Published: September 06, 2008 10:28 pm         

Chance to shine

Local artists display their work for the first time at festival

When Jeremy Ashcraft isn’t making decisions on the city council or working as the foundation coordinator of Logansport Memorial Hospital, he’s working on his passion for photography.

This year, Ashcraft will be displaying his works in the Art on the Avenue festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday in downtown Logansport. The festival, formerly known as the Family Arts Festival, was held at Riverside Park for the past 12 years.

Lita Rouser, president of the Cass County Arts Alliance, said the event outgrew the park.

“We wanted to bring visitors from all over the state,” she added about the new downtown location.

Ashcraft doesn’t have to go far to find content for his photos. He’s taken pictures of Pipe Creek Falls east of Logansport, and he went to the Cass County Historical Society this winter to take pictures of frozen berries on the trees near the home.

He took photos of flowers on Broadway while cars passed by. One of his pieces, “Corner of Nowhere,” features a street sign surrounded by cornfields in southern Pulaski County.

Ashcraft frequently visits Henry Farm, west of Logansport. He found toadstools near his home and altered the image with Photoshop so it resembled an Andy Warhol-like piece.

“Not to sound cliché, but there really is beauty in this community,” he said.

Photography is something that Ashcraft has been interested in since college. His camera is a Canon PowerShot S515, and he carries it around with him most days because he never knows when a picture might present itself.

One snowy day, he decided to take a break from work and found the perfect shot while passing Nickel Plate Bridge.

“So much of the time you see it and it’s like there,” he said. “I take pictures of what strikes me — what I think is interesting.”

He has a fascination with photography.

“Once you take the shot, it’s something that’s there forever,” Ashcraft said.

Ashcraft is still learning how to navigate Photoshop, but he says he tries not to rely too much on the software.

“If you don’t have the composition there, Photoshop won’t work,” he said.

He said the entire process of photography — finding the content, taking the picture and altering the pictures in Photoshop — is therapeutic.

Ashcraft uses antique frames he picks up at garage sales, antique stores and flea markets. He says the frames give the photos “character.”

“The whole thing is a work of art,” he said. “It’s about the whole package.”

He said he’s nervous about Saturday’s show.

“Your friends and family are biased,” Ashcraft said. “They’ll tell you that it’s great. This is the first time I’ve gone out on a limb like this.”

Outside influences don’t affect him too much, though.

“I kind of feel like ‘Art is in the eye of the beholder,’” he said. “Sometimes, people read too much into something.”

Carollee Koekenberg, art teacher at Columbia Middle School, will join Ashcraft as a first-timer in the festival.

She will be displaying her stained glass. She got interested in the medium in her art class at Logansport High School, but didn’t begin pursuing the hobby until last year.

She said the art form was a stress-reliever.

“It sounds weird, but I really like the way the glass breaks and the way it feels,” she said.

Koekenberg said she isn’t quite sure what to expect when the public finally sees her work.

“It’s nerve wracking,” she admitted.

Most of her stained-glass pieces consist of flowers, or dragonflies.

“I like to work with things that are realistic,” she said.

Not everyone at the arts festival is a newcomer.

Local artists like Mercedes Brugh and Teri Partridge, of Logansport, and Timothy Boor, of Kokomo, will be at the festival again this year.

Sculpture artist John Mishler is a nationally-known artist from Goshen who will also display his work at Art on the Avenue. He specializes in the use of metals, and his works can be seen in ESPN Zone in Chicago. His private collections are displayed across the U.S., Canada and the south of France.

From Indianapolis, oil painters Jerome Neal and Quincy Owens will display works at the festival. Owens’ work is currently represented in New York, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

Warsaw painter Terry Armstrong’s works are in galleries across the United States. Also, Goshen stonemason, Wayne Harshberger, won top honors in art shows in Michigan and Indiana. He teaches woodcarving in Goshen. Both will be at the festival on Saturday.

Nearly every type of artist will be showing work at the event — oil, watercolor, mixed media, pastels, drawing, photography, pottery, sculpture, stained glass and jewelry.

Koekenberg says she hopes the festival will help to establish her as a professional artist.

Ashcraft is hoping people take something else away from the show.

“There are a lot of tremendously talented people here in the community,” he said. “Sometimes, we forget that.”

Melissa Soria may be reached at (574) 732-5143 or via e-mail at melissa.soria@pharostribune.com