St. Charles Fine Arts Show battles the heat

Last year was the first year Grayslake ceramist Neil Estrick participated in the St. Charles Fine Arts Show, and he ended up packing up his merchandise early because of extreme rain.

This year “is the complete opposite,” Estrick said Sunday.

Blazing sun and temperatures in the mid-90s had people wishing for a happy medium between the two extremes during the 14th annual show in downtown St. Charles.

However, sales seemed to be pretty steady for the two-day festival, which also included live music and trolley tours. Nancy Lilly, of St. Charles, browsed the artist tents Sunday with her husband and large shaggy dog. All of them were ready for air conditioning before long but only after the purchase of an oil and pastel painting.

“I would stay longer, but it’s so hot,” Lilly said.

Lilly said the quality of the work at the show is high and there were plenty of interesting items for sale this year.

The juried art show selects roughly 100 artists to set up booths at the show. Artists from as far away as California and Florida were selected to sell items like jewelry, sculptures, photos, paintings, fiber art and wood carvings.

Heide Hughes, chairman of the show’s patron committee, said the quality of the artists has been steadily improving over the years, especially with the introduction of patron awards, where local people pledge to spend a certain amount at the show each year.

On Saturday alone, almost $24,000 in patron purchases were made, Hughes said. Artists like Estrick displayed their patron award ribbons near their merchandise, adding flair to the lines of booths.

While the show has basically reached capacity when it comes to the number of artists, organizers say there is always something else to improve.

“Now the effort is about making it always fresh,” said John Hughes, Heide’s husband and another festival organizer.

About 60 percent of artists return from one year to the next, so Hughes said the goal in filling the rest of the spaces is to find people who are at least as good as those they are replacing.