I had the good fortune to be in the workroom of FastFrame in Lafayette one Saturday when owner Anthony Ruiz gave young Sean an impromptu tour of the mechanics that comprise the art of framing. At the end, Sean went and got his mom and immediately started giving her the same tour. With a gleeful grin, Anthony said, “I love it when kids make themselves at home. It means they feel safe.”
What a wonderful gift to give a child — the feeling of safety in a creative environment. Anthony admits he has a soft spot for “kids, the elderly and animals. If you’re at all viable, you’re on your own,” he chuckles.
It’s not unusual for Anthony to donate free framing to children in local schools to underscore the importance of artistic expression in their lives. He has seen the “Wow!” in their faces when they see their sponge paintings, line drawings and watercolors custom-framed and displayed in the FastFrame window on Mt. Diablo Blvd.
Anthony is also a huge believer in supporting artists of all ages in our community. He is using his store as a platform for his beliefs during this year’s Lafayette Art and Wine Festival on September 20 and 21. He will host the opening of “Luck of the Draw,” showcasing the artwork of elementary school children throughout Lafayette. In conjunction with the Lafayette Arts and Science Foundation, Anthony custom-framed the artwork of one child in each grade level who was picked from a hat. After the two days at FastFrame, the artwork will travel around town on display in different venues for several weeks before returning to its proud creators.
Anthony’s views on using the Lafayette Art and Wine Festival to overtly support local artists struck a chord with me, and ignited my annual pondering of one of life’s great mysteries. I have never understood why more local art isn’t featured at the festival. I understand that the event isn’t about art or wine at all. It’s a fundraiser put on by the Chamber of Commerce for Lafayette-based organizations, and it’s about bringing people to the fair city of Lafayette. I understand this intellectually, but my gut can’t reconcile why this city, which has been an active force in a regional arts renaissance over the last few years, doesn’t make more of an effort to showcase its homegrown artists.
The event is eight years old, and for the last couple of years the Lamorinda Arts Alliance and local business which feature art have been fighting for space and pre-event publicity to say, “Hey, if out-of-towners are coming to Lafayette to see art, then they are going to see OUR art.” It always feels to me like they are swimming against the tide of gypsy artists who set up their booths on Mt. Diablo Blvd., having just arrived from the Anytown, California Art and Wine Festival and en route to the How-Many-Art-And-Wine-Festivals-Can-One-State-Have Festival next weekend. Most of the gypsy artists don’t offer anything we can’t find among our local artists, and none are any more talented than we can find here at home.
I want you all to go to the Lafayette Art and Wine Festival, and I want to send you on a mission to support our local artists. They’re not shy about identifying themselves, if you keep your eyes peeled for that sort of information. Talk to the artists in the white cottage across from La Fiesta Square. They represent the Lafayette Arts Gallery and The Art Room. Look around the perimeter of the festival at the businesses in La Fiesta Square and on Mt. Diablo Blvd. and if there’s art in the windows, give them equal time to those who have a booth. And most importantly, stop by FastFrame at 3571 Mt. Diablo Blvd. and give your emotional support to the young artists who are the future representatives of our local arts movement.