Rain closes art show early

ST. CHARLES – Sunday morning's deluge was a fish-thumping, pond-pounding drencher of a thunderstorm that shut down the St. Charles Fine Art Fair hours early.

Wind gusts sent some tents flying and blew over a portable toilet while 105 artists scrambled in the relentless thundering downpour to pack up their goods and go home. The annual two-day show is organized by the Downtown St. Charles Partnership.

Susan McDowell, chairman of the St. Charles Fine Art Show Committee, said the show was shut down between 11:30 a.m and noon, soon after it opened at 10 a.m. on its second day.

"We were lucky," McDowell said. "It could have been worse. It could have been a lot worse. We did not have any major damage. Our hearts are broken. Everyone closed down ... and were safe. We had a couple of light-weight tents that fell over. It is heartbreaking for the artists. It's heartbreaking for the committee that planned this all year. And it's heartbreaking for downtown St. Charles."

Though artists were disappointed to close so early, they accepted that an outdoor festival survives at the whim of the weather.

Peter Patterson, a glass artist from Mundelein, was in St. Charles for his first art fair.

He was resigned to closing down because of the weather and the lack of customers. Saturday, the first day of the two-day festival, had rain for half the day, but  some people were still out, protected by rain ponchos and umbrellas.

"We could see it coming," Patterson said. "Nobody wants to come in the rain so much. But that's part of the game. You can't get upset about it, that's Mother Nature."

Pit Fired Pottery by Judy Thompson, from Kansas City, Mo., was all but packed and put away before 1 p.m. But like Patterson, she was resigned to the situation.

"We're pretty used to this out where we live," Thompson said. "Yesterday [Saturday] was a really good day until the rain came at 2 p.m. and then most of the customers disappeared. Today [Sunday] we had hardly any business at all before the storm started, so it was pretty sad. It is my first time here, but I enjoyed the show. The quality of the art work is fabulous, the committee is hard working. They do things right – so  we'll come back."

Watercolorist Cyndy Callog from Pentwater, Mich., and her husband George, were still taking paintings down while the storm raged outside their tent. Callog said she's been doing fine art festivals for 30 years and the weather just comes with the territory.

"I work in watercolor ... appropriate for the weather," Callog joked. "[Saturday] was hurt by the weather as well. It started raining at 2:30 p.m. just when people were starting to come. So basically, it's been a two-day washout. Which hasn't happened in years. We love to come to St. Charles ... it's been varied. We remember one year you'd had a sleet and snowstorm right on that Friday and we got here and there was piles of sleet on the shady spots. The committee and chamber do such a wonderful job. It's disappointing for everyone."

Patrick McDaniel, a woodworking artist from Niles, Mich., poured rainwater out of his vases and bowls before packing them up. He said he would dry them out when he gets home.

"It's a ruthless day," McDaniel said. "It's raining like crazy and I'm going home. I sold two bowls today, so I did OK. But all this is just a damper. Next week is another show. This does affect our income but you can't do a thing about it."

Karen Heuton of Grimes, Iowa, an acrylic artist was already closed and packed, but was helping a couple of artist friends take down their tents.

"This is my sixth year," Heuton said. "We'll be back next year."

Leslie Emery of Sun Prairie, Wis., a contemporary abstract artist, Ronna Katz of  Albuquerque, New Mexico, a mixed media artist, and Patrick Dragon, a ceramics and pottery artist from Marquette, Mich., said art shows like the one St. Charles hosts is critical to support artists and the arts community.

"This is tough times for artists and the media doesn't talk about it," Dragon said. "They talk about the unemployment. But if people want to support the arts, there is only one way to do it. You come out and you buy their artwork. These days there's a lot of artists who are really hurting. We need all the support we can get because we don't qualify for unemployment."

As to the St. Charles show, Dragon said his tent was hit by a powerful wind gust resulting in one of his pieces being broken.

"I lost my booth," Dragon said. "The wind picked it up and moved it over there. I had all my pieces packed up except one. I'm a nationally known artist. I have work in the White House and the Smithsonian. I have worked in Japan, Kuwait, Germany, Norway. It was the first time I ever lost my booth in 30 years I've been doing this."

Dragon blamed the arts committee for not allowing him to take his tent down and move his works before the storm hit.

"They needed to make a decision by 10 a.m. They made the wrong decision," Dragon said. "We had the technology to see that this storm was coming. We all have it in our iPhones ... and they let us stand here in the rain ... and by that time, people had lost booths and inventory."

In response to Dragon's complaint, McDowell said the organizers knew it was going to rain and they worried about the safety of the artists and their art.

"We knew we could not get 105 artists out of here – and in 5 to 10 minutes, it was a downpour," McDowell said. "We wanted everyone to zip up their tents and protect their art and themselves and that's what we did."

Not everyone packed up when the festival closed, however.

At Trisko Jewelry Sculptures of St. Cloud, Minn., Robert Trisko, Ian Lieberman and Mark Wright were not moving. Despite a steady flood of water moving across the bottom of their booth, they vowed to stay open. They said they had customers in the rain and they were waiting for more.

"In 41 years, we've never seen a port-a-pot blown over," Trisko said.

"Would have been better if somebody was in it," Lieberman said with a laugh.

By 3 p.m., their intrepid attitude paid off. Trisko and the few other artists who had not packed up yet, were open for business for customers like Pamela and Roger Tilbrook of St. Charles, who came when the rain stopped.

Donna Doersam, a handmade paper artist from Paso Robles, Cal., was dry and talking to customer Leon Hoffman of Chicago, even as most of the other artists were leaving.

"I heard about the festival on WFMT and I came," Hoffman said. "Rain? To me, it's only weather."