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| Photography by Jana Scott |
Last
weekend I visited State College, Pennsylvania for the Central PA
Festival of the Arts. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences I
remember.
For
me, the environment and atmosphere of a festival are almost as
important as the art itself. It is much easier to catch the nuances of
the work and talk with the artists when everyone is excited, comfortable
and in a good mood.
The
cool mountain breezes and the shade of the magnificent American elms of
the University campus and downtown streets make State College the
perfect setting for a festival. Although it is a large show with 300
jury-selected artists and an expected attendance over 125,000, the booths were
spaced along one edge of the streets and mall which allowed plenty of
room for everyone without feeling crowded.
This
was my first show outside the Midwest which exposed me to a wide body
of work that I hadn't seen before as well as some favorites that I have
seen at several shows. I only have room to mention a few favorites.
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| The Final View by Walter Arnold |
Walter Arnold is one of my favorite photographic artists and the person who
recommended that I come to State College for the festival. While I have
written about Arnold and his unique Art of Abandonment before, this is
the first time I have seen his work at a festival. It was fun to stand
across from his booth and listen to the comments and expressions of awe
as people first saw The Final View.
Jana Scott's photography captures the beauty and bold color of rusting
metals. She accomplishes this through close ups that show us the detail
we would normally overlook. The tight cropping on the organic shapes of
the rust patterns create a hauntingly beautiful abstraction.
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| Ceramic shelf and horse by Paula Brown-Steedly |
Paula Brown-Steedly of Virginia Clay Studio also focuses on organic shapes in
her ceramic sculpture and shelves. She explained to me that nature is
not symmetrical so she doesn't make her art that way. Her
pieces "reveal the force of wind, the rhythm of falling rain, the
warmth of the sun, and the fluidity of time, as I see them in nature."
The
natural shapes of the earth were also an inspiration to Ursula Perry and her husband Bud Scheffel of Earth Saver Wind Sculpture. Their
amazing kinetic sculptures are held together through shape and gravity
without welds or solder joints to mar the form. The perfectly balanced
pieces ranged in size to grace a table, a room or a garden.
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