Kentuck - o - rama

Well, what a show this was. Fun. Fresh. Freezing cold, not necessarily in that order, the cold sort of lurked underneath it all.

First of all, the fun. In addition to being an art show, this is also a music festival which attracts terrific groups, mainly southern musicians. My booth was situated close enough to one stage to hear some of the music and it was neat to hear groups who were new to me. Such as The Avett Brothers (what a hoot!) and the Pine Hill Haints. The music was blues meets country meets rock with that southern influence thrown in for good measure.

Fresh refers to the artists, many who I had never met before. You see, all year long I've been part of this roving band of gypsy artists traveling from show to show, where I see largely the same people every weekend. But this was sooooo different. I met Chris Hubbard, standing next to his Heaven and Hell car, in the first photo. Click on the link to read more about Chris; a really neat guy. I would have bought some of his art if he hadn't sold nearly ALL of it by the time I met him early on Sunday morning (hence the atmospheric fog hadn't yet cleared). I don't know who owns the other car but I saw it in the parking lot every day. I can't see doing this to my beloved Saab(at least not just yet), but I enjoy seeing Art Cars.

Below is the space that was next to Chris. I didn't meet the artist, but his medium is 5 gallon plastic buckets which he melts down and fashions into his art. He is sort of a legend and was working with a gallery owner when I happened to be over there, so naturally I didn't interrupt. Clearly, he has quite a following. I believe he and Chris were both "Guest Artists" which means the festival invites them to attend, they don't actually jury in like the rest of the crowd. It seemed like most of the "known" folk artists were guests of the festival. It was fascinating to see such an amazing range of folk art, from painted rocks to found object assemblages to funky fiber, quite an assortment. I was so rocked by the show in general. I would love to do it again and hope I get in next year. Even if I don't get in, I think I would attend just because it's that cool and that fun; really something to see and experience.

The last picture shows the back hoe removing water that had accumulated after a heavy rain on Saturday night created several "lakes" throughout the park. Ugh, what a mess. Luckily, we were on high ground, so it didn't affect us, but it was horrible for some booths and the festival staff did an amazing job removing water and placing wood chips on the ground.


And freezing, well yes, it was that too. Supposed to be mid-70's all weekend, but we awoke to 38 degrees the first day with a projected high of 70. It's pretty hard to make a clothing selection that will cover such a wide temperature swing - can you say layers? And despite my 5 layers, I was still very cold for the first 3 hours of the day. That was before John located small Coleman Propane heaters (which he bought for me & 2 of my friends). I put that thing under my chair and nearly set my ass on fire. Which felt really really good.