Come to the 4th Annual Fun-a-Day Show: Sat., Feb. 16

What: The 4th Annual Fun-a-Day Show, hosted by The Artclash! Collective
When: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008. 7 to 11 p.m.
Where: Studio 34 Yoga | Healing | Arts, 4522 Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia [locator map] (on the No. 34 Green Line trolley)

What is Fun-A-Day?

Dozens of people, from professional artists to ordinary folks who like making art, created one artwork for each day in January -- and will show them off in a night to remember!

The event grew out of a December 2004 potluck dinner in West Philly, where artist Kara Schlindwein and three friends were searching for some mid-winter inspiration. Drawing on an idea that had taken hold among comics creators, they dared each other to create one artwork each day during the month of January. To seal the commitment, they planned a show in mid-February. They they started spreading the word.

"We thought we'd get maybe 14 people," Kara said. Instead, 47 people brought their creations to the show -- held in co-organizer Nick Lally's living room -- and those were just the participants. "We had about 200 people come -- not all at once, thank God."

The success of the first show spawned Artclash!, a West Philly-based artists' collective established, essentially, to keep Fun-A-Day going.

Four years later, the concept has spread beyond Philadelphia: this year, artists in Houston and Pittsburgh will hold Fun-A-Day events. In Philly, some 70 people -- professional artists and casual funlovers alike -- have signed up to participate.

"That usually means about 50 to 60 projects will make it to the show," Kara said. (See some photos from 2006's Fun-a-Day 2.)

This year's creations run the gamut from thirty-one haikus composed on SEPTA, to a daily leaf-quilt-square, to a month of different breakfast pastries. Others are entitled "neon paper cut designs," "a walk and a photo," and "flowchart-a-day."

The show has moved from a living room into Studio 34 Yoga | Healing | Arts, a new 5,000-square-foot space at 4522 Baltimore Avenue in West Philly. Named for the adjacent trolley line, Studio 34 offers yoga and Pilates classes, massage and other healing services, and community spaces for meetings, art shows, and live performances. Its grand opening will be in March; the Fun-a-Day Show will offer a "sneak preview" of the KBAS-designed studio.

All are welcome. The event is free.