Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

More than 50 artists displayed their wares at the Kern River Valley Art Association’s 49th annual Memorial Day Weekend Art Show in Kernville.

Circle Park and the Odd Fellows Hall showcased more than 40 booths, as visitors and locals alike flocked to Kernville to enjoy the beautiful weather and peruse the many artistic offerings.

Crowds enjoyed the art work and fine weather at the Kern Valley Art Association’s 49th Annual Art Show in Kernville during the three-day Memorial Day weekend.

The art show kicked off once again this year with a wine and cheese reception at the Odd Fellows Hall on Friday night, following an oil painting workshop led by Carol Wermuth.

Attendees were able to get a sneak peak at some of the various media that the KRVAA artists create; wood sculpture, painting, photography, jewelry, and more. In addition, there was a display of some of the pieces created through the “Outside In” program, which teaches developmentally disabled adults various media to express themselves and gives them opportunities to display and even sell their work. Outside In will continue for another year thanks to a generous grant, much to the joy of all involved in the innovative program.

One of the organization’s newest artists, Bob Leathers, worked throughout the event at the Odd Fellows creating an outline in pencil of one of his existing paintings to recreate it for his brother’s upcoming birthday celebration; allowing spectators to appreciate the artistic process. Another demonstration was given by Gordon Delano, who created scroll saw art pieces in Circle Park throughout the weekend.

Saturday morning it seemed as if the artists’ tents sprang up overnight, like mushrooms riddled throughout Circle Park. The offerings were as diverse as the people they represented, including a wide variety of hand-crafted jewelry, birdhouses and other wooden crafts, photos, paintings, braided rugs, unique clothing, scroll saw art, gourd art, and more. While there was no official theme of the show, nature, western heritage, and Native American pieces were prevalent in the offerings.

KRVAA President Jim Davis has been working to expand the scope of the KRVAA in various ways, including attracting new artists from outlying areas and building the association to do more in the community. They just received a grant to revamp the Art Park in Lake Isabella, and an additional matching funds grant to provide art education for one semester to the South Fork Union School District; both elementary and middle school. Davis said that the grant requires matching funds, so he will be appealing to the community very soon to help make art education happen for the youth of the Kern Valley. “Art is on the rise,” said Davis, “We have gotten a lot of new members over the last couple of years with a lot of diversity, inside and out.”

To learn more about the Kern River Valley Art Association, visit their website at www.KRVAA.org.