Arts Fair brings clientele to creators

“It only took me a few hours to decide,” customer Jane Chriso said.

“Oh, well, we have more colors in the back,” artist Michael Burt replied.

Burt was one of about 50 artists featured at last Saturday’s Arts Fair on the Square.

The two exchanged a colorful glass magnet. Together, they celebrated Bloomington’s 30th annual Arts Festival.

“I found out about the festival through the Waldron newsletter,” Burt said. “People in Bloomington really come out and support art.”

The Nashville, Ind., local and his wife were spending their sixth year showcasing their work at Saturday’s fair. Burt said he attends numerous art festivals per year and sells his art at most of them. His work consists of colorful stained glass.

“I think people like the colors and things that glimmer,” Burt said. “They’re drawn to how I work with glass because it’s done in a nontraditional way.”

Burt is one of only three other vendors listed as a glass dealer at the festival.

“Most people follow patterns — I just play with it,” Burt said. “I enjoy moving around colors, moving around shapes until I feel like it’s done.”

The fair featured artists from more than 10 different genres ranging from painting to wood burning.

The Bloomington Area Arts Council sponsored and organized this local event.

“We’ve had great business, great support from the community,” BAAC board member Ashley Fisher said.

The Bloomington Community Band performed alongside The Silk Road Ensemble.
Local jewelry artist Kathleen Clausen demonstrated her wire-wrapping technique beside Cyclops Studios’ Adam Nahas’ sculpture presentation. The Kids’ Kraft Korner painted pint-sized faces next to Different Drummer’s belly-dancing performance.

“We just stumbled upon this and were pleasantly surprised,” festival attendee Lynne Jevicky said. “This is genuine, quality, one-of-a-kind stuff.”

Jevicky is a Cincinnati native vacationing in Bloomington this weekend and described herself as “pretty well-traveled” and a frequent art gallery admirer.

“Things like this are cool because you can meet the artist, talk to them and ask them questions about their work,” Jevicky said. “They are skilled craftsmen and artisans who hand-make their own work.”

Bloomington local Christina Knipstine acted as one of these artisans Saturday. Knipstine buys old plates, glass, shells and other objects and organizes them into mosaics.

“People respond to patterns,” Knipstine said. “Like a quilt — people respond to patterns and old pieces of fabric they know.”

Knipstine began her artistic career as a painter. Five kids and an antique set of broken china later, she decided to try her hand at mosaics.

“I thought mosaics were something I could do in a house full of chaos,” Knipstine said.
“I had seen some really beautiful ones back east.”

Early in the day, Knipstine sold an abstract rendition of the Taj Mahal. It was a longtime favorite piece of hers and the first smelting work she had ever created.

Knipstine saw it as a personal celebration of light, culture and different textured objects and watched it spend the previous year glowing in her studio.

“Every time I sell something, I almost cry,” she said.

Knipstine’s passion for her work can be seen in every piece she creates. She said she feels a personal bond to her broken-together mosaics and believes each to be an individual union of images and ideas.

“I work intuitively and from the heart,” Knipstine said. “I hope people see it and relate to it.”

This is Knipstine’s second year showcasing at the Arts Fair on the Square. Like the other vendors, her work is covered blankly next to 60 other white canvas tents. Three-foot-high mosaics drip from the walls and ceiling.

“Bloomington is a great arts town,” Knipstine said. “We get a great turnout of people here.”