3 Things You Missed at the Winter Art Gala

Last Friday evening, Mystic Museum of Art opened its current show, Holiday Fine Art and Artisan Gift Salon, and what a night it was.

This show is very different from MMoA’s usual exhibitions. First of all, it isn’t juried so the amount of submissions is incredible. There are nearly 300 pieces on the wall now, and that doesn’t even include all the items artist vendors have created for the Gift Salon. Secondly, the art you see today might not be the art you see tomorrow because this exhibit is constantly changing. Why? Because everything is for sale! Unlike most exhibitions where art lovers have to wait for the exhibit to end before taking home their art, buyers can literally peel the art right off the wall, march it up to a MMoA staffer to pay, gift wrap it (by us for free!) and take it home on the spot.
As a special boon to the artists, MMoA invites them to replace sold works with new ones. That means more works by more of your favorite artists and more exposure for the artists. Awesome, right?
Wondering what else you missed? Read up below. But don’t worry too much, the exhibit is up through December 29, so you still have a chance to get some great gifts for the holidays, and you can bet your buttons your recipients won’t be getting two of those this year.
1. The chance to meet the artists. One of the biggest highlights from the Winter Gala is that most of the participating artists come out to talk about their work like Laurie-Annya Linfott of “For the Birds”. When we happened by Laurie’s table Friday night she showed us her adorable, hand-sewn, felted wool birdhouses made out of recycled wool sweaters. She also has solar lanterns made from vintage canning jars that are filled with sand, seashells, and beach glass. Believe it or not, the birdhouses naturally shed rain too.

These meet-and-greets are nice, especially if you purchase jewelry (like this blogger did), because you can exchange contact information with the artist and follow up on the durability of your purchase. It will make your life much easier if a clasp breaks, or you need to fix something later on, and your feedback/testimonials help the artist refine their work and promote themselves. See the artists.

2. Delicious food & wine. We try to keep it local as much as we can, which is why we invited Mystic Soup Company to whip up a creative spread of soups for our guests this year, which included a delicious Vegetable Chowder and Pumpkin and Pear Nectar. Both were yummy and served with a side of Mesclun, Roasted Red Peppers, and Blue Cheese Salad or Fennell, Grapefruit, Almonds, and Greens Salad. And there’s no way we could forget dessert: Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Peppermint Truffles. Delish.

3. Tax-free Shopping. Another great feature of the Winter Art Gala is the fact that you can save some serious dough, because we offer all items for sale, tax-free during the event. In fact, every year during the opening weekend of this exhibit you can shop tax-free (take note for next year).