River Campus Arts Fest showed creativity's fun side

Hundreds of local art lovers gathered at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus for its annual Summer Arts Festival.

The arts festival offers many ways for people of all ages to appreciate creativity. It also provided opportunities to get their hands dirty.

On the River Campus lawn, young artists turned the sidewalk into a gallery on the Avenue of Art, including a chalk mural by local artist Craig Thomas.

Face painting, vendors, bounce houses and the Lazy L Safari traveling petting zoo also kept visitors busy outside.

Inside the River Campus, the headlining attractions were dance- and music-centered.

Hannah Matheny, center, leads a group during a tap-dance basics class Saturday at the River Campus Summer Arts Festival.Glenn Landberg

Tap, ballroom, contemporary, hip-hop, western, ballet, yoga and even aerial silk dances were demonstrated, and spectators were encouraged to join in.

For fans of music, the lineup at the entertainment tent offered something for everyone. Local guitarist Ivas John hosted a cool jazz recital, while students from Southeast's percussion camp showcased the work they had prepared. Abbie Fieser, Jonathan Patterson, Steve Schaffner and Derrick Irwin added folk and Americana music to the mix, and the Jerry Ford Combo brought its jazz show.

River Campus students and faculty showcased their work for public sale in the studio and hosting demonstrations of art techniques, including ceramics, drawing and printmaking.

Sisters Breya, 7, and Bree Sanders, 10, were among the children who got a taste of the fine-art world as Southeast printmaking professor Justin Miller and his students guided them through making their first prints.

"I made a dog," Breya said proudly. "Because I love dogs."

"It's great to be able to show kids how our printmaking studio works," Miller said, explaining some of the machinery the students use were at one time used to print the Southeast Missourian newspaper.

"To be able to introduce them to these," he said, hefting a hand-carved print tool and an etched one built decades ago. "These can make printing a lot of fun."

The Sanders sisters thought it was fun, to be sure. Bree made a red-and-yellow cat for her grandmother. "She's been sick and she likes cats, so I made it for her," she said.

But the real fun, they said, was at the ceramics exhibition outside.

"I've been playing in the clay," Breya said, explaining the giant smear of clay on the front of her dress. "I made a pot."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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