The Penrod Arts Fair 2011 - Indianapolis

Yesterday I had the great fortune of attending the Penrod Arts Fair at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA).  It was my first time at both an Arts Fair and the IMA.  I went with my mother-in-law, her friend, and her friend's daughter who I met for the first time, though I felt I already knew her because I had stared at her face for hours drawing her picture.

Attending an art fair was a great experience for me, despite my frugality, absence of personal style, and general dislike of "arts & crafts" type objects.

There were people of all ages from newborn to aged great-grandmother in attendance.  It was a very fun atmosphere.  No one was in a rush, people were polite to one another, courteous, and friendly.  It had a very nice community feel.

The park/grounds that the festivals are held at are beautiful!  There are so many trees, walking paths, and flowers/gardens.  It turned into a gorgeous day despite the rain and cooler temperatures of the previous week.  The sun peeped out from the clouds for a little bit and warmed it up just enough. 

As we strolled through the different "colored" sections, ate yummy food, listened to a family barbershop, saw dance routines, heard rock bands, and received flyers and freebies, we saw many things I had never seen before.  I was impressed with the skills and talents of these artists and artisans.  I am personally drawn to glass objects, shiny things, fine woodwork, modern stainless steel decor, and anything of high quality.  While most things did not interest me since I don't wear much jewelry, I don't garden, and I don't have a budget for home accessories/decor, I nevertheless gave a good look at most of the items on display, mostly due to the company I was with:  they do wear jewelry, shawls, garden, and have a budget for home accessories/decor.  Some booths and objects were very similar to each other. I felt like the jewelry on display in one booth resembled the previous booth's jewelry to some degree.  But, some had one-of-a-kind booths and items, like the booth with Nightmare Before Christmas-like dolls for sale, and the one with hand-made rugs.

One of my very favorite artists I saw was Michael Weber, a watercolor artist.  I think he has immaculate skill at watercolor!  I wanted a painting!  He made prints out of several of his images at a much more affordable price, but for some reason I still didn't pick one up, but I kept checking out his booth.  I am not much of a watercolor artist, but love finding works of art that are of a high quality and his fit that bill.

The art fair reminded me a lot of etsy.com. a site I have a shop on, and a site I haven't fully explored yet, but get several emails from them which are chocked full of hand-made jewelry, clothing, accessories, decor, and more.  I liked the art fair.  It made my creative juices flow and helped me understand a little more of the business side of selling art, though I do feel like much of my art doesn't quite fit in at this type of event.  My art is more "fine art."

What art fairs have you attended?  Do you like these types of events?  Do you like arts and crafts?  Do you like etsy?