Blog #5: Art in the Park 2010

So I had originally resolved to take my free afternoon today and go in search of a job. I had been told to look down town so I began my trek across the bridge. But then...I saw some tents. LOTS of tents. And I smelled food. The unmistakable aroma of funnel cakes and sausages. So my job hunting plans got thrown out the window at that moment.

It appeared to be a fair featuring all sorts of artists from Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. It was overwhelming and so crowded that there seemed no real efficient way of seeing every collection. Even after 4 hours there I'm sure I still didn't see everything but lords knows I tried. The art ranged from photography, woodwork, clothing, painting, quilting, jewelry making, glass, to some truly innovative art forms. I really regret not having a camera though I'm sure it would have been frowned upon by the artists anyway. In most tents there was a piece that I would pick out but as a whole there were only about 3-4 artists whose work really captivated me.

John Ashley

One of which was a photographer by the name of John Ashley. Now there were a number of photographers in the park today but his work for some odd reason really got my eye over the others. I don't know if it was the subject matter which primarily was wildlife in close up, sometimes sequential images or that many of his photos possessed such a wide pallet of colors. He had close ups of animals, a nighttime image following the paths of the moon over a 5 night period, a panoramic photo of an eagle catching a fish with combined frames of every 2 seconds. In addition to the subject matter, he did what I've seen many photographers do and hadn't been particularly impressed with until now. He transferred his photos onto canvas. And while this often just results in what looks like simply a photo on a canvas John Ashley's work actually fooled me once or twice and I thought they really were painted versions of his work. I asked for his business card and I'm eager so see more of his work in the future. http://www.johnashleyfineart.com/

Another artist whose work I thoroughly appreciate was Michael Sage from Seaside, Oregon. He coins his work as "Phantom Leaves" and upon viewing his art one could easily see why. His outstanding features in his work are transparent leaves. In his display tent hung framed shadow boxes containing various arrangements of said leaves. Some hung from real branches and others stood on their own within the space. It should be mentioned that his leaves were airbrushed to achieve vivid colors, both realistic and surreal. So a leave might be black atop a white background and vice verse. Others were painted to resemble the colors of autumn and some pieces were even bright blue, purple or any color one might not expect. Aside his largest display (a entire branch of black leaves) hung a small explanation on how he used an acidic solution to dissolve the fleshy parts of the leaves leaving only the skeletal like structure made primarily of cellulose. Surprisingly this didn't damage the final integrity of the leaves. In fact he had an example to demonstrate how durable and flexible the resulting leaf was. He hardly takes credit for developing this process as his website would indicate. Actually this technique has been around for over 150 years. Nonetheless, I thought it was absolutely fascinating how he used natural materials and created simple structures with an almost dreamlike or haunting quality. http://www.phantomleaves.com/

So all in all I had a grand old time. Ironically instead of finding a means to make money, I only ended up spending money. I followed the trail of most appealing aroma and got myself a chicken and onion pita....then a strawberry shortcake icecream sundae....then a lemonade. I would have gotten myself a class of wine but by that time I couldn't afford it. All the same, I spent the day culturing myself and I have no regrets.