ImagineNations: Putting a stamp on the world

ImagineNations / Spanning the globe as an artistic canvas.

On Sunday afternoon, I visited the Renegade Craft Fair's annual holiday market in search of some imagination and color to boost my own spirits after a week filled with rain at home and sadness over the senseless tragedy in Connecticut.

Strolling through the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, I was met by more than 200 of today's best and brightest indie artists of all kinds displaying their colorful, must-see, contemporary handmade crafts.

This was their showcase.

Added to the experience, there were live DJs spinning lots of cool-sounding music on vinyl, and even a cozy spot for enjoying a bite of lunch, too.

The Renegade Craft Fair was a stylish place to be for the hipster crowd and I felt a good vibe as I went up and down the aisles searching for artsy holiday cards and other last-minute gifts ideas.

There were many indie artists who made a favorable impression on me. Among them were:

• Nina Kulick, whose Gooseberry Press display featured paper goodies, art stamps and embellishments such as stylish city maps and organic city totes.
• Sharon Murriguez, whose Casa Murriguez showcased handmade housewares designed and created with style and conscience.
• Samantha Barsky, owner and designer of note*ify, whose boutique of handmade gift tags, cards and other paper products caught my eye. There, I found just the right kind of colorful holiday cards that suited my mood.

Finally, there was Wendy Gold, whose ImagineNations featured handmade globe art on vintage globes using recycled source material. On its Facebook page, ImagineNations is described as "whimsical worlds, decoupages by hand with recycled materials on vintage globes. Each work of art is a one of a kind, custom designed creation."

A decorative artist in the Bay Area since 1995, Gold and ImagineNations have been featured on CNN, in USA Today and on the pages of Travel+Leisure magazine, among many national media.

Among the many colorful Earthly orbs that Gold showed in her ImagineNations booth were globes depicting characters from Maurice Sendak's literary children's classic Where the Wild Things Are and one with a colorful banner that read "Bon Voyage". She has also created globes that highlight superheroes and butterflies. According to the ImagineNations website, artonglobes.com, prices for these original artworks range from about $350 to $600.

In an April interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Gold described what inspires her global artwork: "A globe can take you in so many directions, both literally and figuratively."

Indeed, Wendy Gold is putting her stamp on the world one globe at a time.