 |
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Courtesy photo |
| "The
Foursome" is by Cave Creek painter Beth Zink, who
is also festival chair this year. Zink, along with abstract
artist Roxanne Vise, also "pre sketched" the
canvases for the interactive exhibit "Brush with
Fine Art," in which the public can take part in
creating a painting. |
| |
 |
| Courtesy
photo |
| "Tewa
Dancer," by Randy Galloway, is featured on this
year's festival poster. The oil painting is done on
a gesso enhanced canvas to get what the artist calls
"a 3 D look." Liquid copper with shavings
and a green patina were used to achieve the background.
The poster is a limited edition of 250 numbered and
signed prints that sell for $15. |
| |
 |
| Courtesy
photo |
|
Photographer Russell Davis took the picture
"Mesa Arch" which showcases the dynamic interplay
of sunlight and stone against the spectacular landscape
of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. |
|
Artists
run the show at Carefree Festival
by
Chris Moore
CAREFREE - The Carefree Town Center on Easy Street sounds
like a pretty laid back place to spend the weekend, and the
Sonoran Arts League is hoping a lot of people are going to
do just that for the fourth year in a row when it hosts the
annual Sonoran Festival of Fine Art March 31 to April 2.
The festival is centered around an art show that will include
approximately 100 local and nationally acclaimed painters,
sculptors, jewelers, wood and glass artists, photographers
and others. Frederick Prescott, a New Mexico artist known
for his life size steel animal sculptures will be in attendance,
as will Loretta Queen, another sculptor who cuts and fabricates
metal works rather than casting. Gourd artist Jane Boggs will
show her work that incorporates burning, paint, feathers and
other decoration. Beth Zink, a Cave Creek painter of contemporary
desert botanicals that she says "maintain a realism while
playing with Mother Nature's colors," will have a booth
in the show, and she is also the Festival Chair.
In fact, the entire festival is "done by artists,"
Zink says, "completely by volunteers of the Sonoran Arts
League. The artists run the show."
But everyone can take part. An interactive activity called
"A Brush with Fine Art" will allow the public to
experience making art for themselves, or at least a small
piece of it. Zink and abstract artist Roxanne Vise, also a
member of the League, have "gridded" a series of
canvases into smaller, 4 by 6 inch sections and then "pre
sketched" recognizable images on them. With paint and
brushes provided by the festival, visitors will be allowed
to color their own sections of the canvases, creating, in
the end, finished paintings by multiple artists that will
represent the population of the festival.
The festival poster this year is "Tewa Dancer,"
an oil painting on a gesso textured background enhanced by
liquid copper with a green patina, by New Mexican born painter
Randy Galloway, who will be participating in the festival
for the third time this year. Posters cost $15 each, and a
portion of proceeds will support League scholarships.
This year the Carefree Farmer's Market will take place in
conjunction with the festival for the first time. The market,
which will be held in the Carefree Town Center Amphitheater,
will feature fresh produce, chef demonstrations, organic meats
and cheeses, specialty Italian entrees, tamales, award winning
salsas, luscious desserts, pastries and freshly baked artisan
breads.
In an effort to get local businesses involved in the festival,
Zink and the planning committee are not selling festival space
to food vendors this year, but instead encouraging nearby
restaurants to offer "show specials." "We're
trying to foster good relations with the local businesses,"
Zink said.
Under the special direction of events promoter Keiko Conn,
a Hawaiian ceremony called "A Touch of Aloha" will
be performed on April 1 in three parts at 10:30 a.m., 12:30
p.m. and 3 p.m. Created by cultural advisor Kumu Keawe Menor,
this complete "blessing ceremony," intended to bless
the people, the festival and the Earth, will be presented
for the first time in its entirety in Arizona, according Dee
Logan, a coordinator of the festival and the Farmer's Market.
The "in depth Hawaiian experience," says Logan,
will share native Hawaiian culture through the ancient forms
of Hula Kahiko (dance), Oli (chant prayer) and Mele (song).
Ceremonies like "A Touch of Aloha" provide "a
distinct connection to the belief and value systems of Native
Americans," says Lillian Harwood, the orator who will
narrate the dances. "The spiritual essence of Hawaii
is what we are perpetuating and preserving."
In addition, local jazzman Pete Pancrazi and his Lost Boys
will hook you with their enchanting music on Friday and Sunday,
and Keith Johnson and Island Magic will soothe you with Jamaican
fusion on Sunday afternoon.
Granted, that's a lot to take in, but instead of tying everything
up with a pretty ribbon, the League has chosen to let the
ribbons fly in the breeze, "to create a visual identity
for the festival," according to Zink, who says Easy Street
will be lined with poles decorated with colorful ribbons,
or as Vise refers to it, "The Ribbon Walk."
It all sounds like a rather pretty package. It should be fun
to open. And when there's art involved, you never know what
you'll find.
The Sonoran Festival of Fine Art takes place from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on March 31, April 1 and 2 at the Carefree Town
Center, 100 Easy Street, Carefree. Admission is free. For
more information, visit www.SonoranArtsLeague.org
or call (480) 575 6624.
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