Art Birmingham remains Mother’s Day tradition

BIRMINGHAM — The Guild of Artists and Artisans and the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s Mother’s Day tradition will continue this year. The 43rd year of Art Birmingham will take place 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 11 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 12 in downtown Birmingham’s Shain Park.

BBAC President and CEO Annie VanGelderen said Art Birmingham is multigenerational. She often sees grandparents and mothers bring their children to the event year after year.

Art Birmingham is a free and annual fine art fair that will feature approximately 150 jury-selected artists this year. Featured art includes jewelry, ceramics, painting, glass, photography, fiber and more.

“It is fun to go in there and talk to the artists, and the artists are always happy to talk with the fairgoers,” VanGelderen said. “It is a very nice, open and inclusive environment.”

Community favorites such as painter Glenna Adkins, leather artist Yuliya Wolf, sculptor Troy Anderson, jewelry artist Sarah Stanton and ceramics artist Meredith Host will be at Art Birmingham again this year.

New artists will also be featured in the mix, including watercolor artist Ashley Ambrosino, jewelry artist Joe Cyberski, painter Julie Pflanzer, and the featured artist: painter Naomi Hart.

While this is Pflanzer’s first time showing art at Art Birmingham, she has attended the event before.

Pflanzer is from Bloomfield Hills and uses oil paint to create vibrant works of art. She often uses complementary colors and other techniques to make the colors pop off the canvas. She said she calls herself “a colorful maximalist.”

She recently started a new series, which she will bring to Art Birmingham, in which she incorporates figures with flowers. Her piece, “Rumba through the Roses”  includes figurative work of a pair of dancers within a bouquet of roses.

“When people are viewing my paintings, I want them to see something that’s happy and exciting and that brings a smile to their face or lifts their mood,” Pflanzer said.

In addition to the unique art that will be in downtown Birmingham during this event, there will be a children’s art activity tent for children 12 and younger, presented by Lincoln of Troy. The BBAC will provide materials for children to make suncatchers that they can give to their moms for Mother’s Day.

Fairgoers will be able to enjoy food and drink while strolling Art Birmingham. A new addition to the event is the opportunity for visitors 21 and older to sample and purchase cocktails from Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers. Guests are allowed to drink these cocktails as they walk around Art Birmingham.

For more information on the event and participating artists, visit ArtBirmingham.org.