The Plaza Art Fair

While rhythm and balance have eluded me the past month and a half, I feel things starting to even out a bit, and I'm finding my niche.  I've even enjoyed exploring the city some more, which I'm grateful for.

So now, without further delay, it's time to write a "Hello, Kansas City!" post.

The weather this weekend was just beautiful, perfect for going to the 81st annual Plaza Art Fair.

The Plaza Art Fair draws all sorts of people, which I love.  Old, young, couples, families, homeless, ma and pop, hipsters, middle-aged hoity-toities...all kinds.  It's the Ferris Bueller of Art Shows I suppose.  Everyone loves it.  And now, I'm included in that mix.

It's hosted each September at the Plaza which is several blocks of high-end stores in midtown and thus beckons one to pronounce it like the "Plaaaaza" (a la Mr. and Mrs. Howard from Gilligan's Island).

I went with my new friend Liz who I met at my church small group I recently joined.  We meet on Tuesdays.  Liz is a refreshingly easy person to be with.

This Art Fair has completely free admission and features 240 artists from around the country and 3 live music stages.  You walk around and just pop into different booths that look interesting to you.  All kinds of art - photography, painting, glasswork, pottery, croche, comic art (not my favorite), and art that I didn't quite know what category it fit into.  Is there a category called Weird art?

I've always enjoyed watching potters do their thing.  If there's a PBS show on pottery making, I just may stop and watch it.  I heard that potters always have one hand on the inside that is doing the forming and one hand on the outside to steady the piece.  The spiritual analogy here is beautiful, isn't it?

There is one potter community in India, I learned, that after taking the pottery from the heat, they SMASH the pottery to the ground!  It breaks into several jagged pieces.  "Oh no!  Why??!," I said inwardly (and maybe outwardly), when I was first learning about this.

Well, come to find out - the potter gathers each piece from the floor, then proceeds to put the pieces back together, weaving a gold thread between each crack.  The piece is now more beautiful and has its maker's signature mark.

Liz and I taking in the sights and sounds of the 2012 Plaza Art Fair

I had such a good time that the next day, I successfully lured Matt away from the books for a little while and brought him to the Art Fair too.  It's good for him to see the outside world and enjoy some culture.


Here are some images of Matt not studying.

 

Matt doesn't love to pose for pictures (I don't blame him), so this shot was captured by discreetly reaching my hand up with my camera while we were observing this painting.

I did make the mistake of calling one artist's art "simple."  I meant it as a compliment because I love the simplicity of a single photographed subject.  But as soon as I said the word "simple," she grimaced a little.  I felt embarrassed and noted to myself to leave adjectives out of my compliments to artists.  From then on, I opted to just say, "I love your work." 

I'm already excited to go again next year.  Thank you, Lord, for providing fun, free recreation for us.