Thursday, September 20, 2012

Art in the Park in Marietta, Georgia

Last Labor Day, September 3rd, 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.




 

 

 

8 comments:

  1. What fabulous photos and a great post! I too am glad that you stopped by the Art in the Park and that you had a camera handy in your bag. I like the bright, bold paintings a lot and am sure I could display one in my dark stairwell. I've taken to telling people I'm a blogger and asking if I can take their photos. Most are willing.

    Good to hear about your husband!

    I would absolutely recommendt that you use Windows Live Writer to compose your posts if you are on a PC. You can compose your posts offline, formatting is super easy, and it automatically uploads photos to your online storage (Blogger automatically gives you free Picasa storage). If you're not on a PC but a Mac, I believe Zoundry Raven and MarsEdit are good alternatives.

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  2. I'm afraid I'd be a liability at a show like this, because I'd come home overladen with pretty things with nowhere to put them, and an empty pocket. I particularly love stained glass, mosaics and tapestry. I'd have loved a big house and the money to spend on it! Lovely post.
    When my posts go funny I study the HTML in draft to see what's different, and compare to previous ones. Usually it's stuck in another font size and disregarded the default, or ditto the colour. I copy and paste the HTML onto Word, change it with the "Find" tool (control F) then copy and paste it back again. Sometimes it allows me two pictures side by side, if they're small, and a couple of days later it changes its mind and distorts, so I go into the HTML and alter the width and height measurements (saying "How DARE you?" under my breath the whole time, of course.)
    Caroline

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  3. You were "short of eyes," Vagabonde...something Astrid says all the time! What a great Dutch saying and perfect for this park art! It reminds me of the Piedmont Park fairs I've attended in years past!

    Thanks for updating us on your husband. Please continue to do so!

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  4. Pottery and stained glass always attract me. Those are just so beautiful. However, even though I'm not a cat person, that painting of the cat on one side of the canvas really speaks to me. That's such an interesting arrangement.

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  5. Wow! So much lovely art! It would be hard to choose what to buy. I would probably be like you and just enjoy looking.

    Glad to hear the procedure went well for your husband, and will keep you in my prayers for this next one.

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  6. Dear Vagabonde, how wonderful to end your beautifully illustrated posting with the glass PEACE. I wish that also to you and to your husband.

    So many lovely pieces of art--in all sorts of media.
    I wish our schools would give much more time to the arts. They enrich our lives and in times of trouble, they comfort us.

    I always remembering reading about a group of Jewish men in one of the Nazi's death camps. They kept themselves going by reciting each night poems and stories and chapters they had memorized when they were younger and before those hate-filled years of the Holocaust. That's what art can do--keep you alive emotionally. Peace.

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  7. This is so strange. I'm positive I left a comment on this post earlier. Maybe it was an earlier one.

    Anyway, I'm back to say I have an idea why your post didn't publish as you thought it would. If you are on the same format as I am in Blogger, if you use the Schedule" section on the right hand side, I believe that you have to click "done" in order for the post to actually publish, even if you click the Publish button at the top. If you don't use the Schedule section, then I'm not sure what the problem was. Hope I didn't confuse. Meant to help.
    Sam

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  8. Two things -- three, really. First, a glorious show and it looks like your weather was amazing! I enjoyed it vicariously!

    Second, if you know who did those bicycle paintings, please email me -- I'd love to get one of those for Rick.

    And finally, hate the new blogger spacing. I've gone to no spacing, which I don't like, but if I put in spaces, sometimes they are double or none at all or more! You are not alone.

    ReplyDelete

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