Local artist among crafters at ArtFest of Henderson

Friday, May 10, 2002 | 9:19 a.m.

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Maria Arango earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and master's degree in exercise physiology from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

But it was her occasional college art classes and longtime interest in drawing that led her to where she is today: The Las Vegas artist works full time creating original woodcut prints.

For the past 2 1/2 years she's chiseled desert landscapes, yucca plants and figurative engravings into blocks of cherry wood, then stamped the high-contrast images onto handmade paper.

Winding highways, Mount Charleston's bristlecone pine trees and a Kansas farm scene are among the scenes featured in her collection of prints.

"Woodcutting is sort of an old, forgotten art," said Arango, a Cuban-born artist who was raised in Barcelona, Spain, before moving to Las Vegas in 1974. "As a reproductive method it was the first printing art."

Arango, 42, will demonstrate the process of making woodcut prints this weekend at the fifth annual ArtFest of Henderson. The two-day festival of art and music will be held on Water Street, between Henderson City Hall and Atlantic Avenue.

Arango will be among nearly 190 artists from throughout the United States on hand at booths selling their work. Media will include paint, sculpture, metalwork, jewelry, fabric and furniture. Twenty three Nevada artists will participate in this year's festival.

The event is a collaboration between the city of Henderson and The Events Group, Inc. The Events Group, of Tempe, Ariz., holds similar festivals in Arizona and Southern California.

The festival will feature children's activities and vendors selling an assortment of foods and drinks. Reggae, jazz and folk-music artists will perform on three stages. Organizers are expecting about 50,000 people to attend.

The city of Henderson brought ArtFest to Water Street five years ago as a way to rejuvenate the area.

Those who have attended the event in prior years, however, can expect to see less of the pop art and contemporary styles that were mixed in with the other genres at previous shows, Frank Maguire, The Events Group president, said.

"Some of the avante garde work has not sold as well," he said. "There will be some pop art but not as much as we've had in years past."