A 2nd Place Best of Show ribbon lies near the stoneware-clay work created by Show Director Jeanette Oleksa, seated behind the table in the Fine Art Show tent. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

PORT CLINTON – When Emily Popson walked into Larry Faist’s stand at the 67th Annual Arts in the Park in Lakeview Park on Aug. 2, she couldn’t leave. His lush acrylic painting of a lavender field wouldn’t let her. So she bought it and happily carried it home.

“I walked by it, and it reminded me of Oregon, and I couldn’t leave his booth until I bought it,” Popson said. “Out of all the paintings here at the festival, his was my favorite. It’s so real.”

KC Cousins sport an Arts in the Park shirt as she walks through the festival on Aug. 2. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Faist, from Fremont, paints mostly landscapes like the painting of the lavender field that Popson purchased. He has been an artist his entire life.

“I’ve been painting since I was a little kid,” he said. “I had some lessons when I was little and just kept painting.”

John Popson holds artwork created by Larry Faist that Popson’s daughter, Emily Popson, purchased at Arts in the Park on Aug. 2. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Popson is glad he did. He not only painted the picture, but he also handcrafted the wooden frame.

“He did every brushstroke. He made the frame. He did every part of it,” Popson said.

Beaded jewelry handcrafted by Connie Dawson is displayed at the Themis Jewelry stand at Arts in the Park. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

The two-day Arts in the Park festival is hosted annually by the Port Clinton Artists’ Club and attracts thousands of people each year. This year’s event, which was chaired by Show Director Jeanette Oleksa, included a Fine Art Show featuring the work of art club members. The Best of Show ribbon was awarded to Rick Dziak for his work, “Northeast Chop.” Oleksa’s stoneware-clay piece entitled “Winged Victory” earned first place in ceramics and 2nd Place Best of Show.

A woman shops at Arts in the Park on Aug. 2. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

The festival featured a variety of fine arts and crafts, including jewelry, paintings, pasta, candles and woodworking. Connie Dawson of Themis Jewelry sold handcrafted beaded bracelets and necklaces made from vintage glass, 1950s lucite, freshwater pearls and lava.

“I’ve been making jewelry for five years. I started when I was at home during Covid,” Dawson said. “My daughter was making jewelry, and then we started going to shows, and I’d find fantastic glass. That’s how our business got started.”