The Cottonwood Art Festival is held twice a year and features works from the nation’s top visual artists. Located in scenic Cottonwood Park in Richardson, this prestigious art show has been a part of the City of Richardson life for over 40 years. Admission is free. I attended last year’s show and I look forward to making this a family tradition and purchasing art as Mother’s Day is the next weekend. If you are in town, I would highly recommend this event for great family fun including food, music, art and all of the above.
The spring festival runs from May 4-5, 2013 between the hours of 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday. Get more detailed info at cottonwoodartfestival.com
Where is Cottonwood Park?
Cottonwood Park is located at 1321 W. Belt Line Road, one block east of Coit Road, Richardson, TX. Directions can be found at www.cottonwoodartfestival.com.
The Juried Art Show
Cottonwood Art Festival is a juried show. Jurors will select over 240 artists to exhibit their museum-quality work at the festival. The artists compete in 14 categories: 2D Mixed Media, 3D Mixed Media, Ceramics, Digital, Drawings/Pastels, Fiber, Glass, Jewelry, Leather, Metalwork, Painting, Photography, Sculpture and Wood. All works are museum-quality.
Parking and Admission
Parking and admission to the Cottonwood Art Festival is free of charge. Some children’s events require a fee. The artist’s works and food are available for purchase.
What you will find at the Cottonwood Art Festival
- Cottonwood Art Festival is a juried show.
- Each of the artists is there in person to discuss their work, or to talk for a while on a spring afternoon. Meeting the artists and learning about their work are two important things that make Cottonwood Art Festival a truly special event.
- Cottonwood’s beautiful courtyard/café area borders Cottonwood Lake, the perfect stop to enjoy food, spirits and live music.
Music and Entertainment
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Merry Miller 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Brown and Wild Reister: acoustic duo 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Justin Cash 1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Aubrey Lynn England & Yellow Rose 3:45 p.m. – 5 p.m.
ESCAPE: The Dallas Journey Tribute Band 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Victor Andrada 10:40 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Jump Billy Trio 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Shoot Low Sheriff 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Spector’s Gun Collection 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Family fun
Staffed by more than 100 volunteers, ArtStop creates a hands-on world of art with life-size paint brushes and dozens of activities irresistible to any child. Watch Cottonwood Art Festival’s ArtStop at:
- Crazy Cool Caps – Let the kids show off their pint-sized personalities by creating their own over-the-top hat! There will be plenty of glitter, feathers, pompons, ribbon and foam shapes for all to use!
- Throwin’ Mud – It’s ok for the kids to play in the mud at this activity station with Masta Potta, Mr. Kirby!
- Canvas Classics – Be an artist by painting your very own canvas painting.
- Wax Hands – give creativity a hand and capture your “sign language” in colorful wax.
- The Big Picture – Kids can leave their mark on Cottonwood Art Festival by painting a piece on the Monster Mural!
- Other ArtStop activities include Chalk Board Easels (for young children), Chisel Away (kids chisel on a large block of plaster) and Magnetic pieces (make a picture by adding magnets to large magnetic boards).
Michelle Mardis – Featured Artist
Cottonwood Art Festival’s spring 2013 featured artist is Michelle Mardis. Mardis was born in Ft. Worth, Texas, and raised in the area. A self-taught artist, she moved to Clearwater, Florida, in 1992. Now living in Tarpon Springs, Mardis paints almost every day.
She says, “It’s my passion, and I try to paint as often as I can. I like to make the viewer’s imagination wander with my subject matter. I chose not to paint the obvious. The impact of color and unusual color choices can bring feeling and life to almost anything.” She continues, “Basically I have always lived my life bigger than most – I have never done anything the normal way. Although as a child I colored inside the lines, I have always preferred to color the picture in an unusual color!”
Disclaimer: Promotional consideration was given in exchange for publicizing this event. All opinions presented are 100% my own. Photos provided by the City of Richardson.
