Apex art shop having fun during the election season
APEX, N.C. (WTVD) -- If you happen to stroll down Salem Street in downtown Apex, you can't help but notice the eye-catching exhibit in the front windows of a little artist's studio called The Red Canvas. The studio's owner would call the larger than life acrylics of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump paintings with a purpose.
"I want to encourage people to talk with civility about this and to talk about this, and to talk with knowledge, to think about what the other person is saying," she explains.
It's only been a month since she put the candidate's portraits on display, but she says the response she's gotten has been tremendous.
"They stop, they look, most of the time they come in... and they start talking about what they believe and I'm open to any of it," she shares.
However, she admits these two candidates, who she predicts will be the nominees for the general election, tend to elicit strong feelings.
"It's amazing what people say (about them). Some of the things I can't say that people (have) said!" she exclaims with a laugh.
Still, she believes that's a start, and the purpose of art, to generate an emotional art and to make people think.
Besides just talking about it, Martin also encourages people to cast their vote both in the election, and first, at her shop. She has a small bucket with paper and pens outside, and you can jot down your choice, fold the paper, and slip it through the mail slot any time of day.
So far Martin says candidate Hillary Clinton is winning by a margin of 2 to 1, making this part unofficial straw poll, part conversation starter, and above all, works of art.
