How to go
What: Art on the Commons, an annual fine arts/crafts festival
Where: Lincoln Park, just off Shroyer Road, Kettering
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 9, a Sunday
More info: 937-296-0294 or www.playkettering.org/aotc
Three jurors had the difficult job of choosing from among 200 hopeful artists who vied for a spot in Kettering’s prestigious Art on the Commons this year.
Those judges were: Dayton-based artist/educator Marsha Pippinger, Victoria Theatre Association’s Justina Crawford-Williams and Weston Art Gallery director Dennis Harrington. They chose just over 100 of those entrants throughout the country.
“A lot are returning, and some are brand new,” said Kettering cultural arts manager Shayna McConville. “This year we’re going to have a lot more interactive activities for kids and adults, like tile painting, and fused glass. We also have been building floats for the Holiday at Home parade, based on the public art in Kettering.”
The site for the arts festival is Lincoln Park Civic Commons, where a lot of that public art is based. There guests will find artwork in many forms: ceramics, digital art, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal/stone, mixed media, painting, photography, wood and works on paper.
Annette Poitau, a seven-year resident of Oberlin, Ohio, studied art for 10 years in Paris. Her process includes pulling and pushing the canvas to blend the colors together. The result is a lot of energy and movement in her abstract paintings.
A first-time festival artist is Michael Caracappa of Springboro, who is a wood sculptor. He could no longer hit a 5-wood, so he started getting creative with other types of wood.
“I hurt my shoulder, so I couldn’t play golf,” said Caracappa. “My son suggested that I start going to craft shows.”
He’s been crafting pens and pencils from exotic woods for the past ten years. Rolls Royce uses only Amboyna Burl wood for their dashboards, and you’ll find that reddish-brown sheen in some of his works. He also uses Buckeye Burl, abalone shells, and carbon fiber. The latter, a black reinforced material, is popular in high-end cars.
“When an Aston Martin dealer saw my pens, he put one in the dashboard of every car at his dealership,” said Caracappa.
Another artist you’ll see along the Commons strip on August 9 is Kate Lally, right next to her husband’s booth, Powers Photography. Lally, of Dayton, creates terra cotta ceramics in the early 20th century arts & crafts movement style. Her practical pieces include address plaques, welcome plaques, and herb markers for the garden. She operates a studio on Sixth Street across from Jay’s called Kate Lally Ceramics.
Daniel will be presenting fine-art cityscapes and landscapes from Italy, France, Scotland and other exotic locales, set in beautiful custom frames.
Other Miami Valley artists juried in: Stephanie Beiser, Jason Bove, Jason Boyer, David Brand, Thomas Croce, Keith Culley, Michael Davis, Jim DeLange, Thomas Drummer, Doug Fiely, Sarah Fortener, Kathy Gross, Amy Kollar Anderson, Rose Lawson, Greg Neal, Christine Noah-Cooper, Sandra Picciano-Brand, Gregg Smith, Sharon Stolzenberger, Sheila Stewart Shook, Jay Teilhet and Loretta Wikstrom.
Live music will be performed by Puzzle of Light, with yummy concessions by Ernie’s, Sweet P’s, Kona Ice, Harvest Mobile, Taqueria Mixteca, Shakery Juice Bar and BJ Events. Children’s activities include a $10 create-a-craft, with special sculpture activities for all ages.
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