ON DECK: New Collaboration Offers Gnarly Twist on Art
local skate shop and Artfly collab for funky new art show
Measha Vieth, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
Skating on into the Valley is a gnarly new art show, Art on Deck, that is sure to bring a plethora of folks together. Artists and business owners, Chris of Passion Board Shop and Kelsey Wenberg of Artfly, are hosting a distinctive art show for folks of all ages and artistic backgrounds to participate in.
The canvas in question? Skateboards that once graced the halfpipe.
“I personally paint on boards a lot. … There’s no resale value with a broken board and you’re not supposed to put it in recycling because the compactor could break, so what are you gonna do with it?” Chris said. “People just have them sitting around with nothing to do with them.”
Chris and Kelsey crossed paths through ColorBlock – a mural program that has helped brighten downtown E.C. – a couple of years back and have since begun brainstorming ways they could combine their mutual interests. “What’s cool about Art On Deck is that every artist is starting from the exact same place – a used skateboard deck,” Kelsey explained. “Every single artist is going to approach their deck differently and that’s what is exciting.”
Artists can create whatever they want on the boards, whether it be paintings, woodwork pieces, mixed media, or collage work – you name it!
“There’s no one art scene in Eau Claire; there’s visual arts, culinary arts, musical arts, theater arts, so many more, and within those, even more subgenres,” Kelsey said.
“The goal of an ArtFly show is to create a reason to bring everyone together,” she continued. “That’s when ideas and collaborations meet, and who knows what amazing things can come of that!”
Those stoked about decking out some decks can get up to three for free from Chris at Passion Board Shop (218 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire). Final masterpieces are due by April 22 to the shop and will be on display at the Art On Deck Artist Reception, held at Passion Board Shop, on May 6 at 1pm.
Accompanying this rad art collab will be an uber-delicious offering of pizza from CoVizza and some live tunes (TBD). After the reception, the artwork will be displayed at Racy D’Lenes Coffee Lounge (404 Riverside Ave., Eau Claire) through July, with an Art Talk taking place sometime in June.
“This is a perfect opportunity for somebody who’s never been in an art show, or doesn’t have any experience, to be in their first art show,” Chris said. “(And) not only be in their first art show but then have their art go on display publicly for an exhibition, for over a month.”
To stay up to date with Art On Deck, follow @artflygallery and @passionpod on Instagram and Facebook. To grab a board to get to work creating your own masterpiece, stop into Passion Board Shop (218 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire) today.
