Homewood Artist's Work To Appear In Park Forest Art Fair

PARK FOREST, IL — The 68th Annual Park Forest Art Fair will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Village Green in downtown Park Forest. It is located between Western Avenue and Orchard Drive, and Lakewood and Indianwood Blvd. Returning exhibitor and Homewood resident Jenn Johnson will be showing her work at this year’s fair.

This year, there are 11 new artists exhibiting, as well as many returning artists who will be familiar to fairgoers. The artists work in a variety of media from oil, acrylic and watercolor painting, photography and printmaking to wood, glass, pottery, and fiber arts.

"Growing up, I was surrounded by women who used fiber in a variety of ways: crocheting, quilting, embroidery," Johnson said. "My family created so many things, and seeing their work around me at all times made it feel very ordinary.

"Because of this, I didn’t really think of it as an artistic medium. Then, without really realizing it, it started to find its way into my own artwork, and I experienced how versatile the medium could be. Wool is such an ancient and natural material, and it makes me feel connected to not only my own family, but also the artists of ages past. I now use the softness and three-dimensional qualities of the wool to draw the viewer in and to grant a sense of comfort while looking at the work."

The Tall Grass Arts Association Gallery, 367 Artists Walk, will be open on both days of the fair. The gallery, gift shop and art fair are open to the public, free of charge.

The current gallery exhibit, KALEIDOSCOPE, will run through the last day of the art fair. In this large and diverse collection, seventy artists share a wide range of media, including paintings, drawings, photographs, mixed media, glass, and fiber works, from realistic images to abstract compositions.