Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Art in the blistering heat

The Ann Arbor Art Fair is in full effect! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the large fair here's the knitty gritty:
The Ann Arbor Art Fairs consist of four "award-winning" different shows (the "Original" Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Ann Arbor State Street Art Fair, the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, and the Ann Arbor South University Art Fair).It is estimated that almost a half million people attend the various fairs that take over the entire downtown Ann Arbor, MI area. The roads are shut down and booths are set up in the streets. Artists, vendors, and local shops set up elaborate booths and sell their goods for 4 days (this year it started today and goes until Saturday).
As an "Ann Arborite" it is interesting to see the reaction of other locals to the show. Many locals HATE and I mean despise the shows. Traffic in the area is greatly increased with people unfamiliar with the roads. Streets are shut down and the summer lull (Ann Arbor is a drastically different town once the university students leave for the summer) is transformed into a loud buzz. I, however, enjoy the fairs. Each year I attend and enjoy people watching and looking at all of the different art available. As an attendee each year, I have noticed that a lot of the artisans have the exact same work (which is a real downer) but when I run across a new artist with a new craft it is exciting! It's fun to see all of the crazy ideas running through other creative people's brains. A lot of time it gives me inspiration or ideas for my own work. I also enjoy all of the sales from the local botiques in the area. It's the perfect time to purchase Christmas presents (gasp, I know).
Since I can't walk very far, Sam and I just did one block of the fair. But it was a real enjoyable evening even though it was humid and hot! And we also enjoyed a sunset...Does anyone else have a local fair that they enjoy? Do you make any purchases or sell at a fair?

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