Festival of Flowers PaintOut
The public is invited to a fun and relaxing day at the annual Festival of Flowers PaintOut at the T. C. Steele State Historic Site in Brown County on Saturday, May 21 from 7 a. m. to 4 p. m. The“ en plein air”( in open air) art competition is open to emerging and well-known artists of all ages.
The festival will feature artists painting on the site grounds from 7 a. m. to 2 p. m. Artists participating must have their blank canvases or pages stamped prior to beginning their work. Judging will begin at 2 p. m. and the festival concludes at 4 p. m.
Adult categories include oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, and drawing. Children 12 and under and teens may enter any media. The first place winner and the people’ s choice winner will be displayed at the Brown County Art Gallery in downtown Nashville.
An early bird registration will be available with a discount offered through April 30. Registration rates will apply May 1 through 21. The first 20 artists to register will receive a commemorative mug from Brown County Redware in honor of the bicentennial.
“ The gardens were such a huge part of Steele’ s inspiration here on the property,” said Andrea deTarnowsky, site manager.“ With a major garden restoration in progress, visitors will be able to enjoy the gardens as they were in the Steeles’ day.”
For more information, or to register, contact program developer Cate Whetzel( 812) 273-4531 < cwhetzel @ indianamuseum. org >. •
Clay Day in the Park
Potter Larry Spears is holding his mini-workshop Clay Day in association with the Indiana Arts Commission and the Department of Natural Resources. This 2016 Arts in the Park program celebrates the Centennial of Indiana State Parks and the 50th Anniversary of the IAC.
Clay Day in the Park is slated for Saturday, June 25 from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. at the Nature Center in Brown County State Park.
This one day event will offer the public an opportunity to-do raku. The raku glazes and firing process can create an exciting range of color, a variety of surface interest, and many one-of-a-kind pieces.
Spears will offer various shapes of bisque-fired raku ware to be glazed and decorated. The potters will place the glazed pieces in raku kilns, with a firing time ranging from 20 to 30 minutes. The pottery is then removed from the kiln, while still glowing red, and placed in a container filled with various combustible materials. The material instantly ignites and the potters proceed with the“ reduction” aspect of the firing process, by covering the containers and cutting off the oxygen supply to the piece. The piece is then submersed in a water bath to cool, and lastly cleaned. Participants take home their pieces.
Reservations are not necessary and all supplies will be furnished. The IAC is covering the cost of the first 100 pieces of pottery; thereafter a nominal fee of $ 10 will be charged. For additional information call( 812) 988-1287 or email < spearspottery @ sprynet. com >. Visit < spearspottery. com >, or for the latest updates like Spears Gallery on Facebook.•
IHA Show & Sale
Indiana Heritage Arts is announcing its 38 th annual art exhibition will run from June 11 until July 2 at the newly expanded Brown County Art Gallery, 1 Artist Drive, in Nashville, Indiana.
The show and sale of paintings, one of the largest in the Midwest, attracts thousands of art lovers to the free show. Hours daily are 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. and noon to 5 p. m. Sunday.
Over 130 artists enter art work to be juried and selected for hanging. All paintings are for sale. Between prize money and purchase awards, artists in 2015 received some $ 53,000.
The popular People’ s Choice award of $ 500 will be awarded at the close of this year’ s show to the artist garnering the most votes from the viewing audience. New this year are sponsors Michael Fulton and Judith Stewart of Brown County.
The IHA Directors’ Purchase Award this year will honor the late Dick Ferrer, a former board member and artist whose work often hung in the annual shows. Indiana Heritage Arts has acquired a permanent collection of more than 15 paintings that hang in the IHA space in the Brown County Art Gallery.
Jim Ross, Indianapolis gallery owner and long-time IHA show organizer, said,“ Our show’ s goal is to encourage artists of today who are working in the traditional style made known by Hoosier artists painting in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Brown County.” He added that it was an honor for IHA to recognize outstanding artists.
The judge for this year’ s show is nationally known plein air and American impressionist painter, Anne Blair Browne of Nashville, Tennessee.“ We work to find jurors whose work relates to what our artists are doing. She is an excellent example of the traditional style that appeals to art patrons of today,” he said.
An awards presentation will take place at the gallery Friday, June 10.
IHA is a non-profit organization which has a gallery and sales space at Brown County Art Gallery.
More information is at( 812) 988-4609 or email < brncagal @ att. net >. •
44 Our Brown County May / June 2016