Local artists make Naperville fair shine

The Naperville Woman’s Club Fine Art Fair is not your grandma’s craft show.

You’ll find no kitschy knickknacks or cheesy paint-by-number artwork. No water balloon yo-yos and no ceramic lawn decorations.

You will see troves of unique artistic talent in a new venue.

“We’re very excited about the new location,” Art Fair Director Roxanne Lang said. “We’ve been at Naper Settlement since 1969, but due to construction this summer we’ve had to move our location and date.”

While the event is generally held in mid-July, this year’s art fair is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, on Water and Webster streets in downtown Naperville. Organizers plan to return to the traditional date and location in 2012.

The longest continuously running art fair in Illinois, the juried event will feature pieces from 77 artists working with a variety of mediums, Lang said.

Although the show includes artists from across the country, many fair favorites, like 2010 Award of Excellence recipient Tammy Deck, hail from the Chicago area.

Since childhood, Deck has been attracted to all things do-it-yourself, from crocheting to knitting to sewing. The Westmont artist has explored various art forms, like ceramics and fashion design.

Of them all, fiber art has become her passion.

“I’m just as happy with purple dyed fingernails from what I do,” Deck said.

Despite her acclaim at art fairs throughout the Chicago area, Decker has little formal training in the art of felting, a process that involves the matting, condensing and pressing of wet wool fibers.

“It was really magical and mysterious how it all stuck together and made a fabric,” Deck said of her first experience with felting in 1983.

Deck, who has been showing her work at art fairs since 1999, owns TLD Design Center and Gallery. The space at 26 E. Quincy St. in Westmont not only acts as a commercial venue where Deck sells her wearable knit pieces, but also doubles as a classroom for eager locals looking to learn the craft of fiber art.

“I would bring a portable floor loom to the shows and weave,” Deck said. “So naturally it develops that people want to know where they can go to learn to do it.”

When the studio opened in 1995, Deck offered classes in weaving and fabric printing and painting. Now she offers more than 150 different creative art classes, mostly single sessions, Deck said.

“Through all the years I’ve been experimenting and exploring,” Deck said. “Each time I create a piece it creates new questions that need to be answered.”

Deck participated in the Naperville Woman’s Club Fine Art Fair for the first time in 2010; she returns to a booth near the Naperville Township building, where she will demonstrate weaving.

Another unique returning artist is Colorado State University senior Caleb Noble of Lake Zurich.

Much like Deck, Noble became fascinated with his craft at a young age.

While vacationing in Florida, glass pendants sold at a local tourist shop continually caught Noble’s eye and garnered his spending money.

“My parents wanted to know why I was always so interested in them,” Noble said. “Finally, when I was 13, my mom told me to find lessons.”

Despite his enthusiasm, it was tough for Noble to find a glass art studio that would foster his developing interest, as many artists do not work with individuals younger than 18.

Extensive searching produced few results until an artist at Wildfire Productions, 4907 Western Ave. in Downers Grove, allowed Noble to try his hand at the torch.

“Basically, he said as long as you can see over the bench, come by and we can do a little lesson,” Noble said.

By the time Noble was 17 he was selling his pieces, largely blown glass pendants, and during his senior year of high school was honored as an emerging artist at the One of a Kind Art Show at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.

Noble’s passion for glass art quickly transformed from a hobby into a job that would support him throughout high school and into college.

“It’s something that I put a lot of time into and it’s something that I enjoy,” Noble said. “Especially for a job, it’s a lot better than working at Target or something like the rest of my friends.”

Noble returns to the Naperville Fine Art Fair for the fourth time and plans to showcase his talents in a mobile studio he designed. His booth is at the intersection of Webster and Water streets.

“It’s a good way to bring in a crowd,” Noble said. “It’s a good way to keep the attention of the fathers and sons at the art fair while the moms might be shopping around the booth.”

Oftentimes during art shows, Noble will create custom pendants for fair goers, a service he believes greatly increases the impact of his work.

“I think people have a stronger connection to a piece if they saw it being made,” he said.

Come Saturday, both Deck and Noble will roll out their best in hopes of an award from the juried fair and a chance to share their love for the craft with others.

If you go

If you go

What: Naperville Woman’s Club Fine Art Fair

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5

Where: Webster and Water streets, downtown Naperville

Cost: Free admission

Info: napervillewomansclub.com