Paintings of Mark Innerst

{work of mark innerst via elle decor}

stART at the Station 2010

{scott boilard, speaking to a short customer, about her favorite}

{the short customer liking handmade polymer bracelets, handmade millefiori beads by molly shattuck thomas}

{zentangle inspired bracelets by molly shattuck thomas, my pick for best of show}

{spencerian calligraphy pens of maria thomas, pendragon}

{peas on earth, by maria thomas, pendragon}

{a personal inspiration of mine, maria thomas making magic}

{worcester cartoonist, brian nelson with laurel}

{live statue, a very fun addition to stART}

stART at the Station :: Worcester :: 2010

Worcester loves art and handmade! The traffic in Union Station today was heavy, festive and vendors were selling out! That is a wonderful thing. For as long as stART has been hitting our streets and now our station, people come in numbers, and they are scooping up wonderful gifts of handmade goodness. We purchased two super sweet crocheted hats from Willows Loft, new to stART this year, with incredibly cute knits. Willows Loft hats are available on etsy if you click the link. I should have taken a pic. The short customer is also wearing a fun kitty hat we bought. I hope the vendor catches this so we can find your name. We love the hat and we are planning on wearing it to bed!

A wonderful surprise was finding world renowned calligrapher Maria Thomas with her daughter Molly Shattuck Thomas at stART. If you would like to see her incredible skill in action, calligraphy and zentangle fans alike will love this video, called Betweed. There are alot of Zentangle videos on youtube about 150 as of today, but this one is by Maria herself. She and Rick Roberts are the founders of Zentangle. {Listen to the pen in the very beginning.}

A very successful day for art in Worcester. Big ups to the stART crew for all you do. If you went to stART and made a purchase, please comment here and post what you bought and who created it!

Mumford and Sons

The Art of the Latte

{image of latte in melbourne via apixelforbreakfast.com by silvia susen}

Gracia Festival :: Barcelona

{image via visit-bcn}

In a search for creative and festive holiday decorations, I came across this image of a street festival in Barcelona, called Gracia Festival, which takes place in August. Even the recepticals are festive! {If you are ever in Barca in November, and missing American turkey on the 25th, you can find some Thanksgiving festivities happening, here.}

Baby It's Cold Outside

{image via hgtv}

Ignacio "Nacho" Figueras at Ralph Lauren Commercial

"Kickoff" by Checkerboard, Ltd.

To order this invitation, visit Festival at eInvite, here.

Zentangle: Sharing some Zen

{images of simple zentangles OR inspired art like this by annika sylte via the zentangle blog}

Zentangle, to me means the art of repetitive pattern and self exploration (my words). Everytime I sit to do one, I have a great experience with myself! Zentangle was developed by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and is now making waves all over the world. For good reason, their presentation and personal connection with pen and paper, understanding the principals of meditation and relaxation, and their great knowledge of art, nature and architecture bring new patterns continuously. The simplicity is amazing. They teach you how to break down each one, so simply. Even the novice and the curious can sit for 15 minutes and emerge with a beautiful piece of art!

This post by Annika Sylte caught my eye on the Zentangle blog recently. She has taken her realistic art and intertwined the familiar patterns taught with Zentangle. You may see these patterns everywhere you go, once you start noticing them, it's kind of amazing ALL the details you start to see. Look at the facade of the buildings you pass, the details in old woodwork, the carved frames in your house, the honeycomb of a bee, the bark of a tree...the list goes on. Traveling is incredible once you start noticing all the old world motifs that you don't see in this "new" land we live in. Patterns and motifs have been around for centuries, Zentangle reminds us of our surroundings, and the beautiful things we are lucky enough to notice.

Misty Romanian Morning

{images from romania 2010: crucea eroilor on carpathian mountains, a roadside fern}

Cirque Du Noir 2010

Angela and Michelle/ Cirque Du Noir 2010
Originally uploaded by michellem1

Angela Cannistraro and Michelle May (me) at Cirque Du Noir. Angela's costume was amazing!

Haider Ackermann

haider ackermann
Originally uploaded by f&art

Maybe I can Cirque Du Noir right through the year. Loving this layered combination of weights and textures by Haider Ackermann.

Black Magic in Worcester

{Cirque Du Noir programs donated by checkerboard, image by andreea waters}

{fun vip name tags donated by checkerboard, image by louie despres}

{a beautiful capture of helen sheldon beaumont by louie despres}

{watching the live art fusion by louie despres}

{cirque du noir guests and participating artists, rocking the noir, susurrus din, helen sheldon beaumont, j fatima martins, jeff gemma, antonio fonseca, guybrush threepwood, and thomas caywood.
timed image by thomas caywood.}

Final result are almost complete. There are still a few auction items that are being wrapped up. The evening was so incredible, thanks to all of you Worcester people with serious party pants. There were so many new faces in the darkness, on a Sunday! Many of you asked about the Sunday night arrangement. We are doing everything we can to make Cirque happen on a Saturday next year. It will still be a week before Halloween, but hopefully we can fulfill your request to make it happen on a Saturday!

Thank you to all who came, you looked incredible. Thank you to all the photographers, Amy DeMar, Louie Depres, Mike Hendrickson, Jim Collins, Donna Dufault, and to those guests who shared their photos with all of us.

There are more Cirque Du Noir images via flickr. Please share your images in the group pool!

Shhh, there are some exciting plans in the works for Cirque Du Noir, so stay tuned...

The Art of Antonio Fonseca

{top: image of antonio fonseca from the 20 artists of worcester, photo by scott erb,
bottom: fusion practice image, snapshot by me}

Award winning artist, Antonio Fonseca will be part of the live art fusion at Cirque Du Noir this coming Sunday. I am personally very excited to have Antonio in the mix. After last night's fusion practice and watching him work with sumi-e ink, I am so excited to see what will happen on Sunday!

The Art of John Pascarelli

{images provided by john pascarelli}

John Pascarelli has donated two prints "They Feed Us Poison" and "Blue Horse" to the silent auction for Cirque Du Noir, coming up this Sunday at 7 at The Citizen in Worcester. Proceeds will benefit the Worcester County Food Bank. John is an amazing self taught artist, living in Worcester and we are so pleased to have him on board this year.

John Pascarelli has shown in group shows in Rockport, Shrewsbury and Worcester. Please visit johnpascarelli.com to see more of his work.

Tatiana Plakhova, Floral Concepts shared...

{floral concepts by tatiana plakhova via behance}

a magical world of line drawings and organic colors.
click for the full experience.

A Halloween Celebration for the WCFB

{some of the art auction 2009}

{an incredible piece donated by laura niemi young}

{guests sergio grenados and lisa crislip chatting, the thiffaults in the background}
btw, these above images by me, not the talent you see below...

{costume prize time, john comeau as edward scizzorhands,

tim burton would have been proud}

{everyone watching scott boilard during the art fusion}

{guests admiring the Sprout candy table}

A great time out in Worcester to support The Worcester County Food Bank.

all images from Cirque Du Noir in this post are
courtesy of Mr. Louis Despres

Derek Ring caught red handed...

Will this guy ever leave??
Originally uploaded by Louie Despres

The surprize candy table from Sprout was under siege last year. Guests loved it. This guest, Derek Ring was caught red handed by photographer Louis Despres.

Esthema and Goli: Cirque Du Noir 2010

{images provided by esthema}

Music is so important to me, a love instilled by my family from the first time I can remember. Meaningful events are also shaped and created by music, an auditory experience. Live music, even better, a visual experience. This year for Cirque Du Noir, we are lucky enough to have the Esthema World Fusion Trio back with us. Lucky, because they have been very busy. I am personally very excited to have these amazing guys back with us for a third year. We will miss Bruno and Ignatio this year, but look forward to Andy, Tery and Onur as the Esthema Trio lighting up the noir of the evening. I can't wait to hear them!

Check out their schedule and definately catch them in Boston. Their emotional and heartfelt music transports you. Esthema's sound and unique style will take them to amazing places. Funny, since they are from all over the globe, meet them for yourself. They are a great fit for the event, with so many European guests at Cirque.

Working with them is nothing short of amazing. Andy Milas, the founder of Esthema is one of the most incredible human beings I have had the pleasure of knowing. No joke. He has been an integral part of not only sharing the music, listening to what we needed, and his insight and his experience made me feel confident as the director of this whole event. As a newbie in this arena, Andy has been a great resource for me to turn to. So, thank you Mr. Milas and Esthema for giving Cirque Du Noir and the Worcester community oh so many gifts! You have created a lot of great karma.

Since the release of the Hereness and Nowness of Things, Esthema has been nominated for the Top 25 Award and their composition Eastern Dance hit number 4 on the Instrumental Charts at Indie-Music.com. Esthema is also currently on rotation on radio programs and stations across the United States and in Europe. On September 15 the International Association of Independent Recording Artists (IAIRA) certified Esthema’s Eastern Dance as an International ‘Top 10’. (via esthema.com) Congratulations Esthema!

{image by karen clunes via golimusic.com}

Joining Esthema on the 24th of October, through the tall black iron gates and in the dark recesses of The Citizen and Speakeasy, will be Goli also from Boston. Vessela Stoyanova and Valerie Thompson two lovely ladies playing "chamber music for the modern era", while madly in love with tango, Bartok, and goat cheese". Perfect for the location. Bring on the cheese and chocolate! When they are not playing for the Worcester community at Cirque Du Noir, you can also find them hanging out in Boston and NYC, see where here. Vessela just got back from Bulgaria. We could have hung out at Vama Veche on the border of Romania to discuss our collaboration, but Worcester/Boston will have to due! Although there will be no rikia, I may be able to get my hands on some palinka. Thank you girls for being a part of this art and music event, and for helping us give back to the community while enjoying all this music!

Ooh, and the ART...next post! Look forward to Scott Boilard, Aaron White, Jeff Gemma of Secret Society Tattoo, Emily Quillen, and Antonio Fonseca.

Tickets are now available online, here.

Creative Black/Tickets now online!

{tim burton fashion photographed by tim walker via harpers bazaar}

{tim burton fashion photographed by tim walker via harpers bazaar and chic dash}

{image via hauntstyle posted by model tara renee}

{image by adriana gerasimova via behance}

From your favorite little black dress to full on Tim Burton haute macabre, Cirque Du Noir is a night of magic for all! Last year's costumes were amazing. We had "Dia De La Muerte" winner, Todd Rawley, Tina Zlody as the "Golden Woodland Nymph", as the first and second place winners. Click here if you want to sneak a peek at the 2009 Cirque Fashion captured by Louie Despres. Todd walked away with two tickets for the men's semi finals at the US Open, sponsored by USTA New England via the wonderful Jeff Waters. Tina earned an Adventure pass donated by Vertical World Adventures. I wonder if she has gotten vertical yet?

Tickets are now available online via www.cirquedunoir.org or directly at eventbrite.com and there will be a kickin' prize for orders placed before the 17th of October, so stay tuned! If you can't make it out and you would still like to donate, you can go directly to the WCFB website. We already have one donation of a ticket for someone that can't attend. Thank you to that anonymous donor! This is what it's all about! Love it!

Artists, if you would like to contribute to the art auction, contact me as soon as possible. I would like to get everyones bio/donation image up on the website for exposure. The WOW factor of the donation is exceptional so I would love everyone to see the goods prior to the event! Previous artists are here. Check out their work. Shoot me or Andreea an email if you are interested.

Sponsors, if you are interested in supporting Cirque Du Noir, please drop a line. I would like to include all sponsors on a banner, the website and chat you up all over the place, so connect and we can make this year incredible! Previous sponsors are here. I would like to give huge thanks to all of you again for your contributions to local art, music and celebrations here in Worcester.

Cirque Du Noir Inspiration

{image via vogue italia and fotografiademoda}

{image via vogue italia and tom and lorenzo}

{image of prada via vogue italia and tom and lorenzo}

{image of mcqueen via vogue italia and tom and lorenzo}

Half the reason Cirque Du Noir came to be was my love for fashion, black clothing and celebrations. Until the event I will be posting images for inspiration here on Festival Creative. The event is special in the way that although it is all black attire and assuming everyone has something black, the space gets filled with either costumes or elegant people rocking their black. Another wonderful thing about the event is that it attracts a very diverse crowd to come and either people watch or indulge in the fascination of the live art fusion, the delicious food, or the ethereal music. Sounds of an elegant deep violin and world rhythms help to invigorate curious appetites. If you have not attended before, I have to say, it is a very different kind of event for Worcester.

Taking the talents of local artists and watching them create amazing works of art in front of you is intimate and really fascinating. Watching their faces, the nuance of how they sketch and watching them complete each piece is pretty incredible. All this while listening to really great music. The different groups that come together all for a night of celebrating together is what energized me and prompted me to really think outside the box and get this started. My house was too small to continue on there.

That really motivated me was the fact that at almost 40 years old, I had been waiting for things like this to happen in Worcester. I wanted to go out in the city and experience something artistic, edgy, captivating that transcended all the barriers. Worcester seems to have pockets of people, places and things. In my mind I wanted to intrigue people...to come out and give them something that would highlight what Worcester has to offer. Since my circle is full of creatives, I really wanted to celebrate the incredible artistic talents here in town. I also did not belong to any artists groups, I was not involved myself in any of the artistic communities here in town. My fault. Without knowing much about anything in event planning and execution, I set out to find out that there were many people willing to make it happen. Especially, Andreea Waters of Kai and Gipsy, a creative herself that could really see where I was going with Cirque Du Noir, and jumped in right away. She is my partner in crime on this. Together we spin crazy ideas into reality. I love when that happens.

That was 3 years ago. Today we look forward to working hard to bring another, bigger more magical event to Worcester. If you think it's not for you, think again. This may be just what you have been waiting for! Museum goers, art admirers, art buyers, voyeurs, lovers, foodies, music lovers, curious, adventurous, zombies, politicians, teachers, lovers of fun...if you want to take a night to experience art and music in a new way, treat yourself to this elegant evening of eye candy, yummy food, creative people, and a fabulous night out in town.

The bonus? All proceeds go to the Worcester County Food Bank, just in time to feed so many Worcester families for the holidays. Tickets will be up online soon. They will be $25 in advance and the same at the door.

Big thanks today to:

Checkerboard Ltd. (the company I design for) in advance for the wonderful invitations they are about to print.

Niche Hospitality and the staff at The Citizen/Speakeasy for their incredible and accomodating support.

Cathy Walsh from Sprout, who always brings the fun on!

I also want to thank in advance the artists and musicians who make the event really super cool. Worcester is overflowing with outrageous talent. Come see what they can do!

Anyone new artists would like to be a part of the art auction, please contact me pronto! If anyone would like to donate a piece of art, please include a little bio piece with your donation, so our curator can tell the buyers about you and your work.

You can reach me at mlhiggs2{at}yahoo.com.

Expose yourself...

Take a peek... {click}