Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago. I’ve had my eye on this event for several years, but haven’t been able to get there until now.
We arrived there early. So early in fact that many of the artists were still setting up. This had it’s benefits: 1. we got an awesome parking spot 2 blocks away, & 2. we were actually able to get in to see the art work. By lunch time the street was so packed it was nearly impossible to see what was there.
My favorite artist at the fair was Dolan Geiman. His artwork drew me in and held my attention. I wanted to look at every single piece he had there. My favorite piece is the Warblers.
Lisa Chow is another artist whose art I really enjoyed seeing.
I love her whimsy style that invites you to the land of make believe. I’m hoping and waiting for an enchanted ballerina to appear.
There were a lot of other talented artisans there as well and over all The Renegade Craft Fair is a great event. However, I’d have to say I was disappointed. Almost every artists could fit into one of 4 categories: 1. jewelry 2. silk screen/letterpress 3. art/graphic art prints 4. reclaimed wood. There were a few people working with leather, and few more with aromatherapy, but there just wasn’t a lot of variety. After awhile, I found my self not caring if I saw what an artist had since it was very likely that they would have similar things to what another artist had. I don’t know if this lack in variety was a result of The Renegade Crew accepting only this sort of application or if there weren’t any applications from other artisans. I am a bit curious to know why it was this way. Later on I’ll share with you what my dream craft fair would look like.
At any rate, it gave me some confidence in my own art/craft projects. Confidence that I could one day have a booth at something like this, and my stuff would be unique.
If you ever have the oppertunity to go to a Renegade Craft Fair, you should definately check it out. There are several of them across the country.
artbycarriejoy.com 