Finding the Art

Art by Skylar Sloan

Art by Blake Gore

THESE SELF-TAUGHT ARTISTS HAVE EMBRACED THEIR CREATIVE GIFTS, PURSUING CAREERS IN THE FIELD AND SHARING THEIR WORK WITH THE PUBLIC AT ARTS FESTIVALS NEAR AND FAR.

WRITTEN BY LESLIE CRISS

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOE WORTHEM Art by Barbara Eaton

Artists of myriad mediums who take part in the arts festival circuit are in preparation mode. It’s been a while coming — two years to be precise, thanks to a COVID-19-caused festival hiatus. The time’s finally coming for them to pack and unpack their canvasses, pottery, jewelry and more, display it under an open-air tent in a town square and meet art appreciators in small towns during festival season.

Depending on the size of the festival, the number of artist booths varies. Gumtree Art & Wine Festival taking place May 6-8 in Tupelo is planning for more than 60 artists to be on hand this year; Oxford’s April 22-23 Double Decker Festival is planning for about 180.

One thing is clear, Mississippi is (and long has been) home to a vast amount of artistic creativity. Noel Jones, pictured at left, is one Mississippi artist glad to see festival season returning this year. Visit invitationmag.com to read more about how he and fellow artists Blake Gore, Skylar Sloan and Barbara Eaton have each developed their creative pursuits.

Visit invitationmag.com to learn more about and see more work from Mississippi artists Noel Jones, Skylar Sloan, Blake Gore and Barbara Eaton.