Few events offer the public the chance to watch artists in action, but the annual Art in the Park show in Cedarville hosts professionals who work on site, creating a variety of forms, from photographs to Native American sculptures carved from bone.

Area artists will reveal their work Saturday, August 30, at the waterfront park on Hodeck Street. The event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free of charge.

"For someone who has never seen anyone [make pottery] before, it is really a neat process," said Julie Porter.

Working with her husband, potter Brent Heerspink, she has demonstrated the process at past shows.

Watching trained hands spin raw, lifeless, lumps of clay into works of art has a mesmerizing effect, she said. Caught by that very impression as a young child, she now enjoys the chance to provide similar experiences at Art in the Park.

There is a magical quality to clay, she said. Unlike art forms in which a mistake could destroy a piece of work, clay is malleable, allowing problems to be corrected in moments, as the wheel spins.

When both she and her husband are on site, they are able to demonstrate the craft. On occasions when they are at separate shows on the same day, Mrs. Porter explains the process to the public.

"I always enjoy questions," she said, "and they come up in quite a wide variety."

The most common is whether she, in fact, is the person who made the elaborate pots and other wares on display. It interests people to meet the creators of the art they buy, she said, and such transactions have a much different flavor than buying art from a store.

Mrs. Porter also entertains specific questions posed by people with some knowledge of the craft. It gives her an opportunity to explain how her kiln works, how she makes the stamps she uses to embed pictures into her pottery, and how she decorates with colorful brushwork.

Both full-time potters, she and Mr. Heerspink have specialized. She focuses on platters, and he has perfected teapots.

With such a wide variety of artists at the show, everybody gets a lot of questions, she said, and it's really enjoyable.

"People connect to the artists by watching them work. That's the showcase here," said event organizer Randy Dunn, a local blacksmith who displays his iron work every year

Comparing Cedarville's event with others in Michigan, he said Art in the Park is known as more of a fine arts show.

Mr. Dunn described it as a lowkey opportunity for visitors to sit down with artists and talk about what they do. The waterfront setting, he added, is prime.

"It's just a nice spot, an easy place for local artists to display," he said.

Art in the Park is expected to host 15 to 20 artists this year. It will include pottery by Julie Porter, blown glass by Rick Shapero, fiber art by Pat Wilson, scissors cuttings by Annegret Goehring, photography by Julie Smith, Native American art by Ron Paquin, jewelry by Jan Hougtling, live music by Marty Feldhake, and several others.

Now in its eighth year, Art in the Park is sponsored by the Les Cheneaux Artisan Cooperative, which includes artists from the Les Cheneaux, Pickford, and DeTour areas. The cooperative provides support and opportunities for its members to sell their wares. The cooperative includes 45 artists, who are listed in a directory available at Creekside Herbs and Art in Cedarville, Mr. Dunn said.