The artists are all lined up and ready for the 2013 Three Rivers Art Festival that will be held this coming weekend, November 9^th and 10^th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Historic Downtown Covington, Louisiana.  The poster artwork for the 17^th annual festival was created by the very talented artist Thomas J. Owens, Jr., better known locally as Jamie Owens.  It is also Covington’s Bicentennial year, so it is only fitting that his vibrantly colored art piece, named “Encompassing Silhouettes”, depicts the celebration of both events simultaneously.

(Image Credit)

It is an incredibly unique art piece that was created using scraps of vinyl and reflective vinyl film that are cut by hand and placed individually onto aluminum boards.  Along with the thousands of scraps that overlap each other are computer-designed components cut by a machine that are used as compliments in the piece.  A thick clear coat sealer protects the finished product before it is finally framed.  There is a lot of symbolic meaning in this piece of art, and is revealed on the festival’s website here.

This annual local festival has become one of my favorites to attend.  This year there will be more than 200 artists from more than 20 states who will have their tent booths set up along downtown Columbia Street.  The usual offerings include ceramics and pottery, functional art, woodwork, sculpture, paintings, photography, glass, jewelry, metalwork, fiber, mixed media, printmaking and digital art… did I leave anything out?  Some of the artists will also be giving live demonstrations.  Oh, and there will also be live music, great food, and lots of fun activities for children.  Admission is free (no pets allowed).  Also, the Three Rivers Run, consisting of the 5K and one-mile races, will be held first thing Saturday morning.

The weather is supposed to be beautiful on the Northshore this weekend, so there should be a tremendous attendance at the festival (around 50,000 visitors bombarded the streets of downtown Covington last year!).  Ladies, if you have never been to the Three Rivers Art Festival, make sure to wear a big floppy hat to shade your head and shoulders from all of the sunshine, have a fashionable pair of comfy walking shoes, and get ready to be inspired and shop till you drop!  The artwork is always fantabulous!  Enjoy!