Art fills uptown for weekend fest
September 24, 2009 · Dave Morris

The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

What sets this festival apart is the quality of the work, said Katrina Garner, a member of the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council, which sponsors the event.

"We are particularly blessed in this town with a large number of creative people who are very supportive of each other," she said. "It's about helping people appreciate beauty."

A special part of the event this year is a silent auction organized by the Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge and the arts council to benefit Galen Lacey, who has been involved with the event in the past and faced a heart transplant this past year (see story on this page).

Proceeds will be used to update his Mount Vernon home so he can get around better, said Mark Benesh, a member of the arts council.

"The Masons have really stepped up to help Galen," Garner said, adding that it was heartwarming to see the number of pieces put forth for the auction by the artists and others.

While most of the festival action is in the booths on First Street, art by Hugh Lifson, Benesh and Garner will also be displayed at Tatyana's Kitchen at 224 First St. W. The three artists, along with artist Sue Coleman, get together every so often to do plein air painting, Garner noted.

Cornell College students will also be involved in the event and will be selling a calendar that features their works.

Tony Plaut, a Cornell art professor, will exhibit his interactive sculpture, "The Typer Piper." It uses organ flutes, an old manual typewriter, a bike pump and a car tire so users may create their own musical scores.

Festival favorite Paul Imholte, known as the Stringman, will be returning. He'll stroll the festival playing everything from guitar to banjo to dulcimer. "He's really amazing," Benesh said.

Younger artists' work will be represented, too. Peace flags made by some of Sarah Fitzgerald's Washington Elementary art students will be on display. They are inspired by Tibetan prayer flags and illustrate the students' wishes for the world.

Demonstrations and on-the-spot dance instruction will be offered by Ellis Stroud's Mount Vernon-based Dance Arts Iowa. "That's exciting, because we haven't had dance as a part of the arts festival," Garner noted.

Food for the event will be available from booths sponsored by the United Methodist Church, Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge #112 and Premier Kettle Corn. Sodexo is providing coffee and doughnuts to the artists, as they are setting up.

Artists scheduled for the event are:

• Keitha Anderson - Metalsmithing and jewelry design.

• Aaron Askelson - Oil paintings, drawings and prints.

• Art Interest Group of Cornell College - Hailee Potter, Natalie Lunda, Elle Pope, Paige Brevick, Erin Daly, John Gantt, Allyson Weiss, Elsie Freland, Xinrui Zeng, Tiffany Ghearing, Bailee Beauman, Abby Schultz, Dan Haas, Amanda Arntz, Eva Fisk, James Ostrander, Elinar Wilber, Aaron Hall, Emily Edwards, Megan McElhaney, Chelsea Korpanty, Janet Northey. Advisor: Professor Tony Plaut and his "Typer Piper."

• Joelle Bartleson and Laura Glanz - Jewelry.

• Mark Benesh - Acrylics.

• Jeanine Beranek - Photography.

• Jill Brown - Mixed Media.

• Mary Campbell - Painted Furniture, Watercolors, Pastels.

• Paul Corbin - Clay.

• Dance Arts Iowa, Ellis Gatewood Stroud - Dance.

• Laura Dostal - Ceramics/Garden Sculptures.

• Jane Fink - Fiber/Silk Painting.

• Rosemary Frederiksen - Photography.

• Katrina Garner - Pastels.

• Doug Hanson - Ceramics.

• Kathleen Edwards Hayslett - Jewelry.

• Bonnie Hendrickson - Jewelry.

• Steve and Phyllis Hunter -Acrylics, Illustrations, Photography, Jewelry.

• Paul Imholte - "Musical Stringman."

• Ruth Ipsan-Brown -Twigs.

• John Klopp - Oils, Watercolor.

• Betty and Ed LaPointe - Sterling Silver Jewelry.

• Liberty Iron Works (Dale and Kasey Merrill) - Metal.

• Ian MacDonald - Acrylics.

• Mark Messner - Gourds.

• Mount Vernon Fine Arts Association - Mixed Media. Peace flags by elementary school students, inspired by their study of Tibetan prayer flags. Other works by middle school and high school students.

• Tom Newport - Fused Glass Jewelry.

• Robyn Schwab - Photography.

• Lawrie See - Glass/Metal - Jewelry.

• Linda K. Smith - Pottery.

• Keri Speidel - Window (Antique) Painting, Collage, Mixed Media.

• Molly Trosky - Fiber/Recycled Materials.

• Cindi Weyer - Beaded Jewelry.

• Megan Stewart - Pottery, Painting.

• Information tent - Mount Vernon Area Arts Council (MVAAC) representatives, Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance, and Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group.

• Silent Auction Art Tent - Sponsored by the Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge #112 and MVAAC, to benefit Galen Lacey.

• Food Vendors: Premier Kettle Corn; Mount Vernon Methodist Church; Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge #112.