Appreciation of Art: Webster Arts Fair Can Be Used As A Crash Course | Arts and theater
Bryan Yung installs his watercolors for the Webster Arts Fair 2016 at Webster Groves. Yung came from Virginia for the fair.
Meri Ellen Taylor of St. Louis sets up booths for her jewelry ahead of the 2016 Webster Arts Fair at Webster Groves. Taylor has been a goldsmith for over 25 years.
One of Jeane Vogel’s pet peeves is when people complain that a work of art is overpriced. | Usually, she says, this stems from a lack of understanding of the process and products that go into creating a painting, sculpture or carpentry.
“We don’t have a lot of arts education anymore on how art is made,” says Vogel, executive director of Webster Arts, the nonprofit organization that hosts the annual Webster Arts Fair.
But the outdoor art exhibit, which runs Friday through Sunday on Bompart and Lockwood avenues in Webster Groves, can serve as a crash course.
In addition to the 105 local, national and international artists who will showcase and sell their products, there will be seven demonstration areas where organizations such as Craft Alliance and Midwest Metalsmiths will give a close-up view of their work.
“When you see what it takes to create a bowl or a hand-woven fabric, you see that what you get is different from what you get in the store,” says Vogel.
The artists, selected by a jury of the blind, are also eager to explain their work to festival-goers.
People usually see Maggie Robertson’s blue cyanotypes and assume they are indigo dyes, so she uses this openness to strike up a conversation.
“That’s when I start to fully explain the process,” says Robertson.
