By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Art work filled a variety of nooks and crannies in shops downtown Saturday for the 25th Art Walk. The annual event offers people a chance to view the work of a variety of artists, from school kids to elders, and visit shops downtown they may never have been in.
That was the case at the Painted Clover on South Main Street.
One woman walked in, exclaiming “I haven’t been here since it was Art-a-Site!” as she looked around.
The shop’s manager Morgan Savage said traffic was better than a usual Saturday and a number of those who came into shop were there specifically for Art Walk. For many, it was their first time in the store that sells hand painted furniture and home décor.
Painted Clover was displaying silk-screened prints of birds created by Savage, a graduate of the Bowling Green State University School of Art. Savage was happy to have the opportunity to show her work.
A few doors down in Encore Bridal, Michael Neal, son of the owner, said “a lot of people came strictly for that, for the art.” Foot traffic ebbed and flowed during the day. “I think the weather kept a lot of people away,” he said.
Still Mary Dennis said she was pleased with the number of people who stopped by her display inside Grounds for Thought. This was the first time she’d exhibited and was glad she did.
Across the room painter Randy Bennett was at work. He didn’t have paintings out for sale. Instead he set up his easel and was dabbing paint on one of his politically provocative pieces.
He said he likes to come into Grounds for the Art Walk because the shop supports him by regularly showing his work. Whenever he finishes a painting, he’ll hang it at the coffee shop.
“It’s cool,” he said, of painting in public. “I always have friendly conversations and if they like it, you have a new best friend at least for a few minutes.”
Deb Winslow at work inside Ace Hardware
At Ace Hardware, Betty Winslow was at work as well. Her location was perfect because she makes jewelry out of small bits of hardware.
On Saturday, though, she was stringing bead bracelets for the Kids Count, Too “Princess for a Day” event.
“It’s actually been pretty good today,” Winslow said of foot traffic.
Art was placed in 42 temporary galleries from one end of downtown to the other, from Penny Evans-Meyer’s fiber art at Calico, Sage and Thyme to the university 2-D Art Association show at H&R Block.
Madison Walsh, outgoing president of 2DAA, said the Bowling Green State University club takes every opportunity they can get to share their work with the community. Besides Art Walk, that includes the Black Swamp Arts Festival and Arts-X on campus.
Virginia Rieth said often more established artists will stop by to see their work and talk with them. They encourage the younger artists and are pleased to see how serious they are about art.
“It’s kind of fun,” said Paul Vernell, incoming 2DAA president. The show gives the students experience setting up a gallery.
Jurors Sara Busler and Lauren Canavan made the rounds and visited with more than 30 individual artists.
Canavan said speaking with the artists and getting their perspectives was important.
“There’s a lot of passion,” Busler said. In the end it came down “the feeling” projected by the work.
The United Way hosted a display of art projects by Bowling Green students. More work from the BG art program was displayed in the windows of several businesses.
And the feeling projected by Carole Kauber’s paintings of brilliant Southwestern landscapes was that of being within that landscape – certainly an appealing thought given the dreary weather outside.
“She’s not afraid to use striking colors,” Busler said. With the large paintings set up in a back space in Coyote Beads, “I felt really small around them.”
“It’s like you were there,” fellow juror Lauren Canavan said.
They awarded her abstract landscapes the top juror’s prize.
Kauber’s work is inspired by her travels, but Canavan said it also reminded her of the places she’s been.
Kauber said she’s been working on this series for about five years. Now having friends and family in the region to stay with has allowed her to absorb the landscape in a way that shorter trips did not.
Her other work focuses on water themes.
The current “catchphrase” for her style is “lyrical landscape,” she said. “Suits me.”
Because Coyote Beads has a Southwestern feel she decided to only hang those complementary paintings for Art Walk.
The judges said they were impressed by jeweler Ann Beck’s paper-based technique for creating her work. She received second place for jewelry.
Beck paints with coffee and wine, which gives her work “a lot of unexpected layers,” Canavan said.
They liked third place winner Mary Dennis’ variety of finishes on her ceramics, some glazed, others not. This was especially evident in her ceramic roses.
People’s Choice winner Tom Roller inside Ginny’s Inspired Fashion
The top People’s Choice honor went to a fixture at Art Walk, Tom Roller, for his nature-inspired metal sculpture. Roller has been a frequent award winner. Last year, he won both the top jury prize and the top People’s Choice honor.
Roller said this will be his last appearance at Art Walk, where he’s exhibited in Ginny’s Inspired Fashions. He’s already stopped doing other art fairs. This was the only show he did this year.
Not that he’ll stop sculpting at his Clark Street workshop. “I have to do something to keep busy.”
Other People’s Choice winners were:
- Diana Bibler, sculpture, Mode Elle Boutique, second place, People’s Choice.
- Victoria Thompson, body painting, Encore Bridal, third place, People’s Choice.
In honor of the 25th year, Downtown BG held a competition for individuals and organizations to design fanciful silver shoes.
Julia Pierce won first prize, followed by Bowling Green Department of Parks and Recreation and Sandy Kerr.
