Sunday Art

Yesterday my friend Sally and I went to Century II to the Art and Book Fair.

This fair used to be held the first week of our annual River Festival, but for the past two years, it has been held before the festival.  It worked out well because there was less traffic, and the roads weren't blocked off due to runners whose route took them past this building.

The first booth I saw was one I had seen at last year's Art and Book Fair, but didn't have time to take the number of photos I wanted to take.

This year I wanted to make sure I got photos, because as I was taking these, I saw my camera was nearly out of battery power.  I always keep an extra set of batteries in my purse, but I left my purse at home, so I had no back-up. 

However, I was determined to take a few photos of these beauties.

Although there were fewer crowds, the ones who were there had a tendency to stop right in front of where i was taking a photo!

That's when I panned to the left and got another blurry image of all those Santas.

I remembered these people from last year, 

but this gal (on the left) was new.  She was painting while people were shopping.  Kathy had already purchased a canvas of a meerkat.  The man's pottery on the right reminded me of pots I had seen in the 80s.  Although I loved the 80s, this was not one of my fond memories.  Some things never change.

One of my favorite images was the four tiles on the left called "Oz."  I've always been drawn to anything Oz, since I live in Kansas.

The one on the right top was called "Red" for Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf.

Of course, Sally was drawn to the jewelry,

while I was impressed with the glazes on this pottery.

There was wool,

photographs,

and hand cut (fussy cut) paper.  I wished I had gotten a better photo of this one!  At least I got one of her business cards.  Apparently her booth (or wares) won best in show for this two day event.

Since I was nearly out of battery power, I tried taking a few shots of several booths.  When I took these photos off my camera, I had to laugh at the guy on the right, who looked like he was playing with something in his jeans.
 

This glass art was phenomenal, but of course, I would have no place for any of it in my house.

Sally called this "dark art," and I rather agreed, but not because of how dark it was, but more for the subject matter.

More yard art

paintings,

and wood (on the right of this photo).

While we were walking to the fair, Sally asked me what I hoped to find and I told her "mixed media."  When we approached the booth on the left (above), she asked if this was what I considered mixed media.  Note the long sculpture on the right with the face.  It was all Sally could do to keep from buying it.

I was impressed with these pieces, which were made of clay,

along with this one that was truly mixed media with its ceramic bird and copper wire nest.  While Sally debated buying the piece you can barely see on the right, I talked with the shop owner, who gave me her card and told me she sold through the internet, too.

Sally and I both agreed this was NOT the booth we would ever want to visit!

This booth was run by a young man who admitted he made all these stitched pieces.  They were quite clever and he sure impressed me with his sewing skills.

Sally got into a conversation with a local artist whose work she fell in love with.

For some reason, I couldn't get excited about this yard art or art meant to look and feel vintage.

I'm not easily impressed with pottery, but this was the second glazed pottery this year I had liked.  This booth was called the Jewelry of Pottery.  This artist uses a special effects glaze he gets by adding zinc oxide and silica during the firing process.  This crystalline process makes the pottery look like it is in bloom.  It was a fascinating process as he described it in detail.

And it's a good thing I spent so much time at this booth, because when I turned my camera on again, my battery had died.  I got no other shots, including Sally loading up on candy, homemade bread, popcorn, and cookies she took home with her.  And I didn't even have a chance to show where we ate, one of her favorite Mexican restaurants I had never been to before, which was uninspiring to me.

However, I hope this brief tour of the Art and Book Fair was inspiring to you.  By the way, I'll be late visiting for tea tomorrow, since I am going with Sally to pick up the ashes of her cat who had been so sick and I took care of while she was on a trip to visit her son.  So please enjoy your favorite drink without me.  I'll be by later, though, since I never miss Tea Tuesday.