SIXES hosts Art Battle in Historic Downtown Pocatello
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - Some of our most talented local artists were on the clock in Pocatello.
The Oasis Sports Bar hosted this year's Art Battle, sponsored by SIXES.
Artists from across the area showcased what they could in so little time.
"Basically in 20 minutes, you can create anything you want to create," said SIXES owner Josh Pohlman.
Whether it was the limited time frame or painting in front of a live audience, these artists knew they had to be locked in.
"Most of my pieces take six to eight hours," said Claudia Stuart. "So, I really had to practice a lot."
"I'm known for being very fast, so this played right into my skills, but I have a pretty crippling fear of being observed," said Kate Brown. "And so, my husband pushed me to do this and sort of express what I'm good at and try and overcome that fear."
The event was organized by Pohlman, who could relate to the work being done on the canvas.
"For me, it's important to host this event, because I come from a graffiti background, and we're definitely pressed for time when we're doing graffiti," Pohlman said.
For Pohlman and his family, the last few months has been a struggle.
His downtown art studio caught fire back in February, causing them to have to find a new location.
"I had about three days where I was like in a deep funk, and was like man, this sucks," Pohlman said. "But then immediately after that, when everybody started saying, all right, it's summer, what's the plan? My kind of parental mindset had to jump back in and say all right, let's start doing this."
With forward thinking and community support, Pohlman says they have done just that, and have recently secured a new location on Yellowstone Avenue.
A result that Brown says she is glad to see.
"I think SIXES is doing amazing things for the art community in Pocatello," Brown said. "They are introducing so much community value in artistic endeavors and putting up art everywhere. I love that we get to have such an amazing asset to the art community here."
