Enlarge A close-up of Rose Hawley's work at the Crossroads Emerging Artists tent at Festival In The Park.

Posted: September 29th, 2009 James Willamor

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“Look at ourselves and think about whom we want to be,” said artist Rose Hawley. She encouraged those who passed her table in the Emerging Artists tent at Festival in the Park to participate in her mosaic.

Hawley pointed the half-dozen onlookers to a table covered in small glass cubes of various colors. “Choose a piece that represents you now or in the future and place it in the glass bowl.”

Children and adults alike joined in until a bowl of vivid colors began to take shape. "Think about how your piece fits into the bowl. Do you want your green piece to form a community with similar green pieces, or do you want it to be with a red piece so they both stand out?"

The artists who participated in this Crossroads Charlotte event each worked on a piece that represented one of six driving forces that will shape our community: civic engagement and leadership, growth and development, allocation of community resources, demographics, the economy, and education.

Paint, mosaic, clay, and cloth were used to convey these ideas non-verbally; conversations were an important part of the Emerging Artists tent.

It felt as if some artists spent as much time talking with festival attendees as they spent working on their pieces, and it felt like time well spent.

Painter William Puckett, who has recently been working on a large community mural in NoDa, worked on a painting representing changing demographics. He said the painting showed how the light rail line brought together people who may not otherwise meet or interact.

Ceramics artist Greg Scott worked on a clay piece on the theme of economy that featured piggy banks on a serving platter. He said the piece showed the struggle between saving versus spending.

Joyce Wynes worked on a painting of Queen Charlotte for the theme of civic engagement and leadership. The Queen held a pot of flowers, each flower representing a civic ideal. “They have to learn to grow together because they share a small pot.”

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