Emporia State counselor Anja Ford stands at her First Friday booth on Feb. 2.
Last Friday, Emporians were again treated to local artists displaying their work downtown at the 42nd Emporia First Friday Art Walk.
The first Friday of every month has Emporia’s downtown businesses decorated with painters, crocheters, writers, and other artists of all varieties, giving Emporians the opportunity to interact with their local artists.
This month, Jeff Quintana’s exhibit “Love the Process” was the art collection featured at Trox Gallery and Gifts. Quintana describes his art as a “mixture of urban graffiti and abstract.” His art combines pronounced colors and prominent, blocked letters with many bathetic and blended backgrounds.
First Friday Art Walks also include artists who work in 3D and literary mediums. Local high school students and twins Harley and Hunter Smith were featured at the Axe Shedd with Hunter’s trilogy of fantasy books “Sky Warriors,” a young adult sword and sorcery series surrounding wondrous artifacts, dragons, and magic. Harley was the illustrator for the series.
“It started as something I was doing in my spare time. I really liked writing,” Hunter said, calling back to why he started writing his books in the first place.
Getting local exposure at First Friday wasn’t too hard either.
“I was approached by (First Friday) and asked if I wanted to participate and I figured it was a good way to show my writing,” Hunter said.