A Labor Day weekend fixture in downtown Portland since 1997, the free festival offers booths for more than 100 artists, plus food, music, demonstrations, and hands-on activities.
Artist Michael Gard’s sculptures and mobiles will be at Booth S75 at Art in the Pearl.
It’s Labor Day weekend, which for thousands of people in and around Portland means one thing: heading downtown to the North Park Blocks to catch the booths and food and music and more of the free end-of-summer celebration Art in the Pearl.
As it has since 1997, Art in the Pearl will take over the North Park Blocks, on Eighth Avenue between Northwest Davis and Northwest Flanders streets, with enough booths to showcase the works of well more than 100 artists. This year’s hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 31 and Sept 1, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Labor Day: Monday, Sept. 2.
Artist Kelli MacConnell’s prints will be at Booth S49.
The volunteer-run Art in the Pearl calls itself a “Fine Arts & Crafts Festival,” and that’s part of its attraction: It considers “art” and “craft” part of the same family, and includes work by Northwest artists in a broad diversity of forms, including two- and three-dimensional mixed media, ceramics, digital art, drawing, fiber arts (including wearable art), glass, jewelry, metal, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and woodworking.
In addition to the art booths (yes, you can buy the art) there’ll be plenty of world music, food booths, hands-on art activity areas for kids and adults (yes, the festival’s kid-friendly, and you can even bring your dog on a leash), and demonstrations by handweavers, sculptors, ceramicists, calligraphers, woodworkers, and metal artists. The weather looks good, too: mostly sunny, with highs forecast at 93 Saturday, 87 Sunday, and 76 Monday.
Left: Ken Hanson, Aurora & Amethyst Sea Fan, glass, Booth N92. Right: Carol Risley, Leather Pear Bag, Booth N77.
Art in the Pearl was begun as a nonprofit organization in 1997, partly in response to the demise two years earlier of the annual ArtQuake celebration, which had been a downtown Portland celebration of performing and visual arts for 19 years. Art in the Pearl has outlasted that and is still going strong — for one weekend every year, a free outdoor gallery for everyone.
Beauty From Imperfection/Carol Greiwe, is the newest episode of The Independent Artist Podcast.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-independent-artist-podcast/id1558956700?i=1000663652684
"Perfectly imperfect" is the motto Carol Greiwe posted to her workbench as a reminder that she was given a second chance at life. After her near-fatal brain hemorrhage, followed by the theft of all her raw materials from her studio safe, Carol found the strength to rebound from these traumatic experiences. In this conversation, she describes the vulnerability of being an independent jewelry artist and the incredible support she received from the community.
Visual artists Douglas Sigwarth https://www.sigwarthglass.com/ and Will Armstrong http://www.willarmstrongart.com/ co-host and discuss topics affecting working artists. Each episode is a deep dive into a conversation with a guest artist who shares their unique experiences as an independent professional artist.
Deborah and Richard Bloom,Full time artists since 1972
Board position: Hospitality Chair
We are a collaborative team and have been exhibiting at fine arts & crafts festivals for four decades. While we have travelled for shows all over the United States, we have lived in Portland and also shown here throughout those years. We have either exhibited at or attended Art in the Pearl since it began, and have been proud to claim it as our hometown show! Each of us has served as board member and volunteer in various local art organizations. Richard served as chairman of the board of Portland Saturday Market in the early days. Deborah helped start and served on the board of Out of Hand, and Sellwood Art Walk. We both love working and hanging out with other artists! We have most recently been in charge of Hospitality for the LOCAL 14 Art Show here in Portland. When an opportunity came along to help with this position on the AIP board, it seemed like a natural segue. We are definitely newbies on the board, and what an odd and challenging year to come on for the very first Virtual Show. We are learning so much from the dedicated artists who voluntarily give a lot of their valuable time and skills to make our show happen. It is a pleasure to work together and we look forward to discovering new and varied ways to be of service to the board and to the Portland arts community at large.
Volunteering to serve on the board of Art in the Pearl is a great honor. As one of the premier art fairs in the country, it’s exciting to have the opportunity to contribute to the success of this show. In addition to Art in the Pearl, I have served on the board for Ceramics Showcase in the past and currently serve as a board member for the Oregon Potters Association. These all-artist run organizations offer an opportunity to collaborate with others in my field and strengthen the bonds of community in my art practice.
I moved to Portland in 1995 and started exploring clay and metal. I fell in love. From that moment, I have carved a career as a solo artist for twenty years. Over the years, I have been a long standing member of the Creative Metal Arts Guild and active in Portland Open Studios. But, what has truly shaped me is traveling the nation doing esteemed juried art festivals. This experience has allowed me to meet numerous artists and show organizers; a vibrant, woven thread of community and creativity. I am honored and excited to be a part of the Art in The Pearl Board.
Social media:
Instagram: @carolgreiwe
Facebook: Carol Greiwe Jeweler
Website: www.carolgreiwe.com
Art in the Pearl couldn’t happen without the help of our dedicated, community-minded, and fun volunteers! Click here to Sign Up Now.
As a volunteer, you’ll be a part of Portland’s vibrant art scene and experience one of the nation’s best Fine Arts & Crafts events. You’ll get to peek behind the curtain and work alongside the artists – learning about them, their art and discovering what the art festival life is all about. We encourage you to bring friends, family and/or co-workers to make the experience even more fun!
Additional perks include a commemorative t-shirt, complimentary sodas & snacks AND a chance to win $50 in “Pearl Bucks” Friday-Sunday, with a mega-prize on Monday! (Pearl Bucks are good for purchases in our artists’ booths, you must volunteer that day to be eligible to win).
Our 3-day event needs 100 or more volunteers and we hope that you’ll be one of them. SIGN UP today!
complimentary sodas & snacks AND a chance to win $50 in “Pearl Bucks” Friday-Sunday, with a mega-prize on Monday! (Pearl Bucks are good for purchases in our artists’ booths, you must volunteer that day to be eligible to win).