Kent hosts annual Art in the Park

Customers browse different booths at Art In The Park last weekend. Stained glass was just one type of art available. ELIZABETH MYERS | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: Jason Hall

In a scene not uncommon in Northeast Ohio, the audience sits on bales of hay.

But they aren’t listening to country or even folk music, as one might imagine.

Instead, they sit casually listening to the “islandy” ping and clang of the steel drum music at Fred Fuller Park in Kent.

This blend of tastes and many more were common this weekend at the 13th annual Art in the Park festival.

More than 80 artists specializing in areas such as photography, jewelry, paintings and wood participated in the event, which was put on by Kent Parks and Recreation.

The artists’ booths were judged by Kathryn Wat, curator of the Akron Art Museum. Clematis Walker-Graham, of Cleveland, won Best of Show.

Walker-Graham’s artwork is focused in raku, a type of Japanese pottery, along with a type of floral decoration called ikebana. She said she has participated in Art in the Park for the last five years and enjoys the atmosphere created by the park setting.

Richard Hendershot, of Broomfield, was awarded second place. He specializes in exotic woods and said his most popular pieces are created from manzanita, an evergreen bush that grows in western North America.

Justin Crowe, a senior at Hudson High School, won third place. Crowe got his start at Art in Park in a kid’s booth six years ago. He creates raku pottery and functional stoneware.

“I do three shows a year, and this has been the best show for me,” Crowe said. “The location is awesome and people are great.”

Art in the Park had various musical performers, including bluegrass band Hillbilly Idol and Flash in the Pan, a Kent State steel drum ensemble.

Featured artists Todd Abell and Bob Schultz performed demonstrations during the festival. Abell, a Kent State alumnus, displayed the craft of glass blowing. Schultz demonstrated wheel throwing, the process of turning lumps of clay into functional pottery.

The Kent State chapter of Society for Creative Anachronism had booths featuring Middle Ages and Renaissance clothing, weaponry and calligraphy. The organization also had demonstrations on authentic dancing and jousting from that time period.

“Our primary purpose as an organization is to study, learn and educate .,” said Sally Burnell, a scribe in the society. “We bring history to life. Living history is a lot more interesting than reading about it.”

Lauren Barnes, senior fashion merchandising major, said she was attending the festival for the first time because it sounded like fun.

“Art in the Park is very impressive,” she said. “I didn’t know it would be this big of a deal.”

Contact College of the Arts reporter Emily Cope at [email protected].