A couple notes of current interest and some reflections on artists: those practicing, those in hibernation, and the latent, yet-to-begin.
First, many thanks to Angola’s Carnegie Public Library for hosting the monthly 2nd Tuesday Angola Regional Artists’ Guild 6:30PM meetings. Generally the first 30-60 minutes include a presentation, demonstration, workshop, etc. which is free and open to the public. More than 30 people attended May’s program featuring Indiana artist Joel Fremion, an accomplished and unique “fiber artist” who exhibits widely and has won many prizes. Joel stitches various fabric and leather scraps into a canvas, then applies paint, ink, colored markers, etc to elements of the collage, and in doing so creates a hybrid medium that looks much like oil painting, but is enhanced with unique visual properties due to the various underlying fabrics’ texture and volume. Joel’s combination of this unique medium with his mastery of portraiture, color, shading, perspective, etc. has produced some very compelling art.
Joel’s presentation was just one hour, but throughout all of May the Angola library is exhibiting the work of several other regional “fiber artists” as well. These exhibits include weaving, quilting, collage portraiture, knitting, stitching, embroidery, needle point, macramé, and photography printed on fabric, which can create some of the unique visual effects noted above. Overall the exhibited works are quite varied, attractive, and interesting.
Angola’s Carnegie Public Library warrants high commendation for its role in cultivating the arts. Beyond hosting Guild meetings and this particular exhibit, they offer various other exhibits throughout the year, artistic workshops, art-related books, and on October 1 a motor-coach trip to the gargantuan ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The ArtPrize event is uniquely popular and dynamic: part arts festival and part social experiment, the goal is for artists and the general public to collide, exchange ideas, and for each to leave the event changed. Last year’s event saw 1,713 artists in 192 downtown venues from 44 states and 21 countries. The venues span all sort of restaurants, galleries, courtyards, parks, etc. - most any space can become an ArtPrize venue. Prize money is rich, with $500,000 allocated to the top ten ($250,000 for first). This is a sure bet – for more detailed information, check www.ArtPrize.org, or at the Angola library ask for the current Pure Michigan publication and/or Dina Ferree.
On another front, Fremont’s Papa Joe Driver appears in a beautiful 4-page, color-photo Fort Wayne Monthly magazine May-issue feature. Joe crafts jewelry from polished rock and glass, and has found considerable regional success selling his artifacts through the Pokagon gift shop, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art gift shop, and through Satek’s Winery. His “Satek Glass” is inspired: Joe uses a rock tumbler to “age” shattered wine bottles over 10 days, simulating “sea glass” which is valued for properties created through erosion at sea over a much longer time. The full Fort Wayne Monthly article is very much worth reading – kudos to Papa Joe.
And kudos to all the other Angola/Lakes/Regional artists. Some have surprising commercial success, many are highly accomplished, and many others simply find deep gratification in their private artistic practice, which perhaps is actually the highest success.
To me though, just as intriguing are the overwhelming numbers of artists-gone-dormant and the yet more numerous latently yearning but presently unexpressive souls who, for many reasons, have never practiced art at all. Some are “too busy” and it really is a matter of priorities. Joel Fremion himself was once in this category, and related how for many years he had set aside earlier artistic interests.
But far more are those who “know” they lack talent because they just couldn’t “get it” when they were 10 years old; others “knew” they lacked talent at age 8! Yet any 60-year old knows there is much in life that couldn’t be learned once, yet could indeed be learned later, in the right way, at the right time. There is a now-classic book about this, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards, an art education researcher. Google it for more information, or examine it out at your library, or request it through interlibrary loan. Perhaps this is your time?
Until the next column, know that the Angola area lakes region is an Art Region, and its towns are Art Towns!
Stephen Rowe currently serves as the Angola Regional Artists’ Guild publicity chairman and writes two additional blogs:
Stephen welcomes correspondence of all sort per StephenRowe.OriGraphics@yahoo.com
