Saturday at St James

I love this time of year. The leaves are not changing colors yet, but it sure feels like fall. And fall brings the annual fairs and festivals, from big cities and to small towns. My little town has an annual festival and parade, which is why one of the first things I saw when I left home this morning was an elephant on a trailer.But that wasn't the most unusual thing I saw all day, not by a long shot.

I loved this couple, promoting a fund raiser for breast cancer awareness at The Brown Hotel (handing out stickers that say "Go Pink at the Brown")

Now, about the St. James Art Fair... I cannot believe I've lived here all these years and have never been to this nationally acclaimed annual juried art fair. This was the year to finally make it there, with Gaye as my guide of course. In fact, I don't think I've ever been to Old Louisville either, and I was having a hard time watching my step on the uneven sidewalks and lawns while at the same time looking up at the architecture.

The first booth we stopped at really was my favorite. I could have taken my purchase, gone home right then, and have been totally happy. This is what I bought--a small leather journal (I bought the miniature wood-covered pen at another booth later in the day).

I got it from Iona Handcrafted Books.
Most booths did not allow pictures, but they were kind enough to let me take some pictures of their books.

I cannot even begin to describe all the beautiful art, jewelry, fibers, and stuff we saw. And we didn't even see it all.

My other favorite booth was Works of Man. You must go look at these tiny sculptures. How can you not like an artist when he names his work things like Ridiculous Vessel #1 (aka Riddy) and Ridiculous Vessel #2 (aka Fast Eddie). Hold your cursor over the pictures to see the names, then click on them to see more views. Keep in mind those two particular pieces are under three inches tall. They were amazing.

I wish I had pictures of more art, but maybe you will be content with these instead... just some sights and sounds.

I enjoyed the fun art of Louisville's Joel Pinkerton, who makes amazing "people" from everything from coffee pots to spoons and forks and everything in between. I could not find pictures, and the website didn't work, but he posted a video of some of his art here. Maybe after seeing what he did with odd objects, that's why I bought this later in the day.

We took a side trip to the Habitat ReStore. You might check in your own area (no matter where you live in the U.S.) to see if you have one. Their profits go to Habitat for Humanity, and the items they sell come from builder overstocks and remodels, etc. Lots of cabinets, appliances, lighting, paint, windows, doors, and hardware, at pretty cheap prices. I bought the metal pieces and numbers shown here, plus that long double strip of aluminum--not sure what it is, but it should be fun to use!!

A great day overall, with beautiful weather all day!