Last week I heard about an exciting thing going on in downtown Tulsa— in the business district they were setting up ‘pop up shops’ for Christmas shopping in the ground floors some of the gorgeous old buildings that otherwise sit empty all year round. I was doubly excited to hear that the local show Indie Emporium was sponsoring one of these shops and I was asked to add some art to the displays!
The old down town of Tulsa, Oklahoma is a beautiful place. We’ve got architecture that people come from all over to gawk at– art deco buildings made with the best that money could buy when oil tycoons called this place home in the boom days of the twenties and beyond. There are huge stone churches that are so gorgeous and works of art in themselves, and the city is clean and cared for but as shopping centers located themselves farther and farther from the heart of old Tulsa, the crowds down town dwindled until they were almost nonexistant. These days, most of the people you see downtown are there because they work there, but that’s starting to slowly change.
Some really neat shops and restaurants are slowly but surely seeping back into these beautiful spaces, and so the idea that crowds of merry Christmas shoppers might once again mill through the street like they did decades ago is thrilling. My grandparents would tell stories about getting dressed in their finest– with hats and gloves and pearls— to go strolling down the sidewalks of down town Tulsa, where the windows would be piled high with beautiful items that would be taken home as treasures.
The two paintings above– “Evergreen Angel” and “Angel of Winter Peace” will be perched in the Indie Emporium pop up shop in the Thompson building. The Philcade building will also be hosting some little local shops, and both buildings can be found along Boston Ave between 5th and 6th streets. It’s a beautiful area, and there are some yummy eateries right in the middle of it all– including Elote which serves amazing organic Mexican food and Mod’s Coffee and Crepes.
The stores tentatively open on Monday with a grand opening on the 30th. I plan to get some pics when its all put together and post them here, to get you in the shopping spirit!
Now I need to put the finishing touches on the paintings that will go to hang at Deep Fork tomorrow in OKC. This is the busiest week I’ve had in a long time, but oh so satisfying!~
Hope all is well with you & yours,
H
Sleightholm Folk Art 
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