Folk art festival is an alternative to the mall crawl

To call Kristen Sunby a "can-do'' person is a huge understatement. Give her a spice container, a mustard can, a clove box - the older, the better - and she's immediately busy fashioning an entire "population'' of characters that create smiles. It's uncanny.

Christened "Canfolk," they represent a diverse crowd of tiny colorful creatures she will bring to the 32nd Autumn Country Folk Art Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-18, at Kane County Fairgrounds.

Sunby, a Round Lake Beach mom and former high school art and English teacher, says she was inspired by her mother, crafter Karen Bernabe. Making Canfolk is a family affair. Kristen designs them and fashions their heads, arms and legs of paper clay, which her father then attaches with wires. Her mother's repurposing skills and vast array of supplies decorate and finish them.

"How cool it is to showcase these old cans, making them a sustainable pleasure,'' says Sunby, one of some 50 exhibitors at The Country Folk Art Festival, judged as one of America's top shows of its type for many years. The strictly juried market offers the unique work of a solid lineup of some of the country's most prominent artisans who personally present their work to the public.

The festival is produced by Robin Reed, CEO of Art of the Heartland Inc., a family-owned enterprise that presents several other prestigious Fox Valley area shows. Reed leads a show management team of her five adult children and their spouses, all of whom concentrate on creating a fun shopping experience for buyers seeking one-of-a-kind decor and gifts never available at the mall.

The work of Chicago design artist Alan Baker is an example. Like Sunby, Baker enjoys coaxing smiles from those who see his work. His medium? Gourds - inedible, hard shelled members of the squash and pumpkin family.

Baker's involvement with gourds began when his gardener dad gifted him with a bushel of them. Whittling a few into birdhouses, he started sensing figures and animals hidden beneath the tough exteriors. Challenged to release them, Baker began adding wood, clay and fiber to achieve wacky, sometimes spooky, but always folky results.

Like Baker, Tony Costanza, often heralded as one of America's most popular and prolific creative carvers, has no trouble getting the material he works with to whisper its future in his ear.

"Each piece of wood I hold shows me its potential … whether it's to become a witch, an Uncle Sam, an angel … I just facilitate its release,'' says Costanza, who abandoned a career as a language arts teacher for a Chicago-area school and moved to Wisconsin. There he harvests an abundance of wood he then transforms into stylized seasonal décor including Santas and Halloween figures, along with other remarkable images some say resemble the artist himself.

The work of artist and author Will Moses is heralded as classic Americana and has long been a staple of The Country Folk Art Festival. This year, Moses introduces his newest painting, "Sunflower Bay.'' It is a departure from the snowy New England days he often recreates on canvas.

"Because last winter outlived its welcome, I needed the break I took in creating an endless wave of beautiful, bright sunflowers on the hillside of an azure bay," he says. The great-grandson of Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma Moses), Will is largely self-taught. Moses works from his studio, Mt. Nebo Gallery, located in the upstate Eagle Bridge, New York, home of his famous matriarch.

Also right up there in classic appeal is the totally handcrafted work of Minnesota furniture maker Jim Van Hoven, who will enjoy the best seat in town when he comes to The Country Folk Art Festival. It will be one Van Hoven himself makes during the 2½-day show.

As the public watches, Van Hoven will create a Windsor tall stool - a classic 18th century-style chair used by store keepers of that era. Hand tools rather than any machinery are all that touch his chairs. And he uses only a traditional trinity of wood species: maple because it is easy to turn, pine because it carves well, and oak because it bends successfully.

"Each has its own purpose in building a Windsor chair,'' he says.

As Van Hoven's chair comes together, Bill Morse is busy raising cane. Actually showing how he restores cane and rush seated chairs.

Reed recruits artisans willing to demonstrate their work as she prepares for The Country Folk Art Festival.

"People love to watch hands-on or interactive activities,'' Reed says, recalling how show visitors are eager to line up for a yummy sample of one of chef Terry Reisterer's confections. She returns to the festival this year to feature a flavored vinegar or infused olive oil from the Bema and Pa's Collection.

Or adults - youngsters, too - who can't wait to have fiber magician Natasha Lehrer help transform a piece of gold fleece into a charming autumn leaf decoration. Lehrer's Esther's Place Fiber Arts Studio, headquartered in Big Rock, features wool from local Illinois flocks, including Cheviot sheep from Lehrer's own Lamb of God Farm. Its Victorian setting offers classes and retreats in hand spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet, mixed media, needle felting, wet felting and sustainable farming.

Need a ring? South Barrington silversmith Corrie Rosati puts an affordable, stylish ring together as a customer waits. Choose from sterling silver, bronze or brass. Rosati's Trailer Trash Jewelry specializes in handcrafted etched bracelets, mixed media metal necklaces and enameled pendants and rings.

These artisans represent the tip of the iceberg at The Country Folk Art Festival. There's truly something for everyone at reasonable price points.

Check out Peggy Teich's hooked rugs, Virginia Stibbe's pressed flowers, Penny Burns' Nantucket baskets, Chris Robinson's eclectic folk art, Rebecca Phillips' floor cloths, Joanna Bolton's papier-mâché collection, Nick Englehardt's watercolors, Nancy Gissedaner's china jewelry. We could go on forever.

Come on over and see for yourself.

If you go

<span class="fact box text bold">What:</span> The 32nd Annual Country Folk Art Festival

<span class="fact box text bold">When:</span> 5-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26; 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27; 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28

<span class="fact box text bold">Where:</span> Robinson Hall, The Kane County Fairgrounds, 525 S. Randall Road, one mile west of downtown St. Charles between North Avenue (Route 64) and Roosevelt Road (Route 38). All exhibits are under roof.

<span class="fact box text bold">Admission:</span> $8 Friday, $6 Saturday and $4 Sunday. Mention Facebook to save $1 at the door. Children younger than 15 attend free. Ask about group rates. Strollers are welcome.

<span class="fact box text bold">Producer:</span> Art of the Heartland Inc.

<span class="fact box text bold">Information: </span>(815) 772-3279, rareed57@yahoo.com or www.artoftheheartlandinc.com

Homemade food and refreshments are available.