Yard Full of Art

Yard
Full of Art – Creativity, Innovation With Curb Appeal

Are your begonias lonely? Do your impatiens
impatiently wait around for something new to look at?   Whether you’re thinking of sprucing up your
green space or “personal” space, you’ll want to attend “Yard Full of Art”
(YFOA), a two-day event of art, craft, and camaraderie.  On Friday, June 27 from 10AM to 6PM and
Saturday, June 28, 10AM to 4PM, local artists gather at 375 Uvedale in
Riverside to feature a wide array of fun and functional artworks.

Created by artists
and friends Dawn Sundstrom and Heather Hug, YFOA is celebrating its 10-year
anniversary. This is no small milestone for an event that started with humble
beginnings: a garage sale with a few odds and ends of art thrown in.  Says co-founder Heather Hug, “People came
back the next year wanting more art!”  Hug and Sundstrom saw the response and YFOA
evolved into a sale of its own.  The two
women gradually started getting friends and other local artists involved in the
sale.  Since that time, YFOA has grown in
size and popularity and now includes 8 artists.

Creative
collaborations don’t require similar paths to be successful. The different
backgrounds of YFOA founders found a common element in their love of making
art.  Sundstrom, a self-taught artist, began
creating jewelry about 15 years ago.  Her
work has evolved into different projects incorporating new materials, including
copper and cement, and more recently tiles to create one-of-a-kind tables.  “If I see something interesting I will try
recreating it with my own take on it,” says Sundstrom.

Heather Hug earned a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics and sculpture from the University of
Evansville.  She works with clay, found
objects and mixed media, glazes, paint, paper, and metal. “I use everything in
my work,” she says.

For fans of unique
pieces or art made from repurposed materials, or DIY gardeners bored with geese
wearing bonnets, visitors will enjoy yard sculptures, cement vessels, and even
“attack garden gnomes.”  For “self
decoration” there will be hand painted t-shirts and scarves, and more.

The 375 Uvedale location is
Sundstrom’s yard, which is a work of art in its own right.  Add to that the small event tents that create
an “art city” for the two-day celebration. 
“Some
of my favorite things about our art sales are talking to all the people who stop
by and spending time with my fellow artists,” says Sundstrom.  For Hug, it’s the joy of seeing the yard all
set up with colorful artwork, “It’s the yard art
version of a candy shop.”

For more information on YFOA,
contact Dawn Sundstrom at dawn.sundstrom@sbcglobal.net, or
Heather Hug at heather@hugmunculus.com.