Building on the success of last year’s Art Round the Pond, organizers have decided to add a few changes to this years line up including encouraging local students to take part in the seventh-annual show set for June 16.
This year the event should be bigger than ever, with more than 30 artists, artisans and vendors from all over the province setting up booths around the pond for the day.
“We have more emerging artists this year and more students from both elementary as well as secondary taking part. We have really tried to reach out to the schools this year letting them know about the event well in advance so the students would know to save some art,” said Jean Horne member of the organizing committee.
Since the event takes place outside it is weather dependent on whether or not it draws in the crowds.
“The artists come rain or shine but that doesn’t mean we will get the visitors. The bigger crowds only come if it is a prefect day,” said Horne. “The artists come prepared for any kind of weather situation because they are use to outdoor shows and know anything can happen when it comes to the weather.”
Two years ago the event was held in the Wellesley arena because of wet weather but that loses the whole ambiance of the event and organizers will not allow the show to go inside again, said Horne.
One of the participating artists this year will be Allen Ryan, a local artist who designs sculptures and jewelry from glass. Working as an artist for 52 years all his work is hand made and original including the method of production created in his studio.
Starting with the glass he makes he then fires free hand silver to draw with and enamels them.
“The shape of the final glass suggests the silver work, the silver work on the glass suggests the colour of enamel,” said Ryan inside his Conestogo studio.
“The biggest problem for artists is that they don’t understand it takes half your life to sell things and artists need to do shows or have some sort of sale venue. Shows like this are a big help especially for those younger artists – 99.9 per cent of all artists are people just having fun.”
Art Round the Pond is open to all artists of original, handmade arts and crafts, including painting, sculpting, jewelry, photography, carving, pottery, weaving, blown glass, stained glass, and textiles.
Work made from commercially pre-fabricated kits or mass-produced goods will not be accepted.
This year organizers have created different events where visitors can make their own art and take it home with them.
For younger children there will be a chalk rock artist stall where the kids can draw on flat pieces of rock with sidewalk chalk.
Teenagers will have a chance to create a cloth flower where they manipulate a piece of wire around cloth to form flowers plus there will be button making using magazine photos and flower pounding where participants use plants or flowers and crush them with a hammer between two pieces of fabric creating watercolour like art work.
“People can see art, buy art and make their own art at the show,” said Horne.
Art Round the Pond is open to the public and runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Wellesley Village on June 16. For more information visit www.artroundthepond.ca.
