The three-day event takes place on Memorial Day weekend in Northampton.
This astonishing full-size wolf by sculptor Robert Alan Hyde is made entirely of brass, steel and copper rods, individually fashioned with an oxygen and acetylene welding torch. Hyde slowly wraps the metal into an intricately layered skeletal and muscular armature until it attains a lifelike form.It’s going to get pretty wild in Northampton this weekend at the three-day Paradise City Arts Festival which kicks off Saturday at the Three County Fairgrounds.
The popular art fest – which features 260 juried artists and craftspeople from 30 states – will have a curated exhibit called “Wild Things.” The show-within-a-show includes functional, decorative and collectible work in all media inspired by the artists’ love of wild and domesticated animals, birds, insects and fish.
Ever since the first artists learned to draw on cave walls with wet clay, they have made images of animals. Sculptures of cats were found in the tombs of ancient Egypt, paintings of horses and dogs were hung next to portraits of kings and queens, birds decorated Greek vases and lions’ claws were carved into the feet of Chippendale furniture.
“Lots of great work can be found in our Wild Things exhibit and in our silent auction this year all inspired by our artists’ love of animals,” said Linda H. Post, founding director of Paradise City Arts Fesitval.
“You will find a life-sized wolf created by Robert Alan Hyde made entirely from brass, steel and copper rods. It has a very muscular look to it and you can almost see through the sculpture, but not quite. There’s also a very beautiful blown glass grasshopper with incredible colors and the lifelike bird carvings of Ira Frost. Ira carves birds from tupelo wood and hand paints them on tree branches that he also hand carves. He is bringing a bluebird, a mother feeding her baby a life-sized worm he has hand carved with the baby bluebird poking its head out of a hole in a tree trunk,” she added.
Among the original works filling the aisles at this year’s show – including ceramics, painting, decorative fiber, art glass, fine furniture, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, photography, large-scale sculpture, wearable art and wood – will be an assortment of furniture both collectible and decorative for everyday use.
“We are constantly amazed by the innovative and impressive work submitted to the jurors for each show. Many museums around the country are beginning to collect this work in depth, and we feel that art furniture can easily form the basis of a serious, or not so serious collection,” said Post.
“For those who have done their homework, they already know that high-quality, mass-produced furniture commands top prices. Imagine being able to commission the sideboard you love, in exactly the size you need, with those two extra drawers for serving utensils and an exotic hardwood inlay on the facade. Imagine paying a comparable amount for ordinary mass-produced furniture, without this level of customizing and workmanship,” she added.
Among the many pieces for sale will be furniture embellished with polymer clay created by husband and wife team Bonnie Bishoff and J.M. Syron of Rockport, Mass.; Japanese-inspired furniture by Bayley Wharton from North Carolina; and from Maine, Eben Blaney’s Modernist “with an earthy edge” furniture.
This weekend’s Paradise City Arts Festival also features live music and artful cuisine, a flowering sculpture garden, children’s activities, and craft demonstrations.
In keeping with this year’s animal theme, the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society is the beneficiary of Paradise City’s Silent Art Auction. Hundreds of inspired works have been donated by the exhibiting artists, with different items auctioned each day. Past silent auctions at the festival have raised more than $300,000 for community non-profits.
“Dakin is especially near and dear to my heart. Both of my cats are from there and we have always favored shelter cats. And I am very excited about the opportunity to help them reach out to even more people through their exposure at our show,” said Post.
Artful things are also blooming in the show’s Sculpture Garden filled with lilacs and azaleas, daisies and flowering viburnum alongside a new crop of outrageous sculptures and functional garden pieces, created especially for the garden by the festival’s exhibiting artists. Also, visitors can cast their vote for the People’s Choice Awards for Outdoor Art.
The Festival Dining Tent is a world of its own featuring the musical arts and jazzy melodies from the city of music – New Orleans. On Saturday, Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils will perform. She has been a regular fixture at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival since 1990. She has toured worldwide as a headliner and shared stages with a multitude of legendary artists from B.B. King and James Brown to New Orleans’ own Queen of Soul, Irma Thomas
On Sunday, North of Dixieland will play some hot New Orleans jazz followed on Memorial Day by Charles Neville from the famous Neville Brothers, who has played with some of the music industry’s biggest names, such as Ray Charles, Grateful Dead, Santana, and B.B. King.
Culinary delights created by masterful chefs will be served up by Northampton’s Eastside Grill, Spoleto, Amber Waves, India House, Great Wall, Pizzeria Paradiso and more. The menu will feature fresh lobster rolls, local strawberry shortcake, bubble tea, blackened sirloin tips, roasted pork and black bean gumbo, assorted dim sum and still more from a diverse selection of appetizing choices.
Post said loyal visitors to the twice-yearly Northampton arts festival will find a new entrance to the event. Gone is the former exhibit tent which welcomed visitors as they entered through its gateway into a giant exhibit area.
“It has been replaced by an all-new building constructed on the fairgrounds. It’s going to make for a better flow, and less traffic congesting some of the exhibit areas. And it’s also part of our efforts to maie our show even more weather-proof,” said Post.
And, there will be plenty of child’s play inside Morgan Building 1 featuring creative activities geared for kids. Workshops include the Letterpress Zoo with Big Wheel Press, where budding young artists can print notecards and coasters using a 100-year-old letterpress from antique blocks carved with wild animals.
Also, at the Museums10 “touch table” kids can explore their animal instincts by stroking a felted beaver fur hat from Historic Deerfield, read an Emily Dickinson poem about a snake, get up close and personal with a real animal skull from the Beneski Museum of Natural History and more.