On Oct 2., more than a dozen artists from Madison and surrounding areas gathered at the Overture Center’s beautiful Promenade Terrace. There, artists exhibited, sold and auctioned off their works, which included a range of mediums, from photography, pottery and ceramics, jewelry, glasswork, sculptures, textiles and other fine crafts.

The event is organized and sponsored by the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Dane County with the support of Overture Center for the Arts, Centro Hispano, and the Latino Professional Association.

While most of the artists in attendance were Latino, some who did not consider themselves Latino came in support of their Latino family members. One such artist, Jeremy Nacewicz has a Latino-American family. His wife is from Costa Rica and together they have two daughters.

“The art fair sounded like a great opportunity to support the Latino community and to show my work.” Nacewicz found out that the event was not exclusive to non-Latinos when he filled out the application. For 15 years, he’s been making glass jewelry and sculptures by hand using a torch flame.

Esther Rice is a Latino American whose works on display included fiber, textiles and needlework in the form of dolls, with a few closely resembling the 20th century Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. “I really like that my art makes me feel more connected to my heritage,” Rice explained when asked about the inspiration for her work.

Another artist whose paintings caught the attention of many that night was Madison College student Claire Michelle Miller, whose mother is Puerto Rican. Her paintings on wood panel caught the eye as they shimmered and gleamed like something out of a 14th century Italian cathedral, created as they were with gold leaf.

“Gold leaf is super fun to work with,” Miller affirms, “and it’s pretty messy and time consuming.” One of her paintings on display was inspired in part by Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss.” Miller explained enthusiastically, “That’s what most people have come to mind when they see this piece.”