‘The Scene’ slated to be at boat show
There will be more than boats, collector cars and vintage camping trailers to see at the always popular Lake James Antique and Classic Boat Show on July 29. There will be art. A lot of art, thanks to Steuben Arts Scene.
Steuben Arts Scene, a local 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the visual arts, will have a large tent filled with items created by local artists for boat show attendees to admire and purchase. Included in the offerings will be paintings, photographs, jewelry, weavings, ceramics and wood carvings. This is the second year for the organization’s participation in the boat show and the presentation of art promises to be even bigger and better than last year.
There will be individual booths filled with paintings and drawings by Lynne and Michael Liechty and Michael Goettner. The Angola Regional Arts Guild will present a booth filled with items created by their members. Joe Pelka’s award-winning ceramics and Natalie Drummond’s colorful weavings and fiber items will each occupy a space. Fred and Rhonda Inman will have their fine carved wood objects for purchase and Kitty Wilcox will have hand-crafted jewelry.
Several of the artists will be in attendance to present their art and greet shoppers. In addition to the individual booths, there will be an area offering paintings by local lake residents, Douglas Runyan and Fred Doloresco, and area artists, Terri Buchholz, David Broerman and Gina Wolfrum. David Broerman will demonstrate plein air painting. Photographs by Angola’s-own Bill Eyster will also be available.
Steuben Arts Scene was formed in 2020 with the goal of making Steuben County a stronger community through art. “We started the SCENE out of a desire to provide a place where artists working in all mediums could go and share equipment, space, and techniques” said Vicki Thompson, current President of the organization. “Our original idea grew into an organization that seeks to inspire, nurture and enrich lives through the arts.” Offering a space where artists can work remains a long-term goal of the organization which relies on charitable contributions to exist.”
The SCENE has been blessed with wonderful sponsorship from the Laura and Rich Clifton Fund at the Steuben County Community Foundation, Indiana Arts Commission through Arts United, Steuben County Tourism Bureau, Lakeland Internet and Steuben County REMC. That sponsorship has allowed us to begin our mission. We have provided youth and adult art classes and temporary opportunities for artists to display and sell their art to the community…but we still need a building!”
The SCENE was also the recipient of a unique gift of art supplies from the studio of Vicki Willis, an Angola native who became a professor of design at Purdue University. When Willis died in 2022, leaving her estate to the Steuben County Community Foundation, her family chose to donate her art supplies to the SCENE for use in art classes. There will be a special display of paintings by Vicki Willis in the Boat Show tent as a tribute to her generosity. Also on display in the tent will be information about Steuben Arts Scene and items created last month in the group’s five days of youth art classes. The youth classes, for kids aged 8-13, were held at Angola Park Department’s Commons Hall and were taught by retired public school art educators. Courses filled quickly. Steuben Arts Scene plans to make the youth classes an annual Summer event in addition to the beginner and professional level adult classes offered throughout the year.
The Lake James Antique & Classic Boat Show will take place from 9am-4pm at the former Bledsoe’s Beach property at Lake James (corner N. Bayview Road and N 300 W). For information about Steuben Arts Scene and announcements of upcoming classes and events, visit the organization’s website: SteubenArtsScene.org
