The already quintessential Old Detroit district, with its collection of unique shops, creative dining and entrepreneurial venues, will transform into a lively, local artisan fair for the Fall Arts Fest, on Sept. 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sponsored by the Rocky River Parks & Recreation Foundation, the event helps raise funds for valuable park improvements and an annual student scholarship, says Chris Klym, foundation president. Live acoustic music, 60 local artists displaying wares across mediums and eclectic shopping are just a few hallmarks.
“It’s an opportunity for our community to visit with and support local artists and makers,” Klym says, noting that the walkable venue and proximity to River businesses offers more to explore.
Check out the work of two Rocky River artists who will showcase their pieces at the 2024 event:
Meg Greenwald
MG Studio
Fluid art by Meg Greenwald is made by combining artistic acrylics, house paint, pigment powders and sometimes “bling” like crushed glass or glitter to create functional pieces for the home.
“I love experimenting with different color combinations, the freedom of creating and the originality of each piece of work,” says Greenwald, an innate creator who has dabbled in various mediums over the years.
Now, her works are centered on adding a dose of paint magic to everyday items like coasters, trivets, charcuterie boards, serving trays, light switch plates and furniture, such as side tables. Greenwald gains inspiration from her surroundings and the most unexpected visual run-ins, such as noticing a pretty color combination on a tissue box or a color scheme on a pillow.
“I am also inspired by going to art shows,” she says, in anticipation of the Fall Arts Fest.
Valerie Lesiak
Picture Book Studio
Valerie Lesiak’s home studio archives a rich and whirlwind art career of nearly 40 years at American Greetings, where she worked on projects including the Care Bears and gained inspiration from mentors like Ziggy creator Tom Wilson. She quips, “As a line designer, my art career started in the B.C. — before computers.”
Now in her Picture Book Studio encore, she designs whimsical, vibrant illustrations “painted” in Photoshop with layers of character and meaning. Notably, her Alphabet Soup series of 8-by-8-inch canvases disguises letters in playful scenes. “You can choose to see the letter…or not,” she says.
Works in the Flower Fun collection include cheery daisies partnered with hydrangeas, or pitchers brimming with multicolored blooms. “My job was to come up with ideas,” she says, explaining that her brainstorming process is much like ideation for greeting cards. “If you were thinking of ‘birthday,’ what are all the different ideas you could come up with?”
Lesiak says, “You can tell I lived in a greeting card world!”
What she loves most is seeing viewers’ sense of wonder and “aha” when they decode an illustrative letter and “watching them light up.”
