Like most Napervillians of a certain age, I love a good art fair, and here in the Midwest we’re spoiled for choice. On most summer weekends, you won’t have to travel far to see beautiful collections of paintings, pottery and pictures; silks, ceramics and stone.
Best of all, everything is for sale! Since we brought very little with us when we moved here from England, I admit I’ve thoroughly enjoyed filling my home with all kinds of unique pieces.
My favorite art show is coming up next weekend. Run by the Naperville Art League, the Riverwalk Fine Art Fair is a juried show that attracts artists from all over the country each September. I enjoy looking around, chatting with artists, and I know I’m always going to bump into a few friends along the way.
But have you ever wondered what it is like for the artists? It’s easy for us. We stop by whenever we like, we either buy or we don’t, and if it rains we simply put up our umbrellas or leave. But just how much effort do they put in? Are they doing this as a hobby or a business? I spoke to three Naperville artists about their work and to find out what it’s like from the other side of the booth.
If you’re a creative person with a passion, the world can be your pale pink oyster shell, that is, until you try to make money. Whether you’re an artist, a comedian, a musician or a writer, it doesn’t matter how talented you are, if you don’t learn how to market yourself and find your niche, your talent is going to remain a hobby.
When you step into Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi’s home in Naperville’s historic district, there’s no doubt she’s someone who has turned her talent into a successful business. Her basement is crammed with pieces of pottery in various stages of completion. She has two kilns, up to 3,000 pounds of clay and rods dripping with the lace she uses to imprint into her unique designs. Her work is represented in shops and galleries around the country, she accepts commissions and regularly sells through her website. When people buy her work, they’re not only paying for the number of hours she puts into a piece, but more than 30 years’ experience as an artist who studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Although Pollpeter Eskenazi has been a fixture at the Riverwalk fair for more than 15 years, each year she has to apply anew.
“We all have to send in digital images of our booth and the type of work we plan to sell, but with no signs so the jurors don’t know who we are,” she said. “The jury is made up of different professionals each year. They’re looking for a good variety of quality art.”
Since Pollpeter Eskenazi is so prolific, she doesn’t usually have to make pieces especially for the event, but she does need to make sure she has a good variety.
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“My style tends to be the same, but you do have to re-invent yourself and do new things to attract customers,” she said.
Popular items include what she calls “vases with attitude,” colorful tilted pots with twisted handles.
The day before the show, she and her assistants load up a trailer and head off to Jackson Avenue. Each exhibitor has to provide a 10-foot square booth.
“It takes me seven hours to set up,” Pollpeter Eskenazi said. “When everything is in place, I take photos and then take all the pieces down because I can’t just leave them out overnight. Then I’m back about 8 a.m. on the day of the show to set them all up again. At the end of the show, you have to take them all down again, store them safely overnight and then put them all up again for the next day. It’s notorious for raining on Sunday. If things are wet when you take them down, you have to take them all out to dry carefully when you get home.”
People assume the larger pieces are worth more, she said, but often smaller pieces with their intricate patterns demand more time and effort.
“There’s a perceived value and if you are trying to make an income, you have to know about the market,” she said. “Different shows have different customers. Artists are always talking to each other on social media to share ideas.”
In 2006, Pollpeter Eskenazi met a retired couple selling some decorated gourds at a The Growing Place garden store. Impressed with their work, she encouraged them to apply to take part in Naperville Woman’s Club’s art fair at the Naper Settlement and they haven’t looked back since.
Today, Dave and Rosie Claus of Off the Vine Gourds are another popular fixture at the Riverwalk show. Their colorful gourds, decorated with woven thread and beads, put a mid-western spin on what many consider to be a southwestern art form.
The Clauses are educators who developed a shared hobby when they retired.
“We really enjoy making our pieces, it’s a delight,” Dave Claus said. “I can’t do it without her and she can’t do it without me. We make separate pieces, but act as critics for each other. We do everything equally.”
“We’ve been together for 57 years, married for 50, and we’ve always worked together,” Rosie Claus said. “He’s my best friend.”
The couple mostly works outside in a flower-filled garden for inspiration for their fluid, organic designs. While Dave might burn leaf designs onto his gourds, Rosie adds pieces woven of “off loom” thread and beads, which she buys from the women who make them in Kazuri, a village near Nairobi, Kenya. They buy gourds which have been aged for a year before laboriously scraping out the insides. A small gourd may take 20 hours to complete, larger ones up to 80 hours.
“When I sell one, I feel like a little piece of me has gone and sometimes I cry,” Rosie said. “I really appreciate having someone love what I do. It’s what being an artist is all about.”
Although the Clauses also sell online, they believe it’s important that customers can feel their work.
“A lot of people come to the show and don’t purchase then, but may come back to us three months later,” Dave Claus said. “People don’t realize how long it takes up to set up and tear down, but we want people to be able to see and feel them.”
The Riverwalk Fine Art Fair is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15-16 along Jackson Avenue in Naperville.
Mayor Emeritus George Pradel
When I moved here from London 11 years ago, Naperville seemed like a magical place, a cross between Stepford and Bedford Falls, a charming little town where everyone knew each other, bustling with larger-than-life characters who were always smiling and championing their community. Even if I had made the whole place up (and sometimes it felt like I had), I couldn’t have come up with a better mayor than George Pradel. To me, he was the quintessential small-town mayor who was welcoming to all, even our overseas visitors who didn’t even know who their own mayor was. I’ll never forget his “Hallo Naperville” cry at public events or the carillon countdown heralding the start of each fresh new year. He was simply involved and interested in everything.
I didn’t know him when he was Officer Friendly, but I was soon put in the picture. In all my time here, I’ve never heard anyone say a word against him, which is pretty remarkable, considering how much division there is at times, even in our “perfect” little town.
In a country where there is no royal family, he was the city’s king. Albeit on a smaller scale, his passing has affected Napervillians like Princess Diana’s death affected us all those years ago in England.
I look forward to seeing how Naperville will honor George Pradel in the months to come. However his legacy is upheld, I know it will include honoring the ideals of the past while paving the way for a better tomorrow, just as he would have wanted.