Austin, Texas is a town full of artists and craftspeople and people with too much education and too much money not to patronize their work. The result is the perfect environment for a rich selection of art and craft events all year long, but especially at Christmas. The most famous of these are the Spring and Fall Pecan Street Festivals and the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, which draw hundreds of vendors from all over the country. But probably more interesting are the many small events which focus mostly on select local artists whose work is unique and quirky.
For the last several years one of the most interesting of these has been the Blue Genie Art Bazaar which is held at the Monarch Event Center, a converted movie theatre in the Lincoln Village Shopping Center in North Central Austin at the intersection of Highway 290 and IH-35. It's scheduled for the whole month of December and stays open late (9pm and then midnight Christmas week). The unusual name comes from the Blue Genie Art company which is the main sponsor, a company which does large-scale art installations for advertising and signage — giant chickens, vegetables, jackalopes, dinosaurs and the like which have graced local establishments like Jerry's Artarama, Atomic Tattoo, and Hyde Park Grill.
In the last few years I've found the Blue Genie Art Bazaar to be a a far more interesting alternative to more well known holiday markets. Their vendors are juried and selected for the quality of their work and also to make sure there is a nice variety of types of work for sale. They also seem to be selected with a particular attention to the graphic arts and printed works, and an eye for the bizarre which I find particularly appealing.
The selection of vendors this year was a little different from last year, though there was a similar mix of jewelry, crafts, printed works, and original art. Some of the standouts from previous years were still represented. One of the most notable was Rory Skagen and his selection of unusual toys, faux retro products, posters for ad campaigns and movies which never existed, and other oddities. Another standout was Chia Hats which has expanded on their collection of furry hats with ears to add some cute original clothing designs. Also back with their soft bats and mice and other handicrafts for kids was Alicia Traveria.
Article comments
1 - Christine
Sounds great, Dave, and nice to know that you take breaks from politics. Is that a relative of yours on the giant Jackalope? I was born in Texas but have never been back since my mother moved me to California when I was one. Hope to visit some day.
2 - Dave Nalle
That's my daughter Katie on the Jackalope. You ought to come back to Texas. Most of the rest of California seems to have already moved to Austin.
Dave