Photography courtesy of Schlafly Beer
Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood plays host to Art Outside this weekend.
For the eleventh year running, the folks at Schlafly Beer are hosting Art Outside on the same weekend as the Saint Louis Art Fair in Clayton. The festivals serve as perfect entrée into art for people who don’t necessarily frequent galleries year-round.
So what can fair-goers expect at Art Outside? “Local beer, local artists," says Schlafly event coordinator Susan Haberer.
All of the 52 artists at the juried festival are based within a 125-mile radius of St. Louis. They represent such disciplines as jewelry, fiber art, printmaking, and graffiti. Among the must-see work: prints from Firecracker Press' Eric Woods, fiber works from artist April Tate, the textile stylings of Olive Kraus, fine-arts digital graphics from Mark Hurd, and fantastical ceramic creatures from Jimmy Liu.
Then there's the beer. With the festival held at Schlafly Bottleworks, thirsty adults will find plenty of options both inside and outside the brewery. There’s even a festival-specific brew, released on Friday in limited quantities: Rye IPA will be on draft at both Bottleworks and the Tap Room, and it will be available in 750-millileter bottles, with a special-edition label by local artist Peat Wollaeger.
Lest the beer-drinkers have all the fun, there’s plenty else afoot, including kid-friendly programming. Yucandu Art Studio, Artscope, The Turner Center for the Arts, and ArtMart will offer do-it-yourself art projects. And storytellers and puppeteers will be on hand. The Paul Vandivort Puppet Show pulls a few strings on Saturday at 2 p.m., and storyteller Georgy Rock spins a yarn afterward, at 3:30 p.m.
Finally, there's the music. Miss Jubilee and the Humdingers kick off the party on Friday at 5:30 p.m., with Dawn Weber and the Electro Funk Assembly wrapping up the night. On Saturday, Frank Heyer, Ransom Note, Jungle Fire, and Née perform. And The Root Diggers round out the musical offerings on Sunday.
