Numerologists Believe (how often do we get to start an article that way?) That The Number Five Represents Dynamic, Energetic Motion and Versatility. To a mathematician it’s a prime, to a meteorologist it means the highest intensity, to radio enthusiasts it’s perfect strength and clarity … to metro residents, it should indicate the necessity of getting to Edmond May 5 for the Fine Arts Institute’s 5 x 5 Art Show & Sale.
If you can remember that one digit, the event is easily summed up: 55 Oklahoma artists (plus one extra) have contributed 5-inch-square works to the FAI, and they’re all going on sale in an event starting at 5:55 p.m. on the fifth day of the fifth month – for $55 each.
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Why such a diminutive space? FAI director Shannon Price explains, “five by five inch canvases are convenient and quicker for the artists to paint, and affordable for the FAI to purchase. We supply the canvases; the artists supply the creativity. Most of the participating artists are accustomed to working on a much larger scale, so I think the size adds an element of whimsy along with requiring creative thinking.”
Since size is the only restriction, the resulting pocket-sized panoply of more than 105 creations represents an incredible variety of media and style – oil and acrylic paint, mixed media, photography, printing, handmade paper collages … coupled with the freedom to depict anything at all from a still life of a pear to an abstract expressionist chromatic interplay, that means that the sky’s the limit. As long as it’s an itty-bitty sky.
Unlike auctions in which the prize goes to the highest bidder, at this show every piece is a flat $55, and they are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. If you miss out on one tiny treasure you can simply corral another, and there will be plenty of treats for all comers; since the event is on Cinco de Mayo, the hosts are serving chips and salsa and sangria.
Proceeds from the sales of art, as well as the $5 admission fees, will help the Fine Arts Institute keep its tuition affordable and quality art instruction available to the community through its classes and programs. That’s a benefit too vast to have a number assigned to it.
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Think Cinq
The 5 x 5 Art Show & Sale is hosted by the Fine Arts Institute at 27 E. Edwards St. in Edmond; call 340.4481 or visit edmondfinearts.com for details.
