Summer is Art Squared

On a bright Saturday morning earlier this summer, stretched across a blocked-off street in front of the historic Hays County Courthouse, flowers abounded and a string of portable cabanas showcased vendors who were offering anything from hand-crocheted hats to poems crafted on a vintage typewriter by a man who only goes by the name, Derrick.

The typewriter? “It's a WWII-era Navy issue,” which he got at a sun dance (an Indigenous people’s event not the film festival), in 2022, he said. For a poem, he asks a little about the person making the request and types on small manila-colored cards, and then, with a final flourish, takes a leaf-shaped stamp and places that image on the bottom of the poem. His favorite poem is one he calls “Willows,” and he writes poetry to make people feel better, he said.

At another booth, a vendor offers flowers. Two young women, Angel Ratcliffe and Aendrea Verdi soon have their arms filled with summer’s bounty of blooms.

Generally held on the second Saturday of the month, with construction underway at the courthouse, the organizers of the Arts Squared arts market, the San Marcos Arts League, have chosen to move the upcoming markets to the Price Center and Garden at 222 W. San Antonio St. The next two scheduled dates are July 8 and Aug. 12.

The market brings a unique summertime feel to the city, and partners periodically with local community organizations for bigger events, including Veteran’s Day festivities in the Fall and of course, visits with Santa, when the weather is decidedly different. In its 39th year of providing quality arts events and programs for the city, the League takes at its core “supporting and nurturing the arts in our community,” according to information on its website. On this Saturday, two San Marcos Rotary Club members Seth Worley and Bruce Smith are selling watermelons to raise money for two local programs.

For additional information about how to participate as a vendor or artist, contact the league at (737)213-4003.