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Looking at the old fort with a new eye
People of all ages were able to show their artistic sides at a new event Saturday at the Fort Scott National Historic Site.
The fort hosted a four-hour event called Art Day at the Fort, which featured area artists showcasing their talents in a variety of different art forms. The event is part of the year-long celebration of the site’s 175th anniversary and was presented in partnership with the Bourbon County Arts Council.
“We wanted to come up with events throughout the year to commemorate that and celebrate that in a variety of ways,” FSNHS Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management Holly Baker said. “We were also looking for things we hadn’t tried in awhile and something different. I don’t know if it’s ever been tried here before.”
BCAC President Deb Anderson said the organization served as a “support group” for the event, while Baker handled its organization.
“I thought it was very exciting what Holly did,” Anderson said. “Her whole concept of the idea was to give a different aspect of the fort, show the beauty of the fort … I thought everybody had fun.”
At the event, free art supplies were available for adults and children of all ages to try their hand at sketching, painting or coloring their own souvenir. Supplies available included watercolor paints, coloring pencils and pastels.
“It was also a way to do something other than the traditional military reenactments, to put a different flavor or spin on the fort, and maybe draw some folks who haven’t been in awhile or are not interested in the military and living history stuff,” Baker said. “They could color, paint or draw the fort.”
Anderson said she thinks Baker accomplished the goal of showcasing the fort in a different way, and also promoting arts in the community.
“I saw a lot of parents with their grandkids, then they walked around the fort,” Anderson said. “I think that’s what they were hoping for. They also took in the whole aspect of the fort, too. I saw a lot of kids doing postcards. Several people were drawing the buildings in an artistic way, not just a history way. It was going beyond the fort itself, too, and what they have to offer there.”
Participants could use the fort buildings and grounds as inspiration for their artwork. More than 125 people took part in the event, Baker said.
“We had more in the morning,” she said. “There were lots of families, but people of all ages. We had some who were interested in painting or coloring on their own, and some folks working in a group. We had lots of great pictures of folks who painted buildings.”
“I was amazed that many people had come,” Anderson said.
Baker said the water color paints “were really popular and fun” for many participants. Art students from Fort Scott High School also turned out to help with the event by answering questions or offering advice or assistance to participants.
“We had some real young ones doing finger painting and a few high school aged students,” she said. “We promoted the activity to high school art students and a few of them showed up. And there were retired people just enjoying leisure time.”
There were also some professional artists painting and drawing around the historic fort grounds. Artists could choose from a variety of subjects for their art, including historic buildings, hundreds of colorful wildflowers in the tallgrass prairie, shade trees on the parade ground, and views of the historic downtown area.
Participants could also, if they chose, sketch a postcard that could be mailed home following the event, add their own creative take to a group mural of one of the fort buildings, or try a new medium such as pastels or watercolors. Coloring pages, washable markers, large Crayons and a collage activity were available for young participants.
Shana McClure and her daughter, Zoe McClure of Uniontown, participated in the event. Shana painted a postcard showing an aerial view of part of the fort grounds.
“I think it’s a whole different way to use the fort,” she said, adding she liked seeing several young people at the event as it can connect them to the fort at a young age. “And they can carry it with them as they get older.”
The event was free and open to the public.
Baker said the event was successful and fort staff will try to schedule a similar event in 2018.
“We do want to try and do it again,” she said. “It was really successful and people who came were really hearty and put up with the sweltering heat that day. I commend them for braving really, really warm temperatures.”