Saturday, July 31 is Eileen Dorsey Day in Westlake. Image courtesy of Eileen Dorsey.

Eileen Dorsey has been more than busy lately with mural commissions at Barrio Tacos both in Columbus and Traverse CIty Michigan, as well as locally at Flannagan’s Pub, and at Redwood Living Headquarters in Independence. Not to mention Out of the Shadows, her current exhibit at Cain Park’s Feinberg Gallery (including some collaborative works with Garrett Weider), and all kinds of recognition.  She was even once hired to paint a backdrop to specifications for a Twenty One Pilots photo shoot. But just when you think you’ve heard all the ways artists can get recognized—did we mention being named best artist by Scene Magazine and Cleveland Magazine, for example, for multiple years … or by being part of SPACES members show, and scoring mention in a review by Steven Litt . . . She has brought a new one to the table. The office of Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough has confirmed to CAN Journal that the Mayor will declare Saturday, July 31, Eileen Dorsey Day.

The occasion is the Westlake Bay Village Rotary Arts Festival, for which Dorsey was recruited as the featured artist. The ceremony will happen at 9:45 Saturday morning, so don’t sleep in! The Festival takes place in green space just west of Westlake Porter Public Library, 27333 Center Ridge Road, in Westlake.  They promise dozens of artists, live music, food trucks, and free parking.

Dorsey has had almost annual solo shows for the last 6 years, including such bucolic (and so appropriate for her forest scenes) settings at Cleveland Botanical Gardens and BAYarts, as well as the show at Cain Park. And besides the SPACES member show, she’s also been a steady presence in group shows, including the excellent Sonata #5 project at Survival Kit, and Nature Preserved, at American Greetings Gallery W. No wonder she got the Mayor’s attention.