An afternoon of creativity and fun

On Saturday (March 22) a group of ten Tempe Artists Guild members convened to decorate more than a dozen wooden frames.  Painting and adorning picture frames is not a typical activity for these artists.  The occasion was to assist the City of Tempe in celebrating residents who do outstanding work for their community.  Every Spring the City hosts an awards celebration for this purpose.  The awards span a wide range, from neighborhood betterment to sustainability.  Support for the arts is one of the categories that used to be distinguished by the fact that each year’s recipient receives its award in a beautifully decorated frame.  The decor for the frame was traditionally the work of the previous year’s winner.  Other awarding organizations could not help but notice the unusually lovely framing of the arts and culture awards.  The solution?  Ask the Tempe Artists Guild to decorate more frames, not just for the arts and culture award winners, but also for several other groups who wanted a more attractive award than in the past.

It turns out that decorating frames is a lot of fun.  Artists brought stencils, wood-burning tools, markers, and other items to assist them in their work.  Creative ideas were flowing around the room as the artists set about their work.  It was touching to see so many artists turn out for this good cause.  A true win-win situation — we enjoyed ourselves immensely, and the City will have more handsome awards for the many community-building achievements of its residents.