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- WHERE: Various locations.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.thereporter.com ’
