Amaiya Reeder, intrigued by skeletons and bones, embraces dark romanticism and macabre beauty.
“I kind of just draw my inspiration from creativity itself,” Reeder, owner of Golden Bones Art, said. “I’m heavily inspired by anime, just because of how creative that is in itself, too. I like to draw people that look like me.”
Reeder, an independent artist based in Lawrence, was one of almost 100 vendors present Saturday for the first of two days of the Inclusive Winter Market in Lawrence.
The makers market features Black and Indigenous creatives and queer creatives, among others who are building their small businesses while living in the margins.
Saturday was Reeder’s first time vending at a large market. She said in her experience, similarly sized markets can be difficult to get into because they usually include registration and vending fees. This market was free for all vendors, and Reeder said she appreciates that it displayed the multifacetedness of Lawrence.
“Just to be able to come into a space that has everybody’s — their niche, their art, their whatever — it’s just inspiring to me,” Reeder said. “I love just going to events like these, and now being a part of them is even better. It’s like, now I can express how I feel. I can express everything. I can see how everybody else expresses themselves.”
Don’t be afraid of the dark
Instead of fleeing their fears, Lyd Low turns them into works of art.
Low has a fear of darkness, but after interacting more with the horror genre, has been able to make connections with themes. Through artistic expression, they enjoy tapping into all sides of themselves — even the lighthearted.
“Some of my stuff isn’t just my phobia,” Low said. “Sometimes it’s also like painful incidents that have happened in my life or nightmares. And I feel like it’s been really healthy to explore them in my art versus repressing them. Sometimes I’m also just really silly.”
Low, an independent artist and musician based in Lawrence, said the market was an “area where you feel safe and included and seen.”
Sparklecore
Pastel colors, shiny objects like stars and rainbows are in keeping with Taj Moses’ aesthetic.
“I just like things that are pretty and comforting,” he said. “Just anything that sparks something in my brain.”
Moses is the owner of Satellite Stardrop and creates lively cartoon portraits, sometimes based on TV shows and movies or commissioned by clients. Like Reeder, Moses said he could relate to inaccessibility of other major art markets.
“I’m autistic and I’m disabled and all this sort of stuff, too,” said Moses, a freelance illustrator based in Lawrence. “And so it is a lot of times, even outside of the money aspect, it’s hard to even find these things or know who to talk to or whatever. And so to have specific stuff like this is, I think, really helpful, and it’s a little less intimidating, I think, than a standard one.”
Deep fried dough
Puff puffs are Nigerian desserts that are thick, doughy and sweet. They’re like donuts, except “the calories here are actually really worth it,” according to Adebola Atanda-Idowu, owner of Kansas City, Kansas-based Aduns Desserts.
Atanda-Idowu has been baking since she was a child, taking after her mother whose favorite pastries to make for her family are puff puffs.
“My mom is going to be very proud of this, because this is like a legacy that she left behind,” Atanda-Idowa said. “And the fact that I’m able to like outreach, because sometimes I sell some and sometimes I give them out. That’s a joy — it’s a joy of the season.”
Moniqué Mercurio, owner of Merc Tribe Designs, and Kassidee Quaranta, owner of KQ Design Co. LLC, are hosting the Inclusive Winter Market as their first major event since reinventing a Lawrence art collective, previously known as Art Love Collective. Art Love Continued aims to connect creatives and support growth in small businesses.
“This feels like a full circle healing,” said Mercurio, Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation. “We’re deeply humbled, and we’re very grateful for community trusting us to come back in the space and to continue the work. This is just the beginning.”
The market will reopen for its second day from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive.
Visit the Art Love Continued Facebook page, facebook.com/ArtLoveContinued, to see the logos of vendors lined up for the market. For additional information, visit Quaranta’s website, kassideequaranta.com.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Molly Adams (she/her), photojournalist and news operations coordinator for The Lawrence Times, can be reached at molly@lawrencekstimes.com. Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
