Vibe Report: Art Nite at the Wicked Shamrock

I have an interview planned with the Wicked Shamrock ahead of their February Art Nite. So we will get an opportunity to learn what the event means to the people who host it. This post is my experience at the event & what the event appears to be.

What is Art Nite?

It's more or less an after-hours 21+ art market with a handful of vendors, where you can grab a cocktail, hang out at the collage craft table, buy local art creations, or even get a tarot reading.

As someone who had no clue what Art Nite was, I originally thought it was a little weird to have the event the day before the First Thursday Art Walk. I no longer believe this is the case, and I hope you feel the same by the end of this Vibe Report.

I will admit I was kicking myself in the ass for agreeing to go somewhere public after dark. I parked my car and mentally prepared to walk into my first Art Night at The Wicked Shamrock, aka the Sham. "Why the hell would you leave your comfortable, warm bed and dog cuddles to walk into the unknown at a bar?" my mind screamed as I neared closer to the entrance and saw the event signage.

I'm not sure what I expected, but when I walked through the door, I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing my eyes rested on was not a charcuterie board but a full-blown charcuterie TABLE. Be still, my little hungry heart. I didn't dive in, though, I decided to grab a drink from the bar and walk around before settling in. Warning, I did a really bad job of taking photos at this event but I will improve moving forward. 

The first vendor I visited goes by the name Old Chimer. He has managed to come up with a crafty use for old or mismatched spoons by turning them into wind chimes. In true old fashion, he doesn't have any social media. So the stars will have to perfectly align for you to find the Old Chimer.

The second vendor was local favorite Alchemy Dyes. Per usual, they had some of the coolest tie-dye shirt designs in the 805. I personally have an appreciation for how vibrant the colors are on many of their creations.

Images by Alchemy Dyes

The third vendor, Noah's Custom Creations, had an assortment of handcrafted Christmas decorations & accouterments this time around. He considers himself an amateur of woodworking and candle making. Here's a photo of what he had on offer during the August Art Nite:

Image by Noah Dehavilland

Some of you may be accustomed to seeing the fourth vendor's art on skateboards or canvases, but SVA Art Works was feeling festive this time of year and had a bunch of one-of-a-kind hand-painted pinstriped ornaments available alongside their less seasonal pieces. Such as pinstriped purses, flasks & earrings.

Image by SVA Art Works

Local 3D print maker High Buddy Designs had a table with various printed designs that look like they belong on any comic book fan or gamer's desk.

Lastly, Witchy Stitching had a table set up to conduct tarot readings. The most entertaining part was watching a man profess to be too scared to get a reading because of his religious upbringing, then watching the same man get a reading after another glass of liquid courage, and hearing him thank her at the end of the reading and acknowledge how silly he was for being scared. It's always a breath of fresh air watching someone go past their comfort zone.

Free Craft Table

The star of the event, for me, was the collage table. I can be socially awkward sometimes, especially when I don't know many people at an event. The collage table alleviated any social anxieties I may have felt before arriving. I have often told my friends that I wish there was an "after work" program similar to an after-school program, where adults can show up, work on arts & crafts for a couple hours to decompress & enjoy parallel play, then go home. This is very much what Art Nite felt like for me as I sat at the collage table. 

I'm pretty sure I had the collapse of the French government on my mind as I made the first collage of my adult life. Make of it what you will.

Verdict:

Overall I had a really good time and I'm glad I didn't let social anxiety get the best of me before entering the building. The vibe of the event lends well to solo visitors, as well as groups. The craft table was balanced in the sense that you could be more introverted and just focus on making your little collage without your silence being awkward or you can be more extroverted and chatty with folks without feeling like you're bothering anyone. Your inner child might appreciate it if you took the time to play with glue sticks & non-stabby childproof scissors in the name of crafts & cocktails. So definitely consider giving The Wicked Shamrock a visit for their next Art Nite in February.

They're always looking for new vendors. So feel free to reach out to Sara at the Sham for more details on how to participate in future events.

Thanks for reading my first Vibe Report. As always, let's be rad together!

What's Coming Down the Lompoc Muse Pipeline in 2025?

I love how the community is slowly coming together in the background to make Lompoc Muse more than expected. Here are a few things I have in store for you in 2025:

A More Comprehensive Lompoc Creative Events Calendar

I've been tired of feeling annoyed anytime I hear about a fun event that I most likely would have wanted to attend after the fact because local creative event information is so scattered. So, I'm being proactive about it and have created a dedicated event calendar page here on Lompoc Muse, intending to create one place for all to see the artsy & musical events in town without having to log onto a social media site. However, I will need your help with this one. Here's how you can help:

-If you're planning an event or already have a full schedule for your venue, I've added an event submission form for the Lompoc Creative Events Calendar. You could also just email event details to LompocMuse@gmail.com

-If you're scrolling and see an event post you think should go on the calendar tag me or share it to any of the Lompoc Muse socials.

-If you know of any venues or already posted schedules that I should have on the radar let me know! The calendar page is already available to view, so let us fill that baddie with all of the arts. 

Creative Classified Ads

Do you have a creative vision that could be better brought to fruition by combining creative powers with another? Are you a musician without a band or a band missing a puzzle piece? Do you have creative services that you'd like the people of Lompoc to be aware of? Well, you're in luck. Lompoc Muse is in the process of adding a Creative Classified Ads page that aims to connect you with local creatives for collaborations. I've added a submission form to the Creative Classifieds page to get things started. So feel free to help me get the ball rolling with that as you wait for more details for this last-minute addition to Lompoc Muse.

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews

As previously mentioned, there will be a lot of interviews with local creatives. The holiday months are busy, so interviews won't begin posting until the new year. My current to-do list revolves around contacting creative folks and extending open invites to anyone who wants to jump on the Lompoc Muse train. I'll admit - I have a solid line-up of interviews scheduled already but I'm hungry for more. A lot of these interviews will be posted as a lead-up to the interviewee's events as a means of generating extra interest in their projects. So don't miss out on additional exposure for your endeavors and hit me up for an interview!

Email List/News Letter

This is pretty low on my priority list at the moment, but ideally, I'd like to get an email newsletter and cut the social media step out of getting the latest Lompoc event information.

That's all I have for you today. Thanks for hopping on the Lompoc Muse train.

Let's be rad together.

An Artist's Duty

Since the morning of November 7th, I've been reflecting on the words of Nina Simone:

 "An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. As far as I'm concerned, it's their choice, but I CHOOSE to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. That, to me, is my duty. And at this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when everyday is a matter of survival, I don't think you can help but be involved. Young people, black and white, know this. That's why they're so involved in politics. We will shape and mold this country or it will not be molded and shaped at all anymore. So I don't think you have a choice. How can you be an artist and NOT reflect the times? That to me is the definition of an artist."

Mold or be Molded

These words by Nina Simone have led me to create this blog. Which aims to be a place to see the reflected state of Lompoc’s artistic & creative spaces through my eyes. It will eventually serve as a hub to learn about the vision artists and creatives of Lompoc have for our community. Through my interviews with local artists & creatives, you'll be able to hear the personal mission statements of each artist/creative & gain an overview of the environment your local creative community wishes to mold Lompoc into. My hope for this blog is to spark the right conversations needed to help the community figure out who to network with for us to make our community visions a reality.

I feel an artistic duty to document the landscape of Lompoc Art & Culture as we artists and creatives fulfill our duty to reflect our times and mold our town. It will be important to elevate the voices and missions of local artists as our nation faces an inevitable uphill battle filled with uncertainty. I don't know exactly what the next 4 years will look like, but I know it would be silly to not learn from Trump's first round in office. Your rights will be under attack, many of your neighbors will be demonized by the government, and it is up to us to reject the world the far-right has in mind for us and focus on molding the world we wish to experience. 

Fight the Man

Art has always had a role in fighting oppression. If you have doubts about art's ability to combat fascism & oppression, I urge you to read the Philosophynow.org article "Can Art Fight Fascism?" to get a better idea of how art has played a role in “fighting the man.” I’ll leave you with one quote from the article that I’d like for you to reflect on between now and my next post:

"An artwork’s autonomy from society enables it to critique society."

Open Invite

Before I close out this post, I’d like to invite any of the artists, creatives, musicians, chefs, and business owners of Lompoc who wish to be interviewed or have an event hyped up to contact me at LompocMuse@gmail.com.

UPCOMING EVENT VIBE REPORTS:

•First Thursday Art Walk - Dec 5, 2024

•Art Nite @ Wicked Shamrock - Dec 4, 2024

UPCOMING 2025 INTERVIEWS:

•Chelsie Dehavilland of Witchy Stitching

•Jacob Cole, the local musician who you might recognize from any Lompoc/Central Coast event with a microphone & amp. 

•Angelina LaPointe of Sidecar Press/Angie and the Nightmares

•Wryn, local artist who recently released the album 'Steady'