Art show draws crowd for 39th year

Alice Campbell Havre Daily News [email protected]

Artists sat by booths, at times talking animatedly with visitors, and people meandered from wall to wall, munching on home-baked cookies, during the 39th annual Havre Art Association Show and Sale. Pottery, photography, sculpture, pencil, calligraphy, handmade papers, watercolor, oil, acrylic and many other mediums constituted a colorful array of things to see Saturday and Sunday at the Van Orsdel Methodist Church. A theme board titled "Reach for the Sky!" Greeted visitors as they came in the door. After the votes were tallied for the favorite piece of art depicting the theme, Don Greytak was declared the winner Sunday evening. The event, with 22 area artists displaying work, saw normal turnout, said Vince Woodwick, an art association member who helped with the show. Four hundred programs were distributed and 350 people signed the guest book. "We've seen a real solid, solid Stream of people," he said. Those people bought pieces of art and commissioned artists, but not as much as in years past, Woodwick said. "I'm thinking things are just a little slower around here," he said. It wasn't solely about the sales, though. Visitors picked up a few tips from the show, too, with a pinch bowl pottery demonstration Saturday and a mosaic demonstration Sunday by f e a t u r e d a r t i s t Tom Marinkovich. Marinkovich said he keeps a busy schedule. But when he was approached by the art association to be the featured artist the show has featured an area artist since its inception he accepted because he considers it an honor to be asked by his peers, he said. "I'm very humbled about it," he said, thanking the art association. The art teacher for Box Elder Schools uses various mediums, including airbrush, antler art and scrimshaw, batik, blown glass, bronze art, jewelry, mosaics, painting, pottery, sandblast art, stained glass and tie dying, among others. What his favorite one is depends on his mood, he said. What he would demonstrate during the show was unknown until just before the show, because he was waiting for his mood to dictate what he wanted to show people, he said. Even so, he said, he's worked with pottery the longest. Some people knew a bit a b o u t p o t t e r y d u r i n g Saturday's demonstrat ion, Marinkovich said, but after the demonstration Sunday, more people who might have known nothing about creating a mosaic, learned something. Mosaic art has been around fo r tho u s and s o f ye a r s, Marinkovich, who has worked with mosaics for about 10 years, told the gathering. He uses it on pottery, flower pots, table tops, boxes, light fixtures and many other surfaces, he said. His stained glass projects left him with large amounts of scrap glass that he puts to good use on his mosaics, he said. He thought that would solve the problem of his mounting heaps of scraps. "It has created more scraps, smaller ones," he said jokingly. On the lid of a small wooden box, Marinkovich started a pattern with white and pink glass pieces. Then he handed the lid to an audience member and told them to add to it with green and yellow pieces. "This is your chance to be creative," he told the group about the process he said is about colors and shapes. Everyone in attendance added a piece, some cutting the shape themselves with a glass nipper. Then Marinkovich mixed grout with water, recommending that gloves be used because of lye content in the substance. He globbed it on top of a lid made previously so the glue would have ample time to dry, gently massaging it down between the pieces. He used a sponge's damp edges to wipe excess grout from the top and reveal the glass pieces. To finish, he used a rag to wipe each glass piece dry and ensure that no grout was left on any of them. In addition to the regular show and the demonstrations, a silent auction took place both days, with different items each day. Ten percent of the total sales went back to the art association to use for educational programs throughout the year, various events like the Art in the Garden tour and an annual scholarship to a Havre High School graduate. Seventeen art pieces were sold. A fall driedfoliage arrangement, by local artist Becky Ross, was given as a do o r pr i z e to Sue Widdekind.