Need to Know: Funky Ferndale Art Fair 2012

More than 120 artists from across the country and right here in Ferndale will participate in the 10th annual Funky Ferndale Art Fair coming up Sept. 14-16.

The event takes place on West Nine Mile Road the same weekend as the on East Nine Mile Road.

Funky Ferndale is a juried art fair, with more than 300 artists from across the country competing each year for the 120 available spaces, according to a press release from Michigan Art Shows.

The fair aims to feature more edgy, "funky" art that you may not see at other events.

Ferndale restaurants will be joined by some festival street food favorites to offer a wide selection of dining options for all.

The artists

Here's a look at some of the artists featured in this year's event.
 
Ralph Longshore, aka MAN IN WHITE, will be appearing for the first time at the Funky Ferndale Art Fair. The Man in White is a living statue and performance artist who began street performing in downtown Asheville, NC in 2009. He is painted all in white and comes to life as he sings and plays his originally composed music on his guitar.

Royal Oak resident Tim Gralewski’s primary medium is screen printing, also called serigraphy. He enjoys the bold colors and offset look he is able to achieve drawing him into the screen printing process. His editions (number of prints) are kept to a low number to preserve the uniqueness of the image.

Exhibiting for the first time at Funky Ferndale is M. Hakima, M.D. The former medical office of Dr. Hakima is now a gallery in Flomaton, Alabama, where he showcases his “Outsider Art.” Outsider art is art that is outside the official cultural institutions. That is, the artists are self taught and outside the mainstream art world. Common themes of Hakima’s work include natural phenomena, social health issues, and imaginative quests of non-representational biomorphic forms.

Jennifer Howard, lifelong resident of Ferndale, will be offering her original photography for the second time at the fair. With a deep fascination for American life, Howard enjoys shooting nautical beacons (lighthouses) and exploring color in her compositions. While she often utilizes digital SLR outfits to create and capture images, she also uses medium format “vintage” cameras.

“They say the camera lens does not lie, and I love how it captures everything, from the most beautiful, to the completely flawed,” said Howard. “There is art in everything around us just waiting to be captured. My photographs are fragments of time."

Arleen and Michael Parker, of Jasper, Georgia, work as a team in the design and creation of handcrafted stained glass art jewelry. Arleen has been an artist all of her life. For many years she filled her palate with various paint mediums and, now, she paints with glass.

“Glass gives me boundless artistic potential. With an unlimited array of hues, textures and patterns, I am able to produce one-of-a-kind creations," she says. "I recognize that I am creating each piece for a special individual. It is such a joy when the jewelry and the person come together."

Photographer Paul Wood of Troy has been deeply interested in his craft for more 40 years. “My passion is nature photography,” said Wood. “Getting close to a subject allows me to see things in ways that I would normally miss. When shooting close up, there can be a world of beauty in one back yard.” Nothing is added to his images that were not there to begin with, unless noted.

“Photoshop is a wonderful tool that allows photographers to squeeze much more out of their images than was previously possible,” said Wood.” It works digitally in the same vein as film photographers/developers used for decades. I’m convinced that, were Ansel Adams alive today, he would be a Photoshop freak."

Carole Giles, of Ferndale, will exhibit her metal work for the first time at Funky Ferndale, booth #105. After a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Carole was so inspired by the metal work on display there she decided to learn the craft of metal working. She has been studying at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit for almost three years. Employing several metal working techniques, Carole creates unique shelves and stands that can be used to display one's own jewelry, thereby combining both function and beauty.

Need to Know

• What: 10th Annual Funky Ferndale Art Fair
• When: Friday, Sept. 14: 5-8 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 15: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 16: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Where: West Nine Mile Road at Woodward
• Admission: Free
• More information: Visit www.funkyferndaleartfair.com.

Source: Michigan Art Shows.