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Show "l 1 i ,1. i 1 , u 5J f JA. "" ' & : -n. -T"! "HI. , , ' ,"- - "W - i ' afiriwr;!'!' -1 "V , -" .J-T V - r" " " i " 1 yz. .. - k - "- . . ' Z ; ,, "7 """-" -i I if .,- " " "-:" J I I V 1 I 1 r ' v,.v p. JL V-' '1 I V I J f X , ! I l-;".v Yl5 Sarah Palmer test drives a giraffe 1 built for one. I 1 in n 1 n wimiriinni n I Michael Loeffler advertises "coverings to protect and embellish your head." photos by Nan Chalat I I Leatherworker June Rettig displays a mountain I I version of high-top spats. vAst Festival: Variety in style and price loosens the tightest wallets by NAN CilAIAT Record staff writer After attending a few art festivals it is easy to become hard-nosed and suspicious of most of what is loosely called "fine art" these days. So experienced festival-goers tend to approach the Park City event with one eyebrow lowered menacingly and their wallets firmly velcroed into a back pocket. Last weekend on Main Street was no exception. But the general consensus after the early-goers had perused the street Saturday morning was that this year's festival participants truly deserved to be called artists. By Saturday noon, those wallets were being severely depleted and shuttle bus passengers leaving the festival were laden with odd shaped bags and packages. The artists were smiling, too, as they busily described their work, made change and carefully packaged porcelain bowls, glass vases, paintings, paint-ings, prints and photographs. "It is a great festival. It always draws a crowd and I do really well," said Hatterdasher Michael Loeffler, whose cap-lined booth and sewing machine have become a familiar part of the Park City Art Festival. Other familiar faces included Arizona flute makers Rod and Ginger Baird and local artists Al Bench (leatherwork), Pete Park (stained glass), Chris Geer (woodwork and stained glass), Judy Summer (sculpture (sculp-ture and jewelry) and Roger Fuller (jewelry). But if those walking the street decided this year to pass up these familiar booths figuring they had already seen the work last year, they missed something. Rod Baird's attitude typified how these artists feel about repeat performances at the Park City Art Festival. j "I didn't want the jury to. think shall we have the flute guy again? We've seen that stuff. So we invetlte"dTrTiew instrument and we promise to have another one every year." The new addition to the Bairds' booth this year was a gourd kalimba, a variation on the traditional tradi-tional handmade "thumb piano" which originated in Africa. For those who invested in bamboo flutes in years past, the kalimba was a natural addition to the ensemble. But what is a festival with a few exotic surprises? The assembly of art on Main Street was no disappointment disappoint-ment in this area either. First-time entries included graceful wind sculptures, flying dragon rocking horses, enameled maple bead jewelry, hand-woven baskets and intricate wood jigsaw puzzles. Last weekend's festival will also probably be remembered as the year of the mask. Past Art Festivals have always had their mini-fads from wind socks to kalidescopes. This year it was booths touting variations on the masquerade ball theme. For the most part, however, the street artists seemed to have learned from experience and were offering a wide price and taste range within their particular mediums. Ceramic artists offered inexpensive inexpen-sive bird feeders along with more pricey and daring urns and vases. A woodworker included in his booth 1 everything from a $4 spagetti r calculator to a $1,000 wall-mounted roll-top desk. The combination seemed to work well for both the shoppers and the artists. I I , 1 1 A I Sarah Palmer test drives a giraffe f ,1 t f built for one. , K j " ' ' '' " I I ' f ' - - ' I f . , f -i " .' f . . Michael Thiele has designed a , f ,R,11V t - music box that doesn't have to I ' s """Nv I . bewounduP- - C S A .'' ' ft' , -iXiir- -f .-v j w , w" . O .-. ' . - 5-" . ' . ' . !"",f i . J Music maker Knri Hairri tickles a kalimba. , ''i . rr' " I " - ' i-l ; - f ii,....-.- t . - V -' V ' 1 ' iM""" I ! |