New lottery system draws in more artists for Holiday Boutique
Thanksgiving may be just around the corner, but the Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center in Burbank is already preparing for the December holidays.
At the end of this month, the local art gallery and art school will host its annual Holiday Boutique, in which artists will get their chance to sell their work to those who are looking to buy their loved ones or friends a unique gift for the holidays.
Virginia Causton-Keene, the center’s director, said there are about 80 artists participating in this year’s event, up from the roughly 65 artists who took part last year.
The larger number of artists in this year’s boutique is due to the center utilizing its pottery studio behind the main art gallery, Causton-Keene said.
Because of the high demand from artists who want an opportunity to sell their art pieces at the holiday event, Causton-Keene said center officials elected to use a lottery system to even out the playing field.
“We were getting complaints about how the same people get in each year,” she said.
In previous years, teachers at the Creative Arts Center and their students usually were able to sign up for a vendor spot with ease. However, those who were not enrolled in classes but wanted to participate in the event had to either call or sign up in person.
To make participation more fair, everyone who wanted to take part in the Holiday Boutique had to draw a lottery ticket. Much to her surprise, Causton-Keene said there were more than 100 people who entered the lottery, the largest number of people who have signed up while she’s been with the center.
The lottery system, Causton-Keene said, will help freshen up the event because it gives new artists a chance to sell their works.
With this year’s batch of artists, Causton-Keene said people will have a variety of art pieces from which to choose — including paintings, pottery, sculptures, ornaments, jewelry and clothing.
Causton-Keene said, for example, one artist will be selling holiday-themed pots for succulents, and another will have an array of unique ceramic sculptures for sale.
“You get such a vast price range for these art pieces,” she said. “You can spend $1 for a Christmas ornament or something small, right up to $100 for an original painting. I think it allows anyone to buy something.”
The Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center is located at 1100 W. Clark Ave., Burbank. For more information, call (818) 238-5397.
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
