20 Wasatch Front holiday art markets offer locally made gifts and

Sarah May started weaving as a way to connect with her Indigenous roots.

Born in the United States after her family immigrated from El Salvador, she feels disconnected, having never set foot in her home country.

“I don’t know my people. I don’t know my language. I don’t know any of that stuff,” May said. “So that was why I started weaving; I felt a connection knowing that my ancestors in some way or another were weavers, were artists, and it was literally ingrained and woven into their lives.”

May’s shop, Cyanoweave, combines her cyanotype photography with her weaved mandala wall hangings, and it will be part of a holiday artist pop-up market at Finch Lane Gallery from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14, in Salt Lake City.

Her cyanotypes look like watercolor paintings, with bright hues of blue contrasting with images in white, and often depict nature and foliage. Cyanotype is a form of alternative photography that uses light sensitive chemicals that can be applied to paper, wood and fabric. A light box can be used, but May uses the sun’s ultraviolet light to expose and bring images to the surface.

For May’s woven wall hangings, she starts with the shape of circles, which for her is symbolic of cycles and the earth. She also is drawn to bright colors of yarn, like oranges and yellows that remind her of mangoes and cream. She works by intuition, drawing inspiration from the color of the yarn she picks up at thrift stores and things she finds in nature, such as driftwood and branches.

In addition to the Finch Lane pop-up, May will be participating in Alta Community Enrichment (ACE) Holiday Art Market Dec. 9 to 11.

“These little local markets bring the arts to the people. I feel like art is something that people feel is really inaccessible, like it’s something that belongs in a museum,” said May. “But art is really a part of our way of life and our Indigenous communities. Not only Indigenous to the Americas, but across Europe and Africa, pretty much the whole world. People were creating art as a way of life and to process emotions and tell their stories.”

A new approach

When the Salt Lake City Arts Council created its first holiday craft market, it was trying to fill a need. Now, with so many art and craft markets opening during the season, its leaders decided to do things a little differently this year.

Instead of one central marketplace with several artists, there will be 12 different artists and craftspeople individually highlighted at the gallery on different days.

“Each artist can bring more work than they usually would, and people can interact with them about the process,” said Claire Taylor, visual arts coordinator for the Salt Lake…