By Lauren Sheffer, News Staff

Aardvark-covered quilts and T-shirts that proclaim ‘Kiss Me, I’m Irish’ in Arabic aren’t typically found in the same place. Yet the SoWa Open Market, named for its location South of Washington Street and operated by the SoWa Arts and Media District, offers these and a plethora of others art and crafted pieces every weekend through October.
The SoWa Arts and Media District rents booths to independent local artists and designers. On May 16 and 17, the market’s opening weekend, each booth offered something different, like paintings of bug-eyed bunnies, collages of photographs from fashion shoots and old National Geographics, vintage clothing, blown glass lamps, monster plush toys, animal hats and wooden sculptures. Other independent artisans had booths offering pottery, lip balm, tea sets, jams, pastries and potted herbs.
‘The inspiration comes from personal experience,’ said Mary Robinson, designer and creator of the Arabic text T-shirts. Robinson lived in Morocco for a few years before returning to the United States eight days before September 11, she said.
‘It was important for me to create a positive image of the Arabic-speaking world, which is so often portrayed negatively by the media,’ she said.
With the exception of the overtly political message behind ‘No Gas, No Guns,’ Robinson said she strived to keep the tone of the other T-shirts humorous.
‘I wanted to de-contextualize the language,’ she said. ‘For many people living in the West, they just see violence. I wanted to put a universal message to the language, by giving them a lighthearted edge.’
While Robbins’ designs deal with a realistic subject, artist Chris Larochelle’s paintings spring from images discovered in dreams. His most prominently displayed pieces were large paintings of pot-bellied, bug-eyed, bewildered looking bunnies, in hues of pea greens, sharp purples, smoky blues and candy pinks and yellows. The bunnies laid under or clung to trees whose brunches swirled and twisted like vines.
‘This dream only happened once, and it inspired this series,’ Larochelle said. ‘And dreams totally have meanings. Not necessarily for yourself ‘- they could have meanings for someone that you know.’
Larochelle smiled when talking about viewers’ reactions to bunny paintings.
‘Oh, people love it,’ he said. ‘Don’t know if it’s the cuteness of it or that underneath the surface, it’s a little dark and a little strange.’
Other pieces included small paintings in striking reds, blacks, and yellows of famous pop culture figures such as Ronald McDonald, robots, comic book heroes, smoking guns and whiskey bottles.
‘What I was doing was finding different characters that could help people find their own stories,’ Larochelle said. ‘It says more about who’s buying it than it says about me. Like if a guy comes in and buys paintings of a bunny, a gun, and a gas mask, what kind of story is that? What was he thinking?’
Tucked in a separate indoor market are antique dealers. A conglomeration of finds such as posters detailing humans’ muscular anatomy, sheet music from the late 18th century, ’50s handbags, rusty motorcycles, a stone statue of a flame, and Chinese and Indian prints can all be found under one roof. Furthermore, if both the pieces made by local artists and the goods offered by antiques traders fail to tempt, the SoWa Arts and Media District offers a farmers’ market, comprised of six to 10 farmers from around Massachusetts.
Chris Masci, one of the founders of the SoWa Arts and Media District and its current organizer, said the decision to establish the SoWa Open Market ‘- now in its sixth year ‘- was inspired by his experience with similar venues in Manhattan.
‘When I moved to Boston, there were one or two art festivals that were privately run, and that only really happened from time to time,’ Masci said. ‘There was no consistent venue for artists, designers, and craft artists to express themselves. We help local artists and independent businesses find a non-competitive venue to market themselves. Also, there’s no high rent like they’d pay for a studio.’
The open market is not just for the artists’ benefit, said Masci.
‘We also wanted to have a fun, outdoor market for the city of Boston to enjoy, for the customers,’ Masci said.
The market began with 20 to 30 vendors, but has since grown, Masci said. This past weekend there were 140 vendors and the average now is 75 to 100 vendors on most Sundays, he said.
Many who strolled around the market that Sunday shared Masci’s enthusiasm.
‘I like the variety of things, and the emphasis on local artists. Generally, I prefer things I can use or wear, like T-shirts,’ said Nan Sauer, a local resident and a regular customer of the market for two years.
Sauer’s friend and first-time visitor, Choen Vogt, said the market was better than what she expected.
‘At first I thought it was just a farmers’ market, then a flea market,’ Vogt said. ‘It’s really more on par with an art fair. It’s really cute. I appreciate it all, I like the variety. I’m personally drawn to the photography and acrylics and marzipan and handmade soaps. Flavor comes from variety.’
The SoWa Open Market is open every Sunday, excluding holiday weekends, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until October 25 at 540 Harrison Ave.