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Text by Mary Forsell - Fair Photography by St. Louis Art Fair
Close to 2,000 artists will apply, but only 165 will be accepted at this
top-notch fair, consistently rated among the nation’s best by artists and
critics. Three independent jurors, different each year, select the artists who
will participate. “That way, the show never looks the same,” says Cynthia Prost,
president/executive director. “It’s broad. It’s diverse. It’s international.
People come back every year because they know they might miss out on the work of
someone they’ve never seen before.”
Meeting artists is one of the perks: They
all stay in their booths throughout the show. “The atmosphere is less
intimidating than a typical gallery, making the art more easily accessible,”
Prost says. “And since there’s so much to choose from, you never know what will
speak to you.”
For three days in September, the streets of downtown Clayton, Missouri, are
ablaze with art. And not just the expected paintings, but also glass, fiber,
ceramics, drawings, pastels, jewelry, wood, mixed media, and digital works. (a)
Crowds throng the jazz tent. The fair features 22 performances on three
stages—all free. (b) Sidewalk scene by Craig Thomas reinterprets Gustav Klimt’s
“The Kiss.” (c) Mosaic beadwork bunny by Betsy
Youngquist. The
Rockford, Illinois, artist won the prestigious Best of Show
award in
2006. Award winners are automatically invited to return to the juried
fair the following year. (d) St. Louis artist Justin Tolentino creates a public installation. (e)
Transparent pitchers by Michael Schunke are only three inches deep, making them
easy to display on mantels and bookshelves.
(f) Browsers admire glass artist Duncan McClellan’s booth. With overlay techniques
and etching, he incorporates imagery in the finished pieces. (g) The St. Louis
organization Craft Alliance allows kids to try their hands at the potter’s
wheel. (h) Mary Engelbreit (right) visits with Chris Roberts-Antieau. The Michigan
artist uses a combination of hand stitching and the sewing machine as drawing
tools for her fiber appliqué work. The frame is hand-painted poplar.
Curb-to-Curb Creativity page
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