(From left) Works by Ray Jones, Teresa Hays and Audrey Laine
The summer edition of the 74th Annual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands will take place online from Thursday, July 15, through Sunday, July 18. Featuring 50 exhibitors, the fair will give visitors the chance to explore craft in a variety of media including clay, fiber, glass, leather, metal, paper, wood and jewelry.
“I believe that my path forward into the future involves online sales and virtual events such as this one,” says Teresa Hays, the Guild’s Artist of the Year and The Laurel’s July Feature Artist. “I am excited to support the Guild as they develop their virtual platforms.” Because Hays lives in a rural area and lacks the upload speed necessary for livestreaming, she will record a video of her non-traditional silk screen techniques and the reverse dyeing process to share on the website.
(From left) Works by Laura Peery, Noël Yovovich and Charlie Patricolo
Lauren Faulkenberry, author, illustrator and proprietor of Firebrand Press, says that the virtual fair also offers a lower barrier to entry than the live fair. “The live fair can be very cost-prohibitive and is very time consuming,” she says. “I’m hoping we can get more people excited about the fair this summer, and that they’ll understand that they can find the same beautiful, unique artworks through browsing online.”
Pam Granger Gale of Majik Studios will be livestreaming a demonstration of the marbling process and sharing tips for setting up a marbling space at home. “Anyone, anywhere in the world can participate in the virtual fair, view items and buy and learn from our fabulous craftspeople in the Southern Highland Craft Guild,” she says. “You can’t ask for a better reach than worldwide appeal!”
The fair’s webpage will go live at 12 a.m. on Tuesday and close at 11:59 p.m. on Friday. In addition to shopping directly from the artists, fair visitors can watch videos of craft demonstrations, interact with artists in their studios through livestreams and participate in a raffle drawing with $5 tickets benefitting the Guild’s education department.
Visit the fair at CraftGuild.org/craftfair.
