One thing you can say about the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts—it gets us to think outside the box when it comes to art. Past special exhibits have brought us book excavations, extreme felting and yarn bombing. This year the tradition continues June 22-24 with the theme: Layers: The Evolving Art of 3D Printing.

3D Printing you may ask (as do a lot of people judging by Internet discussions)? But before you rush to judgment, consider the brush, the camera, the pencil. They are all tools, just as a 3D printer, which when put in the hands of a creative thinker with an artistic vision, yield results the artistically challenged souls like me can only admire.

But this technological newcomer to the art world has definitely raised some questions. Here are a few I found on the Internet:

• …”if 3-D printing makes creation so easy, ‘Is it art?’”
• “We’re asking questions about the nature of the medium—what does it mean to make a printed piece, or make one by hand? What’s the difference?”
• ”…if a work of art can be made that is infinitely reproducible and totally dispossessed from human creation is it is as precious or authentic as a genuine Picasso?”
• ”Is 3D printed art the future of creation?”

I can’t guarantee you’ll like what you see in this year’s Festival of the Arts Special Exhibit, but I can guarantee that it will get you thinking!

Besides stretching your definition of what art is, here are some other things you’ll find at this year’s festival:

DEMONSTRATIONS. Catch Virtual Reality and 3D Scanning Demonstrations throughout the weekend in the Special Exhibits Gallery, and Oil Painting, Charcoal Drawing and Chinese Brush Painting demos in the big tent.

BODY SCANNING BOOTH. Shapify My Life will have a booth at the Festival where you can have yourself scanned in 3D and then order a custom figurine (mini-me) to be shipped to  you later.

Jenna and Nick Reineking have been hard at work getting their Art Bus ready to hit the road and debut at Lake Oswego’s Festival of the Arts.

ART BUS. Lake Oswego’s Festival of the Arts will be the scene for the inaugural workshop series put on by Tumblewheel Studios.  A labor of love for artist Jenna Reineking and her husband, Nick, you can find this mobile art classroom at George Rogers Park where Reineking will be giving half hour classes on Hand Building with Clay, Relief Printmaking and Paper-mậché. “Through this alternative mode of teaching,” Reineking explains, “we hope to engage as many participants as possible, and offer them the opportunity to learn by doing and the tools to express themselves creatively.”

KIDS’ ACTIVITIES. On Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. kids can enjoy special arts and craft activities, face painting, TaeKwonDo demonstrations, comedy show, dance performance, story time and a mobile DJ in George Rogers Park.

MUSIC. Enjoy music as you wander through the Open Show in the Pavilion tent or head over to George Rogers Park for afternoon/evening concerts by the likes of Wildcat Rose, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs, Crazy 8s, Julie Amici and Curtis Salgado.

TOURS. Catch a shuttle from the Lakewood Center each morning at 11:00 a.m. for a docent-led tour of Lake Oswego’s Gallery Without Walls.

THEATRE. The Missoula Children’s Theatre returns with local talent on stage presenting Blackbeard the Pirate for a free performance on Friday, June 22 at 4:00 p.m. in George Rogers Park and again on Saturday, June 23 at 10:00 a.m. with a $5 admission charge.

FOOD. There will be food booths both at the Lakewood Center and  in George Rogers Park but some local merchants are offering signature Festival dishes for you to enjoy as well including Babica Hen, Nola Doughnuts, and St Honoré Bakery.

Check online for a complete schedule. Festival hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Events are held at the Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street and George Rogers Park, 611 S. State Street. Parking is limited so consider using the shuttle service from designated parking lots. Suggested donation is $5/person; $10-$20/family.

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