Leonardo inspires Summerfest

Summerfest will include a catapult based on Leonardo's designs.
By AMANDA GARRETT
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- From the big screen to art galleries, the influence of Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci is everywhere these days.
Leonardo's art and life will be the inspiration for the 2006 Trumbull Art Gallery Summerfest for Children.
Every year Summerfest coordinators pick an artist to serve as inspiration for the Summerfest. Leonardo was selected because of his gifts as an artist, inventor and architect, coordinator Marianne Nissen said.
"He was the greatest genius who ever lived," she said. "Everything he touched was perfection."
His name has even been attached to a recent movie, "The Da Vinci Code."
Artists featured in past Summerfests included Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.
Opening party
Summerfest will officially start Thursday with Leonardo's Opening Party from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Trumbull Art Gallery.
The party will feature a puppet show along with punch and cake.
Summerfest will then continue for 13 days of workshops aimed at children and teens.
Workshops for ages 4 through 7 cost between $6 and $18.
Workshops for children ages 7 through 11 and 11 through 16 cost $24.
Workshop subjects include:
Making a "Mona Lisa" smile T-shirt.
What would Leonardo wear.
Building, decorating and flying a three-dimensional kite.
Robot and machine-making based on techniques that Leonardo devised.
Creating flags and banners.
Summerfest also has specialty workshops, which are open to all ages.
Specialty workshops include making a replica of a catapult designed by Leonardo and learning to make and play a dulcimer. Prices for the specialty workshops vary.
Will end with parade
Participants will celebrate the end of Summerfest with a parade around Courthouse Square on July 8.
The parade, which will begin at 12:30 p.m., will feature children and adults displaying the artwork they created over the two weeks of Summerfest.
One of the highlights of the parade will be a replica of a 24-foot horse that Leonardo designed.
The horse will be made in a workshop for all ages next Saturday and June 29.
This weekend, artists are preparing downtown for Summerfest by decorating storefront windows with famous scenes from Leonardo's paintings.
Also, the Trumbull Art Gallery is displaying a replica of a dress worn by Beatrice d'Este, duchess of Milan, who was a patron of Leonardo's. The replica was made by artist Jacki Mountain, who will be an instructor at Summerfest.
Summerfest, which began in 2004, grew from 60 to 300 people from its first to second year, Nissen said.
Coordinator Marianne Nissen said she hopes the popularity of "The Da Vinci Code" book and film will fuel interest in Summerfest.
"When we chose the artist for this year's theme, 'The Da Vinci Code' was just a book some people had read," she said. "Now it's everywhere."
Anyone interested in going to a workshop can visit the Trumbull Art Gallery for a registration form.
agarrett@vindy.com