Dropped into the opening of the annual holiday sale at Creativity Explored Friday night, and it was packed with artists and art lovers roaming the studio, plastic cups of vino in hand, perusing the many, many artworks by developmentally disabled artists for sale. It was, truly, like being let loose in a store chock-full of eye candy: paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, sculptures, textiles, digital art, poster-size paintings of R2D2 and Batman, and 3-D paper pieces depicting American Indian life. 

Among the many temptations: Andrew Bixler’s portraits of working schmoes in suit and tie and horn-rim glasses, inked with marker on wood or printed on Florentine-style paper; John Patrick McKenzie’s visual poetry on paper; and Norman Ballou’s collaged tributes to the Beatles. There were also amazing T-shirts -- love the Spock/“Live long and prosper” and “Johnny Depp likes pink panties” numbers -- and paper ephemera. How to choose? Maybe just buy as much as you can -- after all, half the proceeds go directly to the artists.

Holiday Art Sale’s opening weekend is Dec. 5-6, 1-5 p.m., and runs through Dec. 23 at Creativity Explored, 3245 16th St., SF. (415) 863-2108, www.creativityexplored.org