The Sunday Market, hosted at Park Delta Bay by the Delta Bay Foundation, features Delta-area artists, artisans, crafters, food vendors, and growers.  The 2021 summer schedule started in June.  The remaining summer dates are July 11th; July 25th; August 08th; and August 22nd.  Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  The Sunday Market takes place in and around the big tent in the central meadow at Park Delta Bay.  

The Sunday Market’s Food Vendor is the McBoodery Deli of Isleton.  Its Farm Stand grower is Silo Farm Organics of Walnut Grove.  A core of seven vendors are joined on a rotating basis by five others.  To help customers plan their visit to the Sunday Market, we’ll be spotlighting the vendors.

Rachel Warren, a 2020-Sunday-Market and 2021-Spring-Market favorite, returned on June 27th with her Magical Alchemy Designs.  

Rachel Warren describes her vendor’s booth as a “Work in Progress”.  Standing in the wondrous arc of her creative wares, this label resonates.

Various sizes and shapes of glassware available, hand painted, dishwasher safe, $15 each or two for $25

Warren, a Rio Vista resident who appears on a rotating basis at the Sunday Market and other fairs in the region, finds her artistic outlet in varied and beautiful ways.  She specializes in painted glassware with a Mexican theme, but can personalize the items and accepts custom orders.  Her paintings vividly enhance any decor as well as appearing on stunning cards with blank interiors for your special messages to family and friends.  As seen in the photo of her Sunday Market vendor booth, Warren’s art cards sell for $5 each or 6 for $20, including envelopes.

Warren’s work shows  focus tempered with whimsy; passion paired with humor; and delicacy married with boldness.

Like many of us, Warren loves pretty things — colored glass, sparkly gems, eye-catching geometric patterns.  She used to be a full-time jewelry designer and branched out to glass and paint while maintaining a love of gems and metal.  Her jewelry combines both delicate and bold pieces.  When fabricating a custom piece, Warren pays particular attention to a customer’s style.   She has been known to work back-and-forth with a sweetheart wanting a special gift for an anniversary.    We can only imagine the awe-struck gasp of appreciation!

Everything Warren experiences finds its way into her art, from the view on her drive home to memories of childhood.  “I find inspiration in the beautiful people and traditions of my Latino heritage,”” she explains, “but also in the awesome colors of the Delta.”

Her Mexican mother instilled a life-long love of art.  Mama kept her daughter well-stocked with art supplies.  Throughout childhood, Warren found herself always making something — a birthday card for a relative, or a hand-crafted candle from wax.  “It did not matter; I loved it all,” she remembers.  Her decision to expand her efforts from jewelry design to painted glass stemmed from her desire to make lovely but functional objects.

But Warren still turns her hand at jewelry, including bracelets with sterling clasps and gem stones arranged with Warren’s eye for coordination of size and color.  Sets can include coordinated earrings and necklaces.  She stocks pre-made pieces or can design a unique creation just for you or your loved one.

“Luna Verde”, 12×12 acrylic on canvas, $85, currently available.

Warren’s Mexican heritage shows most vibrantly on her canvasses.  But here, too, one can see a glimmer of the artist’s intense and admitted love of life.  Merriment dances in her eyes when she talks about her family, being on the rivers of the Sacramento Delta, and striving to perfect her art.

“Art feeds my soul,” she states, simply but with feeling.

There is a certain symbiosis at work, then, because  Rachel Warren’s spirit radiates from everything she makes.  To own an original by Rachel Warren is to take a little piece of her happiness to hang on your wall, like capturing the eternal glow of a Delta sunrise dancing through your window to dispel the lingering shadows of a gloomy night.

Rachel Warren of Magical Alchemy Designs.

The Delta Bay Foundation is a registered California not-for-profit charity with 501(c)(3) exempt status.  Its focus is the community, culture, customs, and conversation of the California Delta and surrounding areas. 

The Sunday Market 2021 season has been the 2nd & 4th Sundays in June, July, and August.  The Sunday Market will reprise its Harvest Market on October 10th; and will premier its Holiday Market on December 12th.  The 2020 Holiday Market fell to the pandemic.  The Sunday Market vendors can’t wait to make up for the lost opportunity!  

For information on the Sunday Market, contact the secretary of the Delta Bay Foundation, Corinne Corley, by email at ccorleyjd@gmail.com; or by phone at 816-520-9152.