The Cottonwood Art Festival is a biannual art festival held May 2-3 at Cottonwood Park in Richardson.
With over 57 years of history, community and a stellar reputation, this festival brings artists from around the country and around the world for two days of artistic display and community engagement. Activities for all ages, ranging from gallery viewing to children’s activities, the aim for the festival is an experience everyone can enjoy.
Dianna Lawrence, Richardson’s superintendent of community events and director of this year’s Spring Cottonwood Festival, saw the event as a great way to engage the community. “It’s an incredible opportunity to bring over 200 different artists that are international and nationally known to Richardson so that our audience and our residents that live here in surrounding communities can come and enjoy art in such a beautiful setting,” she said.
With these artists, the community embraces them wholeheartedly, which is one of the main reasons for its high reputation among artists. Lawrence said, “I think it’s so important for us to create an environment where artists feel inclusive and they have an amazing experience.”
Jennifer Akese-Burney, an international designer for Akese Stylelines, received her degree in fashion in Ghana and the tradition of Ankara, a Dutch wax fabric that is a staple in ethnic West African fashion, alongside 20 years of experience to the fashion scene in Chicago, as well as the Cottonwood Art Festival.
The pieces Akese-Burney had on display during the festival used a fabric she had originally used for a museum collection in Chicago, named Connecting Threads: Africa Fashion. “I call these souvenirs. I had an exhibition at the Field Museum in Chicago and the pieces that I created, these are literally fabrics I used in creating these pieces.” As these pieces use fabrics from Ghana, Akese-Burney wanted festivalgoers to experience her works firsthand. “I love for people to come in and then try the clothes on because my fabrics are originally from Ghana, which is my home country. I would love them to try it and feel the fabric.”
As to why she comes down from Chicago for the art festival, Akese-Burney said, “It’s the love of the people in here. The people here, they understand art, you know, and it’s not just like paintings are great, the art forms are great, but I also appreciate wearable art.” She appreciates the sense of welcoming and community from those at the festival and wishes to participate in it. “I find it very fascinating that my crowd is here and so I want to come and be able to share that kind of art with people here in Cottonwood,” she said.
Heather Harris, a mixed media artist, has been showcasing her art across the nation since 2006. While her artwork revolves around painting and photography, the main draw for her pieces are the unique metal frames that continue from the frame of the painted photo. “One summer before graduating from college, I went to Monterrey, Mexico. and we went to a dance club. It was very industrial. The dance club was raised with those big, huge wire cables and oil drums made into chairs and I was like, oh I love metal,” she said.
Harris then finished a degree in chemistry and became a middle school science teacher. She would later take a welding class to work toward her appreciation of metal in art. “I finished my first mixed media piece that combined photography and painting and welding in 2001,” she said.
However, Harris had a hard time attracting buyers due to buyers not recognizing her works. She said: “People didn’t buy it because they didn’t know who I was. They needed to see my work. So therefore, I started in the art show circuit and doing festivals around the country to get collectors and things.”
Harris sees Cottonwood as one of the best art festivals to attend, and as an opportunity for herself and other artists to get their foot in the door. “The festivals are a lot of fun ‘cause there’s a lot of talented artists out here. As far as me, you’ve got to come see me ‘cause I have work that no one else makes around the world. I’m the only one who does the extensions and metal like this,” she said.
Marlena Rose is another artist with a unique approach to her art. She worked in a studio that pioneered a new method to produce glass sculptures, continuing to improve and work with the material ever since. “I’m casting 2000-degree glass into sand molds. The technique is based on an ancient metal casting technique that’s been around for thousands of years but was adapted for glass in the 1980s,” she said.
While the process has produced countless pieces, Rose saw it as a learning experience as she continued to improve the technique. “It’s been an adventure because you don’t always know what’s gonna happen and you’re figuring things out as you go. I was never really much into the sciences, chemistries and physics. But doing this, I’ve learned a lot about those things just because I had to,” Rose said.
Rose also saw the gallery as a great environment to showcase her work. “It’s great. It’s my first year doing this show and I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s very well run. The weather’s been great. They bring the people out. So that’s all you can ask for,” she said.
