Walnut Street gets artsy this weekend

Come 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, the usual strip of retail chains, boutiques, restaurants and… Come 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, the usual strip of retail chains, boutiques, restaurants and cafes comprising Shadyside’s shopping district will be transformed into an art mecca. Tables of evocative photography, hand-crafted jewelry and sculptures in every medium will clog the narrow sidewalks of Walnut Street. Brace yourself: The 11th annual Shadyside Art Festival is coming to town. The festival, the largest of its kind in Pittsburgh, will feature $15 million worth of art. Organized by Howard Alan Events, the show is juried, meaning each individual artist was hand-selected from a large pool of applicants. This makes for a ‘very well-educated, very intelligent, very talented group,’ said director Howard Alan. ‘Of the 45 shows we do a year, this is the narrowest street we work on.’ The festival, previously called the Shadyside Summer Arts Festival, was pushed back from August to September ‘due to global warming.’ Avoiding crowds in sticky August heat is surely a relief to visitors. The show will go on whether or not it rains, but weather forecasts are predicting autumnal perfection this weekend. Alan says this weekend is the perfect occasion to ‘buy art and receive a great art education.’ What sets the festival apart from a typical art show is the opportunity to interact with the artisans. ‘In a gallery, you see the pieces hanging on the wall, and there’s a salesperson around. Here, you get a chance to actually meet the artist and find out what inspired them,’ he said. The vendors’ inspirations come from some unlikely places. Ever thought to dig through a scrap yard for ideas? Artist Marlene Rose has. Rose makes glass sculptures, often using found objects as molds. As she turns supposed junk into ornate artwork, Rose lives by the idea that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. ‘I love using industrial forms that are really intriguing and beautiful. Taken out of context, you can look at them with a fresh eye and create new ideas,’ said Rose. Sculpting since 1988 when she was trained at Tulane University in New Orleans, Rose’s art is right on point with the recent influx of eco-friendly objectives. Using nearly all recycled materials, Rose is doing her part to limit her ecological footprint. One of her most interesting supplies is recycled Vaseline glass. The green, vivid glass glows when placed under black light, adding a fascinating dimension to her art. Although Rose calls Florida home, she spends at least two weeks of each month traveling to art shows. The constant moving and shaking is made more challenging by the accompaniment of her 20-month-old daughter on each trip ‘mdash;’ and another baby is on the way. Each of her pieces, often featuring Buddha heads or abstract shapes, can take up to two weeks to complete. Through a complex sand-blast glass process, Rose stamps images into a wet sand-and-clay mixture with carvings made from wood, foam or the metal pieces she finds in the scrap yard. She adds color with ground glass infused to the surface of the hot sand. The final destination for each sculpture is the cooling oven, where the glass will slowly cool from 1,000 degrees to room temperature. The process produces brightly colored pieces that stray from run-of-the-mill glasswork. Another notable and noticeable artist featured at the show is New Mexico-based sculptor Frederick Prescott. If you happen to see a life-sized giraffe looming over Walnut Street this weekend, don’t be alarmed. Prescott creates steel animals that stand up to 20 feet tall and weigh nearly 3,000 pounds. Each vibrantly painted piece requires the assistance of a large crane to be put in place. Prescott’s clientele includes celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg. Shadyside will have an added dash of wildlife this weekend, as Prescott plans to bring along a whole zoo of sculptures. For visitors who aren’t ready to drop a few grand on an eight-foot moose, there will also be a large selection of more modestly priced art and jewelry. Why not jumpstart your holiday shopping with one-of-a-kind pieces? Even for those who aren’t looking to buy, the festival is an entertaining cultural experience with live musicians playing thoughout the weekend. With 175 artists venturing to Shadyside this weekend, there’s bound to be something for everyone. Whether you’re looking to pick up a new pair of earrings or have decided that it’s finally time to invest in a life-sized elephant, Walnut Street will be your one-stop shop.