Annual Fair of the Arts brings variety to town

Saturday was the opening day the annual Fair of the Arts, hosted at the Brick Plaza adjacent to the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market \nin downtown Bloomington.\nThe fair will be held the second Saturday of every month from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.\nOne of the new artists featured this year is Kieran O’Connor, who uses lavender plants to produce art. Though he and his wife had been approached to take part in the fair before, they had prior commitments to other fairs in the past and were unable to come.\n“We’ve been very well accepted,” he said. “We are very pleased.”\nO’Connor took interest in lavender while he was contemplating retirement from the Indianapolis Fire Department. This marks their sixth season growing the plant.\n“No one else is doing it,” he said. “It’s the most popular herb in the world right now.”\nOil for medicinal purposes, an insect repellent, candles, tea, lotions and pottery can all be made from the lavender plant. O’Connor presented all of these products at the fair.\nOther vendors brought wood crafts, photography, glass art, gourd art, handmade soaps and rubber jewelry. Bloomington \n Parks and Recreation’s Community Events Coordinator Leslie Kaiser said that there was something for everyone.\n“There’s really quite a bit of variety there,” she said.\nSue Westhues, who does gourd art, brought a variety of her work to the fair. Some of the crafts she brought were gourd birds, containers, birdhouses and dolls. Westhues said she loved the fair because it’s close to home and comfortable for her to do.\n“It’s a very enjoyable morning,” she said. “I just wish they had it more than once a month.”\nThe fair also offered adoptable pets from the Monroe County Animal Shelter. Saturday, four dogs and two cats were available for adoption. Representatives from the shelter come to the Farmers’ Market every weekend.\nDr. Jo Liska, who represents the shelter, said these events are generally successful in adopting out animals.\n“We usually get a lot of interest,” she said.\nShe added that people typically come to the shelter after seeing the animals at the fair and the Farmers’ Market.\nJeweler Terry Taylor-Norbu also showed a wide array of crafts. Her glass jewelry collection, which was on sale for Mother’s Day, consisted largely of earrings. She had necklaces and brooches for sale as well.\nA leopard-print director’s chair sat at the entrance to Taylor-Norbu’s tent for visitors to sit in while they visited. Norbu, who spent a lot of time chatting with visitors, said they made the fair special to her.\n“People don’t understand until they get here,” she said. “It’s a great place to people watch.”\nOne of her visitors was Alexander Tsow, a post-doctoral student in the IU informatics program. Tsow visited the fair with his two daughters, ages one and four. The girls sat in their double stroller as Tsow looked around for a Mother’s Day gift.\n“I come to the Farmers’ Market a lot,” he said. “It’s a good place to push the kids around.”