Art in the Park

                Every time I drive down I-44, I see a sign for Tulsa and I smile.  I’m close enough to home that the road signs point the direction for me.  I also see a sign for the Laumeier Sculpture Park and think to myself “I should stop some day and check it out.”

                Today, I went to the annual Art Fair at the sculpture park.  Of all the art fairs I have been to over the years, from the May Fest on the streets of downtown Tulsa to the Forest Fair under the towering birch of Girdwood, Alaska, the Laumeier Sculpture Park was one of the more befitting settings I have seen. 

Sculptures liberally decorate the park, from a mosaiced cat that greets you at the entrance to mammoth steel edifices that tower over the grassy lawns.  An enormous eyeball reminded me of those awful gumballs you see at Halloween but seemed to hold great interest for the little boys at the fair with their parents. 

The Art Fair was delightful with a very good mix of media and style.  My favorites included the photography exhibitors (as usual); I bought a print from Marty Hulsebos of Aspen trees taken looking up at the sky through the canopy of leaves.  I also enjoyed the various art glass booths, and was tempted to buy Mom a new garden globe.  Mom did get a new present, but since I’m pretty sure that she’ll read this before she gets it, I won’t spoil the surprise….

One booth completely unexpected booth featured embroidery.  These weren't pillows and napkins, they weren’t counted cross-stitch, and there wasn’t a single sampler in sight.  Each item was a finely rendered, delicately stitched piece of artwork.  From ten feet away, they looked like paintings of birds and flowers.  Until I was standing right in front of them, I didn’t realize that they were painstakingly stitched by hand. 

As this was a juried fair, the variety and style of different jewelry was fantastic.  From artglass creations to outlandish pearl collars to a variety of different metal working techniques, each artist had a unique perspective to offer.  At one booth, I wondered if the artist had done quilling before she took up metal working because the pieces had a distinct resemblance to that unique type of paper craft.  At another booth, the gal created her own beads from river pebbles and worked them into pendants and earrings.

A bit of sun, a pair of earrings, and a new photo for my pin cushion walls later, and I would say that my day at the sculpture park was a success.

The Laumeier Sculpture Park: http://laumeiersculpturepark.org/

Marty Hulsebos Photography: http://martyhulsebos.com/

Note:  A big shout-out to The St. Louis Transplants for their gathering at the Art Fair today; I wouldn’t have known about the Fair otherwise and their gathering made for a very pleasant afternoon.  http://www.stltransplants.com/