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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; &#8220;You know how they say you should write what you know?&#8221; Michelle Thomas asked. &#8220;You should paint what you know, too.&#8221;</p><p>Thomas, 58, of Tunkhannock, took her own advice when she painted a &#8220;Family Tree,&#8221; one of several hundred pieces of artwork people can admire when they visit the Fine Arts Fiesta, set for May 18 through May 21 on Public Square.</p><p>The artist incorporated family photos into the mixed-media piece, which won a first-place award in the painting category, but she didn&#8217;t stop there. She also included old-time pictures of strangers.</p><p>&#8220;You come across these pictures, and it seemed so sad to me that they&#8217;re sitting in an antiques store and nobody wants them. They&#8217;re kind of orphans,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I kind of feel like I rescued them. I put them in a piece of art and now they&#8217;re preserved.&#8221;</p><p>Preservation is also a goal of artist Kristen Badeau-Hauptmann, 32, of Luzerne, who crafted a latex mask of a craggy-faced &#8220;Forest Guardian,&#8221; which garnered second place in the sculpture category.</p><p>&#8220;I am very much an environmentalist,&#8221; Badeau-Haupmann said. &#8220;I&#8217;ll go out in nature and &#8216;see&#8217; these creatures in the wood or in the sky. To me, he symbolizes the beauty of nature and the strength that is needed to protect nature.</p><p>&#8220;I care so much about the trees and the bees.&#8221;</p><p>As visitors stroll around Public Square, they&#8217;ll find a wide variety of art under big tents.</p><p>Look closely at Paige Martin&#8217;s &#8220;Fin Soup&#8221; sculpture and you&#8217;ll see its fins are crafted from spoons.</p><p>&#8220;I cleaned out every flea market in a 10-mile radius and then I went to Family Dollar, where they were selling four spoons for $1,&#8221; Martin, 21, of Wilkes-Barre, said, adding she used 114 spoon handles in the piece.</p><p>Examine the robot sculpture designed by Robert Broghamer, of Forty Fort, and you&#8217;ll see it&#8217;s holding a smaller robot, which in turn is holding a dinosaur.</p><p>Admire the &#8220;Best in Show&#8221; watercolor by Frank Wengen, 61, of Lehman Township, and you&#8217;ll see the true-to-life way the artist rendered a portrait of a pig he noticed at The Lands at Hillside Farms.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s so much realism in every little hair,&#8221; fiesta volunteer Gary Womelsdorf praised the piece, pointing to the animal&#8217;s back. &#8220;With the contrast of light and dark, you&#8217;ve got that positive/negative effect.&#8221;</p><p>This is the first year he entered any art into the Fiesta show, Wengen said, and he will have five pieces on display.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a nice outlet,&#8221; he said of the Fiesta, &#8220;and a nice place to see the work of other artists.&#8221;</p><p>The Fiesta also features live entertainment from dance groups to glee clubs to a jazz band to opera.</p><p>The Tri-Cities Opera presentation of &#8220;Hansel &amp; Gretel,&#8221; set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday, is dedicated to the memory of the late Jane Lampe Groh, whose late husband, Al Groh, had helped found the event.</p><p>&#8220;She really supported art in all its forms,&#8221; her nephew, Chris Miller of Lehman Township said. &#8220;My uncle worked night and day during the prime of the fiesta, and my Aunt Jane was his backbone.&#8221;</p><p>Another Fiesta highlight is the performance by headliner Tom Rush, set for 7 p.m. Saturday. Folk musician Rush is well-known for &#8220;his distinctive guitar style, wry humor and warm, expressive voice,&#8221; as fiesta executive director Brian Benedetti described him in a news release.</p><p>Food vendors will offer pizza, hot dogs, crab cakes, gyros, pita sandwiches, barbecued brisket and ribs, Caribbean delicacies, potato pancakes and more.</p><p>And, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, children will have an opportunity to take part in art projects, ranging from painting on easels to sculpting clay.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Michelle Thomas&#8217; mixed media painting &#8216;Family Tree,&#8217; in which she incorporated photos of her relatives and other people, took first prize in the Fine Arts Fiesta painting category. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Michelle Thomas&#8217; mixed media painting &#8216;Family Tree,&#8217; in which she incorporated photos of her relatives and other people, took first prize in the Fine Arts Fiesta painting category. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">&#8216;Jade-Ed,&#8217; a graphite piece by Morgan Masters of Harveys Lake, took a first-place award in the Fine Arts Fiesta&#8217;s Junior/Senior High School division. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>&#8216;Jade-Ed,&#8217; a graphite piece by Morgan Masters of Harveys Lake, took a first-place award in the Fine Arts Fiesta&#8217;s Junior/Senior High School division. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Fine Arts Fiesta volunteer Gary Womelsdorf looks through paintings in advance of the Fiesta. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts3-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Fine Arts Fiesta volunteer Gary Womelsdorf looks through paintings in advance of the Fiesta. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lisa Sicurella, of Hunlock Creek, won a first-place award in the graphics category for her &#8216;Flight through Fire&#8217; artwork. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts4-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Lisa Sicurella, of Hunlock Creek, won a first-place award in the graphics category for her &#8216;Flight through Fire&#8217; artwork. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Robert Broghamer&#8217;s piece, &#8216;Robot Clones a Dinosaur,&#8217; won first-place in the Fine Arts Fiesta sculpture category. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts5-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Robert Broghamer&#8217;s piece, &#8216;Robot Clones a Dinosaur,&#8217; won first-place in the Fine Arts Fiesta sculpture category. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts6-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Frank Wengen&#8217;s watercolor painting of &#8216;Sun Pig&#8217; was named Best in Show. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts6-1.jpg</photo5><caption5>Frank Wengen&#8217;s watercolor painting of &#8216;Sun Pig&#8217; was named Best in Show. </caption5><photoCredit5>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts7-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Can you tell the material Paige Martin used in her &#8216;Fin Soup&#8217; sculpture was a collection of spoons? The artist took third-place in the sculpture category. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_TTL051117Fine-Arts7-1.jpg</photo6><caption6>Can you tell the material Paige Martin used in her &#8216;Fin Soup&#8217; sculpture was a collection of spoons? The artist took third-place in the sculpture category. </caption6><photoCredit6>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Fine Arts Fiesta</strong></p><p><strong>2017 Performing Arts Schedule</strong></p><p><strong>Thursday, May 18</strong></p><p>10 a.m. Thursday, Wyoming Valley West High School Chorus</p><p>11 a.m. Thursday, Wyoming Valley West High School Orchestra</p><p>Noon Thursday, Fine Arts Fiesta Opening Ceremonies</p><p>12:30 p.m. Thursday, Wyoming Valley West Middle School Jazz Band</p><p>1:30 p.m. Thursday, Coughlin High School Jazz and Concert Band</p><p>2:30 p.m. Thursday, Wilkes-Barre Orchestra</p><p>3 p.m. Thursday, Holy Redeemer Royal Singers</p><p>4 p.m. Thursday, Wyoming Valley West High School Jazz Band</p><p>5 p.m. Thursday, Scott Edmunds Jazz Quintet</p><p>6:30 p.m. Thursday, Fine Arts Fiesta Awards Ceremony</p><p>7:15 p.m. Thursday, Perfect Harmony Center for the Arts</p><p><strong>Friday, May 19</strong></p><p>10 a.m. Friday, Wyoming Valley Middle School Orchestra</p><p>11 a.m. Friday, Wyoming Valley West Middle School Chorus</p><p>Noon Friday, Dallas Middle School Select Chorus</p><p>1 p.m. Friday, The Treble Makers</p><p>2 p.m. Friday, Anthony Natiello</p><p>4 p.m. Friday, Wilkes-Barre Academy Glee Club</p><p>5:15 p.m. Friday, Nitya Rhythm Dance Academy</p><p>6:30 p.m. Friday, Flaxy Morgan</p><p><strong>Saturday, May 20</strong></p><p>11 a.m. Saturday, Joan Harris Dance Center</p><p>Noon Saturday, YOUniversal Suzuki Strings</p><p>1 p.m. Saturday, The Mozart Club</p><p>2 p.m. Saturday, Dance Theater of Wilkes-Barre</p><p>3 p.m. Saturday, Rising Stars Performing Arts</p><p>4 p.m. Saturday, Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre</p><p>5 p.m. Saturday, Conservatory of Dance</p><p>7 p.m. Saturday, Tom Rush</p><p><strong>Sunday, May 21</strong></p><p>11 a.m. Sunday, The Poetry Society</p><p>Noon Sunday, NEPA Academy of Dancing</p><p>1:30 p.m. Sunday, Tri-Cities Opera (in memory of Jane Lampe Groh)</p><p>3:15 p.m. Sunday, Keystone Kids</p><p>4:15 p.m. Sunday, The I-tations - A Tribute to George Wesley</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Celebrating the Arts: It’s Fiesta time, local artists ready to show works