Artists excel at West Bloomfield show

WEST BLOOMFIELD — At the 22nd Orchard Lake Fine Art Show in West Bloomfield July 26-27, nearly 200 artists displayed their wares, including about 60 artists who are children.

The event drew about 4,500 people, offering food and entertainment in addition to art.

“The energy was higher and more positive (than recent years),” said the show’s owner and producer Patty Narozny. “The Michigan economy is coming back.”

She said she learned this after the show while talking to artists about their sales.

Regina Dunn was a first-time artist at the show. She is from Flint and was selling a variety of diptych art — sets of canvas panels that together form a larger picture.

“If there is a mark on this one, it stretches across to the other one,” Dunn said.

A retired hairstylist, Dunn now uses her artwork as a form of creative expression.

“I do abstract art. I love doing large art,” Dunn said. “Most of them are 36 by 70 inches or 48 by 48 inches. I try to go big.”

When she sold a piece, a red dot was displayed where it used to hang.

Two other artists were married couple Laurie and John Copeland, of Florida. For their debut at the show, they gave their work a distinctly Michigan touch.

“The most popular are the Petoskey Stones, which I just recently put on hair sticks,” Laurie Copeland said.

The Petoskey stones are Michigan’s state stone. The ones used by the Copelands were purchased in Michigan, and the couple took them home to Florida to polish.

“We tumbled them for three weeks using three different grits,” Laurie Copeland said.

John Copeland explained the different grits have varying textures ranging from coarse to very fine, which make the stones smooth and beautiful.

Known for her mixed media art, Agnes Rathonyi was a returning vendor and this year’s featured artist.

“This has been a great show,” Rathonyi said. “Very high-quality clients.”

Narozny, the showrunner, explained how the feature artist was selected.

“This is a juried event, (so) it has to catch the eye in two seconds,” she said. “It has to be an original piece — something that had not been seen before at this show or any other show across the county.”

To this end, Rathonyi crafted an all-new collection for the show, and won one of the show’s awards for excellence in mixed media.

Another highlight of the show was the youth art competition, where Oakland County kids ages 5-13 or grades K-8 competed. John Teal Crutchfield, a medal artist from Richmond, Va., served as the judge for the youth competition.

“What I have noticed is children today are not painting buildings, cities, equipment and products,” he said.

With all the ads that kids are exposed to today, he thought that would influence their art.

“No, children today are painting and doing lots of (artwork showing) animals and nature,” Crutchfield said. “They have a subconscious desire to reconnect with nature.”

The winner of the youth art competition was Libby Katz, 7, awarded “Best in Show — Mixed Media.” She had two entries and won the grand prize of $100.

Another standout in the youth art competition was Olori Amen-Ra, age 8, for her painting that one judge described as “Picasso-esque.”

Amen-Ra, who intends to continue being an artist when she grows up, described the joy art brings her.

“Painting makes me happy,” she said.