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Cincinnati artist Arnelle Dow's fiber decorative batik on
linen is the kind of work she's displayed at Summerfair
since 1970.
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Cincinnati batik artist Arnelle Dow and her husband, ceramic artist Allan Nairn, have seen a lot of Summerfairs come and go. Dow's first Summerfair was in 1970, back when the popular arts festival was still held in Eden Park. "Remember the girl who used to walk around with a big snake on her shoulders?" Dow asks, laughing. "It was a different sort of thing then." It's true. This weekend marks the 35th year for Summerfair. In the time since its first appearance, Summerfair has grown up.
Dow remembers the original Summerfair as a great "be-in-the-park" day. She recalls the festival's laidback roots. "I can remember the year Janis Joplin came," she says. "In those days, Summerfair wasn't quite as 'serious.' I used to have to hang my work on a clothesline between two clothing racks."
Dow's work consists of elaborate batiks with pictures created in the graphics. "It's a challenge to create pictures with this media," she explains. "It all depends on the application of the wax." Dow was drawn to batik because of its visual warmth. "Batik radiates from the cloth and invites you in," she says, enthusiastically.
Summerfair turned out to be an ideal venue for Dow, who sold her first piece years ago for less than the price of a frame. Summerfair has also been a good venue for the beautiful terra cotta pieces created by her husband. "The terra cotta has such a sense of history," Nairn says. "It's a traditional garden clay."
Nairn moved to Cincinnati from Scotland in 1983 to marry Dow, whom he'd courted across continents for three years prior. (The couple met at Arnold's, where Dow was celebrating a birthday when Nairn happened to stop in for a drink.) The two have had adjoining booths at Summerfair nearly every year since.
Both agree that Summerfair's appeal is due, in part, to Coney Island's atmosphere. The festival started gaining national attention in the 1970s, and moved from Eden Park to Coney Island. From 1979 to 1984, it moved to the plaza around Riverfront Stadium. Dow chose not to participate during those years, because the stadium didn't offer the same "parklike setting." In 1985 when Summerfair returned to Coney Island, Dow and Nairn returned, too.
"Coney Island is such an ideal location for Summerfair," Nairn says, "because they do such a good job of maintaining the space." Dow agrees. "It has a real family atmosphere."
That family atmosphere is what keeps the couple coming back, year after year. "It's fun traveling to different shows," says Dow, who attends six to eight art shows annually, in cities as diverse as Kansas City, New York and Miami. Nairn estimates he makes it to eight to 10 shows annually; he believes Summerfair is special because of its distinctly family-oriented flair.
"I've done the Smith-sonian show," Nairn offers by means of comparison. "It's a great show, but it's rather high-brow. Sum-merfair reaches a broader audience. It's still a cultivated audience, but perhaps not as highfalutin'."
Dow sees the friendly, family atmosphere of Summerfair playing out in the relationship between audiences and the artists themselves. "People come back year after year to see their favorite artists. Summerfair gives an opportunity for the artists and the public to engage in dialogue."
The couple credits Summerfair organizers and volunteers with the show's success over the years. "You know it's well organized when you can't even see the people behind the scenes," Dow states. "And they've really worked hard to make sure they offer something for all ages."
Over the years, Nairn says, both the community and the artists have grown to be more serious about Summerfair. "People have really cultivated an interest, and Summerfair provides ample opportunity to learn." Over the years, Summerfair has become increasingly selective in the artists who exhibit. This year, nearly 900 applied from all over the country and Canada, but fewer than 300 were accepted. Only 24 of the exhibiting artists are from Cincinnati, including Dow and Nairn.
In the future, Dow would like to see Summerfair make better use of its rich history, building a collection of art. "Also," she says, "they do so much for the community in terms of grants: I'd like to see more people become aware of everything Summerfair does."
SUMMERFAIR happens at Old Coney, Anderson Twp., on Friday--Sunday. For more information: www.summerfair.org
