West suburban artists on display at Kaneland High fine arts festival

The gawkers don't bother Brian Zapien. When the South Elgin illustrator is immersed in his work, outside distractions just disappear.

"There could be 20 people behind me," Zapien said during a break from stenciling a photo of U.S. Cellular Field. "I won't even notice it."

Zapien was among the dozens of artists who came to Kaneland High School Sunday for its Fine Arts Festival. The annual arts showcase brings together a collection of painters, actors, musicians, woodcarvers and other artists from the area.

"With this being such a rural district, it's hard for people to get out to Chicago to the museums and opera houses," said Colleen Grigg, a teacher at John Shields Elementary in Sugar Grove. "So we wanted to bring the art to them."

Organizers spent the last year raising about $25,000 in grants and sponsorships to attract the artists to the western Kane County school. They were expecting about 2,000 people to visit throughout the day.

About 500 pieces of student photos, paintings and other artwork were scattered throughout the hallways. Meanwhile, in the student cafeteria, more than a dozen visual artists were displaying their wares.

Among the artists included cartoonist Angel Medina. The Montgomery resident, who makes his living freelancing for Marvel Comics, had a wide-ranging display of drawings in different stages of development.

"You'd be surprised to know how many of these artists who work for places like Marvel live in quiet communities," Medina said. "During the summer, I'm outside working for most of the day in my back yard."

Zapien makes his living touring the fine arts fair circuit in the Chicago area, selling his hand-stenciled drawings of Chicago landmarks such as the Berghoff Restaurant, the Marshall Field's building and Millennium Park's "Bean" sculpture.

"The best way to describe it is that I just see things in shapes," Zapien said. "It's not a bad living."