TNAF- our lovely weekend at the New Art Festival

"When I say artist I mean the one who is building things...some with a brush-some with a shovel-some choose a pen." Jackson Pollock

We thought since we have spoken so much about the New Art Festival (or TNAF for short) we would share our experience and hopefully introduce you to a few new artists. 

Our weekend weather adventure..

Saturday was the perfect day for an art festival. It was blue skies, sunshine and not an ounce of humidity. TNAF organizes its artists around a picturesque park, with huge maple trees, a fenced in pond, also complete with people fishing and mallard ducks sunning themselves by the tents. The artists set up their displays around and across this beautiful park, and it is the perfect natural setting to display art. Except for Sunday when we woke up to grey skies. It rained, and then rained some more, and then was freezing cold. By noon our mom was becoming a frozen weather forecaster, predicting the millimeters of rainfall and when the degrees of temperature would rise. An hour later we were huddled together using Charlotte's woolly play mats to keep us warm. It was an adventure and Praise God the rain did temper off by the afternoon, exactly at the hour our mom predicted. : ) 

Thankfully on Saturday we managed to snap some pictures and chat with a few artists of whom we would like you to meet...

The Artists 

First is Creations Corteza. The artists Paciano Benitez and Elsa Perez, have created beautiful earrings and pendants out of nature. They use flower petals, leaves, seeds, of all colours, shapes and sizes. This creative duo encapsulate nature in delicate jewelry that is waterproof and lasting. Leah picked a delicate pair of pink petals and they look lovely. :)

Since our dad is a chef and it was Father's Day weekend we were looking for items he might like. Upon our search, we came across Imagine Wood. Simple, beautiful and classic wooden kitchen utensils and cutting boards. Each piece is created out of Rock Maple and is stunning. They have salad spoons, tongs, and even wooden knives. We wished we were a bit richer in our pockets as our dream gift for our dad was a butcher block with steel rods inside. A once in a life time kind of find, one that we might just have to save up for next year. 

Throughout the day on Saturday, our ears kept hearing this enchanting birdsong. While walking through the park we found Harper Pottery and discovered the secret to the becoming the Cat Whisper. It is his fabulous and creative design of ceramic bird whistles. Each one is different in it's ability to create a birdsong. We chatted with Jonathan Harper for a bit and were impressed by the care he gave each whistle. He patiently tests each ceramic whistle before you purchase it, making sure it is just right. Each one is different, some with a loud gurgle, other clear as bells. The first night Charlotte filled her whistle with water and began speaking birdsong, our cat Bee was enthralled and stared at Charlotte like she was from another planet. We loved the ceramic whistle so much we had to go back the next day and buy another one for our brother John. 

As we were shopping for dad, we knew he would love the creative work of this artist at Dog Bite Steel. Jean Pierre Schoss creates art out of recycled steel, used from propane and oil tanks. His designs are so playful! From porcupines, to princess crowns and for our dad, his collection of birds. We found three steel sandpiper birds, and one lonely woodpecker, all perfect for our parent's gardens. Our dream buy of Dog Bite Steel is his collection of acorns. They are stunning!

And of course, our lovely sister Truly Charlotte! She had a successful day Saturday and was thrilled to see so many people come out to her tent. It was pretty neat walking around the festival, seeing children with Truly Charlotte's wares snuggled in their arms.

So there you go, a few new artist friends to check out and meet! Take a minute and have a peek : )