BY KAREN BOSSICK
Six years. That’s the unbelievable number of years Hailey artist Margery Friedlander has been showing her work at the Sun Valley Arts and Crafts Festival.
And she’s back this year, thanks to being named Best of Category in Printing last year.
Friedlander will return with a new line of montoypes and lithographic photo transfers, including works focusing on wildflowers and pine cones, as well as images of the Grand Canyon.
“I’m calling it ‘Nature’s Wonder,’ ” she said. “I’ve been working hard on new pieces for the show. Some are so new I don’t have titles yet.”
The 49th annual Sun Valley Center Arts & Crafts Festival opens today—Friday, Aug. 11, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 13.
The free festival, which draws artists and crafts people from around the country, will be held at Atkinsons’ Park on West Eighth Street in Ketchum.
It will feature daily artist demonstrations, children’s art making activities, live music and food vendors.
The festival is among the top 100 fine art festivals in the nation, according to Art Fair SourceBook, a comprehensive guide to the top-selling art fairs and craft shows around the country. This year’s festival will include 130 artists who were selected through a rigorous jury process.
Among them: Meridian artist Eileen Kuper with her highly adoptable puppet pets and hand muffs. Ping Zhang and Cindy Xu, of Bellingham, Wash., who weave scarves, table runners and quilts with 100 percent bamboo yarn that they say is “crazy strong” but resembles a silk/cashmere blend.
Boise glass maker Zion Warne of Boise will be there with swirly eggs, Christmas ornaments, hand-blown platters, outdoor gardens and chandeliers. Olive Parker of Stevensville, Mont., will offer her beaded and flat leather bracelets featuring wolves, leather feathers and Montana sapphires. And Guillermo Martinez of Modjeska, Calif., will show off his Quetzalcoatl music instruments.
“Over the decades I apprenticed under the masters, including a master Japanese wood worker, Tlingit instrument makers in Alaska and a Mezoamerican craftsman--each of whom taught me to make the gifts from the Earth sing,” he says.
Hailey artist Barbara Kline, known for her unique photographs where she sets pianos and other objects in a beautiful landscape, has participated in the festival for many of its 35 years.
"I remember when the booths were set up around the duck pond in front of the Sun Valley Inn and we used to dunk our feet in the pond when it got hot!" she said.
Free Artist Demonstrations will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. daily. Abstract painter Sarah Davies will be at work Friday; furniture maker Wes Walworth on Saturday, and metal worker Mark Sheehan on Sunday.
The free Kids Activity Area is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Children can make fish sculptures on Friday, string painting on Saturday and the always-popular paper sun hats on Sunday. In addition kids can take part in a scavenger hunt, which encourages them to learn about the artists and artwork of the festival.
For more information, go to www.sunvalleycenter.org or call 208-726-9491.