SCAD’s second annual Bee Market, an artists’ flea market for SCAD students, faculty, staff and alumni to exhibit and sell their work, will take place Wednesday, May 18. The event is organized and hosted by students of the Building Design and Arts Leadership program’s Event Planning course.
Among all of the diverse and talented exhibitors that SCAD has to offer are Rachel Barnhart, Shannon Cummings and Mary Kathryn Martinson. They gave a preview of their work and talked about why they decided to exhibit at The Bee Market – and why you should come check it out!
Rachel Barnhart is a second-year industrial design major from Atlanta, Georgia. She will be selling jewelry from her line that includes both handmade and 3D printed pieces. Barnhart describes her aesthetic as, “clean and simple, but the content is fun. I want to make stuff that makes people happy.”
Samples of Barnhart’s jewelry
This is Barnhart’s first year selling at the Bee Market; she said, “to be honest I’m a bit nervous. I didn’t expect to get in, seeing how competitive it it…lo and behold I got accepted and almost overnight I have a business.”
Images courtesy of Freshly Squeezed Designs
Barnhart encourages everyone to come to The Bee Market! She said, “If my stuff isn’t their cup of tea, I know there are going to be tons of very talented artists there that they should see.”
You can view more of Barnhart’s work on her website.
Much of Cummings’ work features bees, coincidentally
Shannon Cummings is a senior illustration major from Lake Placid, Florida. She will primarily be selling illustrations featuring animals – and plenty of bees.
Cummings looks at The Bee Market as a learning experience. She explained, “It was my first experience being in a convention or show event and I’ll admit that I wasn’t prepared like I should have been. But I don’t view that as a bad thing…I’m doing it again this year just to see if I do better and what else I can learn.”
“If anyone wants to find me, just follow the bees,” Cummings said.
More samples of Cummings’ work are available on her Behance.
Mary Kathryn Martinson is a recent SCAD graduate with a B.F.A. in graphic design. She will be selling her handmade jewelry at The Bee Market and, though it’s her first year at The Bee Market, she is well prepared, as she already makes and sells her jewelry line full-time.
Martinson brings a lot to the table!
“I design mostly for myself, that’s how I started,” Martinson said. “People have always liked it and commented on my jewelry and that’s continued now that I’ve gone into business. So, even though my target customer is a younger woman, people of all ages are buying my designs.”
Martinson described her jewelry as fashionable, but also commercial and affordable. “You know, you can go buy one expensive bracelet, and that’s fine, but with my jewelry maybe you can buy a couple bracelets instead. Maybe you want to wear a lot of layers!” she joked as she pulled off her stacks of bracelets to demonstrate.
Images courtesy of Mary Kathryn Martinson
You can view and purchase Martinson’s jewelry on her website.
The 2016 Bee Market will take place on May 18 at Arnold Hall, and will be open to the public from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Written by Shelby Loebker.
