Wheaton puts art front and center
Whether shopping for that perfect room-finishing ceramic piece or a funky acrylic wall-hanging, downtown Wheaton is the place to be for one more day.
The Downtown Wheaton Association will wrap up the sixth annual Wheaton Fine Art Fair this afternoon.
About 100 artists from as far as Florida and Maryland are vying for prizes and selling their wares during the juried, outdoor fest.
For potter Ken Nance of Villa Park, however, some of the weekend's best prizes came in form of curious children who were fascinated by his kiln.
"I love it when they come up and try to figure out what I'm doing," he said Saturday while working on a small ceramic. "I'll ask what they see in here and then I'll make whatever they see. They love that."
Some of this year's highlighted artists include Tommy Michael from Louisiana, Mo., a self-described "American modernist" painter who specializes in abstract acrylic paintings. Miky Cunningham, a ceramic artist from Iowa and one of the winners of last year's prizes at the Wheaton art fair, has also returned.
"We like it here and the people are really nice," Cunningham said Saturday, taking a break during one of the day's heavy rains.
Of all the event's displays, few drew longer lines than the children's art displays created during the DuPage Art League's Children's Drop-in Project on July 14. But none of their works, which included drawings of flowers, mermaids and even some baseball stadiums were for sale.
"We asked them to price them for us but they wanted to keep their drawings so they can pick them up Monday," said the league's Carol Kincaid. "I have a feeling some grand parents will have some full refrigerators by next week."
The fest continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at Main Street and Liberty Drive.