SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Art Market Redux was held in Evolve from last Thursday through Saturday.
According to organizer and Shepherd University professor of art Sonya Evanisko, the event featured the work of herself and five other local artists: Sadie Valzetta, Sikara Sokel, Charlotte Puttok, Kalin Gregg and Prema Baughman. This event diverged from the Art Market Evanisko has held annually in the space since 2020, which featured all of the students from her fall semester Art Market Class.
“Shepherd has this space reserved every year for the weekend before Thanksgiving to do the Art Market event. This year, I did not teach the Art Market Class, because I was working on the big gateway project on Alma Bea. We could have canceled the Art Market, but the community has come to expect it and love it and there were so many return community members who want to return and find the unique work that has been made that year,” Evanisko said. “I reached out to a bunch of artists who have done the Art Market before and said, ‘What if we keep that reservation, with a new body of work? And this time, I’ll do it with you!’
“I’ve never done the Art Market in the past, myself. It’s always strictly been done by the students. I’ve always facilitated the experience and taught them how to be an art market artist,” Evanisko said. “We called this a ‘redux,’ because it was a redo — a rebirth over again.”
She noted that the Art Market Class is particularly time-consuming for her, as it requires her to mentor each student one-on-one. It would have been impossible to accomplish this semester, as she was already committed to mentoring each of the 12 students in her mural art class, who were assisting with her mural project on the exterior of Alma Bea restaurant.
The plans for the Art Market Redux began this past May, when Evanisko and a group of incoming seniors and recent graduates from Shepherd’s painting and drawing program were viewing art in Venice, Florence and Rome in Italy.
“The group was all of my top painting majors,” Evanisko said. “We were having a meal together one evening and I said to them, ‘I have this reservation at Evolve. Should I keep it? Would you like to have another Art Market opportunity? Or should I let Evolve give it to somebody else?’ And they all responded, ‘Yes! Yes! Let’s do this!’”
For Puttok, participating in the Art Market for a second year-in-a-row was an opportunity to refine her art sales abilities.
“This was an opportunity for improvement, in how my work relates to people,” Puttok said. “The first time I did it was really experimental. The art I’m selling here this year more accurately represents me, and I wanted to see how people felt about it.”
This year, Puttok’s art was heavily inspired by mythology, featuring images of Bacchus and Medus. But last time, she said her art was more whimsical, featuring sea monsters and “crazy colors.”
“It wasn’t my concern, how I sold this year. I was more interested in seeing how people connected to it,” Puttok said.
