Clinton students’ artwork showcased at Mosaic Art Festival
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Taylor Bailey of Clinton shows her children, Graham, 2, and Bailey, 10 months, around the Mosiac Arts Festival exhibits in the Clinton Community Center on Saturday morning. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Elizabeth Bautista looks over student artwork during Saturday’s Mosaic Arts Festival in the Clinton Community Center with her children, Antonio, 8, and Isabella, 10. The children are students at South Clinton Elementary School. - G. Chambers Williams III
Crowds turned out in mild, sunny spring weather for last Saturday’s fourth-annual Mosaic Arts Festival, which this year was moved out of downtown Clinton to the Community Center and an outdoor area along South Hicks Street.
The main event, coordinated by art teachers from Clinton City Schools, was the “Art Through Time” show featuring artwork by students at the city’s three elementary schools.
Clinton Elementary School art teacher Allison Swanner said that more than 1,000 pieces of artwork from children in the city schools were on display inside the Community Center.
“Every single student created art, and each one took inspiration from a famous artist,” Swanner said.
Augusta Ridley, art teacher at North and South Clinton elementary schools, said the teachers were pleased to see the festival moved out of downtown to the Community Center.
“We hope it stays here from now on,” she said. “When we were downtown, we had to set up everything outdoors. It takes us two full days to hang everything, and it’s hard to do outside.”
Many of the visitors to Saturday’s festival were parents and relatives of the children who had artwork on display, and who were eager to show off their work to their families.
Prior to the official festival opening at 10 a.m., there was a “color run” beginning at 9 a.m. to kick off the day’s events.
This year’s festival included arts and craft vendors in the large vacant lot next to the Clinton Public Library, just across from the Community Center.
On a makeshift stage area outside, there was a series of performances by various groups, including the Clinton High School Jazz Band, Knoxville Children’s Theatre, Dream Dance Studio and more.
Crowds gathered along the sidewalk on the east side of South Hicks Street to watch the performances across the street.
Vendors were on hand selling handmade ceramics and jewelry, acrylics, oil paintings, hand-painted bottles, bookmarks, wood carvings, hand lettering, edge art engravings, botanical illustrations, mixed media, and more.
Food trucks were also on the scene to provide refreshments to the crowds.
