Book excavations such as “Kingdom of the Seashell” by James Allen will be on display at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. Allen created this piece by cutting through the pages of a found book, revealing layers of seashell images.

Google “paper” and Wikipedia will tell you that it is a material used for “writing, printing, packaging, cleaning, and a number of industrial and construction processes.” Come to this year’s Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, with its theme, “Chasing Paper—Stretching the boundaries of paper as an art form,” and you’ll learn that it can be used for so much more.

The Special Exhibition Gallery and demonstrations will highlight papier-mâché, 3D sculpture, recycling, marbling, collage, paper making and what is called “book excavation.”

This work by Allen called “Fashion” from a purchased book reveals several decades of illustrations of American fashion advertising from the early 20th century, including three silhouetted women running in Jantzen swim suits.

Artists, like James Allen, create sculptures out of books. Using a scalpel or x-acto blade, he makes selective cuts throughout the pages, revealing another narrative that gives the book a new story (and in many cases, a new life, as these books are often found on the street, in recycling bins and in used book stores). Allen will be giving a demonstration on Friday, June 24 at 12:00 noon in the Exhibit Gallery located downstairs in the Lakewood Center.

Here are some other highlights:

• Kids Get Creative activities in George Rogers Park, Friday, June 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Missoula Children’s Theater performance of Rumpelstiltskin on the stage in George Rogers Park on Friday, June 24 at 4:00 p.m. (free) and Saturday, June 25 at 10:00 a.m. ($5)
• Artists’ Reception, Friday, June 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the Lakewood Center Pavilion Tent
• Hands-on Paper Making, Friday through Sunday, June 24-26 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Lakewood Center Pavilion Tent
• Paper collage demonstration with Beth Yazhari, Saturday, June 25, at 2:00 p.m. in the Special Exhibit Gallery
• Live musical performances covering Country, Rock, Blues, Gospel, Jazz and Alternative Rock on the stage in George Rogers Park all weekend long
• Art in the Park featuring regional artists daily in George Rogers Park
• K-12 Student Exhibit highlighting Art Literacy projects at the Lakewood Center for the Arts

For a full schedule check here. And to read previous posts on why the Festival of the Arts is not to be missed look here.