Sunday in the Park with Art

This afternoon, my family and I took in Richmond’s Arts in the Park.  Arts in the Park is sponsored by the Carillon Civic Association, a neighborhood group dedicated to the beautification of the surrounding area including Byrd Park.

I was skeptical about the weather this morning, as it’s been cool and overcast.  But that actually made it a great day for the show.

We parked at City Stadium and took the free shuttle.  It was easy and convenient and beat trying to find a parking space around Byrd Park.

Part of our reason for attending is that we want to expose the 11-year-old to more cultural events.  The past two summers have found us extra busy and me having to work most weekends.  So we’re trying to remedy that.  A couple of weeks ago it was Picasso.  And, the Maymont Flower and Garden Show is a perennial (no pun intended) family favorite.

Another reason for going was to see our good friend, Angie Wiggins, who works with mixed media.  It’s always good to see the amazing designs she makes with paper and clay.  We also got to see some of Angie’s work in the gift shop at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

There were around 450 artisans exhibiting this weekend, and for me perhaps that’s a bit much.  It’s almost a sensory overload.  You don’t really have the time to look at all of the displays, and when you do it’s hard to remember a particular one you might want to see again.

Not that we were buying.  We weren’t.  We did grab a couple of business cards from artists whose works we’d like to see again, and perhaps consider for a purchase.

Altogether, we spent about four hours there.  That probably could have been reduced by about 25% except for the fact that our son had to ask to pet every dog there.  And there were many.

The other thing I got out of the afternoon was a desire (yet again) to be more creative.  Seems I’ve said that before.  But photoshop, layout and design just aren’t cutting it for me.  I need a brush, a marker, a crayon.  Something.  And I need to work on that.

Arts in the Park is over for this year.  But it’s a great event and the proceeds to go things like rebuilding the Tot Lot Playground at the Carillon, SPARC and other community organizations.