Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
Artists Clare Keefer and Leon Hollins III are different, but alike. They both balanced the worlds of displaying art and living art seamlessly during the 22nd annual Yellow Leaf Art Festival by stepping out of their craft to talk to festivalgoers or explain the significance of a piece of artwork. The festival, held Oct. 24-25, faced weather challenges that moved the schedule up by one day to avoid a predicted volatile Sunday storm. What remained was a soggy, but realistic canvas of art in action and artists who became the featured attractions. Keefer is a local nurse who creates custom wood etchings. She seemed enveloped by the precision of hot etching pencil, but became animated with the stories and inspirations of her art. ”Oh, you are taking Carl!” she exclaimed, noting that the newly purchased cutting board was named Carl, the beautiful great heron etched into the surface. She and her husband, Mel Keefer, also a nurse, operate Woodside Carpentry, a local business that produces custom furniture, cabinetry and woodcrafts. Leon Hollins III, a photojournalist and graphic designer, also spent his quiet moments with an instrument in hand while breaking quickly to engage visitors to the Art Natchez Gallery tent. Art Natchez is a collaboration of artists familiar with Arts for All and the St. Francisville art community. “We met Lynn Wood, Kelly Ward, and that crew,” he said. “We joined Arts for All, and we came down a couple of times and conducted some art classes.” “So we're quite familiar with this area.” Hollins is a former computer software designer who took a life veer embracing a career in photojournalism and later graphic design. The flow between the two is a natural progression. “To me, it's all the same thing,” he said. “Yes, art is art. I love what I do with the camera or with the pencil or with a pen.” The festival is organized by Arts for All, whose organizer, Lynn Wood, said the need to alter plans for the festival had the artists, their schedules, and their safety in mind. “Wednesday night came around, and we started seeing the weather forecast and being concerned,” she said. “We did want to care of our artists. The brewery had its grand opening on Friday night and there were still all kinds of people in town after the Witch's Ride — it seemed like a logical thing to do.” Wood expects any changes in the Yellow Leaf festival to be minor and geared to better serve the artists. “We changed the layout a little bit this year, trying to open it up and make it more comfortable for everybody and make sure that all the artists had a good spot,” she said. Next year, she expects more of the same. “It seems like it's working really well, and all of the artists we have spoken to were happy,” she said. “And we just love all of them. They are the best people in the world.”
