[caption id="attachment_1542" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="An art installation in the hallway at Mock Show - Photo by Miguel Perez"][/caption]
Last Saturday at a hotel six miles from Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where Phish was playing for four nights, more than 20 artists and hundreds of art lovers and collectors gathered for Mock Show, a poster and art showcase-marketplace. Held in the Sheraton Denver West Hotel's ballroom, the Mock Show was an art lovers dream that included everyone from well-established artists, such as Jim Pollock and David Welker, to up-and-comers and fan artists (such as myself). I was honored to participate and did pretty well for my first show.
Fans showed up as early as 8 a.m. to get in line to shake hands with Pollock as he personalized posters, converse with Ryan Kerrigan, or see the new works from AJ Masthay. Mock Show was all about connections: connecting fans of the music to the art inspired by the music to the artists who were inspired by the music.
The connections made at Mock Show were not limited to poster artists, however. Several nonprofit organizations participated in the show, including the Mockingbird Foundation, Expresso Beans, Phish's Waterwheel Foundation, and of course HeadCount. Other connections were made through music (the Heavy Pets played in the hallway) and cinema (the poster documentary American Artifact was screened and Noah Wilderman was there shooting footage for his Phish documentary, Maybe So, Maybe Not.)
While running my booth, I had a unique perspective on Mock Show. I didn’t really get a chance to roam around and see everything I wanted to see (I'm a fan as well as an artist), and I was nervous as hell hoping I would get at least a little traffic to my booth. But in the end, I was overwhelmed by the support I received from the crowd and other artists at the show. A particularly warm and fuzzy moment came when, at the beginning of the show, a woman made a bee line for my booth to purchase my Red Rocks print. She said it was at the top of her list of items to purchase. This rewarding moment eased my nervousness immediately. All that hard work was worth it! And speaking of hard work, I'd like to publically thank Jason Kaczorowski for his hard work in putting this show on. It was an amazing experience for me and everyone else involved.
If you weren't at Mock Show, you can still visit all the artists online. But, as always, the art is much better in person! Go to http://www.amockshow.com to connect with the artists and see photos and video from the show. And we’ll see you next time.
HeadCount art director Jamie Huntsman is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. Her work, which includes poster art for festivals and bands, can be viewed here
[caption id="attachment_1536" align="alignnone" width="575" caption="Fans pack the grand ballroom at Sheraton Denver West for Mock Show - Photo by Miguel Perez"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1540" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Justin Helton and his work - Photo by Miguel Perez"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1537" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Jamie Huntsman talks to a fan at Mock Show - Photo by Miguel Perez"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1543" align="alignnone" width="414" caption="Fans and Art Lovers at Mock Show - Photo by Miguel Perez"][/caption]