My first big show of the year, the 56th Allentown Art Festival was held on June 8th and 9th of this year. It started out on a soggy note, but a perfect blue sky Sunday was sandwiched in between a string of chilly, rainy days. The show was mobbed on Sunday, and even in the rain, attendance on Saturday was good.
Allentown is my hometown show, so, unlike most of the festivals I participate in, I have memories of it that pre-date my days as an exhibitor.
My earliest memories of the show include wandering through the streets with my girlfriends, amazed by all of the artwork, leather goods and jewelry – (so much silver, turquoise and sandstone in those days 🙂 – and thinking what a strange, magical place it seemed to be. Most of those long ago memories are hazy, but one stands out as bright and clear as if happened yesterday. For a number of years there was a tall man, dressed in white pants, a blue polo shirt and a captain’s hat, standing in front of a very large, color photograph propped on a easel. “Do you know what this is?”, he would ask passersby, “…this is bovine urea….. do you know what that is?” I had never before seen bovine urea through a microscope and enlarged exponentially, and remember it was bright, colorful and quite beautiful, albeit in a creepy sort of way 🙂
Now, many years removed from my street wandering, turquoise wearing days, I am the person offering bright, colorful artwork to the bustling crowds. Over the years my work has shifted from hand-colored black and white photography, to stoneware masks, to my current mixed media creations which incorporate acrylic paint and polymer clay. My artwork draws people in, makes them point, comment and smile.
Perhaps, many years from now, another artist will be writing about the bright, colorful artwork she saw at a long ago show. I want that to happen, I think it’s a good thing! But she’ll have to find something other than a captain’s hat and cow pee to rest her memories on.
Upcoming Shows for 2013
June 28th, 29th and 30th Boston Mills Art Festival, Peninsula, Ohio
July 6th, West Hazeltine Street Sale, Kenmore, NY: once a year I drag out all of my dent and scratch, what-was-I-thinking, never-take-to-an-art-show pieces and offer them at reduced prices. My studio space will be open for viewing as well.
July 12th, 13th & 14th Cain Park Arts Festival, Cleveland Heights,Ohio
* Tentative* July 26th, Ithaca Artists Market at Steamboat Landing, Ithaca, New York
July 27th & 28th, Glen Park Art Festival, Williamsville, NY : a selection of my work will be represented by Village Artisans
August 10th & 11th, Lewiston Art Festival, Lewiston, New York
August 24th & 25th Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, Buffalo, NY
* Tentative* Mid-September, Music is Art Festival, Buffalo, NY
October 12th,13th & 14th, Letchworth Arts & Crafts Fest, Letchworth State Park, Castile, NY
November 15th &16th, Maddie’s Pet Rescue Pet Expo, Hamburg Fair Grounds, Hamburg, NY
Find Me Online at:
You can find my work online at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SilentMyloStudio
And daily updates at: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistAlisonEKurek
