Pin Painting Party a traditional precursor to Girdwood Forest Fair

By Hannah Dillon

TNews Reporter

Tommy O’Malley sat on a wooden bench on the patio of Alpenglow coffeehouse Wednesday and used a pink marker to draw the petals of a flower as he explained the tradition of pin painting to Turnagain News.

 The sound of excited chatter filled the coffeehouse and surrounding area. Community members mingled, laughed and helped each other with their flowers as they sipped their drinks and painted tiny roses under warm lighting.

 “Usually, we do it [painting] some place you can drink and after a while people start cleaning their brush in their merlot,” said O’Malley jokingly.

 Dozens of pin painters gathered around O’Malley as he introduced a new watercolor technique and flower design to the interested audience. 

 O’Malley said the idea for this particular technique came to him while he was on a plane. The painter did not have the supplies he would normally use for his artwork – but he did have a set of washable markers. 

Instructor Tommy O’Malley (left) demonstrates pin painting to students at the Alpenglow Coffeehouse. (Pictures by Soren Wuerth)

 O’Malley demonstrated the evolution of a simple floral outline into a recognizable rose through shading and color placement. With just a few strokes of his markers and paintbrush, O’Malley created the spiral blooming of a flower. 

 The bright colors of the markers faded to a pastel hue when water was applied and painted across the thick sheet of paper.

 After the short demonstration, painters took their seats inside Alpenglow and on the patio, each with a set of washable markers, paper and water glasses provided by O’Malley. 

 O’Malley said the pin painting phenomena started roughly two decades ago when an artist named Annie Olson tore a painting into small pieces and gave them to vendors at the Forest Fair. The following year, Olson made even more painted pins and ran out just as quickly. 

Once people began to recognize the large presence of such a small piece of paper, people in the community became involved with the beloved pin production.  

A collection of the necessary materials to make the pin painting artwork.

 Watercolor classes on a small medium were held for the community who wished to contribute to painting pins for the Forest Fair. 

Since Olson started the tradition, a multitude of watercolor techniques have been taught and many people have carried the tradition forward to the next generation. 

“The Forest Fair pins are something that people recognize as something ‘Girdwood’ so if you wear them in town, people go ‘oh, you’re from Girdwood,’ and now they’re such a part of the culture you can go anywhere with a flower pin – go up and pin a redneck construction worker and they’ll take it,” said O’Malley.

 O’Malley reminisced on previous painting parties, he said the most pins created for the Forest Fair was around three to four thousand for a fair attending population of approximately 20,000. The artist and fellow painters quickly and proudly agreed that the feat took multiple “pin painting parties.”

 The pin painting parties have provided an opportunity for family-friendly, fun and educational community interactions for many years and continue to bring together the citizens of Girdwood. 

An example of one of pieces of artwork students made during their class.