Park(ing) Day 2019
Jenny Dowd
PARK(ing) Day happened on September 20th in Jackson. This is a day (all over the country) where artists reimagine parking spaces into places of possibility. This was the 5th year Jackson has been involved, organized by Jackson Hole Public Art, and my first year participating.
Check out last week’s Journal entry to see how I built my cart…
Once the cart was finished, I could focus on the final touches. A fabric canopy was made to provide shade, I kept this simple by sewing a piece of fabric then drawing a little embellishment on the edge. It’s rather rickety - so at this point I started hoping for a day without wind.
I’ve been making flowers for the cart all summer, some even came from past projects. I put my dad to work cutting stems (wire) for the clay flowers. Each type of flower made from porcelain.
After bisque firing the flower, the stem is attached, then it gets bathed with color… I used a mix of acrylic and whiting (calcium carbonate) and then layers of watercolor.
The finished flowers were poked into the styrofoam inserts that line the cart, and after a test of the awning, plus the addition of signs, it was ready for a parking space!
On a wet, cold, rainy Friday morning Jeny’s Flower Cart opened! I had to set up a tent over my parking space so it wouldn’t melt. I was located in front of Hand Fire Pizza on a very busy Cache Street.
The gloomy, cold day was made cheerful as I invited people walking by to make flower bouquets for free! I have no idea how many flowers I made, and no idea how many I gave away, but I probably went home with less than half of what was started with.
For a little history on the flower cart…
In 2016 I was invited to create an artwork for a Tiny Art Show curated by JH Public Art. Since the show was featured at the People’s Market (a farm & art market in Jackson) I thought a tiny flower stand would be welcome. I made a little cardboard shelf that would hang on the wall and filled it with clay flowers, bouquets, and vases.
A year later after Penny Lane Cooperative opened on Scott Lane, the businesses on that block had a “Midtown Throw-Down” and invited artists to sell their work during the evening event. Since I was already selling my pottery in Penny Lane, I decided to make a concessioner’s tray full of flowers, and walked around during the event selling flowers.
It seemed that the next logical step would be a flower cart, it took me a few years to find the right venue and to plan and build the cart.
Not sure what’s next, but I’m looking forward to a break from making flowers!
