Artwork of different shapes, sizes and means will color Les Gove Park on Saturday.
Auburn’s ArtRageous: Artist in Action Art Fair will feature professional artists presenting demonstrations in a variety of media – from painting to woodworking, from encaustic to yard spinning.
The festival is the first of its kind for Auburn.
“Its real intention is to be absolutely a hands-on experience,” said Maija McKnight, visual public arts coordinator for the Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation Department. “It’s about inviting people for a free opportunity to try a little bit of everything … to share the joy and celebrate all that’s out there.”
The fair will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the park, 11th and Auburn Way South. It is free to the public.
On hand will be 17 artists exhibiting a wide variety of creations. The fair will include community groups, incorporating professional arts and local community resources to help others learn more about art.
More than 30 art activities and performances are on the schedule. The activities are designed for all ages.
Art will be offered for sale.
A highlight of the fair will be the work of Susan Robb. The Seattle artist will perform a one-day art installation, turning the park’s lawn into a field of 50-foot tall waving black stalks. For a peak of her unique project, “Warmth, Giant Black Toobs,” click on (www.susanrobb.com/Portfolio/2007/toobs.asp.
Robb will install polypropylene garbage bags, 50 feet tall by 30 inches in diameter, which inflate passively either by allowing the wind to fill them or by running while holding one end open. One end is then staked to the ground; the other end is free. Employing a similar principle to that of hot-air balloons, the sun heats the air inside the toobs, and since hot air is less dense then cold air, the toobs become buoyant.
At its core, Robb’s artwork has an environmental message, exposing the ever-present black plastic garbage bag and the billions of tons of garbage dumped into the ocean. The solar-produced buoyancy, breezes and internal convection work to transform this symbol of the cycle of consumption and waste into seemingly alive marine creatures.
“It should be quite dramatic,” McKnight said.
Auburn Youth Council will sell hamburger/hot dog lunches. The Senior Activity Center will sell ice cream sundaes.
The Auburn Riverside High School visual communications (Viscom) students will host a “Wearable Arts” booth, where kids are invited to make buttons and other jewelry items. Viscom students who volunteer will earn community service hours to apply toward their graduation requirements. Additionally, the students will be accepting suggested donations of 25 cents per item. All proceeds will be donated to the Auburn Food Bank.
ArtRageous, a free arts celebration presented in recognition of the Auburn Arts Commission 25th anniversary, is sponsored by Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation, 4-Culture, 4-Culture Site Specific Network, Showcase Magazine and the Washington State Arts Commission.
For additional information, please visit www.auburnwa.gov/arts or contact the City of Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation Department at 253-931-3043.
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ArtRageous: Artist in Action Art Fair
All activities are scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., unless otherwise noted
ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES
• Hand Thrown Pottery Demonstration with Leah Boehm
• Printmaking and Silk-screening on Paper with Patti Bowman www.psbowman.com.
• Yarn Spinning and Spindle Basics with Brenda Groboski http://naturallyspunfibers.blogspot.com.
• Encaustic: Hot Wax Painting with Tia Matthies
• Watercolor Expression with Joanne Osband www.coloringoutofthelines.com
• Paper Mache Relief Sculptures with Grace Willard www.gracewillard.com
• Paint an Art Car! Lead artist: Leith Zeutenhorst
• Still Life Painting from Historical Artifacts with The White River Valley Museum
• Trash to Treasure Collage with Kuros Zahedi www.kuroszahedi.com
• Performance Painting, “From Windows to Mirrors: Auburn, 1885, Gita Lloyd www.gitalloyd.com
• Lettering and Book Arts, Tacoma Calligraphy Guild
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES AND PERFORMANCES
• 12-1 p.m. – Trash Apes as the cleanup crew
• 2-3 p.m. – Interactive musical performance with James Whetzel www.google.com/profiles/james.whetzel
• “Warmth, Giant Black Toobs” Art Installation by Susan Robb www.susanrobb.com
• Roving “busker” musicians
ACTIVITIES ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS
• Textures, titles and nature with Amaranta Ibarra www.myspace.com/artmaranthceramics
• Gyotaku: Japanese Fish Printing with Cyndi Moring
• Design An Art Car: Coloring Activity with Leith Zeutenhorst
• Face Painting by the Auburn Youth Council
• Making Art with Your Kids: It’s So Much MORE Than Fun presented by GRCC Interurban Center for the Arts
• Wearable Arts: Jewelry & Buttons presented by Auburn School District
• Reading About Art, presented by Auburn King County Library
• Painting Objects from Nature, presented by Auburn International Farmers Market
ACTIVITIES JUST FOR THE GROWNUPS
• Burning and Painting on Myrtle wood with Paul Langston
• Marquetry: Wood Veneer Joinery with Dennis Harrison
• Wood Carving using hand tools with Michael Taskey
• Textile Art with Calico Cat www.thecalicocat.com