An extra shout-out to some of the interesting artists we saw at the Eastworks Marketplace during the Art Walk.

Many artists set up on the first floor, the “Marketplace”. It’s a good deal - a post on Craigslist alerted area artists to set up free in Eastworks during ArtWalk. A fantastic opportunity for area artists, especially students and younger artists.

All the work was really good. Here are a few that caught our eyes & grabbed our attention:

Justin Myer Staller’s intaglio prints. Justin had a really nice portfolio of intaglio prints, and told us a bit about his studio in Orange in a big mill which he shares with other artists and a Heidelberg Press. Check out their space at the Tiny Media Empire. They rent space to artists at cheaper prices than spaces in Holyoke. An awesome deal, and hey, Orange is only 20 minutes away from Amherst (it’s not as far away as you’d think).

Cherry Winters’ dolls. Hand-painted, blanket-stitched, stuffed mulberry paper animals and other shapes. We especially liked the Steak & cheese and the owls. Cherry is also part of the Orange-based Tiny Media Empire. Her work is also available at the fab indie craft shop, Dandie in the Underworld.

Danielle Intile’s 1000 Heads. Just a small selection of the 1000 heads were on view, but the effect was striking.

d.ART Gallery. Not only is this new gallery full of fabulous art, but they plan to host regular monthly events: poetry nights, knitting nights, and critique nights. The critique night is such a great idea - bring a piece of art for critique and work through that block, or just get some honest feedback. We just love that groups like this are starting to form in Easthampton. We’re looking forward to the gallery’s official grand opening October 26th, 5pm-8pm.

Laurie Searl’s landscapes, “Paintings of the Helderbergs.” Lovely, serene scenes in greens and blues. We tried to find some information about her online, but no luck.

Note to artists: put your work online, even if it’s a simple webpage, a Flickr account, or a MySpace page. The web is an incredible place to show your work to the world for free. And you never know who may stumble onto your work. We know quite a few artists, designers and other creative people who have had amazing doors open for them just because someone did a simple Google search or followed a link on a blog.

Lastly at Eastworks, we popped into the Invisible Fountain. Always fun to pop in there and just stare at the walls, which are completely covered in artwork. The artist, Luke Cavagnac, is an interesting guy, and an inspiration to anyone to just be creative.

Thus concluded our trip to Eastworks. Each Art Walk just gets better and better, and we’re definitely looking forward to the next one on November 10th. Mark your calendars.

Art note: Luke Cavagnac is also currently showing work in the Group Show, “The Three Berets,” with Gary Hallgren and Dean Nimmer at Open Square in Holyoke.