This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts / Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
Experience hands-on making and innovation…
Learn new skills, from papercutting, calligraphy and mask making, to weaving, pottery and more. Not an arts and crafts fair, the Make Your Mark! festival on Saturday, May 18 lets you immerse yourself in a multicultural coming together of artists and makers ready to ignite your creativity.
Working in fields ranging from food to crafts to technology, the emergence of these innovators marks a transformative time in history when creatives… make their mark!
The Maker Movement is a community of millions of people who are taking the entrepreneurial leap to start their own small businesses dedicated to creating and selling self-made products. The movement is a feverishly creative intersection of technology and the arts, bringing together the most advanced computer innovations, with artistic skill as ancient as mankind.
Just in time for #BusinessAppreciationMonth, Make Your Mark! is presented by Arlington Arts, in partnership with Arlington Public Library, The Washington DC Modern Quilt Guild and New District Brewery.
Event Sponsorship is provided by ServiceSource-Arlington Weaves, Etc., Palette 22, Food. Art. Fun. and their Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program.
Modern technology allows the individual to create and distribute unique items, skipping the middlemen like manufacturers. This entrepreneurial mother and daughter are just two examples of the entrepreneurial spirit that will inspire you at Make Your Mark!:
During her 20+ years in corporate America, Tracy Wilkerson raised an entrepreneurial daughter who learned early how to market her own artistic talents. But Tracy’s own creativity didn’t kick in until 2006, when she began making hand-made greeting cards that continue to be sold in retail stores, online and at vendor shows.
In 2008, she expanded to working in 2D and 3D mixed media artwork utilizing anything that might otherwise end up in a landfill, including VCR tape, CD’s, floppy discs and circuit boards.
Meanwhile, her youngster Tamara Wilkerson got a head-start on mom, started to make jewelry in 2003. In 2006, she realized the potential of her hobby, earning enough money to pay her own way on international travel. Through high school and college, she focused on designing and improving the quality of materials to launch a fun small business, also incorporating her love of graphic design, marketing and dance.
Today, her company WiRealm is the result of a natural creator and entrepreneur who creates wearable art while staying true to her style and passion.
Make Your Mark! is fun for your whole family (…including those with four legs).
Join us on Saturday, May 18 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., at 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22206. Admission is FREE.
For info call 703-228-1850, or visit www.arlingtonarts.org.