# 93- Bree Karpavage - Collage Artist and Director of Santa Cruz First Fridays, and Downtown Santa Cruz Makers Market

# 93- Bree Karpavage - Collage Artist and Director of Santa Cruz First Fridays, and Downtown Santa Cruz Makers Market Born and raised in an island community off the coast of Maryland, Bree Karpavage sought to experience the world outside her small town. Taking a break from college, she took to the road crafting jewelry, starting a family, and ultimately setting roots in Santa Cruz, where she has lived for 15 years. When the grind of sustaining her family by crafting jewelry became tedious, she sought ways to implement her experience selling at makers’ markets in supporting the creative community of Santa Cruz and began creating a new body of collage artwork. Bree received a degree in advertising design and began coordinating events at The Santa Cruz Mountains Makers Market to bring more regularly scheduled programming to the area. The connections she made through the makers’ market led her to a role as director of First Friday Santa Cruz in early 2020, the beginning of Pandemic lockdowns. Bree stood fast despite turbulence and worked to maintain a platform for artists to share their work. As the world recovers from the pandemic, Bree has created a new website, artist directory, and trip planning map for First Friday Santa Cruz to encourage folks to come out and support local art. In our conversation, Bree shares her experiences creating art of her own, producing events, and the evolution she has gone through in various phases of her life. Follow Bree's artwork at breekarpavage.com and @bree.karpavage Be sure to mark your calendars for the First Friday Santa Cruz and subscribe to The Santa Cruz Mountains Makers Market Newsletter. _____________________ This episode's music is "408" by Jack Pavlina. Read more about Jack in Issue 14.1 Winter 2022 — release date: Dec. 9, 2021: https://bit.ly/Discover141 Follow Jack at @jackpavlinamusic (https://instagram.com/jackpavlinamusic) Spotify: https://bit.ly/jackpavlina