New art show ‘Sea of Love’ pops up at Flower Hill Promenade

After an initial inquiry about putting his work on display, a local artist ended up creating the Creative Collective, a pop-up gallery at the Flower Hill Promenade featuring photography, woodcuts, mosaics and other works from a lineup of other artists.

“It’s a broad range of artists from all walks of life,” said Max Roemer, an artist from Germany who now lives in Encinitas. “We have everyone from students to grandparents working across all sorts of mediums.”

The current show, titled “Sea of Love”, pays homage to life by the ocean and the connections from making and sharing of art, according to a news release.

Roemer said the group came together last year “as a grassroots co-op of local artists” to share the space. They will be hosting a reception and Valentine’s Day celebration on Feb. 12, with art-making activities and a raffle.

“Looking ahead, our goal is to find additional locations and spaces to include more local artists and create more pop-up shows,” he added.

The current exhibit includes mosaics by Cathy Sparks, paintings and woodcuts by Phoenix Coverley, illustrations and drawing by Katrin Queck, photography by Nicholas Mac Connell, and Roemer’s painting and sculpture.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “And that’s really what it’s all about for us. The motivation is connecting with the community. Obviously this is not necessarily a profit-making venture. But the feedback’s been great. People stop by, often they happen to be in the mall and see us there. Or some people stop by because maybe they saw a note in the paper.”

There are also open studio hours with live art-making demonstrations, Roemer said, and the Creative Collective collaborates with local art and nonprofit organizations such as the UCSD Craft Center.

“I think we would love to build the momentum we’ve got and expand the community outreach,” Roemer said. “One thing we’ve tried to do is more ongoing events.”

Flower Hill Promenade is located at 2720 Via De La Valle in Del Mar. The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit sdcreativecollective.org.