SWAN QUARTER — No matter the community, budding artists strive to make a name for themselves, whether on a local level or across the nation.

MATTIE Arts Center hosted its inaugural Spring Fling in downtown Swan Quarter last Saturday with that goal in mind.

Pat Bertke. program administrator, said Spring Fling featured 14 artists, from basket weavers and wood carvers, to painters and jewelry makers. Bertke also held loom demonstrations upon request.

“It went really well. We had a great day. We had beautiful weather, lots of turnout of the artists that are in our gallery,” she said. “We thought it would help the artists — some of those are emerging artists, and they’re new and they’re trying it.”

Bertke said the main role of MATTIE Arts Center, located in the old county courthouse, is to support local artists and provide a location for them to share their artwork. Spring Fling also served as a good place for these artists to network with one another, she said.

Many people do not understand the amount of work that goes into creating art, according to Bertke, and watching the artists work out in the open was a way to shed some light on what exactly they do.

Bertke said there was a decent turnout at Saturday’s event, but organizers are hoping to see more in the years to come. The intent is to make Spring Fling an annual event.

“Basically it was to help expose (artists) to the public, as well as the public being exposed to them,” Bertke said. “We had great feedback from the people that came — from the public as well as the artists.”

For more information about MATTIE Arts Center, call 252-943-8991.