213 Nationally Recognized Artists Selected to Exhibit at 29th Annual Festival

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (February 24, 2014) – 213 nationally recognized artists have been chosen to exhibit their work at the 29th annual MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival (MAIN ST.), taking place on April 10-13, 2014. With attendance increasing each year, more than $4 million worth of art is expected to be sold over the course of the four-day festival.

Art enthusiasts can choose from a variety of creative and original works of art from mediums, such as sculpture, painting, fiber, mixed media, ceramics, wood, glass, and metalwork. MAIN ST. is a juried art fair, which means that artists must submit their work to an esteemed panel of national and local judges before being selected to exhibit. Each exhibiting artist will be present at their corresponding booths during festival hours to discuss their work and explain the processes and materials used in displayed works.

“No matter their level of art know-how (the lesser-experienced and Pablo Picassos alike), tens of thousands of art and festival-loving folks will experience an eye-popping weekend at this year’s MAIN ST.,” said Marilyn Ackmann, chair of the Festivals and Events Advisory Committee for festival producers Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc.

Of the nearly 1,400 applications received, only 213 artists were selected to exhibit at the 2014 festival, including 22 award-winning artists from the 2013 festival:

  • Thomas Diel (Fort Worth, Texas) – Best of Show 2013/Mixed Media – Booth 431: With a background in industrial design, Diel uses the structure of bridges as his inspiration when constructing detailed and carefully crafted furniture.
  • Jennifer Lashbrook (Dallas, Texas) – Best Emerging Artist 2013/Mixed Media – Booth 723: Starting her career as an oil painter, Lashbrook has since become known for her swatch paintings, which involves arranging pieces of paper to form an intricate portrait.
  • Fred Tate (Austin, Texas) – Merit Award 2013/Jewelry – Booth 507: Colliding nature and architecture, jewelry artist Fred Tate combines materials to make unique, modern pieces.
  • George Raab (Millbrook, Ontario) – Merit Award 2013/Graphics & Printmaking – Booth 601: George Raab is an intaglio printmaker whose original prints are made by creating textures and grooves below the surface of a zinc plate.
  • Marvin Blackmore (Durango, Colorado) – Merit Award 2013/Ceramics – Booth 821: Marvin Blackmore makes hand-etched, Native American-inspired pottery using a two-tone, black-on-black technique to create intricate designs.
  • E. Douglas Wunder (Kutztown, Pennsylvania) – Merit Award 2013/Jewelry – Booth 804: E. Douglas Wunder’s jewelry features abstract, geometric images made with mixed metals, which allows each piece to be unique, well-made and pleasing to the eye.
  • Thomas Wargin (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin) – Merit Award 2013/Sculpture – Booth 802: Thomas Wargin uses a blend of old and new practices to create his artwork, beginning with sketches and then evolving into clay or carved 3-dimensional forms.
  • Micheal Paul Cole (Hannibal, Missouri) – Merit Award 2013/Photography – Booth 305: Cole uses a methodical three-step development process in his photography to create an organic work of art.
  • Michael Schwegmann (Champaign, Illinois) – Juror Award 2013/Ceramics – Booth 327: Schwegmann creates everyday objects made of clay that are then rendered with porcelain and glaze, purposely leaving handmade marks so viewers can see more of the original piece.
  • John Charbonneau (Santa Fe, New Mexico) – Juror Award 2013/Digital – Booth 618: With a base of multiple original pictures, Charbonneau evolves his images by adding textural features and other photographs to create a surreal work of art.
  • R. Michael Wommack (Langhorne, Pennsylvania) – Juror Award 2013/Drawing & Pastels – Booth 603: Memories from his childhood have inspired Wommack to create a series of drawings revolving around the neighborhood he grew up in.
  • Diane Harty (Frisco, Colorado) – Juror Award 2013/Fiber – Booth 518: Harty uses braided strands of fibers and an antique sewing machine to create her hats, shaping them with her hands as she stiches.
  • Scott Gamble (Cumming, Georgia) – Juror Award 2013/Glass – Booth 714: Gamble focuses on form, color, proportion and texture when creating glass vessels of various shapes and sizes, complete with a sandblasted or acid-polished surface to emphasize its form.
  • John Costin (Tampa, Florida) – Juror Award 2013/Graphics & Printmaking – Booth 619: After hand-drawing his images, Costin uses an “Old World” etching technique on copper plates and applying oil or watercolors to complete his portraits of local birds.
  • Ronald Linton (Hot Springs, Arkansas) – Juror Award 2013/Jewelry – Booth 402: Linton manipulates metal to mimic a flowing material when creating his sophisticated jewelry.
  • Greg Roche (Watsonville, California) – Juror Award 2013/Leather – Booth 418: Roche uses vat-dyed, vegetable-tanned cowhide to create unique handbags that are colored and embossed with his own personal embossing plates.
  • Randall Henry Riemer (Mineral Point, Wisconsin) – Juror Award 2013/Metalwork – Booth 419: Riemer works with steel because of its strength and permanence, transforming the material into objects of beauty and longevity.
  • Michael Madzo (Medora, North Dakota) – Juror Award 2013/Mixed Media – Booth 407: Madzo cuts and layers painted papers and assembles them into images before sewing them together with colored thread.
  • Phill Singer (New Britain, Pennsylvania) – Juror Award 2013/Painting – Booth 616: Wanting his audience to find his work bold, unexpected and imaginative, Singer paints visions of a world where the laws of physics and nature bend to will and imagination.
  • David Mayhew (Fort Collins, Colorado) – Juror Award 2013/Photography – Booth 430: Mayhew’s photography is prompted by the ever-present beauty of the sky and has led him into the world of storm chasing, which has allowed him to catch unimaginable moments on camera.
  • Pam Stern (Fort Worth, Texas) – Juror Award 2013/Sculpture – Booth 328: Using clay as her shaping medium, Pam Stern creates painted and glazed ceramic sculptures that evolve as she works.
  • Matthew Hatala (Danielsville, Georgia) – Juror Award 2013/Wood – Booth 409:

Specializing in rare and domestic woods from all over the world, Hatala uses a lathe to bring life to his material. After reaching the desired shape, he then uses hand tools to shape the outside and excavate the inside.

GENERAL INFORMATION

MAIN ST. is annually produced by Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc., and is free to the public. Festival hours* for 2014 are:

  • Thursday, April 10: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • Friday, April 11: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 12: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
  • Sunday, April 13: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

*Note artists may close at 8 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday, and at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Many, however, stay open later to accommodate the evening’s music audience.

For additional event information, visit MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival online at www.MainStreetArtsFest.org, “like” its Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MainStreetArtsFest, follow it on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/MainStreetArts, or download the official MAIN ST. iPhone app via the iTunes App Store℠, here: bit.ly/MainStreetiPhone.

ABOUT MAIN ST. FORT WORTH ARTS FESTIVAL

The MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival celebrates its 29th year in 2014 and is presented by Coors Distributing Company of Fort Worth. Official Sponsors for 2014 are the Tarrant Regional Water District, Sundance Square, The University of Texas at Arlington, and Wells Fargo. Media Sponsors include the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) and its Trinity Railway Express (TRE), 92.1 HANK FM (KTFW-FM), and 95.9 The Ranch (KFWR-FM). Supporting Sponsors include the Dallas/Fort Worth Professional Musicians Association and the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival is produced by Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization formed in 1988 to complement the work of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and the Public Improvement District by providing a funding pathway for charitable, educational and public-purpose activities, such as community festivals, residential development and park management. Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. also produces the XTO Energy Parade of Lights. These events have an economic impact of more than $27 million annually and attract thousands of visitors to Downtown Fort Worth each year. For more information, visit www.DFWI.org.


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