Hot Art, Cool Nights

The addition of more live music will give the ninth Hot Art, Cool Nights more of a “festival feel,” according to the event’s chairman. The event will be from 6-10 p.m. Friday, May 11.

Seventeen of the venues participating in the art hop will feature bands such as the The John Gray Trio and Rondo Hatton. Once again this year, shuttle buses and vans courtesy of Gerry Lane will be available for attendees, but Liz Walker said that those who are able should consider walking.

“It is daylight saving time and there are a good many businesses within walking distance of each other,” she said.

Art of all kinds by local talent will remain the focus of Hot Art, Cool Nights, which will be centered in the midcity area around Jefferson and Government streets. One hundred artists will be on site during the event.

For artists like Danni Shobe, the art hop is a chance to reach an audience that might not otherwise see or buy their work.

“It’s also a really great party,” she said.

Shobe paints subjects from nature and is best known for her depictions of koi ponds.

“One of the fun things about the art hops is that people will come and tell me about their koi pond issues: drainage, filtration and so on.” Shobe said that she doesn’t want to maintain her own pond. Instead, she finds places around town to observe the luminous fish.

Shobe first became interested in the subject during a trip to Hawaii. Since then, she has been to the islands at least 20 times.

Shobe takes photographs, which she then uses to create her paintings. With time and skill, an artist can learn to paint from photos, Shobe said.

“Koi don’t pose.”

The fish are endlessly fascinating, she said. Each one has distinctive markings and colors so that no two look alike.

Recently, Shobe has begun a new project she calls “Flowers in the Dark.”

“I just felt like painting them,” she said.

Artist Joanne McMullen said that Hot Art, Cool Nights is a chance to meet the people who buy her jewelry.

“Some of the same people come to the downtown arts market as the art hops, so I start to get to know my customers,” she said. “Also Peggy Day (owner of Sabai Jewelry Gallery) makes a great cheesecake for the event.”

A retired LSU administrator, McMullen took up jewelry making as a hobby.

“For my retirement present, my friends and colleagues pooled their money to pay my tuition at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina,” she said.

She learned torch-fire enameling and metalwork, which she uses to make jewelry from copper and other kinds of metal. The rose-patterned etching on some of her metal bracelets was inspired by the way her granddaughter, Rose, wrote her own name.

McMullen also crochets metal, a process that she says is similar to crocheting yarn, except that she uses tiny wires to create necklaces and decorative objects such as miniature baskets and flowers.

“My mother taught me, so I crocheted and taught classes in crocheting for years. My friends suggested that I try crocheting with metal.”

McMullen has started naming her creations, a practice that she acknowledges might make the pieces difficult to part with. “This one’s Moby,” she said, pointing to a whale-shaped pendant.

Hot Arts, Cool Nights participants

1. ABAT-JOUR, LLC, (929-9620), 545 S. Foster Drive, Norma Killgore, Louis D’Angelo

2. Aladdin’s Lamp Antiques (336-0969), 2648 Government St., Dody Sandifer, sculptures & mixed media paintings; Katherine Martin, jewelry

3. Arnold & Associates Interiors, Inc. (343-2702), 3707 Government St., Candace Vallery, paintings; Amanda Mire, jewelry

4. Artists Inside Circa 1857 (235-1504), 1857 Government St., Kerry Curtin, pastels & mosaics; Jenn Prochaska, acrylics; Bridgette Harrington, Lin Bumgardner, mixed media

5. Artvark, Ltd (892-3853), 668 Jefferson Highway, Amy Anderson, stained glass & mosaics; Camille Thibodeaux, oils

6. Atomic Pop Shop (771-8455), 2963 Government St., Kerry Beary, paintings; George Ufford, mobiles; Allie Stevens, photography; Jay Michael, Thomas Wimberly, printmaking

7. Bistro Byronz (218-1433), 5412 Government St., Emily Koro, jewelry; Season Bivens, illustrator, acrylic paintings; Sydney Harkins, photography; Jeannine Dixon

8. Boys Hope Girls Hope of Baton Rouge (346-5095), 3040 Government St., Patrick Tiek, mixed media; Shannen Naughton, brush fire ceramics

9. Brew Ha Ha! (923-1923), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 2A, Ed Fetzer, acrylics

10. Caffery Gallery (388-9397), 4016 Government St., Therese Knowles, “Finding Perspective in a Cup of Tea, ” mixed media & ceramics

11. Chef Don Bergeron’s Mid City Market (927-3998), 714 Jefferson Highway, Sharon Furrate, acrylics & mixed media; Jody Kaiser, mixed media; Joy Petty, oil, acrylic & modeling paste

12. Corks N Canvas (927-7077), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 3A, Alexis Castillo, Becky Hess, Jenna Holmes, Kelsey Cook, Marketa Gautreau, Beth Gold, Jennifer Cupit, mixed media

13. Custom Audio Video (291-0060), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 1B, Madeline Hicks, oil paintings

14. Denicola’s Furniture & Upholstery (357-0370), 2931 Government St., Madeline Ellis, paintings; Michael Patrick Bordelon, photography; Music By WHYR Community Radio

15. Djon’s Restaurant (935-0014), 5255 Florida Blvd., Raven Patterson, acrylics; Claudia Chaudhry, photography

16. Elizabethan Gallery (924-6437), 680 Jefferson Highway, Carol Hallock, oils; Dana Mosby, oils & pastels; Danni Shobe, Kay Lusk, Keith “Cartoonman” Douglas, acrylics

17. Gallery Bohemia (281-7179), 3774 Government St., Alex Harvie, Kelly Floyd, Jill Mulkey, Sarah Lobdell, Lisa Lemulle, TJ Black, David Wandell, Savage Sweets

18. Insurance Associates Of Baton Rouge (408-3333), 4041 Government St., Jeanne Schoeffler, Fushionary Glass Works; Gail Ruth, oils on canvas

19. La Carreta Mexican Cuisine (334-9940), 4065 Government St., Sean Wilson, abstracts; Connie Watts Vincent, acrylics

20. Laurin Maier State Farm (926-5744), 672C Jefferson Highway, Lisa Rainwater, oils; Jeanie Liehe, acrylics

21. Little Beaux Feet (778-7491), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 1A, Jeana Esser, mixed media

22. Mac Consulting Group, Inc. (933-5311), 662 Jefferson Highway, Scott Wilson, Cassidy Breaux

23. Match Point Tennis & Fitness Boutique (246-8912), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 1C, Kelly Lachney, jewelry; Carolyn Fox, acrylics

24. Monjunis Italian Café & Grocery (231-1595), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 4, Mark Nikoff & N The Art Space Artists; Travis Kern, All Natural Soaps From Capric Baths

25. Mosaic Garden (389-0068), 1857 Government St., Sharise Ruiz, Brittany Howard, mixed media; Laura McClendon, jewelry; Pam Steinsiek, pottery

26. Piggly Wiggly (925-1522), 5355 Government St., Benjamin Clanton, Jeanne Brown, Elise Piechocki, Linda Butler, Sandra McDougall Mitchell, Terry Mitchell

27. Planned Parenthood, Gulf Coast (485-6866), 3955 Government St., Suite 2, Sandra Wolle, oil painting on paper; Robin Toller, mixed media/oil pastels on paper, art cards

28. Reginelli’s Pizzeria (231-1313), 684 Jefferson Highway, Taufeeq, mixed media

29. Rotolo’s Pizzeria (930-7555), 5050 Government St., Ellen Feehan-Gray, acrylics & mixed media

30. Rue Cou Cou (343-9722), 1857 Government St., Mickey Asche, oils; Milo Stephens, oils

31. Sabai Jewelry Gallery (926-7980), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 9, Azita Arasteh, acrylics; Randell Henry, mixed media; Joanne McMullen, jewelry; Terrie Day, jewelry

32. Sally’s Circa 1857 (387-8667), 1857 Government St., Nathan Logsdon, metalsmith

sculptor; Dennis Hargroder, Sally Conklin, artist sculptors

33. Shavarsh K Jewelry Design Shop (928-4661), 711 Jefferson Highway, Suite 2B, Diane Smiley, acrylics; David Smith, mixed media

34. Superior Bar & Grill (927-2022), 5435 Government St., Terri Dakmak, watercolors; Stacie James, jewelry; Kathryn Terrell, acrylics

35. Time Warp Boutique (377-8550), 3001 Government St., Josh Holder, H.I.P. Vintage clothing; Lauren Weiner, heavy metal jewelry by LW

36. Victoria’s Toy Station (924-3632), 5466 Government St., Emily Monroe Godfrey, abstracts & landscapes

37. Yvette Marie’s Café (383-0388), 1857 Government St., Sarah Phillips, paintings