Community builder: Spencer Art Walk grows each year

SPENCER — History, art and music will come together on Nov. 14 in Spencer.

The third annual Spencer Art Walk will be held from noon to 5 p.m. throughout the town’s historic district with 50 artists participating in the event.

As shared in a release, there were three artists participating in the first event, growing to 25 artists taking part last year and doubling to 50 this year.

Douglas Lail, organizer of the walk, said he attributes the growth to “getting the publicity out there and making the connections,” along with running Facebook ads and recruiting artists from surrounding areas.

During the event, Lail shared in a release that the artists would be located at eight walkable locations throughout the district providing an opportunity for visitors to go at their own pace and explore, talk to the artists about their work and inspiration and purchase directly from them.

“Created for artists, by artists, the event turns participating homes, studios, porches and yards into places to discover original work and meet its makers,” said Lail.

With such a large number of artists participating, there are a lot of different kinds of art as well including pottery, textile art and traditional paintings, at different skill levels too, noted Lail, and there is music.

The art walk, he said, is “more of making Spencer a destination place and there’s a lot of artists in the community that we haven’t even tapped into yet that I’m trying to get to come on board.”

He noted that the event is patterned after other events such as Art in the Park, as he said, “it’s a great community builder. I love that it’s walkable, it’s in the historic district. It’s just something different” plus the fact that there is a lot of variety.

Lail noted in a release some of the work that would be available for visitors to see including Steve Hood of Rustic Upcycled Jewelry who gives vintage flatware a new purpose, while Mandy Firth of Firths ’n Giggles turns gourds into whimsical birdhouses and ornaments. Scott Marquard arranges feathers and thread into artistic flies made to be displayed and admired.

As for the paintings, he said, Marty Lineberger’s Fragments of Rural Past explores weathered objects and farm machinery inspired by the land around his home. Ray Richardson paints planes, trains and automobiles within natural surroundings. Visitors will also find portraits, abstract work, pottery, mixed media and other handmade creations.

The route includes the studios of portrait artist Lail and Spencer artist Shannon Quick, among others. Musicians Courtney Puckett and Tommy Farmer will perform at Quick’s location, 413 S. Baldwin Ave., Spencer.

Members of the Carolina Artists guild will set up in the yard of Mary Ellen Bennett at 406 S. Hudson Ave., Spencer.

Artists can still be a part of the event if they wish by contacting Lail at artistdouglaslail@gmail.com. He noted the could email back and provide needed information

There is no application fee for the artist and each keep 100 percent of their sales.

“This is really just a grassroots sort of artists doing something for other artists just to sort of build a sense of community,” said Lail.

Being from the furniture industry, he said it all began when he had a party and invited some showroom designers, and did a few paintings and saw it as a way to get his art out rather than being in a gallery.

Some neighbors told him if he did that again they would love to be a part of it. Having been to Art in the Park, he did some research and presented the idea to them and the following year, they did it and now it’s an ongoing event, held the second Saturday of every November.

Lail noted that they would have signs up throughout Spencer and at his home, 411 S. Baldwin Ave. where flyers with maps would be available and QR codes will be on the signs which will pull up Google maps showing each location and profiles of the artists at the locations.

In the release, Lail said that the event has earned recognition as Spencer Mayor Jonathan Williams recognized him and Marty Lineberger at a Board of Aldermen meeting in 2025 for their work organizing the Spencer Neighborhood Art Walk.

As for the future, Lail said he would “love for it to be sort of a destination like everybody comes out. My goal is for it to be 100 homes with 200 artists or whatever it may be.”

He noted the various spaces he would love to see used including the space at the library, which he said is at the heart of the historic district and the new park which is another option.

“There’s a lot of opportunity there,” he said.