The Park Forest Art Fair, sponsored by Tall Grass Arts Association will celebrate its 64th year during the Sept. 21 and 22 event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day in downtown Park Forest.
The Park Forest Art Fair, sponsored by Tall Grass Arts Association will celebrate its 64th year during the Sept. 21 and 22 event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day in downtown Park Forest.
artwork. (Provided photos)
The artists hail from all over the metropolitan area. This year, TGAA is pleased to introduce 23 new artists, including Terence Travis of Homewood, as well as many returning artists such as Barb Mason and Gail Stamps of Flossmoor and Rose Lyons of Homewood.
Travis is a watercolor artist who says his career began as a child drawing the cartoons he watched on television. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Northern Illinois University. He hopes his artworks will inspire others and, perhaps, provide them a few laughs.
Mason is a jewelry maker who grew up in Flossmoor and graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School. She designs and makes beads out of recycled record albums. She also uses found objects plus a variety of semi-precious stones.
Stamps is a fiber artist who has been knitting and crocheting since she was 10 years old. She designs and creates contemporary hand knits and hand felted accessories. She makes her own fabrics through a process of wet felting. Her work includes hats, scarves, shawls, wraps, ponchos, purses and jewelry.
During her college years, Lyons was commissioned to draw people’s houses in the Beverly area. Eventually she began drawing in downtown Chicago. Because of the highly precise and detailed nature of her drawings, many people assume that she photographs the buildings and returns home to draw from the photographs. Actually, she sits on the street and draws the scenes she sees.
designs.
For four years in a row, the Park Forest Art Fair has won the national “America’s Best Art Fair Awards” competition sponsored by ArtFairCalendar.com. The survey recognized the fair as one of the best small, juried, fine art fairs in the country.
“This is the second oldest juried art fair in the Chicagoland region and it has maintained its quality over the years,” said Janet Muchnik, the event’s chairwoman.
Muchnik emphasized the event always attracts a variety of talents, “some new artists and many who have exhibited continuously for nearly four decades. Fair visitors have a tradition here of talking with the artists and in fact, the artists expect people to stop by and chat.”
As a not-for-profit event with a huge volunteer force, costs to artists are very low.
“Consequently, they can sell their works at very reasonable prices,” Muchnik said.
The eclectic forms available include ceramics, etchings, sculpture, photographs, paintings in many media, digital art works, jewelry featuring original elements and hand-blown glass.
textiles.
A special feature of the fair is the Kids’ Art Alley. It offers a range of hands-on art activities to delight the younger set, including the almost legendary Children’s Art Contest.
Music also plays an important role in the fair. On Saturday, the village will host a music fest next to the food vendors and beer tent.
Rhythm System will perform blues, R&B and neo-soul from 10:45 to 11:40 a.m. This is a teenage three-piece band that loves to bring the groove to their audience.
The Typhanie Monique/Neal Alger Quartet will perform jazz classics and R&B/soul from noon to 1:10 p.m.
Led by Latin Grammy nominated percussionist Rubén Alvarez, The Raices/Latin Jazz Sextet will perform from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Raices features percussionist/vibraphonist Joe Sonnefeldt, keyboardist Alejandro Cortés, guitarist Jonathan Gould, timbalero percussionist Bobby Delgado and bassist Eric Ferrer.
KO Bossy delivers the hits from Badfinger, The Beatles, Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams to Zeppelin, ZZ Top and more. He will perform from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
artwork.
Fest favorite Patchouli will perform on Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. This duo performs folk music all day and their multiple CDs will be available for sale.
Patchouli will take a break at 2:30 p.m. so the Grand Prairie Choral Arts Group can perform. Under the baton of Jo Rodenburg, they will perform several short popular and traditional selections.
Food vendors will be on site including Poppin’ Plates, Exquisite Pound Cakes, Flaming Hotties, Terrell’s BBQ and Southland Caterers.
The acclaimed Tall Grass Arts Association Gallery, 367 Artists Walk in downtown Park Forest, will be open during the fair with a traditional summer exhibit of works by gallery artists.
For additional information, call 708-748-3377 or visit www.tallgrassarts.org.