Spring rite

It’s time to break out those walking shoes, baby strollers and plenty of sunscreen for the 22nd annual ArtFest.
The free, family-friendly, three-day outdoor party includes art, live music, children’s activities, food and a beer garden.
Sponsored by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture and the Spokane Art School, ArtFest once again returns to Coeur d’Alene Park in Spokane’s historic Browne’s Addition ,neighborhood.
“The park is a nice, intimate setting with a festival feeling,” says Jill Strom, public relations coordinator for the museum. “ArtFest has outgrown the museum campus where it was for years.”
Since its beginning, this springtime celebration has featured leading Northwest artists and crafters.
While the first ArtFest saw 30 juried crafters selling their wares, this weekend festivalgoers will have more than 140 booths to mosey through.
“Cultural development is the new rising star in Spokane,” says Karl Hollander, executive director of Spokane Art School. “This year’s ArtFest is bigger and better.”
People will discover original art and hand-crafted objects including paintings, furniture, ceramics, glass works, photography, prints, toys and wearable art.
Watercolorist Andrew Sewell of Pullman is bringing paintings that strive to rekindle memories of special places and timeless things, including rusty antique trucks and heroic old barns.
“I enjoy capturing the beauty of the Palouse country,” says Sewell in an e-mail. “The old barns need to be remembered for their role in the land – sheltering all the horses that pulled the combines to harvest the wheat.”
His paintings are executed in an almost photographic reality, yet they are obviously painted images.
Potter James Diem of Hood River, Ore., a first-time ArtFest participant, is showing a full range of functional ceramic ware, from goblets to salad bowls.
Diem creates stoneware objects that are influenced by 19th-century designer William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement.
“Generally my style can be characterized by muted, natural colors and subtle, elegant forms,” says Diem from his studio in Oregon.
Everything is strong enough for daily use, he says.
Back for the second time are sculptors Mary Dee and Allen Dodge of Coeur d’Alene.
Known for their playful wood relief wall hangings, the Dodges cooperatively create their work.
Allen Dodge says he cuts and shapes the wood as his intuition moves him. Then he hands his designs over to his wife, Mary Dee, to finish in bright-colored acrylics.
Their work tends to be fun and upbeat, reflecting a quiet sense of humor.
“That’s the way we live our lives,” says Dodge. “We’re cheerful people.”
As many as 23 skilled crafters are showing a variety of jewelry ranging from woven beadwork to sculptural sterling silver necklaces.
One metalsmith, Jon Lepper of Spokane, is bringing a variety of silver earrings, pendants and brooches.
Jewelry fabricating is “like making small sculpture,” says Lepper.
Throughout the weekend, 10 artisans will be demonstrating how they make art and answer any questions.
Over in the Make It Art area, young artists can again express themselves in nine hands-on aesthetic activities with clay, paper, wood and paint. For a nominal fee, families can participate in take-home art projects such as fossil making, easel painting and sand candles.
Not far from the Make It Art tent are 11 food booths offering the traditional standards of Mary Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream and Old Fashioned Country Kettle Corn along with the likes of Leonardo’s Caribbean Bistro.
Adding a beat to the party is a continuous variety of live music from the festival’s performance stage. The schedule includes folk-rock, blues and funk.
The Friday night headliner is That Goodtime Band, a group that brings swing, country, and rock and roll. On Saturday night, the stage will bounce to the rhythm and blues sounds of the Big Mumbo Blues Band between 8 and 9:45 p.m. The Eastern Washington University Jazz Band closes out the music stage on Sunday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Between the stage performances, roving musicians will meander through the festival grounds.