BierFest adds creatives to festival line-up

BierFest adds creatives to festival line-up

While the original formula for Boerne BierFest has been adhered to -- craft beer + art + music + festival food + games of strength, in this our sixth year we expanded our vision to add spaces for visual arts to the mix.

It seemed like making space for an ArtCar from the long-standing Houston Art Car Klub was a good fit, along with extending an invitation to our local plein air painters to “paint the fest.”

Jada August with the Houston Art Car Klub joined the festivities with her ArtCar, the Dragonfly Whimzee.

Jada hand-painted the car herself and has won multiple awards with it. August’s philosophy, like so many of our creatives, is that “Art is created from the heart.” Her Dragonfly Whimzee is a fully operational ArtCar converted from a Toyota Prius. Her mantra is, “My purpose in life is to inspire art by anyone, at any time, on anything, anywhere.” Festivalgoers seemed delighted with the opportunity to interact with artists demonstrating their craft and sharing their inspirations. Plein air artists “painting the fest” were Shea Daniel-Youngblood, Linda Miller, Kristy McNelly, and Pauly Tamez.

Shea immediately posted herself at the volunteer entrance where she had a clear vision of the aqua-colored Lemonade trailer. Her second visual treat was created as she visited the Museum’s blacksmith, George, at his anvil.

Linda found a cool spot inside the Pioneer House where she created a still life, borrowing a German stein from fellow painter Kristy and seeming quite natural in the surroundings.

Kristy painted her favorite blue tractor that would make the Impressionists proud. And Pauly ventured out-of-the-landscape-box and painted a happy festival scene of tented booths and revelers.

Rosettes were awarded to artists who painstakingly created mini exhibitions sprinkled among the craft beer booths. First place went to Natalie Drayton, paintings reminiscent of Marsden Hartley’s Maine coastlines. Second place went to a newcomer to BierFest, Matthew Teter, for his intricately carved wooden spoons, tiny-treasure paintings, and, in particular, his “always hand built, never thrown” gun metal glazed mugs.

Third place was awarded to a graciously conceived idea for Alexandra Dubois to share space with two artist buddies who live in the same apartment complex -- turned out to be Bill Scheidt, an accomplished artist of the community, and Brent Nageli, who skillfully brings trompe l’oeil to the southwest.

Honorable mentions were presented to Maura Lucchese for her oversized collage paintings of rock stars, country singers and goddesses, created from paper scraps cut from slick-paper magazines. Finally, Benjamin Roberts took home an honorable mention for the clarity of composition in his photography.

The opportunities to fill spaces with additional artists added to the atmosphere of BierFest 2023. Mark your calendars right now for the seventh annual Boerne Bier-Fest, September 21, 2024. We’ll

PAULA HORNER

HCCARTS