The Art on the Go drive-by art show provides local artists and art lovers a safe outlet this weekend

Perhaps you've heard people banging on pans to support health care workers, or howling into the abyss just to let other humans know they were alive.

We've gone to some extreme measures to keep ourselves entertained since much of the country went on lockdown to combat COVID-19, and here's another one that can get you out of the house while remaining safely social-distanced and supporting local artists at the same time.

Artist Denny Carman, president of the River Ridge Association of Fine Arts and resource manager of Art Chowder magazine, hatched a plan with his friend Alice Harmon to create the Art on the Go Art Show, happening this Saturday, May 2, from 11 am to 4 pm.

"You maybe saw people were putting bears in their windows?" Carman says of the trend of putting teddy bears in household windows to amuse kids on a "bear hunt."

"I thought, 'Why the heck can't artists stick art in their windows?'"

While Carman was musing on that, Harmon said, "Hey Denny, do you think people will drive around and look at art in people's yards?"

And with that, the idea came to life. As of Tuesday, 47 artists and a couple of galleries have joined the Art on the Go show, in which art lovers can cruise in the safety of their own cars — listening to a soundtrack of their choice — for drive-by viewing. (I'll be playing "Lowrider" on a loop despite being behind the wheel of a 2006 Suburu and not a boss El Camino.)

There will be a list and map of participating artists on the Art on the Go Art Show Facebook event page. And if you spot a piece you love, there will be opportunities to buy some of the artwork as well.

An early list of participating artists included: Tea Kurtz, Ryker Murdock, Robbin R. Thrasher, Cindy Parker, ildiko Kalapacs. Ali James, Jessie Scoggin, Lynne Morris, Jesse Pierpoint, Renee Raidt, Patty Murphy, Janie Edwards, Tom Quinn, Dan Thesignpainter Martin, Ginny Brennan, Sean Kubes, Cameo Townsend, Max Marvel, Chuck and Alice Harmon, Anne Marie King, Becca Osburn, Debbie Rhodes, Beth Heart, Jill Smith, Judy Harrell, Aaron Tesch, Karen Mobley, Christina Oss LaBang, Brandy Seistrup, Pete Canfield, Joe Snyder, James Bell and Karen Sutula.  

"I just thought, you know, it's a way to get artists noticed and get people out of the house, but safely out of the house," Carman says. 

The map of the participating artists will go live on Friday. If you're an artist and interested in joining the show, you can call Denny Carman at 509-991-7275.