"Heaven must be a Kentucky kind of place."
That old saying would certainly apply to the Arts and Eats Festival in Morehead last weekend. If the weather had been any better, we would have expected angels singing and streets of gold.
As it was, there was plenty of great music, everything from rock to bluegrass to jazz. And could there be a food more celestial than funnel cake or the pastries from Bakery on Main or goodies from the Fuzzy Duck?
With friends, family, loved ones and nice out-of-town visitors, could one be any closer to paradise? And for those who love the arts, there was plenty to see and do, including plenty of artist and other demonstrations. It was great to see so much for kids to do -- facepainting, sand art and inflatables to bounce on and slide down. And lots of MSU students were in attendance as well as performing in the musical groups.
Thanks to all the organizations and volunteers who worked on this year's festival. Next year's will be bigger and better than ever.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Preparing for the Arts and Eats Festival
Tomorrow is the Arts and Eats Festival on Main Street in Morehead and I am busy, busy, busy with last minute preparations.
I'm putting together some collage pendants with very early Native American art. These primitive drawings were chiseled into rock walls in caves near Red River Gorge in Kentucky so many, many years ago. Now, they are line drawings on white paper collaged onto origami, scrapbook, and art papers. These are modern art from ancient artifacts.
I feel so honored to be able to make their art available to everyone at a price anyone can afford. And carry around to share. These pendants are made with these collages on glass, sterling silver plate bails, and sterling silver ball chains. They are also available by order with silver or gold filled chain and bails.
I have also made some new gemstone and sterling silver plate wire-wrapped pendants for this show. Can't wait to share them with everyone tomorrow.
The thing I love most about this festival is that we are a community entertaining each other, rather than relying on some multi-national corporation to entertain us. This is an ancient model of entertainment, and if you know me at all, you know I value the ancient. There will be loads of things for kids to do, us old folk doing things, musicians playing tunes near E Campus book store in genres to please all ages, arts and crafts to browse, and food, food, food. This is community celebration at its best!
People entertaining their neighbors is an ancient model and something I miss most about the years I lived on our family farm in Greenup County, Kentucky, in the '80's. Alvin and I were teaching at Shawnee State University in nearby Portsmouth, Ohio, and running the student newspaper we started there. My parents, little sister, and three brothers and their wives and kids lived there, too. The farm Mom and Dad ran has been in the family since the 1840's and had been farmed continually.
One brother farmed, too; we all had big gardens; and everyone pitched in to help on the farm. Anytime anyone needed a hand, there were many nearby. We all shared a Sunday dinner made by Mom's hands at a 10-foot-long picnic table in the yard in pretty weather and inside on other days.
The kids ran around and played afterwards while the adults drank coffee with desert and argued politics. When that wasn't fun anymore, someone would get a guitar and play and sing. Other guitars and voices would join in. Mom or Dad would tell stories of their youth or the days when they were tending a young family and building a life. World War Two times are seared into my memory as though I lived through them. Now, those stories are my memories with smells and sights and sounds so vivid that it's hard to tell the difference between them and memories of my actual experiences.
Homemade entertainment and community celebrations were the norm before mass communications. Now, they are a dying art form. I am honored to be a small part of keeping this ancient tradition alive.
I'm putting together some collage pendants with very early Native American art. These primitive drawings were chiseled into rock walls in caves near Red River Gorge in Kentucky so many, many years ago. Now, they are line drawings on white paper collaged onto origami, scrapbook, and art papers. These are modern art from ancient artifacts.
I feel so honored to be able to make their art available to everyone at a price anyone can afford. And carry around to share. These pendants are made with these collages on glass, sterling silver plate bails, and sterling silver ball chains. They are also available by order with silver or gold filled chain and bails.
I have also made some new gemstone and sterling silver plate wire-wrapped pendants for this show. Can't wait to share them with everyone tomorrow.
The thing I love most about this festival is that we are a community entertaining each other, rather than relying on some multi-national corporation to entertain us. This is an ancient model of entertainment, and if you know me at all, you know I value the ancient. There will be loads of things for kids to do, us old folk doing things, musicians playing tunes near E Campus book store in genres to please all ages, arts and crafts to browse, and food, food, food. This is community celebration at its best!
People entertaining their neighbors is an ancient model and something I miss most about the years I lived on our family farm in Greenup County, Kentucky, in the '80's. Alvin and I were teaching at Shawnee State University in nearby Portsmouth, Ohio, and running the student newspaper we started there. My parents, little sister, and three brothers and their wives and kids lived there, too. The farm Mom and Dad ran has been in the family since the 1840's and had been farmed continually.
One brother farmed, too; we all had big gardens; and everyone pitched in to help on the farm. Anytime anyone needed a hand, there were many nearby. We all shared a Sunday dinner made by Mom's hands at a 10-foot-long picnic table in the yard in pretty weather and inside on other days.
The kids ran around and played afterwards while the adults drank coffee with desert and argued politics. When that wasn't fun anymore, someone would get a guitar and play and sing. Other guitars and voices would join in. Mom or Dad would tell stories of their youth or the days when they were tending a young family and building a life. World War Two times are seared into my memory as though I lived through them. Now, those stories are my memories with smells and sights and sounds so vivid that it's hard to tell the difference between them and memories of my actual experiences.
Homemade entertainment and community celebrations were the norm before mass communications. Now, they are a dying art form. I am honored to be a small part of keeping this ancient tradition alive.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The hills are alive . . .
. . . With the sound -- and sight, smell, taste, feel and motion -- of art!
Being overwhelmed with all the art opportunities in Morehead is not all that unusual.
Last night, on two different floors of the Rowan County Arts Center, groups were working on art book designs and writing 10-minute plays for performance at the end of the month.
Tomorrow afternoon, two authors of poetry and children's books will discuss publishing with MSU students, professors and community writers. Later in the evening, they will read from their works publicly.
Then, Thursday evening, a one-woman play which has been performed in NYC and around the country will be staged at the art center.
Saturday will usher in a day of arts, crafts, music and culinary arts at the Arts and Eats festival.
And all this is occurring in the shadow of the Poppy Mountain bluegrass festival, also held this week.
If all that is not enough art for you, just wait for next week's Cave Run Storytelling Festival.
Being overwhelmed with all the art opportunities in Morehead is not all that unusual.
Last night, on two different floors of the Rowan County Arts Center, groups were working on art book designs and writing 10-minute plays for performance at the end of the month.
Tomorrow afternoon, two authors of poetry and children's books will discuss publishing with MSU students, professors and community writers. Later in the evening, they will read from their works publicly.
Then, Thursday evening, a one-woman play which has been performed in NYC and around the country will be staged at the art center.
Saturday will usher in a day of arts, crafts, music and culinary arts at the Arts and Eats festival.
And all this is occurring in the shadow of the Poppy Mountain bluegrass festival, also held this week.
If all that is not enough art for you, just wait for next week's Cave Run Storytelling Festival.
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