Finster’s folk-art tradition continues
Finster Fest will open today at 11 a.m. at Paradise Garden in Summerville.
SUMMERVILLE — Folk art is alive and well in 2017, and Howard Finster, the namesake of Finster Fest in Summerville this weekend, would be pleased, said Howard Pousner, the volunteer board member responsible packing the event with artists.
“He definitely believed in the power of art,” said Pousner, “and not just the power of his art, but the power of all art.”
About 50 artists, many of them former mentees and friends of Finster, are showing and selling their work during Finster Fest, which continues today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Paradise Garden, 200 N. Lewis St., Summerville. The vendors mostly hail from the Southeast, though a couple came all the way from Illinois.
Howard Finster, widely considered the father of American Folk Art, was a resident of Summerville and created Finster Fest years ago to help other artists gain exposure. Paradise Garden was his home and workspace, and the property contains thousands of pieces of art.
The event was crowded Saturday afternoon, and shuttles were busy delivering people from the nearby Wal-Mart after parking quickly filled up in the morning. Admission is $5.
Pousner said he tried to bring in a lot of selftaught artists who work with found objects, but there is a variety of backgrounds and experience levels offering a wide range of artwork. He said he thought Finster would be thrilled with the event.
“Even if they were just starting out, he had belief in them, and I think he really helped launch some careers because he was a real giver as far as that goes,” said Pousner.
Peter Loose, from Hull, was working on a painting Saturday as he shared stories about Finster, whom he considered a friend. He said he was one of those artists who was inspired by Howard, and the two of them both had art in a traveling show together years ago.
“One of the first words of encouragement I ever received was from him,” Loose said of Finster. “I was basically watching him paint and I brought him a painting. He was very, very busy when he worked and he wouldn’t stop for much, but I gave him this painting and asked, ‘What do you think?’ And he took a look and looked square at me and said, ‘you’re going to make a million dollars.’ And it was kind of funny and we both chuckled at it.”
Loose pointed at the small storage building connected to the rear of the visitors center and gallery, saying that the conversation took place right there because Finster used to often work in there. He suspects that painting may still be in there because Finster took it and placed it above his head in the rafters.
Two of the Finster Fest exhibitors are participating in their first-ever festival this weekend, and one of them, Mandy Grant from Canton, said her experience with Finster led directly to this new experience.
Grant is a Berry College alum who visited Paradise Garden before Finster’s death in 2001. She met the artist and said he
was an inspiring individual. She was an education major and taught second grade before becoming
a full-time mother, but she said visiting Finster Fest and similar festival events always lit
her creative spark.
“I would think, I can do something like this, and finally I decided to put my money where my mouth is,” she said with a laugh.
Grant learned how to make stained glass and began by simply working on patterns, but she was offering stained glass and wooden angels on Saturday.
“My son and I were kayaking and we found a piece of driftwood that looked like an angel body, and that’s when the light bulb went off, angels with driftwood bodies and stained glass wings,” she said of her work.
The festival is organized by an all-volunteer board of 18 people from around the region, and Pousner said it has been a challenge.
“To put on a festival of this size is a job of a million details, and board members were involved and helped but there is nothing quite like having your feet on the ground. It’s been a major volunteer effort and we’ve learned a lot. I think it’s going to be a really successful festival.”