LACS Opens Summer Sale

Artists of at least seven kinds will hold court tomorrow, July 23, when the ’s seventh annual opens on Waltham Street.

Featuring everything from painting to metalwork to the decorative arts, the annual sale is an opportunity for customers and browsers to meet with artists from at least seven of the society’s 10 guilds, according to Jean Hart, a painter who handles publicity for the Arts and Crafts Society.

“It’s very festive, because all of us are there with our work,” said Hart. “One of the things that we’re really trying to promote is that people in the past have looked at the society as kind of a club, but the reality is, while there are members of the guilds, there are classes and things that are open to the public.”

According to Hart, the sale is a way society members decided to branch out and really throw its doors wide open to locals and the thousands of tourists who pass through town every summer. The artisans market has grown from about 15 participants in the first year to 50 now in its seventh.

“It’s really been a fun event for all of us,” said Hart, who has been involved with the sale since the beginning. “It’s sort of a more relaxed and nice way for us to meet and greet people and talk about our work.”

Pieces available for purchase as are eclectic as they are high-quality, according to Hart.

Pottery and ceramics range from teacups to sculpture and painters sell everything from cards to framed fine art that fetches hundreds of dollars. Jewelry available includes polymer clay, precious beads and silver, gold and enameled options and needle arts evolve from baby clothes to shawls.

“The artisans in the guilds really do quality work,” said Hart. “It’s a wonderful community of artisans, and we all sort of feed off of each other in many ways.”

Sales are a 70-30 split; artists get 70 percent and the rest goes toward upkeep of the Arts and Crafts Society.

The seventh annual Artisans Market and Summer Sale opens with a tent and gallery sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 23. It closes the following Sunday, and reopens July 25 through August 20. Hours are 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.