Art Stroll scheduled for May 21 in Canal Winchester
Canal Winchester’s past will be on display at the annual Art on the Canal Art Stroll in the historic downtown.
Members of the Canal Winchester Art Guild will present a “hanging of art,” including photographs and watercolor and oil paintings focused on the city’s historical buildings and events at the one-room Prentiss School, art guild Treasurer Carolyn Sittler said.
The 11th annual Art on the Canal Art Stroll is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. May 21.
“For a small community like Canal Winchester, we have enormous talent among our artists,” said Sittler, who organized the first Art Stroll more than a decade ago.
The event, now presented by Destination: Canal Winchester which promotes the city’s travel and tourism program, will feature nearly 50 booths, including painters, sculptors, woodcarvers and jewelry, spread at businesses and homes throughout downtown.
“One of the things that makes this unique is that we actually set up many of the artists in homeowners’ front yards and even on their front porches on High Street,” said Karen Stiles, Destination: Canal Winchester executive director.
In addition, Art on the Canal will feature a variety of live music, including the Canal Winchester High School Steel Drum Band, dancing, chalk artists and food trucks.
Nationally known artist Robert Warren will demonstrate oil painting techniques, and his studio, 75 N. High St., will be open throughout the afternoon.
“He makes his living as an artist, and that’s rare,” Sittler said. “Most artists, they’re either employed in graphic design or something like that or do it as a hobby. We’re very lucky to have Robert in the community. He’s been a real inspiration to artists here in town.”
Sittler’s unique art form is needle felting, which is the process of transforming wool into 3-D objects using a barbed needle.
“I paint with wool,” she said. “It’s a textured look. I think it lends itself very well to landscapes and with the felt, you can do three dimensional. With watercolors, that’s flat.”
New this year is a contest sponsored by Destination: Canal Winchester that encouraged high school students to show off their artistic skills by designing the event poster. Nine students entered the contest won by senior Ellie Thompson, who collected a $500 award.
“We had a tough decision because there were so many neat entries,” Stiles said. “Something about Ellie’s piece kind of spoke to us, and that’s the one we selected. We’re going to continue to hold the contest every year.”
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Art Stroll scheduled for May 21 in Canal Winchester
