August 20, 2003
27th Annual Downtown Art Fair draws variety of vendors to TC
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Chairs = smiles.
This is a simple formula Sandy Kirchinger discovered a few years ago after painting one chair for her home and a few more for friends. From that humble beginning - she found that first chair as a throw-away on the side of the road - the Hastings resident now has a flourishing art business called Sitable Art.
As passerby at the 27th Annual Downtown Art Show caught a glimpse of her bright, witty and fun chairs, the smiles dawned and the children hurried up for a test drive. They petted the cow fabric covering - a garage sale find Kirchinger netted for 75 cents - and oohed and aahed at the geometric designs, bright flowers and whimsical themes. One chair with a cut out back called for a garden theme, she said, pointing to a lush garden covering a chair's back, sides, legs and seat.
"Almost everyone stops to look and most people smile," said Kirchinger, who has channeled her lifelong interest in the arts into painting chairs and accessories. "Kids always want to sit on them, which is fine because they are coated and I really want the chairs to be practical art that people put in their home and use."
After looking and smiling, Kirchinger said, the stories begin.
"Of course, everyone wants to tell me about the chairs they have in the basement," she said, smiling herself. "So you really get to be a chair therapist, which is fine with me."
Kirchinger was one of nearly 100 vendors at the 27th Annual Downtown Art Fair, an annual juried event that draws hundreds of visitors to a forest of white tents on Cass Street. All day Saturday, artists displayed everything from painting, photographs and pottery to jewelry, garden ornaments and clothing.
The media were as varied as the results: stained glass, clay, wood, metal, fabric, plastic and even knives and spoons fashioned into wind chimes. Even gourds weighed in, as one booth featured purses, lamps, bird feeders and birdhouses made from oversized gourds.
The event was not just a static display of wares: musicians played, a glass blower made beads and another vendor fashioned jewelry and charms from recycled auto parts.
Mike Fitzgerald of Hartland staffed his tent filled with Twirly Whirlies, a toy he invented seven years ago. Shaping pieces of plastic to wire just so, the Twirly Whirly will wiffle and spin at the flick of a hand, delighting young and old. He and his family attend 40 art shows a year from Kentucky to Wisconsin to Michigan. While Fitzgerald and his son were in Traverse City, his wife was at another art fair downstate.
"This is what we do on weekends," said Fitzgerald, a toolmaker for auto companies during the week. "You get to know everybody on the circuit and you also see people come and go. Most of the crafters are retired and want something to do."
The downtown art show draws a group of friends every year who are sharing a Mom's Weekend Out excursion. Cindy Wilson of Romeo was in town for two days of shopping, touring and fun with two of her friends. The trio also took in the art fair, one of the highlights of their annual visits for the past nine years.
"We come every year before school starts, staying at one of the beach resorts on the bay," said Wilson, noting that the group usually numbers eight members but kids starting college this month kept many moms home.
"We do some Christmas shopping at the show but we mainly come just to look at everything," she said while waiting for a custom bead a vendor was making for her.