Perfect circumstances for Machetanz Art Festival

The genesis for Matanuska-Susitna College’s upcoming Machetanz Art Festival resides with former Director Dennis Clark who in 2008 suggested that several current events be combined to form one huge occasion.

Being the Fine Arts Coordinator, I welcomed the challenge and the idea of “putting Mat-Su College on the map!”

Clark suggested that this would be the perfect time to form a community-based advisory council for the department. Thus the first Fine Arts Advisory Council (FAAC) began in January 2009 with eight enthusiastic community volunteers.

With much exuberance, in February 2010, the FAAC held a fundraising extravaganza at the Palmer Depot called “Tie the Knot, Community and College.” The event raised more than $8,000, and provided the seed money for the upcoming Machetanz Art Festival, which touts, “workshops for everyone.”

Instructors, from near and far, will teach — some half-day, some whole-day — visual art related workshops on Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Free lunch will be provided for participants, with ages ranging from high school through senior citizen, and skill levels from beginner to advanced.

The workshops include pastels, oil painting, intermediate watercolor painting, intermediate charcoal drawing, cartooning, interior design, doll making, oriental painting, Athabascan beading, digital photography, T-shirt shibori, glass glob pots, encaustics (wax painting), and social network marketing. The cost is $25 per person for a half-day and $50 for the whole day, with additional materials costs ranging from free to $55, depending on the workshop.

When asked for permission to name the event after the Fred and Sara Machetanz family, Traeger Machetanz said that the family would be honored. When asked if he and his family would be available to attend this first year event, he replied, “Well, I won’t be working that day. It is my birthday!”

Dean Larson, a professor at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, who will teach at the festival, attended Palmer High School with Traeger. Additionally, the Director of Mat-Su College, Talis Colberg, attended Palmer High at the same time as Traeger and Dean.

These three scholars were last united at the dedication of the Machetanz Elementary School in September of 2009. Coincidentally, Kevin Smith, who is teaching the photography workshops for the festival, was awarded the 1 percent for art commission to install a 25-foot mural of his work for the Machetanz Elementary School.

Another interesting happenstance, is that a student registered for the Dean Larson workshop is the granddaughter of the Shaw Elementary namesake. Her grandfather’s portrait, which hangs in the school, was painted by Dean Larson.

Fred and Sara Machetanz donated approximately 240 acres of land to the college before his death in 2002. Their gift, along with property from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, added to existing land, compile the college footprint of approximately 950 total acres, reaching from Trunk Road to the Machetanz family property called “High Ridge” (across the Glenn Highway from the Alaska State Fairgrounds).

Just as the college began small, when in 1958-59 members of the community met to determine if there was enough interest to begin a college, there is great potential that the Machetanz Festival will grow into something much bigger in future years.

During this first festival, classrooms in the Fred and Sara Machetanz two-story building, (fondly referred to as FSM), will be filled with artsy energy and creative opportunities in hopes that all who attend will be enlightened.

The goal of the FAAC is ultimately to provide the Machetanz Art Festival as a vehicle that will merge community and college.

It has been my pleasure to work with the Fine Arts Advisory members, Sharon Allen and Cheryl Riggs as co-chairs for this year’s festival. The other dedicated volunteer council members — Judy Divinyi, Nancy Crawford, Carol Menard, Janice Strong and Debby Prater — are hard at work behind the scenes.

The Rasmuson Foundation, BP, ConocoPhillips, and the First National Bank of Alaska are founding sponsors for the festival and play a major role in its inception. In-kind donations from the Frontiersman and Make-a-Scene also greatly contribute to the event.

When taking a vision and creating a reality, there is much hope that the transformation will be magical. There is also the mystery of wonder, anticipating what is around the corner. In this case, the circumstances seem to be right and if so, the community will be the benefactor and Mat-Su College will be the better for it.

Register for the Machetanz Art Festival online at matsu.alaska.edu, or by calling Student Services at 745-9746.

Suzanne Bach is the Fine Arts Coordinator at Mat-Su College, Mile 2 Trunk Road, and can be reached at sbach@matsu.alaska.edu, or at 745-9755.