Spring is here, and so is the annual local art fair held at Alice’s Restaurant in Woodside. At the top of Skyline’s winding, redwood-lined roads, the event brought a splash of color to the cozy roadside restaurant and featured several talented artists who presented their vibrant crafts and art ranging from ceramics to jewelry.
The art fair featured live guitar music and drew guests to the patio of Alice’s Restaurant. Surrounded by booths of local artists, visitors observed displays of handmade work while enjoying the restaurant’s dinner bites.
Artist Melody Weber works with resin art, preserving plants and fungi in multiple forms. “I love nature, and I try to forage my own flowers, mushrooms, moss, anything that I can find locally,” Weber said. “I dry and preserve it in epoxy resin and these little pendants and other small trinkets.”
Her stand featured numerous different resin crafts ranging from small trinkets like pendants, good-luck charms, and keychains to large displays. They all featured a tiny floral or fungi arrangement frozen in time. “I try to encapsulate a tiny piece of nature in each of my pieces,” Weber said.
Wildlife photographer Charles Clark, who travels to capture images of animals and landscapes, displayed a collection of vibrant photographs ranging from seascapes to a small bird taking flight. His background as a naturalist and environmental educator led him to use photography to help others understand the natural world.
Clark focuses on “capturing the personalities of the animals,” according to his photography website. Clark aims to inspire viewers to explore the outdoors for themselves. “Find [your] own special moments,” he said on his website.
Silk Artist Natasha Foucault, who has been painting for over four decades, showcased her intricate work, including wearable art pieces, scarves, and home decor. “It’s everything, not just one thing. I do wearable and fine art on paintings, curtains, pillowcases,” Foucault said. “It’s all unique, one-of-a-kind clothes that can’t be machine work, because it goes through the process of steaming.”
Originally from Moscow, Foucault studied at an art academy, originally working with ceramics and etching materials, before she had to stop because of health problems. As a result, she turned to silk painting and developed her own techniques to create detailed textures, with her favorite material to paint being glass.
Foucault has her art featured at a gallery in Half Moon Bay. “The name is Silken Stone. It is my work and the work of other local artists,” she said.
Lavender farmer Mardi Herron works at Half Moon Bay Lavender in La Honda, where she grows and harvests around 1,000 lavender plants, which were first planted in 2015. She uses the dried lavender to create a wide variety of products, including sachets with the scent, body pillows, eye pillows, and neck pillows.
“I harvest in June, dry the lavender, and then strip it to make sachets and pillows and other handmade items,” Herron said. Additionally, Herron distills lavender into essential oil, using a copper machine. “All my products are straight from the lavender that I grow,” Herron said.
Ceramic artist Roselyn de Jesus showed off her wide variety of ceramic plates, cups, and dishes. She uses vibrant colors, making the pieces pop to highlight the intricate designs etched onto each work.
“I started pottery in high school, and before I did pottery, I used to make wedding cakes,” de Jesus said. “So a lot of the things that I learned making wedding cakes transferred easily to pottery, and that’s why a lot of my things have a lot of floral textures.”
De Jesus described the time and care that goes into making her ceramic pieces, which begins with sculpting the clay designs. “The first firing is 12 hours,” she said. “It then gets glazed, so I put the color on, and then the second firing is eight to nine hours.”
Her favorite pieces of pottery are her hexagonal mugs because they are hand-sculpted, instead of made on a pottery wheel.
Candle-maker Renee displays her assortment of custom wax candles, ranging from floral designs to realistic apple candles. She uses an assortment of colors, making her candles pop out, using rose pinks, lavender purple, and turquoise. Renee began candle-making three years ago, first as art therapy. She has since begun selling them.
Displayed on the side are resin crafts Renee’s daughter made, from earrings to keychains, to coffin-shaped containers, all crafted with a green-to-blue ombre.
From silk painting to wildlife photography, artists at the local spring art fair brought much diversity to the restaurant, making lively chatter and good discussion.
