Bronze sculpture, 3D paintings and more impress at St. Armands art fest

Amid the Memorial Day weekend buzz and early summer heat, art lovers meandered among a full lineup of tents on St. Armands Circle, where artists working in everything from bronze sculpture to leather goods shared their wares and stories of how they make them.

The Paragon Festivals-organized event took place on May 23 and 24 throughout St. Armands Circle Park.

Among the featured artists was the brother-and-sister team of Andres and Liliana Mendez. They are carrying on their family's legacy of high-end bronze sculpting through Artes & Bronces.

They specialize in delicate figurine work, depicting dancers mid-flip or balancing atop one another.

Liliana said she and Andres are proud to carry on the family craft, inspired by their Colombian heritage. From creating the initial design to pouring the bronze to adding the finishing coats of paint, each piece is the result of months of work and is inspired by the work of their parents and grandparents.

"It's all about movement," she said. "It's part of our identity, showing the movement, color and joyfulness."

Fellow artists offered live demonstrations of their work. 

Frank Borelli has been making high-end leather purses by hand since starting the Borelli Bags brand in 1972 in New York City. With a makeshift workshop table resting on his knees, he deftly trimmed the edges of his latest creation and flipped it to show the double-sided detailing he dyed by hand.

Borelli, who operates the business with his wife, Pam, said he sources his materials from the same English leatherers who made vendors in Gloversville, New York, famous for their quality.

"After just over 53 years, my customers expect perfection," he said.

He primarily works on the festival circuit now, which he described as something fairly full circle. He used to work on Park Avenue in Manhattan while living in Greenwich Village.

"On Memorial Day weekend in 1971, I went to get some breakfast down in a cafe, and I saw all these white tents on Neiman Square, on the campus of NYU. I walked over to see what was going on, and it was the first art show that I had ever seen."

Borelli befriended a woodworker at the festival who showed him the ropes, and he eventually made the move to pursue his craft full-time. While he appreciated working in retail on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and Mountain Tops Outfitters, he now prefers sticking to festivals.

He said he loves getting to chat directly with customers, encouraging them to pick up and inspect the pieces.

First-time patrons Tonya and Ricky Kramer said the Ruskin residents said they were pleasantly surprised by the art show.

"This is our first time here," Ricky said. "We just stumbled into it and got lucky."

"We were really impressed with the quality," said Tonya, who said several glasswork and jewelry stands were her favorites.