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| Moss Map of the World at Festival in the Park |
WHERE I WENT AND WHY...
I've been going to Festival in the Park for 35 or more years. The festival actually started in 1964. I remember when my now thirtysomethings were in elementary school, it was a PTO volunteer's heaven. I would go and book the food vendors, clowns, face painters, etc. for the Spring Fling all in one place! And while it is billed as an arts festival, it is a big conglomerate of some fine art, local performance arts, lots of crafts of varied quality and traditional food vendors, and a Charlotte intitution!
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| My son's dog Julio got turned away! So they biked to a brewery instead! Actually it was nice not having dogs mix with the art and tons of people. |
WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO...
Festival in the Park is located in Freedom Park (where East Blvd meets Queens) the 3rd weekend in September every year. It is free and this year it was dog free. Parking is always a challenge. We rode our segways there on the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. There are satellite parking lots with shuttles at Myers Park Traditions School, the Nature Museum, St. Luke's Lutheran Church and Holy Trinity Middle School.
WHAT I SAW...
The art at Festival in the Park is often hidden among the traditional crafts, performers, food and product vendors. This year "yard art" seemed to dominate (and be selling!) along with glass and jewelry. I found Michelle McDowell Smith's blend of collage and painting the most fascinating among the artists I saw and spoke to. Each picture is whimsical and seems to tell a story. A SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) graduate, she uses acrylic paint, mixed media materials such as paper, hand made linoleum stamps, sewing patterns, maps, old letters, pages from books, and more. Her prints are affordable and she is experimenting printing on birch wood.
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| This is not one I'd put in my house, but the collage story telling was really interesting! |
Another piece I found interesting was actually be a worker at The Map Shop. It was a living map of moss. (see above)
WHAT I LEARNED...
I didn't have any new art insights at the Festival. But I did learn that Freedom Park has had a really nice "overhaul". They have reappointed many of the stacked stone walls and added some permanent art. This tree has been a logo for the Festival in the past. There were fewer geese and I read a sign about natural ways they are discouraging the geese from fouling the sidewalks and pond. They are spraying a grape derivative on the grass which the geese find distasteful!
IF MON$Y WERE NO OBJECT WOULD I PUT IT IN MY HOUSE...
Finding a place for one of Michelle McDowell Smith's collages could be problematic, but I would definitely hang one in my house.
WE LIKED IT SO MUCH WE BOUGHT IT...
WHAT I LEARNED...
I didn't have any new art insights at the Festival. But I did learn that Freedom Park has had a really nice "overhaul". They have reappointed many of the stacked stone walls and added some permanent art. This tree has been a logo for the Festival in the past. There were fewer geese and I read a sign about natural ways they are discouraging the geese from fouling the sidewalks and pond. They are spraying a grape derivative on the grass which the geese find distasteful!
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| New permanent art and stone walls in the park |
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| Jewelry, food, clowns, more food (Dave and his turkey leg), pottery and glass are always a part of Festival in the park |
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| Student Art often is as good or better than the art for sale! |
IF MON$Y WERE NO OBJECT WOULD I PUT IT IN MY HOUSE...
Finding a place for one of Michelle McDowell Smith's collages could be problematic, but I would definitely hang one in my house.
WE LIKED IT SO MUCH WE BOUGHT IT...
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| This artist was back. We bought a drum head similar to this for our son a few years ago at the Festival. |
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