Deidre's Amazing Blog

This past weekend was Mother’s Day which means it was also the annual Laumeier Sculpture Park Art Fair. Paul and I volunteered this year and got to see the fair for free. However, the weather was not in our favor. When we arrived for our volunteer shift it was pouring down rain, we got soaked on the short walk from our car to volunteer check-in. The whole fair is outside and in a field so you can imagine that the ground was pretty soggy. Once we checked in we got to be under a tent for a few hours and the rain let up a bit but did continue to drizzle throughout the day. Attendance was low because of the weather so when we did get to walk around there wasn’t much crowding in the booths. There was a ton of great art there from artists I did not remember from years past (although it has been a while since I went to this fair). One thing I noticed is a lo of people did not have cards, which is what i use a lot to remember the booths and write posts like these. This post would have been twice as long for sure. I even bought myself a little something this year. Here is a sampling of some of our favorites.

Sculpture

Frederick Prescott – These sculptures were so large they would have fit right in with the rest of the sculpture park. They took up residence in a little corner booth spot but could not be contained by a booth! And the brightly colored paint jobs drew you in from many booths away. The piggy was my favorite, but the cacti ones on his website look awesome too.

Joel Pinkerton – Not very much on his website or facebook page, but there is a large picture of his whimsical robotic sculptures. Made of upcycled materials each little guy or gal has it’s own personality, no two are a like! When you are surrounded by them it’s like you are in a foreign land straight out of a children’s book.

Richard Kolb – This was the booth I bought a little piece from, my piece was a little yard stake with a flying pig on top. Again made from upcycled materials mostly car parts and some ceramic knobs and other stuff, and mostly animals. I have seen this work before represented as Yardbirds, but the business card now says Engine-New-Ity, it appears to be the same company though, although these sculptures are a bit more industrial than the Yardbirds ones.

Painting

Melvin McGee – Brightly colored cartoonish paintings filled this booth. Some original designs and some based on favorite characters like The Wizard of Oz or Frankenstien. What really made the booth popular was sound effect to go with some of the paintings. Its hard not to be drawn in to all this fun.

Vladimir Ovtcharov – I can’t not love a good pop surrealist painter, which is exactly what this booth was. Apparently the Ovtcharov’s show as a duo but this show appeared to just be Vladimir. Both of their collections can be viewed online and they are both great. I think I dig Vladimir a bit more for the pop punches though. You can really see the old school painting techniques mixed with modern ideas.

Brian J. Sullivan – American Image is the name of an upcoming exhibit from this artist, and it is the perfect way to describe them. Filled with bright colors and pop imagery some are comforting but some, just because of the proportions are almost scary, look at the one with Howdy Doody and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Karri Jamison – I love nature, and I also love bright bold colors, these paintings combine both. Some of the nature is otherworldy while some is very familiar. They are beautifully done with funky backgrounds that make them really stand out in a crowd.

Other

Luis Gonzalez – I don’t know what it was about these, the size and color drew me in! Large fruits an vegetables make up the work made out of wood that are glossy and colorful enough to eat.

Kathy Oda – Super nice lady to talk to, and her work is a lot of fun. I have always had a soft spot for glass and want to try the kiln formed variety in the future. My favorite part of her collection are the little Splats. To some folks these might look like toss away pieces but they are so much fun, I can imagine a house with little Splats lazing about in various colors and sizes!

April Riley Tate – Just plain cute, no other way to describe it. These stuffed toys are simple and adorable. Also helps that they encourage cuddling of the stuffies! With your standard animal variety as well as bearded ladies and strongmen what is not to love.

Ceramics

Cindy Martin (Aldrich Valley Pottery) – I would have really liked to get one of these pieces as well, they were so great and priced kind of low. From what I could see they were all raku fired and each had it’s own individual flare. Some included horse hair and most included figurative elements of animals carefully sculpted and attached to the pieces. Very beautiful one of a kind work.

Hironobu Nishitateno (Nanten Pottery) – Tons of tiny little pots and vessels, very traditional but with some great glazes and unique features. The bud vases were adorable and there were so many different options and styles.

Reiko Cunningham – Last but not least, personally I love making sgraffito pottery, and you can tell Reiko does as well. Bunny rabbits seem to be a common theme which attracted lots of kids (and kids at heart) to this booth. Some of the carving were full scenes while in other areas a nice pattern. Great stuff all around.

For more info on Laumeier Sculpture park and next years Art Fair go here!