BY MEGAN MANN
FOR THE OBSERVER
The second annual Mayfield Family Art Show will be on Saturday Dec. 4 at the Opelika Art Haus. It will take place all day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Opelika Art Haus is a non-profit organization that operates by partnering with artists to build art as a foundation for community.
This is different than a typical art show because it is ran by a creative, unique and fun family.
The show will feature a multitude of different art pieces from the whole Mayfield family, including paintings, different wood pieces, jewelry and pottery.
The Mayfield’s are a family of four that have lived in Opelika for many years. Each of them has different gifts and talents when it comes to artistry. There is the mother Margaret, father Carlos, and their children Brandon and Megan.
The family has had artistry in their bones as long as they can remember. It is something that brings their family together in a special way and makes them unique.
“My son Brandon does wood-working, and some pottery and painting,” Margaret said. “My daughter Megan does jewelry and clothing and my husband has been painting ever since I met him. He does acrylics and watercolors.”
Margaret creates pottery.
“I started pottery about 25 years ago,” she said. “My daughter was young and started a class called Kids and Clay, she had to have a parent go.”
After attending the classes with her daughter, she ended up signing up for her own classes.
“I started taking pottery at Auburn and I’ve been doing it ever since as a relaxing thing and to enjoy,” she said.
Art has been a huge part of each of the Mayfield’s lives in different ways.
Carlos has been painting for a long time. He gets a lot of his inspiration from observing nature, he said.
“I paint with watercolors and acrylics, and sometimes I’ll do pastels,” he said. “I do all kinds of paintings like abstracts and landscapes. I enjoy painting whatever hits me that day.”
When Brandon is not doing wood working, he is working on his paintings.
“I just started getting back into painting and I’ve been doing big pieces,” he said. “I see it like a game, trying to come up with a subject that is good enough.”
Brandon said he typically draws his inspiration from his friends, significant life experiences and different places he has traveled.
Megan has leaned toward the design aspect of art.
“I graduated from design at Auburn University where I started making different festival attire that went into different boutiques around town,” she said. “My design work has brought me to designing and creating my own therapeutic dog training retreat in Opelika and being called into work larger festivals such as Music Midtown decorating VIP areas, artists rooms and serving as a lead stagehand.”
She said her favorite thing about being a designer is seeing her customer’s reactions.
“I like seeing people light up when they see something extraordinary or fancy,” Megan said.
Citizens of Opelika, Auburn and all of Lee County are all welcome to hear more about each of their stories and buy some of their pieces at the art show, while supporting local artists and a great family.
“The community was very open to it last year and we had a great time so we’re looking forward to this year,” Margaret said.
The Opelika Art Haus, where the event will be taking place, is located on 500 N Railroad Ave. For more information about the event, check out their Facebook page, The Mayfield Family Art Show.
