Just an hour into the festival, the walkways were already filling up with people of all ages, ready to enjoy their Saturday afternoon.
Review & Onsite Photos by Kiersten Busch
RIDGEFIELD, CONN. — The morning of Saturday, June 27, was not too cold, yet not too warm; the perfect conclusion to the month before the inevitable July heatwave rolled in with the celebration of America’s 250th birthday. On this particular Saturday, families and art enthusiasts of every age made their way to downtown Ridgefield, where the Ridgefield Arts Festival was taking place in Ballard Park from 10 am to 5 pm on the 27th and 28th.
The festival, a juried show featuring nearly 100 artists showcasing and selling their fine arts, also included crafts and face painting for the children, as well as live music and an on-site food vendor serving up hot and delicious Connecticut-style lobster rolls. What’s not to love?
After the weekend’s festivities came to a close, show promoter Sue Brown Gordon shared, “We were extremely pleased with the results and reactions from the community and the artists! So many people came out in support of the exhibitors. Everyone kept saying how incredibly kind and welcoming everyone was in Ridgefield. I think it was just what we all needed — to get off our screens and connect with others and experience creative energy. It was very positive and uplifting for everyone.”
“What people kept expressing to me was the level of quality among the artists showing. For me as a show director, I had the great pleasure to work with artists that are of such a high caliber. I’ve been working in this field for over 30 years, and I am very aware of the level of artist that this show is now attracting,” she continued. “When you do a show in a town like Ridgefield that supports a beautiful art museum — like The Aldrich and the Ridgefield Guild of Artists — it’s likely that the fit for this festival was perfect. It has always been my goal to bring more attention and enlightenment for the arts, knowing that it would enhance and enrich quality of life in the community.”
A curious family inspects a newer tabletop piece by Drew Klotz (far right), who is known for his kinetic sculptures, big and small. Drew Klotz Kinetic Sculpture, Weston, Conn.
Upon entering through the gates of Ballard Park and walking past the welcome tent, where you could pick up bottled water and a Dunkin’ donut for just $1 each, this reporter was immediately immersed in the high level of artistry that Gordon was so proud to mention. Across from the colorful spinning kinetic sculptures of Drew Klotz (Weston, Conn.) was our first stop of the morning: the zany, eye-catching booth of self-taught artist Jason Piken of Baldwin Place, N.Y.
Piken’s journey as an artist began with a simple phrase, one that he had hanging above the artwork in his booth: “It all started with a brain bleed.” He explained, “I had a brain bleed occur during my first tattoo. I realized after that I couldn’t fix my vision. If you’re thrown something in life, you either suffer with it, or make art — this is my lemonade.” Piken’s art, which is reminiscent of street-style graffiti, but takes on its own form, captures how he sees the world with a traumatic brain injury. He especially loves commissioned work and takes joy in capturing the lives of families who get creative input into the process, too.
In a very different vein, walking into Donna Gratkowski’s booth felt like stepping into a serene landscape, surrounded by warm-colored works of fields of flowers, wooded scenes and open grasslands. “I started full-time 13 years ago,” she shared. “I wound up with free time, and I’ve always loved the arts.” The Southbury, Conn.-based artist uses soft pastels, emphasizing, “When you look closely, I’m trying not to blend. I want to keep the colors pure, because they’re so luminous.” Some of Gratkowski’s favorite works on display included a wooded landscape cut down the middle by a river (“Quietly Wander”), a brightly lit flowering field with a dark tree line in the background (“Listen with Me”) and a field, seemingly at dusk, with purple and pink flowers and a lone tree in the mid-ground (“Nature’s Rhythm”).
Soft pastels were the medium of choice for Donna Gratkowski, who began capturing beautiful nature scenes such as these full-time around 13 years ago. Sparta, N.J.
A new addition to the show came in the form of Karl Hester from Canaan, Conn., who decided to enter the festival as part of his goal to expand his artistic reach. “I usually do one show a year; I’m doing eight shows this year,” he shared excitedly. While Hester has been doing art as a hobby since he was a child, he makes his day-to-day living as a chef. “Some chefs drink, some do drugs… I draw!” he said with a grin. Hester’s medium of choice is pen and ink, although he shared that he is currently learning how to paint. His subject matter was diverse, with landscapes, flowers and various geometrical mandalas decorating the walls of his booth. Hester also explained that he is inspired by his own dreams as well as ancient myths and legends. After the festival’s conclusion, he briefly reported, “Sunday was sunny and a lot of wonderful people came out. Fabulous time all the way around!”
Another first-timer was Leonardo Jara of Groton, Conn., who operates under the name Studio Jar Art. Peering into Jara’s booth felt like looking into an aquarium, as the eyes of many bold, bright sea creatures stared back from their places on the wall. Jara’s origin story with acrylic on canvas works was a unique one. “I actually used to work in a seafood restaurant,” he explained. “My boss wanted me to paint the seafood so we could hang something in the restaurant — crabs, lobsters, you know!” Despite most of his work having a marine theme, Jara also made sure to include some paintings personal to his Ecuadorian roots, too, such as portraits of women with calavera face paint, hummingbirds and jaguars.
Living in Groton, Conn., but originally from Ecuador, Leonardo Jara mainly paints sea life such as lobsters and crabs but also makes sure to represent his Ecuadorian heritage through paintings like the two women with calavera face paint, hummingbirds and jaguars. Studio Jar Art.
New Jersey-based artist Wendy A. Born was also showing for the first time. Although she had participated in several street festivals in the past, this was her first foray into a fine art festival — apropos, as she shared that she will begin a new step in her artistic journey as an art teacher in the fall. “To make a long story short, my art is about noticing nature and everyday beauty,” she explained, gesturing to the walls of her booth, which were jam-packed with vibrant landscape paintings, some of which were done plein air. “First New Jersey, eventually Italy!” she joked of her plein air ambitions. What was most fascinating about Born’s work was the texture imbued into her canvases to represent sunlight or leaf patterns, which she shared were done first, then painted on top of.
Jodi Oster of Fair Lawn, N.J., was a veteran at Ridgefield Arts Festival, meaning she has participated in the show all three years it has existed. Showing under the name J. Oster Folk Art, Oster focuses on just that: folk art. “I like funny subjects, humor… things just come to me! I originally went to school for jewelry, but its evolved. I don’t do that anymore. I’ve been working with mixed medias now for a long time; I actually just finished a piece!” she said, proudly holding up a mixed media diptych depicting a fairy holding a bundle of flowers. Her three-dimensional glass slippers dangled below the canvas where her dress and ankles were painted. “I often source materials from Goodwill or other places,” Oster explained. She even had a work that repurposed her daughter’s old denim jeans.
After the show, Oster shared, “The show started out well, but unfortunately the rain on Saturday impacted sales for the remainder of the day. While Sunday was a beautiful day, the crowd was smaller and the atmosphere was fairly quiet. Overall, I really enjoy this show. It maintains a high quality of work and feels more like a true art show than a craft show. The promoters are excellent, setup and breakdown are straightforward and the local community seems to truly appreciate art.”
To conclude, Gordon added, “We are excited to now also have a Fall Ridgefield Art Festival, October 17-18, to look forward to. Save the date!” For information, www.gordonfinearts.org.
