Creative Arts Center sets up for the season

Those looking to knock out holiday shopping this weekend can swing by the Burbank Creative Arts Center and choose from hundreds of items handmade by 70 local artists.

Through Dec. 19, the studio will be transformed into an arts and crafts boutique featuring handmade pottery, paintings, jewelry, clothing, ornaments and other items.

The artists include students and instructors at the studio, along with members of the Burbank Fine Arts Federation. Organizers said 15% of the proceeds will go toward the federation, with the remainder of the profits benefiting the artists.

Debbie Clark, an artist who has entered her crafts into the boutique for five years, said the store includes a wide variety of goods.

“It’s a whole spectrum of anyone who does anything artistically or by hand,” Clark said. “I just walk in stunned every year at the variety and the quality. Things just pop.”

Clark is selling 31 items, including bowls, mugs, jars and other dishes. “I just want them to find good homes,” she said.

Prices for all items range from as low as $2 to around $80, though the majority of items fall between $10 and $25, said Frances Santistevan, gallery director for the arts center. The annual event started in the early 1990s, she added.

“It gets more popular every year,” Santistevan said.

The boutique — located at 1100 W. Clark Ave. — will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call the center at (818) 238-5397.

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Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek.