By ROBIN STANTON GERROW
BG Independent News
The enthusiasm for this year’s reveal of the Black Swamp Arts Festival poster on Thursday could be felt throughout the room, but with nobody more than the artist.
This year’s invited artist is Taylor Vanek, a graduate of Bowling Green State University in graphic design, and currently a designer with the Wood County Park District.
“It’s really a love letter, a reflection of my time working at the park district,” she said. “It’s all about plants that are native to Wood County and in Bowling Green. It’s also really just a testament to the natural art of the world, if you will. I love art. It’s what I do every day. But I think there’s beauty and diversity and wonderful things in the native plants around here, in the native animals as well, and the butterflies. So it’s really just a tribute connecting art to nature and making them one.”
The colorful design revealed at Arlyn’s Good Beer, which will appear on T-shirts and other merchandise as well, features the festival’s salamander mascot intwined with the native plants Vanek is so passionate about.
“Native plants and native flowers and native animals are all so important to our ecosystem and cherishing them and showing them off is one of my favorite parts about my job,” she said. “I wanted to bring it into the poster design and marry art and nature, because those are my two big loves.”
Although the completed posters weren’t ready for the event, Vanek produced a limited run of the artwork in black ink. The full-color posters will soon be available at the Wood County District Public Library and Grounds for Thought, both on Main Street.
Amy Craft Ahrens, a member of the festival committee, was enthusiastic about the new design.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she said. “The colors are vibrant and it’s a great design. It’s wonderful for translating into T-shirts and all the other wonderful things we sell at the festival.”
Megan Reedy, a member of the BSAF Recycling, Sustainability and Maintenance Committee, and Henry van der Warden were on hand as well.
“I’m excited and I’m proud to see us showcasing our locality and our natural wildlife that we have,” she said. “I think it’s a really good way to highlight it. It’s a really awesome way to bring the larger community together with the parks and the Black Swamp community.”
