Vertigo Coffee, located at 81 Fourth St. in San Juan Bautista, will present the "Hunter's Moon" pop-up art show and costume party from 3-8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21. The art show will be made up of work from local artists. Attendees can meet artists and get in the Halloween spirit.
Ryan Morris, with Vertigo, told BenitoLink by email, "We are calling this the Hunter's Moon Art Show, because that is the name of the Full Moon of the month. This will be our third show of the year and each has celebrated the season and month they were in. They've been named after the Full Moons of each month. April: Pink Moon — spring-themed; July: Thunder Moon — summer-themed; October: Hunter's Moon — fall/Halloween-themed. nd we hope to start next year with a show in January which would be called the Wolf Moon Art Show, and do the whole series all over again."
Vertigo started these shows initially as a way for its employees and friends with a creative streak to have an outlet to showcase and sell their work. Morris explained that within San Benito County there aren't many opportunities for younger artists to participate in shows like this. It's a chance for the public to catch on to up and coming artists, support them and get their work before they're "known" and more expensive.
"We're bringing back many of the artists that we've hosted all year long to see how their work has progressed, as we do prefer that the artists work between shows to create new pieces that fall within the theme of the show and the season," Morris wrote.
Vertigo hopes the shows will grow to include more artists, since they plan to start the series over again next year. "We want the artists to create work that is fresh, hand-made and relevant," Morris wrote, "and not dig up old pieces from their garage that have been collecting dust."
Bryan West, an experienced artist, made the flyer for the "Hunter's Moon" show.
As for the artists who are just getting started, Vertigo has the work of Hailey Kemp, who makes women's clothing such as bralettes.
With customers anticipating the work of each artist before the show, the artists have updated their followers on what they can expect to see. There will be artists bringing hand-made jewelry (Amanda Marshall-Knapp), embroidery (Maira Haight), metal sculpture (Chris Woods), as well photography, painting, illustration, pins, patches, and more.
Vertigo will be decorated for Halloween and costumes are strongly encouraged. The staff will be in costumes and there will be a costume contest with prizes for the winners.
"We're also featuring some of the best in local beer, a special food menu for the evening, and some great music provided by our friend and avid vinyl collector DJ Aloexvera," Morris wrote. "The other reason we continue to have these art shows is that they've been a lot of fun for us, for the artists, for the community, and very well attended. It's our first year hosting these events, so we're still figuring it all out, but that being said, we're pretty good at throwing a party here at Vertigo Coffee Roasters."
And he's right, the art shows are typically a hub of activity and a bright spot in the county's homegrown event calendar.
