By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Art in the Park celebrates both art and the arrival of summer, and the weather, for once this spring, actually cooperated. With sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s, artists and art lovers gathered for a couple hours Friday at the end of the work day to enjoy the Simpson Garden coming into bloom.
Strains of music wafted through the air. Irish tunes sounded from both the sensory garden and amphitheater. A solo singer strummed away near the hosta garden, and in the distant thunder of the taiko drums was evident — the only kind of thunder that was welcomed.
Inside the Simpson Building, children worked on art of their own, and guests could help themselves to platters of cookies.
This is the sixth year the event has been presented by the Bowling Green Arts Council and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
The focal point are the artists spread throughout the park creating work.
“I love painting outdoors,” said Terry Bauerle, of Findlay. She participates in a weekly plein air event that moves to different Findlay area parks. Next weekend she plans to go to Dublin for an outdoor art event there.
It’s an adventure. The light is constantly changing, and so many things can go wrong, Bauerle. Once she spilled the water she uses for her brushes all over her set. So she had to improvise.
Bauerle has been painting for 20 or so years, but has come back to it more seriously in the past few. Because painting requires so much concentration, she said,“it helps clear my mind, and get rid of my worries and focus on the moment.”
The relaxation is needed with a 5-year-old daughter to keep up with, she said.
As beautiful as the scenery is, Tyler Wolleson, of Bowling Green, was adding a magical to touch to his drawing of the hostas. Peeking from behind a tree was a fairy creature.
Wolleson is a professional artist who concentrates on anime and car art. His move to Bowling Green about a year ago has helped him launch Mad World Images. That business, he said, benefits from events such as Art in the Park.
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Up north in Sylvania, art was celebrating the opening of the baseball season.
Bowling Green artist Dan Mauk was unveiling his Libbey Glasscutters project. The drawings on display at the Hudson Gallery celebrate a Toledo single A ball team that did not exist from 1965-1969. Some drawings tell the story of the characters depicted, written alongside the portrait, most just have blank space for viewers’ to plug in their imaginings.
This was a party. It was a bit of a culture shock going from the pastoral setting of Simpson Garden to the packed gallery, shaking with the beats provided by DJ Touch the Sky.
The opening for the show that continues through the month at the gallery at 5645 Main St., coincided with Sylvania’s monthly art walk, which added to the festive atmosphere.
But there were plenty of Bowling Green faces in the crowd, including the Mauk family, and his former teachers from the Bowling Green State University School of Art.
Charles Kanwischer, now director of the school, remembered Mauk as one of the best students he taught both for intensity of his concentration and high spirits.
Those high spirits were evident on Friday night — but then why wouldn’t they be? Mauk topped off the festivities with a public proposal to his girlfriend Sarah Drummer, herself a familiar face on the Bowling Green arts scene. Before moving to Las Vegas, she was a triple threat on stage as an actor, dancer, and singer.
A merger of such a talented couple certainly is something to celebrate.
