Sunday, June 06, 1999
Visitors find quality at fair
Arts, crafts on sale at 2 Oxford spots
BY JENNY CALLISON
Enquirer Contributor
OXFORD — Jeanne Sipahigil found a lot to like at the Hueston Woods Art and Crafts Fair Saturday. Ms. Sipahigil, of Liberty, Ind., attends the fair every year.
“I like the fact that it's a juried show, so you don't find junk,” she said. She was pleased with the whimsical copper praying mantis and hummingbird sculptures she purchased from exhibitor Kelli Ellen of Haw Creek Forge in Asheville, N.C.
Ms. Ellen, a first-year exhibitor at the fair, was doing a brisk business in small garden sculptures. Her creations range from snakes and salamanders to butterflies and ladybugs.
Nearby, Jason Bovie of Oregonia displayed his wood-fired pottery and described how he applies natural ash glazes to his work. Also a first-time exhibitor, he was happy with the fair's setting.
“It's very nostalgic, with the old barn and stone walkways,” he said. “It's a comfortable aesthetic for viewing artwork.”
This is the 35th year that artists and artisans have shown their wares on the tree-shaded site of the Pioneer Farm Museum, just south of Hueston Woods State Park. The event is sponsored by the Oxford Museum Association, which operates the farm museum.
“We have 55 exhibitors this year,” said Dick Sollmann, association president. “About 35 to 50 percent are repeat exhibitors. The success of this show is a combination of the quality of the work, the manageable size of the show and the setting.”
One repeat exhibitor is Tom Howard, an Oxford native who lives in Asheboro, N.C. An employee of Energizer Battery Co., Mr. Howard is also a pen-and-ink and watercolor artist. His beach, mountain and low country scenes covered the sides of the booth.
His mother, Betty Howard, was also a painter.
“My mother helped start this show years ago,” said Mr. Howard. “When I decided, about six years ago, to participate, they told me I could have Mother's old spot.”
The Oxford Museum Association's share of fair proceeds helps support the museum's programs and collections. Because of furnace damage, the museum house is not open to the public this weekend, but the barn and its exhibits are.
Oxford offers another arts and crafts event today at the Barker Farm, 5815 Brown Road, two miles south of Pioneer Farm Museum. For information, call 523-3738.
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