BEDFORD – The Bedford Public Library’s Bad Art Night happened yesterday at 4 p.m., and was a blast for all involved. With an assortment of craft supplies ranging from paint and clay to pipe cleaners and oh-so-paintable rocks, the only limit was your creativity.
Attended by roughly twenty guests, Bad Art Night turned into a fantastic time. Attendees loosed their creative side and relaxed into the fun without a need for perfection or making something “good”.
That doesn’t mean, however, that good things weren’t created.
Many of the guests came with friends or family. Devena Sowders, Jamie Roub, and Angela Girgis attended together. They sat near one another and laughed and talked like excited children throughout. When the event began, Devena rushed around to the tables, eagerly claiming a small tin can for her planter project. “I feel so greedy” she laughed, sitting down with the can proudly displayed.
Ruth DeWell, who seemed to have missed the memo on the “bad” aspect of the art night, created a beautiful painting depicting raspberry bushes against a fence.
Another lovely group of friends that came together were co-workers, and in the case of two, neighbors. “She lives in my alfalfa field now,” said one Iva Baker of her friend Annette, looking up from her project.
When asked about her free-hand drawing the adorable avians, Marla explained that she paints. “I paint on the even months – it’s not an even month, but I’ve had a rough time, so I’m painting. I don’t have time to paint all the time,” she noted about her month-specific bobby.
While the event was aimed at adults as a stress-reliever, Bad Art Night welcomed not one, but four young kids ranging from one to nine years of age.
While a few preferred to remain nameless, one-year-old Finley, and his mother Hanna Blackwell sat across from Hanna’s mother, Christy Walls. The infant used a combination of fingers and flailing techniques, and colors chosen by his mother to create a piece that rivals any modern art piece.
Haley Nicholson, at age nine, created two clay creatures, both a frog and a duck.
Even the director of the Lawrence County Museum, Joyce Shepard, who didn’t participate and instead watched from the side, enjoyed Bad Art Night. “I like my little corner,” she said from her place against the wall, smiling.
