RAW Artists: A Showcase of Art, Fashion, and Music

On Thursday night, the Andaz Hotel in downtown San Diego allowed its nightclub, Ivy, to be transformed into so much more than a dance club or lounge. RAW: Natural Born Artists took over for a night of live performances, showcases, and just an overall appreciation of the time, energy, and genius creativity that artists bring to the table. Descending the spiral staircase into the club, one was greeted by photographs hung from strings attached to the ceiling, and full sized paintings lined almost every wall. The heavy bass of dance music was prominent, but once the clock struck 8:30, live performers took the stage to the audience’s delight. From a socially-conscious performance that fused spoken word with hip-hop, to comedienne Jiavani Linayao who did not just tell her jokes, but sang them, the event was incredibly diverse in the best way possible.

Sarah Wilwerding, RAW’s location director for the San Diego area, was eager to explain what makes RAW so special. She explained the group as a “family, and a great resource for these artists”. RAW provides a venue for networking opportunities for their artists in addition to the showcases like the event at Ivy, where the artists can promote and sell their work. She described it as a network of artists helping artists, but they also help the local community, with monthly Boys and Girls Club “Artist Workshops” that promote the importance of art for our community’s youth.

Even without all the wonderful things that RAW does for independent artists and local charities, the event is an amazing thing to experience in itself. Artist Seth Shelman’s graffiti-style Vans slip-on’s were beautiful, eye-catching, and hand-drawn with fabric markers and dyes. His designs caught the attention of Vans itself and some of his work is on permanent display in their flagship stores! He is also a painter, and his canvases decorated the walls next to his displayed shoes. You can find his brand, Psykey, online as well as more information about his work.

Seth and fellow artist Sean Dietrich were favorites among the crowd. Sean, who creates his vivid works primarily in front of crowds, was one of the first live painters in San Diego. His paintings are influenced by anything and everything; from World War II to thoughts of growing old. He is currently working on a series of 52 paintings, each featuring a similar girl with large, innocent, doll eyes juxtaposed against very dark and intense backgrounds. Sean was also promoting his newest book “I Brought the Gutter”, which offers a glimpse into his life as a live painter. Guests Mariah and Tyler, who had never been to a RAW show were very impressed with Sean’s ‘Tim Burton-esque’ paintings and insisted that they would be checking out more of these shows in the future.

One of the highlights of the night was the hip-hop group Kobra Kai. With the final scenes of ‘The Karate Kid’ playing behind the stage, this group of guys from LA and San Diego performed up beat and catchy hip hop alongside bongos, drums, and (of all things) a trumpet. The crowd went wild for this group, and a couple of B-Boys decided to show off their moves at the end of the group's set.

Closing out the night was a fashion show from jewelry designer Shay and her Moonlit Jewelry collection. Originally from Detroit, Shay came to sunny San Diego about two and a half years ago. Her designs are goddess inspired and the pieces are meant to make women feel beautiful. All hand-made by Shay herself, the designs range from funky feathered earrings to bejeweled snake arm bands. The first model from Moonlit wore a gorgeous silver stranded necklace with too many layers to count. Another stunning piece was a jeweled anklet that wrapped around the ankle and down the top of the foot. If you are going to be barefoot this summer, your feet need to be in top shape and this amazing designer has provided tools to make that happen. Another trend in the Moonlit Jewelry collection was the backwards necklace. Instead of draping down the model’s neck, one of the silver and gold pieces was flipped around to drip down her back. Gorgeous.

If you were unfortunate enough to miss this amazing event, fear not. They take place the last Thursday of every month from February though October, and they are constantly featuring new artists. For those who would like to check out a show in another city, visit their website for all the locations, dates, and times

Photo Credit: Cody Hall