31 Days of Art

For all 31 days in January, artists in Lansdale, the Philadelphia region, the Indian Valley and the Lehigh Valley, have been creating and tinkering with their masterpieces in preparation for an inaugural event this Friday in Lansdale.

The Lansdale Fun-A-Day Show comes to ’s upstairs ballroom Friday night at 8 p.m. Admission is free.

Since Wednesday night, organizer Amy Rims, who also sits on Lansdale’s 311 W. Main Street Task Force, has been setting up for the show and welcoming artists who are taking part in the event.

“I can’t even give an answer as to how many are coming,” she said. “I networked this show through a bunch of local artists, and they spread the word to another artist and so on.”

Rims was still setting up the show on Thursday evening, as artists are still compiling all their work to exhibit Friday night.

“They didn’t have to do a single project every day – although some did – but they just had to work on a project of art every day in January,” Rims said.

Rims was inspired for her exclusive Fun-A-Day Show by the originators of the concept, The Artclash Collective. This is a Philadelphia-based group of artists who organize art projects and shows with a fun and inclusive aspect to them.

The Artclash provides artists with release forms and ideas on how to promote such a show, Rims said.

“I participated last year in West Philly, but this year, I decided to do it in Lansdale,” Rims said. “It’s better for the community and it’s easier on me.”

Artists who got wind of the show became involved with it, she said.

“It’s really an open event. There’s no idea actually in determining how many are involved. I’ve been in constant contact with a few artists, and it’s nice that the came out (Wednesday night) and brought friends. There’s the possibility of more coming (Friday night).”

Some local artists taking part in Friday’s Fun-A-Day include Kristen Heffintrayer, Kynn Peterkin, Rims, Jay Reimers, Ben Robinson, Schwa Rox, Bobbi Shaw, Denine Wish, James Heimer, Alysen Moore, Rosalynd Orr, Holly Wilson, Ken Nichols, Kim Saddel, Chloe Sherman-Pepe and Anthony T. Forbes.

Rims said some artists are selling and some artists are not selling their works.

The event will feature a Millionaire’s Auction. A few artists decided to put one piece aside for the auction. Attendees buy a ticket for $1 and place the ticket in the jar next to their favorite piece of work. The more tickets, the more chances to win.

The event will also feature music by local musician Brian Medlin, who also plays in Wives and Person L.

Artclash members Sammy and Corey will perform at the show with their mix of singing and laptop illustrations via screen projection.

Michael Ricciardi, owner of Third and Walnut, has opened the upstairs ballroom for Rims to use for the show and its set-up. Entrances will be open on Walnut Street so attendees don’t have to walk through the bar. There will be food and drinks available to purchase from Third and Walnut’s selections.

Since there is no charge for admission, there will be a jar for donations to contribute for future shows and to help offset the cost Rims has put out for rental of shelves, tables, racks and fliers.

The Lansdale Fun-A-Day is a once-a-year thing, Rims said.

“After this, I plan on doing more shows this year,” she said.

There will be excitement on both sides of the fence – for those who are the artists and for those who are not involved in the arts.

“I think it will be welcoming to the public who may not know much about art – they can listen to some music, enjoy the works of art, talk to the artists, and get a ticket to win some artwork,” Rims said. “It’s not like when you go to other galleries and you see art for thousands of dollars that you cannot afford.”

“I think art is inaccessible to some, and I want to make it accessible and easy to understand,” she said.

Furthermore, the Fun-A-Day gets artists that aren’t involved in shows to come together and encourage the art community to grow.

“I live here in Lansdale and a lot of artists are from Lansdale,” she said. “I do want Lansdale to be a better place.”

With the current non-existence of First Friday in Lansdale since organizer North Penn Community Network dropped the event, Rims sees the Fun-A-Day as the start for businesses and people to begin their own First Friday events.

“This is existing now, and I’m doing something for ‘First Friday.’ I don’t think something like First Friday should be for-profit; it should be community-based. Every venue and business can just take the initiative and do something,” Rims said. “Hopefully, it will inspire people to do something on their own.”