Sunday in the Park with Art

Art on the Commons in Kettering is always a pleasure. The best part of the art fair is visiting with exhibiting artist friends and seeing their new work, hearing their adventures. One is ready to launch a children's book, another is excited about studying with a wonderful new teacher. Two are setting up an artist's tour of the Greek Isles for next year. Seemed like very few 2-dimensional arts this year--roughly, 24--and most listed as mixed media. Where did all the gorgeous watercolors go? The jewelry (30 booths) was spectacular and expensive. Lots of great pottery (17 booths), a few (6) fiber artists, but nothing blew me away. Some wonderful photography (8) in creative formats; also, glass (5), wood (5), metals (6), leather (2), and other (4). Very heavy on the fine crafts. In the past I have discovered a number of artists whose work I used in my books, but, except for those I already know, I didn't see anything to file away in my resources for books. Too bad. The show made me miss our Riverbend Art Center's Art in the Park, which has disappeared since the demise of the center. That show was once Ohio's biggest and oldest two-day outdoor art fair. Still, Art on the Commons was a beautiful show. There was a good crowd when it opened, and I could see that sales were being made, especially in the jewelry booths. I wonder about the painters.