Taking place every summer in downtown Baltimore, Artscape is the largest free arts festival in these here United States. It boasts over 150 artists, booths, exhibitions and performances for free. I've gone every year four the past four years in a row and nothing could stop me from acknowledging such a sacred tradition.
Even though I could only stop by for a few hours and I left the memory card to my "good" camera at home, I still managed to snag the details and a few quick pics of some of the coolest booths around. So, in case you missed it, here's a quick recap of Artscape 2016.
Jon Wye T-Shirt Designs
Jon Wye had the funniest t-shirts this side of the Chesapeake Bay -- upon entering his booth I laughed so hard I nearly choked. On the walls were about 40 t-shirts varying in graphic style. My personal favorite? The Donald Trump "Rump" t-shirt, portraying Donald's likeness through a bare behind. The humor was subtle, yet pervasive and I liked that. If you're into that too, check out the website for even more cool tees.
Switchwood Bow Ties
If you've been feeling down in the dumps about your current lack of bowtie choices and looking for a way to spice up your wardrobe, Switchwood bowties might be just the thing for you. With interchangeable ties made out of wood, they're the quintessential example of quirky innovation rampant at festivals like Artscape. Personally, I'd match a wooden bowtie with a long sleeve denim shirt and one of the graphic tees featured above, but honestly, wood kind of goes with anything. So grab a pair and go nuts.
HDR Photography
For some more bonafide artistic skill, I had to look no further than the amazing work of Elizabeth Rodenhizer who uses HDR photography to get the high definition panoramic pictures you can see above. By using 7 different exposures and combining them all together, her show-stopping portfolio (and Artscape booth) was born. Her photos are a lot like waking up in a technicolor dream; the vibrant colors and bright contrast take everyday life to other world standards.
Kitchenware Jewelry
One of the coolest booths I ran into at Artscape was that of Douglas Heifetz who makes these cool pieces of jewelry (and many more) from metal kitchen utensils. His company, Lost & Forged, makes all sorts of beautiful and intricate jewelry out of knives, spoons and forks. Just weird enough to take anyone from basic to bonafide hipster, these pieces didn't just bend the metal, it bent the rules. While it's still frowned up to play with your food, at least you can wear your silverware.
Photos Worldwide
This man traveled all over the world taking awesome photos every step of the way and was kind enough to bring them to an Artscape booth near you. Displayed from wall to wall were photos from New York to Venezuela and everywhere in between. Though I wasn't quite cured of my wanderlust, I was able to get a sneak peak of the cool things the world has to offer if you're open to exploring it.
Photos Under the Sea
This cool dude decided to focus his artistic eye on something super important -- water. Christopher Doherty has taken photos of horses in water, tigers in water and every once in a while some native aquatic animals, too. He takes photographs of one of the most necessary, beautiful and epic parts of the natural world. His pieces, both big and small, were a reminder of how awesome life can be by the water and how far one is away from such awesomeness on a hot day in downtown Baltimore.
Despite the heat, my forgotten memory card and the time crunch, Artscape was a blast and just like all the years before, I left inspired and amazed by the awesome things that human beings are creating every day. While you may have missed this testament to the ever creative human mind, hopefully this will serve as your inspiration to get out, make something and get ready for next years Artscape.
