nicole11@unm.edu
Glass dogs strummed on guitars and howled at the moon, a heron flew across a Chinese-style pot and a red papier-mâché woman somersaulted through the air at the New Mexico Arts & Crafts Fair last weekend.
These are just a few of the pieces featured at New Mexico’s oldest craft fair, which began 50 years ago in Old Town and later relocated to the fairgrounds. The fair exhibits only New Mexico artists, which Executive Director Ron Behrmann said distinguishes it from other art festivals of its size.
“If they (artists) show up for registration and they don’t have a New Mexico driver’s license, then they’re not accepted,” Behrmann said. “There’s so much talent here, there’s no need to bring people from out of state. The way I look at it, it puts more dollars in our economy, and that kind of thing.”
Inside the rows of booths, a man wearing a purple top hat with an orange ribbon sells glassware. At the front of the Manuel Lujan building, a young man demonstrates how to use a potter’s wheel as clay splatters his jeans. In Exhibit Hall C, the “recycle man” plays instruments made from buckets, pot lids and a Simpsons drink bottle.
Behrmann said many famous artists have shown their work at the fair, and that it’s an important venue for young artists, some of whom never leave.
“Everybody who’s cutting their teeth, getting started in art, starts here,” he said. “Then they move on, but we have artists who have shown with us for 35 years. A few of them, that’s all they do, they do one show a year and then ours.”
MOUNTAINAIR
Anne Ravenstone —decorative tinwork on weathered wood
Ravenstone takes weathered wood from torn-down tool sheds and fences and decorates it with tin.
“I never know what I’m going to do with the wood until I look at it, and then it decides how it gets decorated,” she said.
Her work ranges from small decorative boxes to large bookshelves; mirrors are the most popular item. A former dancer and choreographer, Ravenstone said her past career influences her work.
“Compared to other tinworkers, the designs in my tin have more movement, more spirals, and I think that’s probably just from all my years as a dancer,” she said. “I didn’t consciously think that, but I’ve decided that’s why.”
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SANTA FE
Mitchell Berg —wired glass
Berg is a former journalist, bartender and antique rug seller who now collects trash from the banks of the Santa Fe River and turns it into whimsical wall hangings.
“I turned all my weird little talents that were useless into one thing that, now in this context, there isn’t anything like it,” he said. “I found my place; it’s like the land of misfit toys, you know? I didn’t even know who I was until I started making this.”
He said like-minded people are drawn to his art, and he loves talking to them.
“I draw weird people to my booth; people looking for fine paintings are not coming into my booth,” he said. “I draw people who pick things off the ground and think that a cigarette butt is interesting. We’re a tribe and get together again.”
Berg said his previous jobs put a lot of pressure on him to do things the “correct” way, so his art purposely defies structure and boundaries.
“I work with materials, like it’s junk,” he said. “You can’t ruin that, you can only make it better. I can’t make a mistake, and I used to always be afraid of making a mistake.”
ANGEL FIRE
Jennifer Cavan —oil pastels
Cavan paints old adobe buildings and landscapes, and tries to capture the “essence” of the place instead of the physical likeness. Her work features bright reds, greens and blues, and she was selected to be a featured artist at the Arts and Crafts Fair.
She said she’s been painting similar subject matter since she first entered the fair more than nine years ago.
“We basically dropped out, quit our jobs, moved to New Mexico (from Chicago), bought an old fixer-upper and a few years later I figured out this style,” she said.
She said her art is appealing to locals, and that she sold many pieces.
“I think my subject matter is appealing to people who live in New Mexico because it’s very New Mexican,” she said. “Everybody here is from New Mexico; most of the shows I do is people from all over the country or all over the world.”
PLACITAS
Sarena Mann —papier-mâché
Mann creates small, brightly colored female figures that hang from the ceiling in dance-like poses. Her booth assistant Susan Kerr said Mann attended UNM, but never graduated.
“I think she spent about 10 years and never graduated — she was busy doing art,” Kerr said.
Kerr said Mann first made an acrobat figurine to give to a friend’s baby, and soon other friends were asking for them. She now sells her work throughout Albuquerque, including inside the Sunport. She said Mann’s main audience is middle-aged women.
“In my opinion, it’s a funny combination of they look fragile, but they also look strong and free,” Kerr said. “So we sell mostly to adult women, and it sort of captures that sense for women especially. And younger people are fascinated by the movement.”
