Mosaic Art Experience showcases talents of local artists
A kaleidoscope of different types of art, from watercolors and etched glass to pottery and sculpture, created by more than 25 talented local artists, was on display as MosaicConnection opened its 2009 Mosaic Art Experience at the recently restored former NAPA building at 120 Beall Ave. in Wooster.The four-day event kicked off with an artists’ reception on Wednesday, Oct. 14, which not only allowed the artists to meet one another but also provided the community with the opportunity to “interact with the artists to see why they did what they did,” said Melody Kirby, MosaicConnection steering committee member.
On hand for the artists’ reception was musician Dan Bartkowiak, who welcomed members of the audience to interact with him by playing and singing along with the music.
The exhibit continued Thursday and Friday, with the main event being held Saturday evening, Oct. 17. In addition to an opportunity to view the exhibit, visitors at Saturday’s finale were able to create pieces of art using a wide variety of media, from clay to mosaic tiles, and enjoy music provided by the jazz group Standard Time. Dressed as artist Vincent Van Gogh, Regis Sullivan was also on hand, mingling with the crowd and discussing the great artist’s life and works.
According to Kirby, the Mosaic Art Experience originally started at Church of the Savior five years ago. “It wasn’t just an art show, it was reaching people and affecting people in a lot of ways,” said Kirby. The group decided to take the events out into the community to reach more people “and not affiliate ourselves with one particular church or denomination.”
Moving the event to the renovated building on Beall successfully met the goal of spreading the outreach program to more people. Nearly 250 people attended the four-day event this year, which, according to Kirby, was “three times what we’ve ever had before.”
The wide variety of media the artists worked in was matched by the number of years each artist has been working, including budding artists from Wooster Christian School. “We open the event to anybody who considers themselves an artist and wants to be creative,” said Kirby. The open invitation allows even those artists who are just beginning to hone their craft to take part in the exhibit experience.
The Mosaic Art Experience was the most recent in a series of events hosted by MosaicConnection this summer and fall. On August 8 and 22, and again on Sept. 5 and 26, the group hosted Party in the Park, a series of family-friendly events that included games, food, kids activities and music.
MosaicConnection also invited the entire community to take part in a collaboration to create a giant chalk drawing during Wooster Fest. According to Kirby, the group has undertaken similar large scale community chalk drawing projects in recent years for other large downtown Wooster events, including the Wooster Arts Jazz Fest.
Kirby noted that the group plans to offer a number of hands-on arts related events this winter, including a Santa’s workshop some time in November or December. At this event children could come in and make handcrafted Christmas gifts for friends and family members. A series of art workshops for adults and children that would occur after the first of the year is also in the planning stages.
MosaicConnection is a volunteer organization funded by private donations. For more information on the organization, visit their Web site at www.MosaicConnection.org.