Charles Savoie at Art Fest in Naples this Weekend

Contemporary American Craftspeople will converge on Naples, Florida this weekend for the annual Art Fest.

Our good friend Charles Savoie, whose works can also be seen in the Nourot Gallery in Benicia, will be in attendance.

Craftspeople traditionally head to Florida for the winter circuit.  The Naples show is one that has held it's strength during the recession. This weekend you will see works in glass, work, metal and ceramics, as well as wearables and mixed media art works.

“The Art Fest is a major fundraiser for us each year and we greatly appreciate the community’s support,” said Eden Executive Director Susan Suarez in the release. “Many of our staff members and parents, along with other community members, work as volunteers at the event. We’re able to raise needed funds to support developmental and educational programs for our students with autism.”

Additions this year include a booth featuring art for sale by the students of Eden’s Schools as well as a coloring contest for local children. (See side story.) The fest will also feature an “Art for Autism” silent auction made possible through donations from the show’s artists to directly benefit Eden Autism Services’ programs.

Hobbs is a Natural

Former full time studio glass artisan Joe Hobbs is now taking a job with the Center for Living Arts in Mobile, Alabama. Joe is going from a full time studio glass artist. He says "I've been doing the glass as a career for the last 10 years, which is like 90 hours a week 24/7."

At the Center for the Living Arts he will be registrar, preparator, graphic-designer, and resident artist. The glass making facility is at Orange Beach nearby where he will work at weeks end with Sam Cornman . He will document and catalog art works, deal with artists, ship and receive art work, create emails and handle any design work required. Whoah, sounds like the work of a glass gallery manager!

We at Nourot Glass applaud Joe Hobbs who at 35, is trying to continue his art while joining the league of artists in residence who try to get work done while dealing with Art Center politics, funding issues and the occasional gifted student.

Joe Hobbs has a great name to live up to: Robert Redford immortalized him as the lead character in "The Natural". Hobbs born in Chatnooga, Tennessee was raised in our own Sonoma,California. He has lived and worked glass in the East in places like Atlanta, Chattannoga and West Florida for the last 10 years.

Now he will face the challenge of doing the work of an art center manager together with working on his budding art career.

In May 2010 Hobbs presented his newest art work at West Florida College where he received his BFA. The work: "re-memory" is described as a glass tubing and pump installation.

His work is now on display in the art center gallery "Off-Center" in Mobile.

Joe Hobbs is interested in the tentativeness of episodic memory, such as the ability to remember what you had for breakfast. We say with all this multi-tasking let's hope he can remember if he turned down the lehr!