Artisan Works - Nice Day for a White Wedding

Vertigo Room

My singing group, Concentus, was invited to sing at the wedding reception of one of our members, Julie, over the weekend. Curiously, she is the second of four members to get married in the space of 18 months; Pastor Johanna got married over the summer, then presided at Julie's wedding;  Kathy will be married this coming January, and Kate's wedding is planned for next fall!

While the setting of the wedding, Colgate Divinity Chapel, was very traditional, the ceremony was anything but.  Besides having a Flower Dog and Paw Bearer, they each sang songs to each other, and Rob even quoted from The Princess Bride. The reception was held at Artisan Works, which seemed fitting to the occasion.  She had booked the Vertigo Room (aptly named for its dizzying displays hung from the neck-craning ceiling).  We had a bit of time to explore the artworks, and Kara and I had a lovely chat with founder Louis Perticone, before getting down to business.

Concentus in the Vertigo Room

The Vertigo Room turned out to be a lovely space for a party, and decent acoustically for singing unmiked.  Julie joined us for our first song, Now I Walk in Beauty, then re-joined her husband as our director, Gwen, led us through a selection of love songs.  Even though we usually perform to a (mostly) silent audience, it didn't feel uncomfortable to be 'wallpaper' as the guests dined and chatted, and we could see Julie and Rob listening attentively.

the cupcake "cake"

cutting the "cake" - check out the dress!

This was the first time many of the Concentus singers had been inside Artisan Works, and I suspect the same was true for most of the guests.  If they didn't have time to wander around and wonder at the depth and breadth of the works displayed, I hope that it whetted their appetite to return and spend a little more time marveling at the collection.  And who knows, maybe even purchase a piece?  Personally, I have my eye on one of those large silver ornaments by Mark Groaning,  and I wish now that I had had the imagination to ignore Julie's gift registry and get the couple something unusual from Artisan Works...