What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1188924
8 WHAT'S UP! DECEMBER 1-7, 2019 Building On Tradition BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette N ot all artists enjoy selling their work. Juli Odum happens to be one who does. "I LOVE the sales process," she enthuses. "Shows are a lot of work, but finding out about other people is probably why I was put on earth. Now that I have sold Urban Jungle [her interior landscape company], I will be doing more shows." It's not so surprising when Odum recounts how she came to love jewelry, which is her medium of choice. Growing up in Pakistan, Jordan and Switzerland, she often accompanied her mother on shopping excursions to souks and bazaars. "She was quite a bargainer," Odum remembers. "I've made many trips to the largest jewelry show in the world in Tucson and am always looking for interesting natural objects — acorns, rocks, leaves — and old stuff in flea markets," she says of her work now. "I feel comfortable and happy working with metals — bending, soldering, winding, etc. — making lightweight, fun earrings, combining smooth and rough, shiny and dull, sparkly and flat." Odum says she makes a lot of jewelry, so she likes to show her work where it will sell. One of her favorite venues is the Holiday Art Sale, now in its 19th year. Originally housed at the GoodFolk House on Block Avenue in Fayetteville, the show was the brainchild of photographer Don House, who reportedly "had the holiday blues" back in 2001. "To shake them off and create a sense of community for himself, he hosted an open house at his studio in Elkins, inviting a handful of friends to display their work. The group had so much fun that they repeated the show the following year. A tradition was born," says the Holiday Art Sale history. "With the show's success came more artists and a move to a larger venue at the Fayetteville home Courtesy Image Robin Devine creates encaustic photographs of the natural world that are altered through the layering of a beeswax and oil stick pigment. Holiday Art Sale goes beyond Block Avenue beginnings COVER STORY