Lake Oswego Arts Festival

Dear Liza,

On Saturday we got to go see what Auntie Katie has been distracted by:

The Arts Festival at Lake Oswego. Because of the crowds, we took the shuttle from Marylhurst University. This beautiful campus, built in the 1890s, is now closed due to lack of enrollment. It is sad to see the wonderfully detailed brick and stone buildings and know they are not being used.

Library at the now closed Marylhurst University

The Festival is a huge deal! Set in the affluent (that means pretty rich) suburb of Lake Oswego, the Festival spreads out over a city park, several large buildings, and a tent the size of University Park School’s field.

The Art in the Park booths were set up at George Rogers Park, and more than one hundred local artists and craftspeople were showing their wares. I met Q Wollack, who makes art by folding the pages of old books, and Georgia Williams, a quilter, like me. Georgia encouraged me to practice and be brave. “If you don’t like it, rip out the seam and go again!” She said.

Lucy Davenport creates bonsai from elms and oak trees, but also hydrangeas and lilies. We had a lovely chat and she offered me advice and encouragement on my Hundred Acre Wood project.

We got hungry and headed to the food carts, finding Le Bon Temps Crepes, which, in spite of their bad French grammar, were tasty and just what was needed. They don’t skimp on butter or fillings!

Crossing State Street to the Arts building, I got to enjoy the show Auntie Katie had been working on, called “Origin Stories: Comics and Identities”.

It had an educational part, where different aspects of comics (panels, shading, and dialogue) were explained and illustrated. Then there were sections that showed how a single panel went from rough to final draft, and then how an entire story was told, page by page.

Along with the art were panel discussions on the importance of having a comics community to help and encourage creativity and sales, and on the importance of activism in comics. I was pleased to see comics getting their due appreciation, and proud of Auntie Katie for having a hand in it.