An artsy time in Humboldt

Humbodlt Area Arts Festival has many guests, few rules

By HANS MADSEN, Messenger staff writer
HUMBOLDT — Haley Christensen, 5, of Waukon was busy Saturday afternoon under the shade in the children’s activity area at the Humboldt Area Arts Festival in John Brown Park.

Her grandfather, Craig Christensen, sat beside the aspiring artist as she picked out blocks and decided where to place them.

His job was to apply the glue.

‘‘There are no rules here,’’ he said. ‘‘Some of them take five minutes, some an hour and a half.’’

A volunteer for three years at the festival, Christensen has seen a few repeat customers.

‘‘I love to see the ones that come back and say I still have the one I made last year,’’ he said.

Ernie Koch, of Fort Dodge, makes wooden bowls from found boards, logs and barn wood. He lets the shape of the wood determine what the final result is.

‘‘I look at the log and try to figure out what to make of it,’’ he said.

While he usually works with found material, he will also make bowls on a custom basis from provided wood that has sentimental value to the owner such as a beam from the family barn or a piece of an old tree that grandma may have planted.

His wife Claudia helps him out at the couples busy summer schedule of shows and by giving him feedback on his work,

‘‘She’s quality control,’’ he said.

The Des Moines area musical group Home Grown Tomatoes were among several artists entertaining the crowd as they viewed the art. They normally play house concerts and festivals and were enjoying their first time performance at the fair.

The fair also gives the artists a chance to interact with the public, many of the exhibitors demonstrate how they work along with selling their wares.

While making her stained glass creations, artist Heather Hall-Dahl, of Crystalwood Creations in Fort Dodge, gets a lot of questions.

‘‘Is that real lead?’ Yes it is, I take all the precautions, I wear gloves, and, don’t lick it,’’ she said.

Looking at lots of art and listening to music can make a person hungry and thirsty, Marti Merrill, who has ‘‘The Ice Cream Lady’’ stenciled on her truck is well known in Humboldt, she sells frozen treats from a rented space near the Aquatic Center and sets up at ball games as well.

She was doing a pretty brisk business Saturday and enjoying the new venue, the festival had previously been held on Summit Avenue downtown.

LuAnn Burgers, president of the Humboldt Area Arts Council explained that the move was prompted by a desire to give the event more of a festival feel, make it more family friendly, give easier access and thanks to the park’s many trees , provide plenty of shade.

She also hopes that the event, particularly the children’s activity area, will provide inspiration to young artists,

‘‘Maybe they’ll come back someday as exhibitors,’’ she said.



Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net