The phresh/art group was started in 2004 as krista started to meet other artists at various art and craft fairs in the LA area. Everyone wanted to discuss what fairs were successful for them and what upcoming events they were signed up for. Soon, she realized that instead of passing along gossip like in a telephone game, her newly found artist friends might be interested in getting together in person. Monthly meetings began, and both friendships and creative partnerships formed. Although attendance to the monthly meetings was unstable, the group kept in close contact and many attended fairs and shows as the phresh/art collective. To improve attendance and participation, the idea of a group show was tossed around.
Originally, phresh/art was made up of artistans and crafters, making handmade jewelry, handbags, housewares, and clothing. When considering artists for the first show, krista was introduced to Neal Breton, a veteran painter who has done both single and group shows in the LA area. And with that, a bridge was formed between the distinguished fine art found in galleries, with the free-spirited artisans accustom to setting up their wares anywhere there is room for a table or clothing rack. phresh/art/live was born, offering a tantalizingly creative experience for all who attended.
The newest addition to the phresh/art movement is phresh/art/daily, a myspace-esque site for artists. krista wanted to produce a site where artists could meet like-minded people in their area, much like the idea of the original phresh/art meetings. Here, artists can create their own page to share their artwork and post messages within the group. phresh/art/daily also gives the opportunity for those artists without websites to have an address to send anyone interested in their art. The longterm goal is to create artist communities within cities other than Los Angeles, and encourage phresh/art/live shows to conquer the art scene all over. For now, though, we will start by offering pages to any artist that wants to be seen and heard, and hopefully, the connections and communities will form naturally from there.
Thanks for interest.
-krista