arts&life

fairs & festivals

’Tis The Season

Michigan’s multifarious outdoor
art fairs kick off this month.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

L

ike so many artists — and so
many art enthusiasts — Gabriel
Craig will be at more than one
outdoor art fair this summer.
Craig, a metalsmith who makes
Judaica among his many projects, will
demonstrate how he does it at Art of
Fire, what previously had been known
as the Royal Oak Clay, Glass and
Metal Show set for June 9-10. He also
will spotlight his creativity July 19-22
at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
A regular at the Royal Oak event,
Craig finds the new name more excit-
ing and more representative of what
goes into turning clay, glass and metal
into creative expressions.
“I make jewelry, housewares and
architectural ironworks in addition
to menorahs, Sabbath candlesticks
and kiddush cups,” says Craig, who
heads up a team, with Amy Weiks, at
Smithshop, which is moving its loca-
tion from Detroit to Highland Park.
“I recently learned that my great
grandmother, Kitty Craig, owned a
millinery shop close to where our
next building will be and made hats
for the women who used to live in
that area.”
Craig, who earned degrees at
Western Michigan University and
Virginia Commonwealth University,
has exhibited at prestigious art
centers, including the Renwick
Gallery in Washington, D.C., and
the Contemporary Arts Museum in
Houston. He has lectured around
the country and held a residency at
California College of the Arts.
“I will be bringing a furnace,

anvils, hammers and many kinds
of hand tools to the Royal Oak fair,”
says Craig, who has attended servic-
es at the Downtown Synagogue. “I’m
looking forward to showing my work
and showing how the work is done.”
Art of Fire is one of five events
coordinated by Mark Loeb of
Integrity Shows. The others are the
Kensington Metropark Art Fair,
Palmer Park Art Fair, Belle Isle Art
Fair and Funky Ferndale Art Fair.
“We’ve added more demonstra-
tions and more drama in Royal
Oak,” Loeb says. “There will be
ambient music, and it generally will
be positioned as a downtown expe-
rience. Setting is important to these
fairs. People who have lived in the
neighborhood of Palmer Park, for
instance, feel comfortable returning
to that setting.”
Popular fairs listed on the next
page are arranged by date with a
special feature or activity that has
enlarged the particular experience.
Regular fairgoers will note that
the Mount Clemens Art Fair has
become Art! Macomb and the
Ypsilanti Heritage Festival is now
YpsiFest. While no date has been
set for Michigan First Summer in
the Village in Lathrup Village, plan-
ners are trying to move it later in
the season. The Great Lakes Folk
Festival in Lansing has been sus-
pended.
Just before heading out, visitors
are advised to check websites for
updates that may change the fol-
lowing g information. •

TOP: A screen print by Tim Gralewski at the Funky Ferndale Art Fair. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Kiddush cups by Gabriel Craig of Smithshop, who will appear at Art of Fire.
Hot air balloon rides return to YpsiF est. Glass art by Berry Davis and Collette Fortin at the Palmer Park Art Fair. Jewelry by Chelsea Hall at the Funky Ferndale Art Fair.

108

May 24 • 2018

jn