Couples Show in Artfest

Some creative couples will show off their artistic flair during the 20th Old Church Artfest that happens today and Sunday in Corrales.

“Trash to Fash” is the way Hannah Lind Albers describes the work of herself and her husband, Aaron Albers.

She was inspired to create her pieces after she couldn’t find a bag sturdy enough to hold her groceries, she said.

	If you go What: 20th Old Church Artfest in Corrales. When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday. Where: Old San Ysidro Church, 966 Old Church Road across from Casa San Ysidro in Corrales. Admission: Free.

“I was tired of the canvass bags smooshing my food, and when I bought natural fiber it wouldn’t last for years and years,” she explained.

So, Albers decided to make her own market bags using old drip tape turned over to her by Skarsgard Farms in Albuquerque’s North Valley. The farm turns over the tape it no longer has use for and she cleans it and weaves it.

“It’s a very utilitarian piece,” Albers said of her bags. “They’re very practical. They’re quite sturdy market bags and purses.”

She even called her bags indestructible.

“(The strips are) always black; some have thin white stripes on them,” Albers said. “They look a little checkered. People like the white stripe.”

Her husband also uses items that would otherwise be tossed in the trash to create unique jewelry.

“He makes earrings out of recycled resistors from old computers or resistors that have not been used,” Hannah Lind Albers said about her husband Aaron’s creations. “(He’s been doing this for) just a few months. It’s a new hobby.”

The earrings are all the same color: burnt orange with multi-colored stripes around them. Some are simple, with single resistors, others have three or five, Hannah Lind Albers said about the high-tech fashion accessory.

“They have dangles and tassels and are under $10,” she said. “They’re fun, and affordable.”

The annual art show this year features more than 50 fine artists and artisans at the Old San Ysidro Church at 966 Old Church Road, across the street from Casa San Ysidro Church in Corrales.

On display will be everything from stained glass and gourd art to silk paintings, watercolors, clay figures, homemade jams and jellies and more.

Michelle and Grey Chisholm of Santa Fe County also will showcase their art during the event.

Both work in different medias, but sometimes collaborate on their work.

Michelle has been working in pottery for 20 years. Her decorative and functional work is high-fired stone and porcelain.

“I have platters and ceremonial goblets based on a culture I studied,” Michelle Chisholm said. “(The goblets) have beads in the stems of goblets so they make sounds.”

The goblets are based on the pre-Columbian Moche culture in Central Peru, she said.

Grey Chisholm specializes in Celtic- and nautical-inspired jewelry. His signature pieces are woven rings.

“I am a captain in the Merchant Marines,” he said. “I’ve been serving since I was 17 and tying knots since I was 8.”

He now uses his knowledge of knots to create woven rings and bracelets out of gold, silver and copper. He also ties knots to create pendants, earrings and broaches. Some of his pieces also feature stones, including his bolo ties.