Kevin Lucia

I had the distinct pleasure of taking part in Union Center Christian Church's Art Show On Main, a coffee-house style arts celebration held this past weekend. Art Show On Main is a wonderful exhibition of the arts: musical, graphic, paint, clay, sculpting, and the written word.  Artists from as far as North Carolina, Massachusetts and even Canada took part in the festivities.

All the "artists in residence", if you will, held critique workshops, sat on a Q & A panel that examined the "daily life of the artist", and then performed or presented their artwork in a true coffee house setting that was rich in style, substance, and outright talent.  The atmosphere was welcoming, cordial, friendly, and most of all...artistic.

Best all was its clarity of focus: yes, held in a church it featured artwork created from a spiritual mindset, but the focus was firmly placed on the arts themselves.  The collection of artists and their work was very diverse, and again - though presented in a fairly wholesome, family atmosphere, this was a celebration of art and all its forms, not a Sunday school service.

Probably the most enjoyable part of the experience was meeting and working with Massachusetts horror writer Dan Keohane, who met with my Creative Writing students the day before. Both he and I conducted critique workshops, served on the Q & A panel, then performed readings later on during the show. 

Both our readings were extremely well received, considering the mixed crowd.  Dan read from his first novel, Solomon's Grave, while I read from my novellete "Way Station", an Editor's Choice selection in the very first Coach's Midnight Diner.  A pin drop could be heard during both readings, which seems to be a good indication of what folks thought.

A good time was had by all, and yes - both Dan and I moved some product, but that wasn't the most important thing.  Again, the best element was getting to meet with yet another one of my writing Brothers-at-Arms, and spending time among those who appreciated art well done.