Clayton Art Fair – My Favorites

Posted by: deidre421 on: September 17, 2010

• In: Life in General | Promotions for others
• 5 Comments

Last weekend, September 10-12th was the annual Clayton/Saint Louis Art Fair. This is one of the longest going art fairs in Saint Louis. Last year I showed my work in the student booth, a program that allows students in the area to shadow an artist one year and show the following year.  This year I was not showing but I volunteered to work every day. I had plenty of time to wander the fair and pick out some favorite artists (most of which were ceramic artists, I wonder why?) and I have cards with websites to share! I suggest checking them out and seeing if they might be doing any fairs near you!

Kina Crow – Classified as a mix media artist, most of what was shown at the art fair were large paintings with little cut outs where sculpted figures stood and a caption depicting the scene. Some of these are seen on the website, and some are seen on the website, along with other sculptures. The clay figure work is great and humorous.

Valerie Bunnell – A 3d Mix Media artist that has some great little figures. Valerie has a background in ceramics and love to play with textures and colour as much as I do. Her website is full of figures to see, I am sure many will love to play with.

Amy Flynn/Fobots – How much fun are these!! Fobots (or Found Object Robots) are great. I love these little guys and they are all made from found objects. Bringing new life into things commonly seen as trash. They has animals, humans, and other objects. What is super awesome is that cat tins are used to make cats, dog tins for dogs, circus tins for an elephant, the fun goes on and on. Each one with its own name and personality.

Nicario Jimenez – A fair winner more than once, Nicario’s process is something special. He uses a mixture of glue and boiled potatoes to make his sculptures. They depict large scenes but are super intricate. There is always something new to see in them every  time you look. The website does not do them justice!

Michele Smith/Mud Spun Studio – More great little ceramic figures, seemed to be a theme going on. These were playful and dangly and bright! definitely funky like the website says. Each one has it’s own look about it much like real people.

Fong Choo – Always a show favorite and winner, Fong Choo’s teapots are one of a kind. Each one has a different name and is put together in its own way. Fong has been at many shows I have seen in the midwest area and is always a crowd pleaser. His display has little cubby holes for each teapot to sit in comfortably. Fong also did a demo one day  to show some of his technique.

Michael Frasca – I adore Michael Frasca’s work, I have seen it in many other shows in the midwest area as well. It looks almost like wood from afar but is infact ceramics, and it is absolutely gorgeous!! His partial bowls that are connected to one another are my favorite pieces, pretty much ever. I want one of these pieces in every wall of my house.

William Kidd – Another ceramic artist I have seen more than once, and another award winner at the Clayton Art Fair. He uses a lot of crawling glazes that he applies at various thicknesses. This process along with the forms themselves make these pieces really pop and look alive! Also we had a good little convo about texture and I totally molested his pottery, I love the texture.

Jennifer McCurdy – I kept going back to this booth all weekend long to stare at it all. I did not get to molest this pottery as much, but just looking at it was mindblowing. I make little carvings in my pottery now and then, but I can only hope for it to look like this someday. All porcelain, left white, the movement and shapes of these are true beauty.

Sally Bright – Oh my! What is there to be said about Sally Bright? She has quotes in her booth from people that have seen her work, one was from a young boy that said “I wish I could live here!” I think I would have to agree with that sentiment. Beautifully woven pieces with such vibrant colour and movement. Also an award winner.

This post has gotten quite lengthy! And I have oh so many more. I however, have other tasks to tend to (including going to studio) I will finish the list in a later post, in the meantime enjoy these!

Tags: amy flynn, art fair, clay, clayton, clayton art fair, favorite, fobots, fong choo, jennifer mccurdy, kina crow, michael frasca, michele smith, mix media, mud spun, nicario jimenez, painting, saint louis, sally bright, sculpture, valerie bunnell, william kidd