Featured Artists Expand Variety Of Marion's Celebrate Summer Art Festival

MARION - Both a Cleveland attorney whose passion is art, and a self-taught painter who recently was selected as one of Columbus' "35 Most Intriguing People in the Arts" will be among the 56 artists who will exhibit and sell their work at the fifth annual "Celebrate Summer" art festival.

Celebrate Summer: Marion's Art and Music Festival will be held June 25 at The Ohio State University at Marion. This free event that also features musical entertainment, children's activities, concessions, and a student art show. The festival runs from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. at the campus, one mile west of U.S. 23 on State Route 95.

For the second year, Celebrate Summer offers exhibits by "Featured Artists," a program that provides an introduction of new artists to the Marion Community, enhancs the diversity of exhibits, and provides partnership opportunities with artists and arts organizations in other parts of Ohio. Featured Artists for the 2000 festival are:

• Leni Anderson, a self-taught artist who in 1997 was selected as one of Columbus, Ohio's "35 Most Intriguing People in the Arts" by Columbus Art Journal. A native of Los Angeles, Anderson spent seven years in the army, including a tour during the Persian Gulf War. He decided to dedicate his life to art when he left the military, and for several years he was a performing poet. He taught himself to paint and has had work featured in solo and group exhibits throughout Ohio and other parts of the United States. To view his work, or to learn more about him, visit www.americaohyes.com, an on-line gallery of American folk art.
• Gary R. Williams studied art at the Cooper School of Art in Cleveland for two years, but soon decided that he could make more money in law, so he pursued a law degree and a career as an attorney. But his art has always remained his passion, and as his law career matured, he continued to draw and paint. He entered his first art show in 1992, 14 years after leaving art school. In 1995, he won Best of Show in the Cleveland Art Scape show and another best of show award the following year. He's now considering leaving his law career to devote more time to his art, pastels on cloth.
• C. Rick Williams is using both his major in Internationl Business and his passion for art to start his own company. Williams has been interested in art since a child but only recently started painting. His current choice of medium is arcylic on canvas and glass. He has displayed his artwork in several restrauants in the Columbus area, including Haiku Restaurant and Tapitito, and in Michigan and Maryland. He currently has 14 pieces in the Kendrick House in the Parade of Homes in Dublin.
• Arturo Luna is the fourth-generation of his Mexican family to produce art from dyed straw on paper, depicting scenes and cultural icons from his country. Luna, who has lived in the United States for a little more than a year, learned the technique from his grandfather when he was seven years old, and has been practicing and perfecting his art since he was 15. In Mexico, the art is sold at galleries primarily in tourist areas. In Ohio, Luna has been exhibiting and selling his work in art shows and festivals, and currently has pieces on display in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

The Celebrate Summer, sponsored by Ohio State Marion in partnership with Mid-Ohio Fine Art Society, is in its fifth year on the Marion Campus. It is a juried fine arts and craft show that will bring about 56 artists to exhibit and sell their work.

Marionites Among Celebrate Summer's Musical Performers

Marion Catholic High School graduate Tom Davis will be among the musical performers at "Celebrate Summer: Marion's Art and Music Festival" on June 25 at the Ohio State Marion Campus. Davis, who graduated in 1966, will play the bodhran (Irish drum) as a member of General Guinness, a band that combines Irish ballads with traditional fiddle tunes and Irish step dancing.

"The group plays predominantly energetic vocal music seasoned with spry jigs, reels and hornpipes, along with a breathtaking array of 'the steps'," said Davis, who is a founding member of the band that has been performing since the early 1980s.

General Guinness band performs regionally in concert venues as well as from the festival stage. The group is a member of the Ohio Arts Council's touring program "Ohio Artists on Tour."

Some long-time Marion residents might remember Davis' former local rock band, Lost Souls, with which he performed during his high school days. Davis said his greatest thrill as a musician came in 1990, when General Guinness was invited to provide the accompaniment for the Irish Kerry Dancers on their tour of the Soviet Union. Other noteworthy events include the band's first trip to Ireland, when Davis learned to play the bodhran; and in 1995, when the group performed at the Palace Theater in Columbus with the most famous exponents of traditional Irish music, the Chieftans.

General Guinness will perform at noon and 2 p.m.

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The smooth jazz sounds of the Vic Floyd Combo will also be part of the Celebrate Summer musical entertainment. A Marion resident, Floyd will be on the stage of the Art Festival starting at 3 p.m. for an hour-long performance. You won't want to miss one of Marion's great musicians.

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Great music, fine singing, showmanship and sharing stories will be part of the performance of Greg Jowaisas, a Kentuckian who plays 10 different instruments and know at least 400 songs.

Jowaisas has spent 20 years learning and mastering the best of America's folk music. Appalachian mountain music, cowboy ballads, sailing work songs and Woody Guthrie compositions are often a part of his performance.

He will perform at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and from 2:30 to 3:30, Jowaisas will be in the Children's Tent entertaining with his story-telling.

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From 4 to 5 p.m., student performers and instructors of the Bazzoli Arts Institute for Middle Schoolers will take to the stage for performance featuring the group's activities from the previous week.

Celebrate Summer Art Fair Returns To Marion Campus June 25

The largest outdoor art gallery in Marion County will open for business June 25 with the return of Celebrate Summer: Marion's Art and Music Festival, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Ohio State Marion campus.

Sponsored by Ohio State Marion, the event will include 56 artists from all corners of Ohio and a few from out of state who will be on hand to exhibit and sell their work.

Included in the artistic lineup will be four featured artists new to the Marion area: Arturo Luna and Gary R. Williams of Cleveland, and Leni Anderson and C. Rick Williams, both from the Columbus area. (A press release detailing the featured artists will be forwarded later this week.) "If you appreciate fine art, lively entertainment, good food, and camaraderie with friends and acquaintances, then the Marion Campus is the place to be on June 25," said Bronwen Babich, one of the fair's organizers. "We have put together one of the most impressive line-ups of artists and entertainers for a day of celebrating and enjoying the arts. This is really a not-to-be-missed event in Marion."

Babich said the show has grown so much during the past five years, it has surpassed the limitations of the volunteer group, Mid-Ohio Fine Art Society (MOFAS) , which started the show in 1996. Ohio State Marion "adopted" the festival to assure its continued success as a unique exhibition for the Marion community, she said, and it remains a community event sponsored by Ohio State Maion in partnership with MOFAS.

The festival receives support from the Ohio Arts Council, as well as local support from United Way Alber Funding, Laipply's Quickprint and Graphics, WDIF, The Marion Star, Whirlpool Corp, Rotary Club of Marion, Kroger, Commercial Savings Bank, Marion Industrial Center, Marion County Children's Services and William Kay Davis Foundation.

New to the festival this year will be the gently-used art sale sponsored by the Arts Palace, the educational programming arm of Marion's Palace Theatre. Funds raised will go to support Arts Palace programs.

As in past years, Celebrate Summer will include:

• A children's tent with art-related activities for youngsters. This year's activities are provided by the Arts Palace and sponsored by Marion County Children's Services and Kroger.
• An exhibit by members of the Mid-Ohio Fine Art Society and others
• A display of art work by high school students in Marion area schools
• A demonstration of art created by participants of the Bazzoli Arts Institute for Middle Schoolers, held on the Marion campus June 19-23.
• An exhibit in the Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery in Morrill Hall
• Musical entertainment throughout the day featuring the Greg Jowaisas (folk music and story-telling), The General Guinness Band (traditional Irish ballads and music featuring former Marion resident Tom Davis), and Marion's Vic Floyd Combo (jazz and rhythm & blues). (A separate release on the musical entertainment will be forwarded later this week.)
• Concessions
• Free parking and free admission

For more information, contact (740) 389-6786 extension 6341.