Mat's Santa Fe Gig: ARTfeast

Last night's ARTfeast Edible Art Tour was such a blast! We set up Mat in the hallway of El Centro de Santa Fe (a really cool art gallery mall) and sold tokens to ARTfeasters passing by, headed for art-viewing and treats like creamy green chile chicken soup from The Pantry Restaurant (one of our must-stop-in eateries in town) and curry chicken salad from another yummy restaurant, El Farol. We sold a bunch of tokens and donated all of the proceeds to ARTfeast.  Mat was thrilled!

Mat and Victoria are looking very professional and ready for the ARTfeasters

Mat met tons of new friends and fans, several of whom had heard or read about the Art*o*mat® program and were absolutely delighted to finally see a machine in Santa Fe. Corky and I are very proud to be able to bring the first machine to New Mexico. The tenants of El Centro were eagerly anticipating Mat's arrival and we hear tell that there was some strong competition as to in front of whose gallery Mat should be placed.  We ended up front and center, between The Signature Gallery and the JW Fine Art gallery. No one could miss us if they tried!

El Centro Manager, James Bottorff, thinks Mat is the coolest! He loved the origami art his token redeemed.

ARTfeast Managing Director, Diane Deane, delights in showing a customer the painting she got from Mat

Mat was very inspiring to some of the teachers that attended ARTfeast (whose students benefit from the money raised for their art programs) and their eyes lit up when I told them that, yes, artwork from student groups can be submitted to Art*o*mat® and ultimately placed in machines all over the country.  I bet Clark Whittington will get several Santa Fe art submissions based on the amount of creative juices flowing that night!

Rachel and Leah came from Denver to enjoy ARTfeast.  They had a hard time choosing which art to buy...

Mat met a really nice teacher named Gretel from Cerrillos, NM who allowed us to take her photo with the art she bought and she wanted to say "hi" to her daughter, Anastacia, who is studying abroad in India and may log on to this blog.  If she does, Mat says "hi" too and hopes she enjoys the fine art silk screened hankies that her mom bought for her as an ARTfeast souvenir.

Gretel from Cerrillos, NM loves the "fine art silk screened hankies" she bought from Mat

It was a great event overall and we were happily exhausted after a full day of volunteering, selling ARTfeast tickets in the office, and taking turns standing by Mat and telling the Art*o*mat® story to all of the feasters.

Saturday night was the ARTfeast Gala Gourmet Dinner and Auction, and we were proud to be at Director James Bottorff's beautiful table (Mat is not all that into gourmet food so he decided to stay home). The school kids made all of the place mats (120 of which eventually became "I Made It" plates to bid on at the auction) which we got to take home as a souvenir, and they also made 12"x 12" paintings for the centerpieces (that were also available for silent auction).

Table setting at ARTfeast Gala Dinner and Auction. Centerpiece paintings and place mats created by the students.

Victoria with ARTsmart Director, James Bottorff at the Gala.

The "I Made It" plates in the silent auction sold for big bucks and Corky and I were lucky to have "won" three of them (not pictured). All of which have been given to and will be on permanent display at The Pantry Restaurant.  We hope that our plates' student artists, Jasmine, Aryanna, and Alex, will bring their friends and family to "visit" their plates at the restaurant for years to come!

"I Made It" plates silent auction at ARTfeast's Gala Dinner

Silent auction of "I Made It" plates -got very competitive!

A themed set of 12 student made "Postcards from New Mexico" plates sold at ARTfeast for thousands at the Gala.

The individual "I Made It" plates sold for hundreds of dollars and the sets of 12 sold for thousands.  It is going to be a very successful year for ARTfeast indeed! The next morning was the ARTfeast Artists' Brunch where there was another set of 12 plates up for live auction. We were delighted to find out that the teacher whose students created the "Butterfly" plate collection was none other than our good friend Gretel!

Gretel stands proudly by her students' set of 12 butterfly "I Made It" plates for live auction at ARTfeast's Artist Brunch.

Close up of the butterfly set of ARTfeast "I Made It" plates

Wow, that was a busy and fun-filled weekend of fundraising. Now that our gig is over, we will be spending some quality relaxation time in Santa Fe before packing up the minivan and driving Mat ever eastward, towards Winston-Salem!