May 25, 2005

Young artists exhibit creative side

Spring Children's Art Fair features hand-made cards, bookmarks and jewelry

By
Herald staff writer

Young artisans put their talents on exhibit during the Spring Children's Art Fair held in conjunction with the Northwestern Michigan College BBQ last weekend.
The annual fair, sponsored by the Great Lakes Children's Museum, featured the creations of craftspeople, between the ages of six and 17, from the Traverse City area.
"I've been working on making cards for two months," said 13-year-old Margaret Barley, a student at Leelanau St. Mary's School.
Barley, an avid scrapbook artist, designed cards using the techniques she has picked up along the way.
"I really like scrapbooking and working with different paper. I like to make cards for my friends too, so I decided to put the two together and make something to sell," Barley said.
Brother and sister Kristian and Brittany Burton also spent many hours preparing for the art fair. Their garden stones and doorstops, created by affixing pebbles to larger rocks in a pleasing design, were among the many items for sale.
"We've been working on these for three or four weeks. We had fun making them," said seven-year-old Brittany.
Displays of bookmarks, beaded jewelry and woven pot holders were also among the offerings.