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City Hosts 42nd Art Fair

The Fernwood Library sponsored Fernwood’s 42nd Art Fair this weekend. The three-day event was held, as usual, at Memorial Park. Almost 100 artists showed up each day. More than 1,000 locals and visitors strolled through the shady park daily, as temperatures remained in the comfortable 70s all weekend.

All kinds of art were on display and for sale. Prices ranged from a couple of dollars to a couple of thousand dollars. Oscar, a native of Peru, was selling his beautiful paintings of the mountain village of Ayacucho, where he lives most of the year. “Every year I come to the United States to sell my paintings at about five different art shows. Then I return to my country. That is where I do all my paintings, in our beautiful mountains.”

Peter is a photographer. He travels throughout the southwest US. One of his favorite areas is northeast Arizona. “That’s where Spider Rock is,” he said, pointing to a beautiful color photograph of a towering sandstone spire about 800 feet high. This rock, according to Navajo Indian lore, was the home of Spider Woman, a goddess revered by the tribe.

A Navajo woman was selling her own rug weavings at the fair. She was busy creating a rug while visitors watched. When asked how long it took, she replied that her creations usually took months. She said that Navajo tradition was to always weave a slight flaw into an article so as not to offend Spider Woman, because only Spider Woman could create a perfect weave.

The exhibit areas were located throughout the park. Artists’ creations included jewelry, ceramics, bird houses, gourd art, furniture, pottery, handmade musical instruments, music CDs, and sculpture. Almost all the artists had their work displayed beneath shady canopies.

“This was another successful year for our art fair,” said the head librarian. “The artists sold enough of their work to encourage them to return next year, and the library raised almost $700 from sales of various items. We’ll use this money to purchase a few more tables and chairs.”