Creating a Future Legacy with a Thriving Arts Community

By Donna Reibslager

Patagonia, AZ. October 6, 2009. This weekend, Patagonia is hosting its 21st Annual Fall Festival. Crowds of visitors stroll past the tents that fill the park, enjoying fry bread and kettle corn, and vendors offer everything from Emu soap to wind chimes. Many of the vendors travel to Patagonia from other areas. Some are veterans of the circuit, following a schedule of art fairs and festivals throughout the season.

The Fall Festival was originally conceived as a way to showcase the wares of Patagonia's many artists, and to draw visitors to its shops and galleries. Unfortunately, today only a handful of local artists participate in the Festival, and many of the town's shop owners say that the crowds that fill the park often don't venture into the town's shops.

Yet Patagonia continues to be a town that attracts artists of every description.  A recent effort to create a roster of the town's artists came up with a total of over fifty, and the bookstore here, Mariposa Books and More, routinely carries the writing of twelve to fifteen local authors, including nationally recognized writers like Phil Caputo and Jim Harrison.
And so, about five years ago, some of the town's artists organized Mostly Mainstreet - The Annual Fall Artwalk. The Artwalk is testimony to the wide variety of talented artists who produce their work here in Patagonia, and art lovers from as far away as Phoenix drive here for the two-day event.
Linda Chase, of Painted House Studio, originated the forerunner of this event about eight years ago. In an effort to market the work of some of the town's artists, she rounded them up, pushed all the furniture out of her front rooms, and hosted a three-day art boutique.  The event was so popular that some customers complained that they couldn't view all the work because of the crowds that filled the rooms. That venture later evolved into Mostly Mainstreet, and it draws visitors in large numbers each year, to browse the galleries, the open studios, and the businesses that host artists in their stores.
Regina Medley, who operates Mesquite Grove Gallery, now organizes and oversees the Artwalk. Regina's gallery has been in operation for over 25 years, and offers a distinctive collection of painting, jewelry, ceramics, clothing accessories, and Regina's own fabric dolls and handpainted wall hangings.
The Artwalk was given the name Mostly Mainstreet because the work of so many artists can be seen by walking a small area in and around the town's two main streets. Creative Spirit Artists Gallery Creative Spirit Artists, on McKeown Avenue, displays the work of over twenty local artists, and includes sculpted wood, fabric art, leatherwork, painting and photography, handcrafted candles and other crafts, and jewelry. Several artists operate their own businesses on the downtown area across from the park, such as Darrell's Designs (silkscreen printed t-shirts), Reserection Linen Design and Bag Project, and Painted House Studio, where intricately detailed fabricwork pillows sit amongst tables and chairs, armoires and mirror frames, all painted in colorful designs.
Just up the street from Painted House is the yard of Mesquite Grove Gallery. Ten or more artists exhibit in the gallery’s spacious yard during Artwalk, selling items such as custom leatherwork, encaustic painting, and woven rugs.  At the rear of the yard is Shooting Star Pottery, the studio of Martha Kelly, who has been selling her handthrown pottery to locals and out-of-towners for many years. Across the park, to the rear of Mercedes Restaurant, is the workshop of Martha's husband, Sol Leiberman, who makes fanciful objects and sculptures from found objects.  The yard outside the shop is a work of art in itself, strewn with creations made from rusted springs and radio dials, vintage shoes and wooden spools, some of which hang from the trees or perch in the limbs.
Just a short stroll from Mercedes Restaurant is Metamorphosis Gallery www.metamorphosisaz.com, owned and operated by Lydia Gonzales, which also carries a unique selection of local artwork, Navajo paintings, and a special exhibit of the landscape paintings of Herb Wood, a retired U.P.S. driver
Other businesses, such as Home Plate Restaurant, 'host' guest artists for the duration of Artwalk. And behind the restaurant, on Smelter Avenue, Artwalk visitors can visit the studios of several artists.
There are too many talented artists to mention here, each one worthy of note. They are part of Patagonia's eclectic character, thriving here on the high mountain air and the proximity to other artists with whom to exchange ideas and share resources. 

This Fall's Mostly Mainstreet Artwalk will take place after Thanksgiving as usual on Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28. So, after The Fall Festival has come and gone, mark your calendar for that 3-day weekend, and see for yourself that art is alive and well in Patagonia!

Overnight lodging accommodations are available in town at one full-service hotel and in a number of bed-and-breakfasts, inns, and ranches in the surrounding areas. You can find a feature on this blogspot  titled "Beds of Patagonia" for listings in a take-away brochure available at the Visitor Information Center or online with this following link: http://patagoniayoucanfinditstreasures.blogspot.com/2009/03/beds-of-patagonia-treasures-to-sleep-in.html