Second West End Art Walk Draws Large Crowds

Shops at Chatsworth's West End presented their second annual West End Art Walk Friday on Devonshire Street. The event featured local artists, live music, food trucks and artworks exhibited by local businesses in the neighborhood.

All of the vendors were local artists selling and advertising their work at the gathering for the first time. Vendors showcased pieces ranging from leather carving to painting, framing and jewelry making.

Craig Preston, a local landscape artist, exhibited most of his landscape work but he also exhibited his Tragic Teddy art. The series depicts paintings of a teddy bear that's dealing with adult or tragic themes. 

Preston said, there are 18 different teddy bears, each with their own tragic persona, like Steroid Teddy, Tagger Teddy and Homeless Teddy, to name a few.

“I use teddy bears because it is an iconic symbol of childhood innocence, and it’s a way for me to address social issues,” Preston said. “It’s a way for me to show how, as adults, we grow up and that innocence gets damaged by all kinds of social issues.”

Other different forms of art included Karen Norman’s leather carving. Norman’s local business drives on custom orders and special orders that keep her customers satisfied. Norman said that she wanted to be at the art walk in order to represent the “different medians you can use leather for.”

This was Norman and Preston's first time exhibiting at the West End Artwalk. This was also local artist Casey Kasemeir's first time at the art walk; Kasemeir  was selling his paintings of retro locations in the Valley and also his wife and daughter’s greeting cards and framing.

Erik Pampalone, director of the art walk and owner of Naya Spa, one of the local businesses also exhibiting art, said this is the second art walk for the West End, but they are hoping it is not their last.

“We're going to do the art walk the final Friday of June, July and August,” he said. “This is our first year that we shut down the street.”

According to Pampalone, the West End believed that there was a demand from the community to have an art walk. Pamaplone also explained that a drawing for prizes is also something that will probably bring in more residents.

The drawing requires people to visit all of the shops on Devonshire that are exhibiting art. They collect a star from each business and than are in for the drawing to win tickets to locations like the Hollywood Bowl and the Castle park.

“The idea is to create an art district in Chatsworth,” said Boris Smorodinsky, a frame shop owner in the area since 1978. “Last year was a good year and this year was fantastic, were hoping to keep it up.”