Art Fair

I love going to Art Fairs. Those entrepreneurial extravaganzas where artists have booths and try to sell their work. This is somehow quite different from a gallery show. It is row after row of those tent-like canopies with work that ranges from the whimsical to the tacky to the useful to the sublime. We went, with some friends, to the Salem Art Festival at Bush's Pasture in Salem, Oregon, the other evening.

I love this event. Not all of the art is to my taste, but I have such admiration for the artists who put together these great exhibits, work all year to have new work ready and spend long days answering questions and meeting the public. It reminds me how much fun it is to exhibit like this and the high you get from talking to people who like your work and what a thrill it is to sell work. Long ago I participated in some similar events. I think I should do it again, but I think of how much work I would have to make!

Some of the things that caught my eye:

This large silk-screen print of aspens was stunning! So crisp and graphic.

Lots of cleverness and quirkiness.

This is not a photo. It's a painting.. I am seldom impressed by hyper-realism, but I liked this work a lot.

Glass beetles.

I've never seen a pottery glaze like this.

After viewing the art we parked ourselves at a picnic table and enjoyed a drippy, messy, delectable pulled pork sandwich, an ice-cold beer and a really good live blues band. Hard to imagine a better summer evening with friends. 

Are you wondering if I bought anything? I did. I'll show you tomorrow.