© Eric Beauchamp
Setting aside the traditional artist tools and replacing them with an energized stylus of his own design. the artist directs the application of a high voltage charge to capture the movement of electrical current on wood.
To enhance the captured burns the artist employs several different techniques to introduce color, depth and shading to the works. Gun powders, wood dyes, powdered metals, resins, and encaustic waxes are all utilized to complete the works.
© Xavier Nuez
My images are long exposures at night while lighting the scene with battery powered colored lights - they are not digital effects. Thru my lighting, these dark corners become beautiful, theatrical and almost whimsical versions of the real world.
The final photos are archival inkjet or metal prints.
© Kwame Boama Mensa-Aborampa
My name is Kwame Boama Mensa-Aborampa. I create to portray how I see nature and exhibit the artistic gift in me. My works are easily identifiable not merely through my style but by the subjects I depict. In my mind and thoughts, nature abounds with the aesthetic fullness thereof and as an artist I only try to mimic what is already present in nature. I get the best out of me by using acrylic paint, brush, and knife.
© Inna Deriy
I am a developer of my own technique of painting with segmented polymer resins on canvas, wood and slate. Other mixed media is also used. Foils, metal powders, resins, stones and re-claimed wood. I apply materials to canvas in multiple layers, allowing them to dry sequentially, mixing in pigments of choice and other media. My creations have a 3-D feel to them due to raised textures.
I call my technique Liquid Mosaic.
© Barbara Nelson
2021 Booth #67
I am inspired by modern and postmodern architecture. For me the real pleasure comes from working with the materials and achieving each piece as perfectly as it is in my mind's eye. I want to create my art in a way that engages everyone, including children. I want the viewer to be encouraged to learn more about the elements of art and maybe move some of them to begin their own journey.
My formal training is in apparel design but when I picked up my first piece of silver I was smitten. I use the same principles in my jewelry as I did in designing apparel. Fit, drape, proportion, balance, texture and construction combine to become a unique piece of personal adornment. I use metals like I would use fabric but with very different tools. I use steel stamps and a one pound mallet to apply texture. I use hammers and mandrels to form the metal. The components are joined by soldering with a torch. The end result is a unique piece of wearable art.
A local tree trimming company gives me a constant supply of high-quality logs, that would otherwise be burned. These logs of oak, hickory, ash, maple, and walnut are then split to size using wedges and a sledge. This technique, as opposed to sawing, ensures straight wood fibers in my chairs providing uncompromising strength. The seats for traditional styles are hand carved from eastern white pine or tulip poplar while butternut, walnut and ambrosia maple are used for contemporary designs. One of my contributions to the craft is making a more room version of each chair to customize my chairs to the individual. I plan to build these chairs for the next 20 years and hope to pass these skills on to the next generation! Awards and Recognition I won the blue ribbon for Best in Show at the Naperville Fine Arts & Artisan Fair in 2021.
Jacksonville IL
© Joyce Surbeck-Harris
2021 Booth #66
Each of my pieces is one of a kind and made in the tradition of my ancestors. Each is hand burnished with a stone smoked, fumed or embellished with horse hair. Due to the nature of the processes no two pieces can be identical. Approximately one third of the display will be carved and polished. My clay body is my own recipe that produces a porcelain-like finish. All sculptured pieces are done individually and by hand..
© Anna Repke
Made from my dyed wool, at a distance, the pictures actually look like paintings. Then as people do a double take, they realize these pictures have incredible texture and life! I lay out the dry fluffy wool into my desired design, sometimes I will include other fibers such as silk, bamboo, flax, camel, buffalo... you get the idea, and then get it wet, massage it, turning it into felt. After it is rinsed and dried, I will poke tiny fibers into it to create the desired details. Some of the pieces have added machine stitching to give even greater texture and design. I then stretch them over a frame just like you would with canvas.
Most of my work is based on nature and landscapes. However a fairy has been know to sneak in at times. Coming from an oil painter background, I find such delight in being able to paint, sculpt, and play with fibers all at the same time. I truly have found my passion.
© Hironobu Nishitateno
I create Japanese-style functional pottery from stoneware on the potter’s wheel. My shapes and designs reflect Japanese simplicity as well as elegant functionality. My glazes are all handmade and tested, the main ingredient being hand-processed natural ash, which complete my pieces with an organic look. I enjoy including rare details in pieces, such as the time-consuming mishima stamping process and hand-built fine-holed ceramic strainers in the spouts of my teapots to catch tea leaves.
Decatur, IL
© Darren Miller
2020 Booth
My work engages contemplations of the dance. The interconnected and spacial working together to form a symbiotic whole. Juxtaposing intractable metal with fluidity of motion.
Robbiewear
Chicago, IL
2022 Booth #50
The leather handbag's unique shapes and surface art are created using wet forming or heat forming techniques. Quality leather is selected for its colors and textures.
© Sylvester Robbie Robinson
Chicago, IL
2022 Booth #15
Handbuilt, carved, and painstakingly glazed ceramic sculpture and wall sculpture. Drawing on architectural influences, fabric design & modern ceramics, these elements mix to create Modern Artifacts.
© Gregory Story
StellaLily Studio
Chicago, IL
2017 booth # 32A
I hand print my photographs on fiber paper and mount them onto painted birch panels. I add lacquer, UV coating and hand pour resin over the whole piece. This adds depth and a clean finish. I also hand transfer my photos onto white marble. The paper is removed and I add multiple layer of acrylic to the surface. Cork is then added to the back. These can be used as coasters or small pieces of affordable art.
© Juana Ryan
Josh Merrill Photography
Lisle, IL
2017 booth #.
The artist creates compelling photographs of the natural world with a unique vision and skilled use of color. He then prints, mats, and frames with the highest quality archival substrates.
© Josh Merrill
© Oscar Matos Linares
2023 Booth #89
Through my images, I seek to express inner tranquility and peace. My work is shown on both metal and traditional paper prints.
S.K Photography
Chicago, IL
2017 booth #.
Most of my photographs were taken in the moving clouds and mist, which result in strong pictorial effects. They express the exquisite and tranquility of nature. I try to merge the tradition with the modern, the East with the West. The more you look at my works, the more you will enjoy them and relax yourself.
All my works are produced using traditional photography techniques and tools. Some of my works are combinations of two or three negatives. I have tried to show in my works special atmosphere, best pictorial layout accurate colors. Rich layers and finest framing.
© Sunny Liang
Crystal Lake, IL
© Lisa Williams
2023 Booth #133
My work encompasses all aspects of jewelry making. Each piece is a unique hand fabricated design from silver flat sheet and wire with emphasis on comfort of wearability and elegance. To manipulate the metal, I employ an array of techniques, including hammering, hollowware, rollprinting, marriage of metals, etching, and tool fabrication. My designs boast an urban flair characterized by delicate and intricate textures.
I derive my inspiration for textures, shapes, lines and patterns from simple details that surround us everyday and everywhere. My studio is filled with natural elements I have collected over the years.
Among my greatest sources of inspiration is a box of “ metal things,” including scrap, as well as my
own experimental designs, in various stages, which
I save and use to spark imagination and evolution.
I earned a BFA in Design with an emphasis in
metalsmithing from the University of Kansas. I also
studied jewelry design and adornment at Elmhurst
Art Museum. I have been doing various art shows
around Illinois for the past 18 years.
Jewels Botanica
Round Lake Beach, IL
2017 booth # 74A
My jewelry features glass with real leaves from my garden fused inside. As the glass melts, the leaves burn and the carbon is permanently trapped within. The glass is adhered onto texturized, fine silver pieces which I’ve created out of Precious Metal Clay. I’ve also wrapped the glass with hand-twisted, 14k gold and sterling silver wire. As my garden always has an element of unpredictability, so too do the leaves inside the glass. Many leaves burn-out during the firing process making opening the kiln a surprise. Every piece of my glass is as unique as the leaves held within.
© Jacqueline Bevan
Batavia, IL
2017 booth # 136
Glass sculptures,and vessels; multiple layers of glass,kiln formed and cold worked.With glass bases
© Micheal Thompson