Arty Girl: One Year Anniversary Weekend at Practical Art

The tradition of a one-year birthday celebration in the Menconi household involved a single cupcake with a solitary candle stuck in the middle. Someone else probably blew out the candle, then we'd go to town on that little treat and mash it into gooey gross sweetness that we'd slurp off...

By Lilia Menconi

May 13, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

The tradition of a one-year birthday celebration in the Menconi household involved a single cupcake with a solitary candle stuck in the middle. Someone else probably blew out the candle, then we'd go to town on that little treat and mash it into gooey gross sweetness that we'd slurp off our hands and our high chair.

It sounds like the one year birthday at Practical Art will be much more sophisticated.

The party lasts this entire weekend, starting this Friday, May 15th from 7-9 pm, Saturday May 16th from 11 am - 6 pm and Sunday May 17th from noon - 5 pm. There will be Urban Cookies, T-shirt and gift card giveaways and, live music by local band The Blue Whalers.

The weekend also acts as a reunion for the AZ artisans responsible for Practical Art's wares: handmade household ceramics, woven tops and knit scarves, home-made jewelry, hand-carved wood items and all the other unique, functional trinkets one might expect to find at an artisan shop.

You can also see the work of May's exhibiting artist, Pam Harrison. Her show, "World Peace Project" features ceramics, encaustic on panel, paper and fabric artworks that chronicle and explore the idea of peace throughout history.

Sounds pretty classy. Although I have to admit...I kinda want to mash up a cupcake now.

Practical Art, 5070 N. Central Ave (just north of Camelback) in Phoenix, 602-264-1414, www.practical-art.com.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.