Bonita's Art League offers annual shopping, demo day

The league will hold its second annual Holiday Shopping and Demo Day from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, at the Center for the Arts on Old 41. The doors are open to everyone.

While it's called the second annual event, it's really the first time the league has thrown a shopping day quite like this one, with 16 artists on hand selling and demonstrating their art. Last year the league had two weekdays where members could come in and purchase gifts from a variety of artists; while it worked, it wasn't the success they'd hoped it would be.

So this year they thought bigger.

The league invited 16 artists who all have items in the league's consignment shop, the Turtle Gift Shop, to participate. Saturday, just like in the gift shop, the league will get 35 percent of each sale, which will go toward operation of the Center for the Arts.

The artists will be selling and demonstrating a little bit of everything, including jewelry making, spinning, pottery, embroidery, glass beads, Ukrainian eggs, Christmas ornaments and even bronze sculptures.

"We have a good selection from $2 to $2,000 because we know they are taking gifts home to the baby-sitter or the dog-sitter up to a painting for the home," said Joni Loehnis, membership services and gift shop coordinator for the league. "It's like a dinner party. One year everybody wants margaritas and the next everybody wants gin and tonics. It's the same with artists, one year everything is magnets and the next it's not."

Cheri Dunnigan will be selling jewelry and Christmas ornaments and will demonstrate throughout the day how she makes the pieces.

"I think it increases the awareness in the community, especially with children, that things can be hand-crafted," she said. "I really enjoy showing and letting people know you can create things in very simple ways."

Last year Dunnigan did very well at the league's sale and hopes she is prepared to meet the onslaught of shoppers the league is predicting this year.

Frank de la Roche is hopeful he'll sell a few pieces of art, like the $6,000 bronze "Midnight Magic" sculpture of two dancers, but that isn't the important part of Saturday for him.

"It will be more fun to think people will be exposed to the arts and it won't cost them a dime but they should at least come out and see what local people are creating in their own hometown or their new hometown," de la Roche said. "I think are galleries are intimidating. Here they can walk in and people are going to be talking about what they love to do and if they fall in love with it they can buy it."

For more information second annual Holiday Shopping and Demo Day, call 495-8989.

Contact Staff Writer Kristen Smith at 213-6043 or kmsmith@naplesnews.com