Naperville art show lures buyers

Some folks in Pat McGuinn's life are going to be receiving some pretty snappy gifts this year.

The Naperville woman's hands were full Saturday after an hour and a half of prowling around the Naper Settlement's grounds inspecting the 100-plus artist's booths that are up through 5 p.m. Sunday.

"I love original art because it's the best gift to give," McGuinn said. "I like to look around at everything first and then come back to the booths that stuck with me. I think I'm done for the day, but there's something I may pick up on the way out."

While the artists displaying their wares at the Naperville Woman's Club's 51st Annual Fine Art Fair say crowds at the event are usually lighter than some other fairs, they all agree that the customers come to buy.

"That's why I'm here. It's my living," said travel photographer Paul Prorok of Chicago. "Many of these people travel a lot and have an emotional connection to my pictures."

Organizers are hopeful the abundance of buying customers at the event crosses over to the charitable end as well. Each artist contributes a piece for a silent auction held every year, with proceeds going to Naperville food pantries.

"It's really a perfect fit because Naperville is very charitable to begin with and the city as a whole is very art friendly, too," said Roxanne Lang, chairwoman of the event.

Lang said 40 percent of the artists at the event are new this year after organizers put registration applications online for the first time. With 105 booths, there are 15 more artists than last year.

Lang said awards handed out at the event are a big deal to the artists who receive them, and the woman's club makes sure to line up judges who know what to look for when making decisions. Twelve awards are handed out by the club, with $2,500 in prize money divvied up among the winners.

This is ceramic artist Jill Tortorella's second year at the event and she's a returning award-winner.

"There are a lot of art shows going on this weekend and I was torn about which one to go to, but the award was a deciding factor in coming back," the Antioch artist said.

So was the business. Tortorella sent out postcards to the customers who bought from her last year offering a 10 percent discount on her "functional stoneware" this year.

"I had six people with those postcards waiting for me when the tent opened up this morning," she beamed.