BY COOPER HALL
The City of Statesville’s annual Art in the Park festival featured live music, food trucks, and opportunities to create art through painting birdhouses, drawing on a large banner or sketching with chalk on the sidewalk.
The heart of the festival, however, was the artists. Over 60 artists, each offering something unique, including jewelry, pottery, woodwork, paintings, textiles, cards, crochet and more, displayed their work at Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Saturday.
Robin Flenner sat by the lake at the park on Saturday, sketching a parrot. The owner of One Paper Street, she creates watercolor paintings, colored pencil art and handmade greeting cards. After growing up loving art, Flenner got back into art in her adult life by making various greeting cards and scrapbooking. Flenner focused on crafting greeting cards for 15 years and then began incorporating watercolor paintings and colored pencil drawings into her creations.
Flenner, who is based in Charlotte, finds her inspiration in a variety of places.
“I have a vision and then I start creating,” she said, explaining that in some instances, she doesn’t need to see something to paint it. Other times, she travels to places and paints what she sees.
Lily Lor shared a booth with a few friends, where they all sold their own artwork. A student at Crossroads Arts & Sciences Early College, she sold crochet keychains, hair clips, and plushies. She learned how to crochet by watching YouTube videos during the Covid quarantine because she needed a new hobby with all of her new free time. She chooses what to crochet based on the things that she likes and things she thinks other people will enjoy.
Diamond Wilder’s booth showcased large textile pieces, geometric candles, resin coasters and bedazzled Starbucks cups. Wilder described her space as a “one-stop shop” because of her vast array of artwork. She has always been into crafting, but her journey began with rhinestoning, which she would do to anything she could. Since then, she has let her interests and inspirations guide the art she creates, trying anything new that she can.
Shayne Jovicevic’s work was housed under a Mitchell Community College tent. She teaches painting enrichment classes at the college. She displayed the artwork she made as demonstrations in class and additional works she has painted.
“With work and getting busy… I find it hard to carve out time to paint,” Jovicevic said. To create more time for herself and other adults, she began teaching an evening painting class, dedicating a specific time to painting, and ensuring her love of art isn’t lost in the rush of life.
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