Take an artistic journey through the Adirondacks

We’re surrounded by arts in the Adirondack Park. Other than the obvious art displayed by Mother Nature every day — the beautiful mountains and valleys, nooks and crannies, lakes, rivers and babbling brooks — man-made art comes from all corners of our small mountain communities.

Yet it’s Mother Nature who is our main muse, and she uses all the senses to get our creative juices flowing.

Artists take her soundtrack of bird songs, canvas of forested landscapes, fragrance of balsam, taste of maple and feeling of cool river water to create art.

We see it in the landscape photography of Brant Lake’s Carl Heilman, the plein air paintings made in Saranac Lake every August and the pressed-flower designs from Wilmington’s Alison Haas. We feel it in lakeside parks during a summer concert or through a dance performance at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. We hear it in songs such as Roy Hurd’s “Adirondack Blue,” Dan Berggren’s “Mountain Air” and Peggy Lynn’s “April.”

Much of that art comes from a moment — or moments — inspired by Mother Nature, our everyday lives, our friends and families, or other artists.

All it takes is that moment of mindfulness to spark a creation. We may spend a few minutes, several months or even a decade to finish a piece of work. But once it’s done, that art begins its own work — to inspire others, to communicate a feeling or idea, to teach or to let our imaginations run wild.

Art, however, isn’t just music and painting, photography and dance, or theater and film. Art in the Adirondacks comes in many forms: Architecture, Ceramics, Sculpture, Jewelry, Crafts, Furniture, Mural Painting, Boat Building, Fly Tying, Fiber Arts, Culinary Arts, Literary Arts, Cartoons, Calligraphy, Wood Carving, Woodworking, Fashion, Map Making, Graphic Design, Comedy, Magic, Mime, etc.

Art is all around us because art is inside every one of us. We just need to let it out. Inspiration comes in all forms and at all times of the day. Find a medium, express yourself, share it with others and see what happens.

We encourage you to take an artistic journey through the Adirondacks this year by exploring your own creations or those of your friends and neighbors. And let your journey begin here — with Arts in the Park.

Andy Flynn, Lake Placid News editor

Cover Photos

Submitted By:

Georgeanne Gaffney

Karla Brieant

Mary Woodcock Johnson

Tim Fortune

Mark Kurtz

Nancy Brossard

15th

Publisher: Trevor Evans

Design & Editing: Tori Marbone

Project Coordinator: Susan Moore

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