Arden Fair, Art Show

Arden, Delaware is a special place to live. Once a year the center of the village is transformed by many volunteers into a Fair grounds for the Arden Fair and Antiques Market held the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. The Fair features children’s games and rides, handmade crafts by over 100 vendors, an Antiques Market, used books, plants, live music in the Shady Grove, food and drink, an art exhibit, and more. Proceeds from the Fair help maintain the Arden Gild Hall, where the public can enjoy concerts, musicals, plays, dances, suppers, and programs throughout the year.

The role I play is curation of the Art Show in the Backstage Gallery of the Gild Hall. It is always someone who lives in Arden, Adentown or Ardencroft,and often it is one featured artist. This year I sent out a call for entries to all women artists. The gallery which is used as a green room for Shakespeare productions and musical performers throughout the year, needed to be painted, thanks Shari Phalan for helping! Then Barbara Henry and I installed 37 pieces of artwork that coincidentally was the exactly right amount of artwork for the space. The mediums and techniques ran the gamut and included metal piercing, quilting, traditional rug hooking, oil painting, watercolor painting, nuno felting, shibori dying, restoration of leather chaps, pastel drawing, colored pencil drawing and ceramic and metal sculpting. Women Artists of the Ardens are a group of pretty talented individuals. But I have to give one shout out to a man. Alton Dahl does the machine stitching on Bev's beautiful quilts and he installed the ceiling lights Friday morning that made the show the success it was. Without him I don't know how anyone would have seen anything. The feedback was great and many stories were shared in typical Arden fashion. Thanks to everyone that participated. My photos aren't great. Sorry, Rhys I didn't get your work in the pictures and Shari, sorry your's is cropped.

Participating Artists:

Beverley Barnett, quilting,
Naomi Clark, metal piercing,
Hunter Clarke, painting,
Linda Celestian, painting and silk sculpture,
Ellen Dolmetsch, traditional hooked rugs,
Barbara Henry, nuno felted wearables,
Bunni Hurlong, pastel drawing,
Judith Kay, photography,
Rhys McClure, colored pencil,
Eleanore Morrow, oil painting,
Betty O’Regan, hand-made paper and collage,
Jeanne Orr, watercolor,
Erica Orr, pen and watercolor,
Linda Parks, ceramic and metal sculpture,
Shari Phalan, restoration of leather chaps and wreath,
Toby Ridings, cyanotypes,
Marjorie Roberts, oil painting,
Jeanne Stigler, oil painting and appliqued quilt,
Dorothy Verne, oil painting.