The secret is out. Kids and parents labored on a massive painting at the recent Fountain Square Arts Festival, not knowing what it depicted until mid-afternoon on the festival’s second day.
Painters were given a square from Bottle and Bottega and encouraged to paint … at the end of the day the squares were assembled and voila!, a colorful view of the Fountain, a historic Evanston icon, now in the Evanston Rose Garden, took on an impressionistic look. Evanston’s Bottle and Bottega and Good’s of Evanston, partnered on the project. Bottle and Bottega provided the art supplies and Good’s, the giant frame.
Elaine Kemna Irish, executive director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, the sponsoring organization for the Fountain Square Arts Festival and creator of the “painting idea,” indicated that this may become a tradition at the annual festival.
“It was great to see the kids so engrossed with this project, and the end result was even more fascinating than we expected,” she said. Local artist Barbara Seyfried’s photograph of the fountain a few years ago was a People’s Choice Award in the Faces of Evanston photo contest. When approached about using her photo, she was delighted to participate as one of the festival artists.