Park Forest, IL–(ENEWSPF)– Tall Grass Arts Association announces that its Annual Art Fair will be held in Park Forest on Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The public is invited and admission is free. The Fair will celebrate its 53rd anniversary, making it one of the longest running art fairs in the Chicagoland region. This year’s fair will feature nearly 100 artists, many long-standing, some new and some who have returned to the fair after an absence of many years. The fine art presented includes a wide range of media from painting in oils, acrylic and watercolor, pottery, jewelry, photography, printmaking, glass (both blown and stained), woodworking and fiber arts. The event also features live musical entertainment, a variety of foods and activities for children.
Ten new artists were juried into the fair for 2008. They include Greg and Jean Smith from Mattawan, Michigan who work in glass; Geno Morales from Sauk Village, a photographer; Robert Jones from South Holland who paints with watercolor; John Giemzik from Glenwood who works with pen and ink; John Kapaldo from Orland Park who works with wood and intarsia and William Harper from New Lenox who paints with oils. Four artists who have exhibited in the past but have not participated in the Park Forest Art Fair for several years have returned. They are Robert Blue from Woodstock who works in clay; Peter Wilhem of Park Forest who paints with oils; Karen DeWitt of Park Forest who paints with pastels and jewelry maker Nancy Krahn of Algonquin.
Many artists familiar to fair-goers will also be present. Patricia Moore, Park Forest, has exhibited in the fair more than 38 times. Pat works principally with acrylic and mixed media. She attended classes at the Tall Grass Art School as a child and now teaches in the school. She also attended the Art Institute of Chicago. Her mentor and High School teacher, Phil Mundt, also returns every year. Phil from Yellville, Arkansas specializes in the process of Raku, an ancient Japanese form of pottery. Carol Boyajian of Homewood, Graydon Cafarella of Dixon, Jini Coolidge of Glenwood, Wynn Hopkins of Crete, Karen Joyce of Gurnee, Pam Eberling of Chicago Heights, Richard Schmidt of Frankfort, Claire Wiest of Crete and Marikay Peter Witlock of Chicago Heights are among the artists who have exhibited for many years in Park Forest.
Fair-goers are invited to stop in at the Tall Grass Arts Association Gallery during the Fair. The Gallery is hosting an exhibit entitled “this good earth” which features landscapes by a number of invited artists. The landscapes depict the beauty of the natural environment in hopes that viewers will learn to love and help protect that environment.
Like many of the artists, attendees at the fair also return year after year so the fair is not only the opportunity to view and purchase fine art, it is also the opportunity to see old friends. For additional information call the gallery at (708) 748-3377 or visit the Tall Grass Website at www.tallgrassarts.org.
