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Art League to host annual festival

By Staff | Jan 26, 2013

From painting and photography, to pottery and jewelry, the third annual January Art Festival offers up something for every artistic taste.

Hosted by the Cape Coral Art League, the non-juried show and sale takes place today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 516 Cultural Park Blvd. It features approximately 25 artists, with pieces from a range of mediums.

Admission and parking for the event are free.

“It’s big,” Mickie Timmons, festival chairperson and an exhibitor, said.

“We have mostly 3-D and 2-D art,” she said.

Some examples of the 2-D pieces will include color and black and white photographs and paintings, including watercolors, oils, acrylics and pastels. Fused glass jewelry, sculptures and blown glass are a few 3-D exhibits.

“That’s the variety of artwork that you’ll see,” Timmons said.

An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 are expected to attend this weekend.

“It’s grown every year,” she said. “We have some award-winning artists.”

Original work and prints will be available for purchase.

In addition to the show and sale, there will be a “Make It and Take It” class for children, along with some face painting and a balloon animal creator.

“There will be some outside entertainment,” Timmons said.

The festival also will feature art demonstrations.

North Fort Myers resident Steve Conley is one of the exhibitors. Two years ago, Conley took up photography after retiring as a high school teacher.

“This was something that I always wanted to do,” he said, calling himself a rookie. “This show is a great way for me to show my work in Cape Coral.”

Conley shoots in color and black and white, and attempts to capture the abstract in real life with his photos. He has exhibited in Fort Myers.

“I was looking for an opportunity to participate in the Cape Coral art scene,” he said, adding that the December show was his first with the league.

Conley was awarded third place in the juried event.

“It’s just plain fun,” he said of the Cape shows. “I think that anyone who comes is going to see some very fine pieces.”

Another exhibitor is Cape resident Linda Wildman, a watercolorist who “paints in realism.” Her pieces focus on nature, including birds and flowers, even turtles and giraffes. When she first started painting, it was oils.

“I liked it, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” Wildman said.

After trying her hand at acrylics, she moved on to watercolors.

“I just knew it was for me,” she said, calling the medium “different.”

“Lots of times you have happy accidents,” Wildman said.

A member of the league for about 10 years and a former president, she explained that the shows give artists a chance to showcase their work.

“We all participate in the hopes of selling them,” she said. “But we also do it to get your name out there – we all like people to see what we’ve done.”

There will be food vendors on hand, including Papa John’s Pizza, along with two local businesses – Weenies on the Water and Creative Creamery.

The Cape Coral Art League will be selling event T-shirts and posters to help raise funds for the organization. There will be a bake sale, as well as a 50/50 raffle, drawings to win gift certificates to local businesses and door prizes.

“We also have our gift shop set up and that’s for the scholarships for children,” Timmons said.

The league hosts monthly shows from October through April.

For more information, call 772-5657 or visit: capecoralartleague.org.