21st annual Olde Sanborn Days features NEA-funded artists

A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to the Lewiston Council on the Arts has provided a unique opportunity for three regional artists to create murals and sculptures during Olde Sanborn Days on July 9-10.

An interactive component of the program brings the audience into the creative process as they watch the artists at work and also get to work with an artist to make a piece to take home.

Native American illustrator Erwin Printup will create a four-by-eight-foot mural depicting the story of the "Four Wind/Four Season." A collaborative workshop will incorporate seeds of the "Three Sisters" (corn, beans, squash) into a dimensional piece of artwork participants can take with them.

Award-winning Buffalo Arts Studio muralist and author William J. Cooper will create a large, colorful mural depicting a farm market scene in keeping with the charm of this old-fashioned country fair. Cooper is well known for his murals at the TriMain Artspace and the Martin Luther King Multi-cultural Institute.

The third artist in residence is Brian Ruth, a well-established and respected pioneer in the field of chainsaw performance art. This award-winning artist is founder of "Masters of the Chainsaw." He has appeared nationally and internationally, and has pieces in collections throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Russia. He travels extensively throughout Japan to demonstrate and teach, and now tours the U.S. on a very limited annual schedule.

"We are very grateful for the NEA funding that has allowed us to provide this opportunity for artists to create their work, and to bring this outstanding caliber of artist to this underserved rural community" said Irene Rykaszewski, LCA executive director.

The Rotary Club of Niagara County Central presents Olde Sanborn Days. It runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and features more than 80 crafters, live entertainment, food, raffles, a basket auction, a petting zoo, pony rides and a custom vintage car show.