Flathead Lake Art Festival draws art lovers
Shady trees in Sacajawea Park made a wonderful setting for the Flathead Lake Festival of Art on July 22 and 23. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
Artist Shy Friedley, Kalispell, brought her Car Part Art to the Flathead Festival of Art. Friedley uses recyclable car parts and broken bicycle chains in her art pieces. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
Artist transforms car parts into sculpture
The Car Part Art by Shy booth at the Flathead Lake Art Festival in Sacajawea Park over the weekend drew in gear heads, but also folks intrigued by the lacy designs, cute bats and elephants made from auto springs, fish composed of bicycle chains, and delicate metal cactus.
Shy Friedley, who creates the art pieces, learned to weld in college during sculpture class, then life happened. Her dad owned an automotive shop, where she’d spent most of her childhood so Friedley decided to become a mechanic. The program she settled on required a sponsor and her dad agreed to take that role. As an added bonus, she met her husband, Mike, in mechanic school.
Playing around with odds and ends of leftover car parts ready for the trash bin and welding them together, Friedley rekindled her love of welding and began creating.
Friedley has been marketing her art for four years. She uses only recycled parts and items filched before they go to the dump. Friends who work at a bicycle shop provide broken bike chains, which are transformed into fish – one of her favorite items. Other favorites are the tables she makes with glass tops and assorted car innards as legs.
Originally from Idaho, the Friedley’s now live in Kalispell and Shy shares her Car Part Art at local art festivals and fairs.
Art festival draws 20 vendors
Her booth was among several nestled under the shady trees in Sacajawea Park last weekend for the Flathead Lake Art Festival.
The Sandpiper Art and Gift Gallery oversees the show, with Carole Carberry chairing the event.
Margery Christensen, Sandpiper Gallery manager, said more than 20 vendors, all regional artists, came to the juried festival. Since this is the first FLAF or three years, Christensen said Sandpiper artists were happy to see a good crop of vendors.
The vendors were pleased too, she said, with lots of attendees both days.
Next up is the Cherry Festival this weekend, and the Sandpiper will have art on the sidewalk in front of the gallery for that event.
Then comes Art in the Park on Aug. 12 on the Lake County Courthouse lawn.
For information on selling work at Art in the Park, contact Carole Carberry at 803-968-4678 or visit www.sandpiperartgalleryandgifts.com.
