Art on the Square

The Worst Decision Art on the Square Ever Made

This year’s Art on the Square poster has been revealed:

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I can almost not find words for how wildly inappropriate this is. Belleville is celebrating her 200th birthday this year, and Art on the Square had the chance to have a really cool, historic poster. But instead, they commissioned a poster they had to have realized would be covered in cats. Yes, the cats are supposed to represent things in Belleville’s history, but you don’t even see that, because you’re too busy trying to figure out why our beautiful town square fountain is surrounded by cartoony cats.

I mean no disrespect to the artist, Don Nedobeck. I’m sure he is very talented in his field of work. This is not my style of art, however…not even close. But I also know that art is subjective, and some people like cat art. I don’t think, however, that the group of people who do is great enough to warrant commissioning the poster that will forever represent this year’s art fair covered in them.

Even if you overlook my immense dislike of cartoony cat art, there’s still the issue of this poster not fitting with any of the other posters they’ve produced, ever. There have been many different art styles displayed in the posters over the year, some that i have liked less than others, but they all fit together. We have a grouping of three rotating posters from previous Art on the Square festivals, and even though they are all by different artists with different styles, they are still complimentary. And they focus on the people of Belleville, not cats!

We have bought the Art on the Square poster every year since we’ve lived in Belleville, but I will not be buying this one. That makes me sad, from a continuity standpoint, as well as from a “missing out on having a souvenir of both Art on the Square and Belleville’s 200th birthday” standpoint. But there is no way I want these cats gracing the walls of my home. And I really think Art on the Square made a huge mistake choosing this design to be the face of this year’s historic event.

Our “Artiversary”

We were very lucky this year, because Art on the Square, one of the most-anticipated annual events in our household, just happened to fall on our wedding anniversary. As always, it was a fun way to spend the morning, walking around, and looking at all of the amazing art that fills our town square!

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Even if it’s not something I would actually buy, I love looking at it all! There was jewelry:

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Sculpture:

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Ceramics:

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Glassware:

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Plus the more traditional wall art, of all kinds:

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There was also a food court:

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And a children’s area (we were there too early to actually make anything):

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Of course, we visited our favorite artist, Mark Hurd:

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And purchased a print, which matches the poster for the year that we always purchase, and have signed:

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We also saw some artists at work, including a painter:

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And a wood-carver:

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I’m already looking forward to going back next year, and seeing what new things there are to discover!

Third Grade: Week Twenty-Six Wrap-Up

This week, we really started moving ahead in Adventures in My Father’s World. We’re doing one state sheet a day until they’re done, (which happens to coincide perfectly with how many math lessons we have left!). We’re ready for summer vacation, and we’ve almost met all of the days the state requires us to have, but we also want to get through every state sheet, because Turkey and Bunny love learning state trivia, so we can’t skip any. I’ve also had to adjust our book basket readings to go with the states we’re studying, but seeing as how Turkey and Bunny have usually finished the book basket selections by Wednesday, anyway, having some extra books to choose from is not a problem! We only have one major topic left in our overview of early American history–Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. We’ll be starting on that next week, and it will last us for two of the remaining three weeks of school.

We also had our annual field trip to Art on the Square this week. I give the children an assignment every year–for example, one year, I picked a few different types of paintings, and told them to find examples of each. This year, the assignment was fairly simple–choose your favorite piece of art, and then explain why it’s your favorite. It was fun hearing their explanations as to why they chose a particular piece–the artists did a good job making their audience feel something! Turkey loved watching these sculptures move in the wind…it’s what he looks forward to the most every year!

Art on the Square 2012

It’s hard to believe it’s already that time of year again, but this weekend was Belleville’s annual art show–Art on the Square. The weather was perfect for browsing the different tents–warm and sunny. There was a good crowd there already when it opened at 10 on Saturday morning, so hopefully this was another successful year for the artists in attendance!

Every year, I give the children an assignment while we’re there. For example, one year, it was finding and identifying different styles of painting. This year’s assignment  was finding one piece of art that was a favorite, and then explaining why they chose it. Bunny really liked a group of paintings of the Great Plains..she said they made her feel free and wild. Turkey really liked these sculptures, because they’re colorful and fun, and move in the wind.

As always, I loved looking at all of the different styles and kinds of art at the show. It seems that all kinds of art are represented, from photography to paintings, sculptures to jewelry, pottery to wood carvings. Even when something doesn’t reflect my personal taste, I can still appreciate the talent and effort it takes to make it–especially since I’m not gifted in the art department!

We got to see a few different artists at work, demonstrating their skills.

The children enjoyed the children’s art area, and they had a fun time adding their personal stamp to the giant mural that was set up.

This year, we even bought a few prints from my favorite artist, local photographer Mark Hurd!

Best in the Nation

Art on the Square has once again been named the best fine art show in the nation!

We look forward to this every year…I’m already looking forward to this year’s show, even though it’s still over four months away. It’s great for the children to see so many different kinds of art, and interact with the artists, and it’s fun for me to dream about some of the pieces I’d like to buy someday. At the least, we get the show poster every year, which we rotate into our collection at the top of the stairs.

One of these years, though, we’ll buy some real art…possibly something local, like a painting of Busch Stadium or Ted Drewes!

Art on the Square

It’s that time of year again–Art on the Square has returned to Belleville, IL!

Art on the Square is the thing Belleville does best every year. On more than one occasion, it’s been named the best Art Fair in the nation–and these accolades coming even with Art on the Square only celebrating its 10th anniversary!

There are always artists to watch and talk to, even on a miserably rainy day like today:

There are favorite booths we look forward to seeing every year, such as this one belonging to photographer John Hartung:

And new favorites like photographer John Scanlan, who had beautiful pictures of various European locations:

The booths containing space and weather photography, (by Scott Johnson and David Mayhew, respectively), also had some beautiful things (can you tell I really like the photographers best?):

We also enjoy seeing local artists, such as Mark Hurd of St. Louis. He had some really awesome prints, including one of Ted Drewes Frozen Custard:

We always look forward to seeking out the creator of the year’s fair poster, in order to get our copy signed. This time, the artist, (who works with watercolors), was Gordon France, and his booth was quite popular:

Of course, there are always booths that are simply fun to look at, like these sculptures by Marina Lee:

And these, by Kevin Trobaugh, proclaimed to be “beautiful,” by Moose (some of them move in the wind):

Art on the Square also boasts a nice children’s area, with hands-on activities, as well as performers to watch. We didn’t get to participate in a lot of the activities, some of which included decorating a mini flower-pot and planting Black-eyed Susan seeds, sand art, and paper hat making, (probably for the best–they would have disintegrated in the rain!), but the children did get to plant some bean seeds and color some pictures. They also enjoyed all of the whimsical decorations adorning the children’s corner!

Saturday morning’s crowd was much smaller than usual, because of the weather, I’m certain. Still, there was a dedicated group of art lovers, umbrellas in hand, enjoying the walk around the square, viewing all of the different types of art, as well as the various food tents and musical performers.

This is definitely one of our family’s favorite traditions–someday, we may even be able to buy something there!