Newport
Artists at Mount Sunapee Resort Saturday said their numbers have been as strong or stronger than in previous years.
When the recession hit, people didn’t feel they had the same disposable income, and instead of purchasing “multiples,” they might buy one piece at a time, said potter Ron Tornow. “We need the volume of sales, and it happened this year.”
Saturday morning, Tornow and his wife, fellow potter Sibylle Tornow, chatted with customers they’ve come to know over the years. After nearly three decades at the fair, the couple will step back a bit next summer. But they’ll still have a presence: Rather than staffing a booth for nine days, they’ll show their teacups, ceramic wall hanging and other items in the made-at-the-fair shop, a co-op of league artists.
This year’s fair boasts the work of 350 league juried craftspeople, some of whom are internationally recognized. It includes craft exhibitions, demonstrations by more than a dozen artisans and workshops ranging from glass blowing to printmaking to woodworking.
Now in its 83rd year, the event attracts about 25,000 visitors every summer. Last year, 65 percent were from New Hampshire, and the others came from 47 other states, Canada, and other countries, said Jane Oneail, the league’s executive director. “It’s such a well recognized event.”
Some come for a summer escape, or to catch up with artists they’ve come to know and admire over the years.
Lance Hidy, Cindia Sanford, and their 7-year-old granddaughter, Sienna Schwartz, had driven 90 minutes, from Merrimac, Mass., for the day. They try to get to the fair every year, Hidy said, and while Sienna had previously worried she might be bored, that wasn’t the case. In fact, when she was just 5, she’d spent a day doing pottery there.
“They do put a lot of effort into hands-on activities for the kids,” Hidy said. And being able to meet and talk with the craftspeople is a privilege.
“There are very important artists that exhibit that here,” he said. “And they are remarkably friendly and appreciative.”
In the heat of the morning, before the rainclouds swept in, some fairgoers took refuge from the sun in the food tent, not far from the stage, where the Cormac McCarthy Quartet was playing folk music. Others ducked into the lodge for a cold drink and a snack. And food for the eyes was everywhere — a wall full of shiny oversized glass spiders; chairs painted in whimsical swirling patterns; pale green pottery adorned with frogs, turtles and salamanders. And in the middle of the grassy field, clusters of fanciful miniature houses, some with thatched roofs.
The buildings, reminiscent of old European cottages, remind her of simpler times, said their creator, Patricia Woodbridge.
Seeing people react to them “makes it fun,” said the Barnstead, N.H.-based artist, who embellishes the structures with flowers and birds’ nests. Some just stare at them, “as if it takes them away a little bit.”
Marcia Feldman, of Londonderry, N.H., and her friend Maggie Allen, of Barre, Vt., were among the steady stream of visitors who stopped to admire the cottages and talk with Woodbridge.
They were visiting the fair for the first time, said Feldman, who had become intrigued after she and her husband rode their bicycles past it last year. “Looking at art just takes me away from everything.”
On Friday, organizers said the fair had started off with a bang.
Attendance last weekend was “way up” from any previous record they were aware of, so the craftsmen are happy, said Oneail, the league’s executive director. “We haven’t had a day with over 4,000 people in quite some time,” she said, and more than 5,000 people showed up last Sunday.
Unfortunately, the hot weather seemed to have kept some people away last week, she said Saturday morning. “We’re hoping for a strong weekend.”
Today is the final day of this year’s fair. Scheduled activities include music by the Doug Bennett Trio, and introductory hand applique and quilting classes and a “Lunch and Learn” program with fiber artist Michele O’Neil Kincaid.
The hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $12, or free for children age 12 and under. For more information, go to nhcrafts.org.
Aimee Caruso can be reached at acaruso@vnews.com or 603-727-3210.