Menlo Park Sidewalk Arts and Crafts Fall Fest

Downtown Menlo Park plays host to the Menlo Park Sidewalk Fine Arts and Crafts Fall Fest Friday and Saturday, October 3 and 4 from 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday, October 5 from 10 am to 5 pm. This art-filled family event will give visitors the opportunity to browse and shop among the many one-of-a-kind creations displayed in charming downtown Menlo Park by a variety of talented artists.

Taking place along Santa Cruz Avenue off El Camino Real, the Sidewalk Arts and Crafts Fall Fest is free to the public and features an exciting array of original works by more than 90 artists and craft makers including paintings, jewelry, photography, unique wood items, clothing, accessories, toys and much more. All of the artists will be on hand to visit with patrons while some will be demonstrating their craft during the show.

This year’s featured artists include:

Willow Laland-Yielding

Studio: Healdsburg

Medium: Oil paint and canvas

Art: Original paintings and limited editions

Creative Process: “Color is about light in motion and it is reflecting or being absorbed by all that is around it. I infuse as much of the spectrum into my paintings as possible,” says Willow. “I start by painting my composition in the opposite colors they will end up being, then add at least 10 transparent layers of various colors until I have achieved the desired effect. So many people love my paintings at their earliest stages that I have created limited editions as my Graphic Fauve Series. I continue to paint on the originals until you can sense the different elements: the breeze through a vineyard, the softness of a feather, the taste of the wine.”

Zeny Cieslikowski

Studio: Corte Madera

Medium: Photography

Art: Cityscapes

Creative Process: Zeny began his fine art photography career by photographing France and Spain in 1967. His professional time was divided between commercial pictures and fine art until 1984, when fine art photography became his sole profession. Unlike many photographers, Zeny personally prints both his color and black and white images to insure the proper interpretation of the original negative. His cityscape images are from cities such as San Francisco, New York, Venice, Rome, Florence, London and Paris. Other photos were taken in Mexico, Napa and Sonoma counties, Tuscany, New Mexico and Provence. Zeny was honored in 1990 when Stanford University presented a portfolio of his original photographs of Stanford to President and Mrs. Mikhail Gorbachev as the official gift from Stanford University to the President of the Soviet Union.

Fleurette Sevin

Studio: Walnut Creek

Medium: Glass

Art: Jewelry

Creative Process: Fleurette makes jewelry and accessories with a focus on recycled glass and materials. Most of the jewelry is made out of recycled glass, using traditional lampwork (a type of glasswork where a torch or lamp is primarily used to melt the glass) and kiln forming techniques that are adapted to use with recycled glass bottles. Sandblasting and incorporating other recycled materials adds dimension and interest to her pieces. “My materials and styles can vary widely; from traditional Italian lampworked beads to recycled glass incorporating industrial materials,” says Fleurette. In addition to jewelry, her other products include pens, bottle stoppers and hair sticks made out of traditional, multicolored lampworked glass.

For more information about the Menlo Park Sidewalk Arts and Crafts Fall Fest, contact the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce at (650) 325-2818 or Pacific Fine Arts Festivals at (209) 267-4394 or www.pacificfinearts.com. You can also see more information on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PacificFineArts and on Twitter @PacificFineArts.