Monday, July 20, 1998 - The Michigan Daily - 16

The Ann Arbor
Art Fair

.

The streets of Ann Arbor were filled with
awestruck people this past week as artists
from all over the nation came to display
their work. Perhaps the finest of its kind in the
United States, this year's Ann Arbor Art Fair fea-
ture4 artists who were of the highest caliber in
their mediums.
Carole Battle, one of the artists whose work
adorned Ann Arbor streets, has made regular
appearances at the Art Fair since the mid
'80s. Specializing in watercolors, prints
and silk paintings, Battle has
found the Art Fair to be the best:
in the nation.
"The Ann Arbor Art Fairs ,
are sort of legendary," she
said. "It features over 1,100
artists and definitely features
the one of the widest ranges of
media I've seen."
Another craftsperson in Ann
Arbor was Edward J. Walters, a
metal designer and metalsmith from
Beaverton, Mich. Walters has spent the
past 15 years displaying his jewelry at
studios and fairs.
Walters, having taken his place at the
Art Fair for the past two years, counts Ann
Arbor as one of the finest avenues to
exhibit his work.
"The fairs are incredible, and I'm
very proud to exhibit and sell my work
here," Walters said.
And what work it is. His gold and
silver jewelry are intricate and
ornate.
"t.-pend (many) hours craft-
ing each piece I make'
Walters said. "I take a lot ofK
pride in my work, and it
makes me happy to see peo-
ple enjoying what I have." ,

Walter was only one happy artist of hundreds
whose work crowds of people enjoyed.
Commonly mistaken as a single fair, the Ann
Arbor Art Fair actually consists of three separate
fairs: the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the State Street
Area Art Fair and the Summer Art Fair. Battle,
who this year is part of the State Street Area Art
Fair asa member of the Michigan Guild for Artists
and Artisans, has taker nart in another section as
well.
"The (Ann Arbor) Street Art Fair was
the first Ann Arbor fair that I was a part
of," Battle said. "Although all the fairs
are impressive in their own
right, the Street Art Fair was
definitely the hardest to get into.
"The artists at the Street Art
Fair are selected from thou-
sands of talented applicants,
and the artists that are eventu-
ally featured have a lot of cut-
ting-edge work," Battle
explained.
One of the 200 artists who were
selected to be featured at the Ann
Arbor Street Art Fair was Craig
Zweifel of Ketchum, Idaho. He
and his wife, Anny, brought their
works across the nation and
found themselves delighted with Ann
Arbor's atmosphere. His glass sculp-
tures provided a swirling display of
light and color on display in his booth.
"I developed my own process of 'silver-
ing' the glass, which means I apply a thin
layer of silver to the outside of the
glass I sculpted," explained Zweifel.
The silver, as well as the darker
glass I add to the design, create a
nice effect?'
The work Zweifel had on dis-
play included delicate orna-

Ann Arbor saw an amazing diversity of artwork last week, includin
displayed by Janelle Songer.

ments, perfume bottles and fine goblets. His orig-
inal methods of tempering and sculpting glass
have certainly taken him and his wife to a new
level in their art.
"My work has really evolved," Zweifel said. "I
have been working on my sculptures since the mid
'70s.
"I worked with clay and glass together until I
came up with the idea to use silver."
Their arrival at the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair has
certainly given the Zweifels an opportunity to
show their talents, and they're thankful for that

opportunity.
"People come from all over the United States
for this fair," Zweifel said. "Business is excel-
lent, and it's great to be a part of such a quality
show."
The crowds seem to agree that the quality of
the Art Fair is beyond compare, and Ann Arbr
itself has also made a strong impression on
artists.
"The crowds in Ann Arbor are extremely appre-
ciative and supportive of our work," said Katrine
See ARTISTS, Page 10

A DAY AT THE ART FAIR

v

P ARKING - Support stu-
dents, not greedy landlords,"
the sign read as I made my
way past Willard toward South
University last Thursday. So the 39th
Ann Arbor Art Fair has, like so many
other things in society, fallen to become
a commercial nightmare - with parking
vendors battling it out for a buck or $25
as the case may be.
Before arriving at South University, I
had a feeling the number of vendors sell-
ing water and food would outnumber the
number of artists. It turned out to be too
close to call.
That is not to say the art work was
4 poor. It was nothing of the sort. In fact,
the art this year was as good, if not bet-
ter, than the past several years.
And the music was more abundant
than in the past Art Fairs. Many of the
musicians were sporting boxes reading,
$5 for tapes -$10 for CDs," but at least
The osephson Brothers of Rogers Studio work hard at their booth, where they are
surrounded in a plethora of tie-dye - everything from socks to scrunchies.

they were selling art. As the sun began to
grow stronger, the refreshment stand lines
grew noticeably longer and the music sur-
prisingly stronger and more together than
earlier in the morning.
One of the several vendors "selling
music" was Bakra Bata. This calypso-
type steel drum band laid down some
heavy beats, but not so hard that the
crowd dispersed. Instead, the crowd
grew closer and closer as more people
joined in to watch the band jam. It's hard
to say whether people were there to lis-
ten to the music or just because there
was a crowd watching.
After all, orientation advisors did say,
"If there is a line, stand in it." But the
crowd couldn't possibly be made entire-
ly of University of Michigan students
and alumni, could it? Let's hope it was
for the music.
Down at Liberty and Fifth Avenue,
Watson and Company, the two man
hotos by AdIana Yugovi

string band consisting of an electric vio-
lin and an electric acoustic guitar, defi-
nitely performed better than most. The
violinist was sporting a white tuxedo, no
jacket on account of the intense heat, but
a true professional.
Several acts besides musician/vendors
performed for free on stages scattered
across Ann Arbor. On State Street
the State Theater was Culture Vultur
bluegrass strings band with a childish
twist. It performed at i l a.m., then
cleared the stage for singer/songwriters
Lily Fox and Shell.
Down at the WIQB stage at Division
and Liberty, local acts played everything
from rock to jazz to blues. This stage
seemed to be the most commercialized of
the four stages in Ann Arbor. I think it
was the bright yellow WIQB signs p
tered around the stage and surroundig
area.
See FAIR, Page 11