Art in the Park in Marietta, Georgia

Last Labor Day, September 3^rd, we had breakfast in Marietta with friends visiting from Columbia, South Carolina.  When we drove back home we saw a festival on the Marietta Square.  We had forgotten that this was the famous Art in the Park week-end.  I had written a post on this art festival in my post of September 18, 2010 – see all the art pieces pictured  here.  First we went to an adjacent street where the first Artcar Show was taking place  - this show was on my last post. (Please click on the picture to enlarge, on collages please click twice.)

We strolled along the booths of the Art in the Park Festival.  Fortunately I had my little Panasonic Lumix camera in my purse and took many pictures.  This festival has been organized now on the historical Marietta square for the last 26 years.  It is rated one of the Top 20 Events by the Southeast Tourist Society.  It gathers 150 artists from across the country and the Southeast.   The artists display their hand crafted pieces, those considered “fine arts” only, as resale or wholesale items are not permitted.  There is a great variety of art and it is fun to walk through the park and look at all the fine pieces being displayed.  Many styles of painting are exhibited such as those paintings below of flowers and the North Georgia Mountains.

I always stop to look at paintings of cats, or cyclists.

The bright paintings below would look good in the right décor – not in my house though, but I like to look at them.

Maybe something softer, more romantic –

It’s always peaceful to look at the sea, or interesting for a sportswoman to look at ducks. Fruits would look good in a kitchen.

The paintings below are in the psychedelic style – mellow mushrooms…

What about Venice?  I am still reading the Donna Leon mystery series taking place in La Serenissima …

There was booth after booth of paintings, even paintings on mail boxes.

I talked to the owner of the little Italian greyhound wearing a fancy tutu, below. She told me the dog’s name was “Chanel” – no wonder she was wearing an outfit then.  She was on her way to have a drink -  the dog that is.

There were some artists I remembered from two years ago, such as the sculptor who makes funny figures and fountains, and the woman who works with silk.  But most of the others were new to me.

 

On the bottom right hand photo in the collage above is a personage that can barely be seen.  Here he is below and I approve his message…

A potter explained her process with us.  Her owls and frogs were so cute.

 I really like pottery but we have so many one of kind mugs by now – it’s better to just look.  

I stopped to watch an engraver working on metal.  I took his picture and he gave me a funny look, so I moved on.

 Then I went to look at a photographer display.  She explained that she took many photos on a variety of subjects, then created new pictures with Photoshop.  She had an accent I recognized, so I told her “vos photos sont excellentes” and after she exclaimed “Oh! You are French, too” she was pleased to talk French with me and explain her technique.

There were some great photographers showing their art but they eyed me and my camera with a stern eye.  I liked the display of a photographer from Mississippi – it reminded me of our last trip to Memphis to visit our daughter there.  But it was hard to get a good picture with all the reflections.

 

There were many people looking at the show and also some enjoying the park, the fountain, or just taking a ride in a horse and carriage.

  Several woodworking artists were showing their works – sculptures, carvings and more.  

There were so many unique pieces there. I would have loved to take one of the attractive wooden bowls home with me.

But then I would have also liked to have one of the stunning glass art pieces I saw, especially the frog mirror – but I don’t have a place for any of it.

My son-in-law would like the glass panel below, I believe, since he is a Georgia Tech alumnus

and a cat person would find a place for one of these cuties below.

 There was so much to see.  As my friend Ginnie says, I needed more eyes.  Below are some colorful art pieces made of fabric.

My husband admired the intricate marble table top below for a long time.

I had never seen carvings from sheetrock mud before, such as those below.

There were artists who work with leather, rope, gourds, jewelry, metal and other media.  I have too many pictures, really, as you can see here plus more that I am not showing.

As we were leaving we heard some music.  It was a one-man band and it sounded melodious and downtempo  – smooth jazz.  It was called the Showtyme Jazz Duo with Clifton deMarks. We bought one of his CDs.

We were pleased we had stopped at the Art in the Park.  As we walked back toward our car we passed by a young artist creating a special box for the Marietta Cityscape Project (young artists using cardboard boxes to recreate Marietta landmarks.)

NOTE: I have had a hard time placing this post on the “new” Blogger today.  On my draft, the line spacing is accurate, but on the finished page the line spacing is erratic.  Does anyone know how to fix that?  I had to completely delete this post and start again – very time consuming.

 -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Before I finish I’d like to thank all of you for your best wishes for my husband’s health.  He had the procedure at the hospital last Wednesday, the 13 September.  Now he has to go back for another procedure next Tuesday, the 25 September and we hope this will also go well.