A makeshift village of white tents encircled the Monroe County courthouse Saturday. Under the shade of each tent, artists greeted passersby and took an array of questions.
Of the 110 artists present, each had been pre-approved by the Bloomington Playwrights Project, which is largely responsible for coordinating the fair every summer.
Artistic mediums ranged from handmade jewelry to wind sculptures, and the crowd was well mixed: parents guiding children to various activities around the square, IU students browsing booths and retired couples stopping to make conversation. Charlie, Bloomington’s iconic red parrot, was also in attendance.
At the Kids’ Art Center station, adult volunteers monitored children as they crafted “pet rocks” with markers and googly eyes. Middle school teacher Tina Goodlander helped out for much of the day and watched once-hesitant children become more talkative as their animals of choice materialized.
“I attend Bloomington Playwright plays, which are awesome and so moving, and I thought it would be fun to volunteer,” Goodlander said before turning to a young girl. “Hey! You want to come make a pet rock with us?”
BPP — Bloomington’s nonprofit with a focus on new plays — quickly reached volunteers in an email to its supporters, Goodlander said.
IU student Emily Liu was also volunteering at the Pet Rock station.
“With just simple stones, these kids can combine activity with imagination,” she said. “It’s nice to see.”
For adults, activity options included more advanced crafts such as origami stars and painting instruction. Volunteer Tom Faulkner from the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation guided small groups through origami steps as part of the “One Million Stars to End Violence” project, in which stars are folded and collected from across the globe to create massive displays of “courage and light.”
“The idea is that each person makes a star to put back into the sky, to help shine light into darkness,” Faulkner said. “In the U.S. there are only three cities participating, including Bloomington. We agreed to make 10,000 by next summer. After today, we’ll be well over 2,000.”
Amidst the tutorials, artists — some from as far away as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — answered questions about pricing and handed over business cards. Oil painter David Hoonstra offered something a bit more personal: the inspiration behind his seascapes.
“Where I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, it seemed like every adult around me was unemployed, hopeless,” he said. “They told me I couldn’t be an artist — ‘You’ll end up on the streets.’ But I decided it wasn’t worth it unless I did what you love. I paint to show that that is possible.”
As the fair drew to a close, several artists reflected on the success of the day.
“The atmosphere is good,” said Lorrie Brehmner, wife of potter Bob Brehmer. ”It’s an easy show to do, very accommodating to the artists. I have nothing but good things to say.”
However, for glassblower Abby Gitlitz and photographer Khabrim Diallo, the fair could have been better attended.
“It’s a lovely day and folks were nice, but I will say crowds are a lot more sparse than last year,” Gitlitz said.
