Geneva hosts 23rd Arts Fair this weekend

Geneva’s Third Street will feature 140 artists for the Chamber of Commerce’s 23rd annual Arts Fair this weekend, officials said.

The juried fair is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and features all media – painting, photography, jewelry, fiber art, sculpture, pottery, woodwork, ceramics and glass.

Among the artists will be Craig Roderick of Jasper, Alabama, featuring flower photography that involves a technique called light painting. The subject flower is illuminated from different directions with LED light in a darkened room, then multiple exposures are layered to achieve the final image, according to his website.

This will be Roderick’s second time at the Geneva Arts Fair.

“Last year we did the show in Geneva on a recommendation from another artist,” Roderick said. “I’d never been there before. I was so impressed with the downtown area. And the people who ran the show were extremely well-organized. The show was small enough not to be overwhelming.”

Roderick became a photography artist later in life, first learning to shoot crime scenes as a police detective in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

After retirement in 2001 from Ann Arbor, Roderick said he explored different jobs before turning to art in 2014.

He and his wife, Sara, started an art business, Bella Fiore, Italian for Beautiful Flower, and now they do 24 art shows a year, traveling across the country.

“Geneva is one of the most quaint, beautiful four blocks of America that we have ever encountered,” Roderick said. “The restaurants are great and we had the best time there last year and would not even think of not trying to come back, it’s that nice a place.”

Another artist, Ali Hasmut of Park Ridge, has less of a distance to travel to Geneva.

But as he was born in Babylon, Iraq, before coming to the U.S. in 2000, you could say he’s come a long way.

Hasmut graduated from the University of Fine Arts in Baghdad, in 1997, moved to Jordan and worked with two galleries presenting oil paintings of portraits, still life, landscapes and figures, according to his website.

Hasmut said he now focuses mainly on cityscapes.

“I like the cityscapes in the rain and reflections of the light when I walk in the city in the rain,” Hasmut said. “I take photos and see which photos I can make my artwork from. So I start with a photo.”

Hasmut’s cityscapes in the rain are from different locations in Chicago, he said.

A full list of artists and their work is available on the Chamber’s website at genevachamber.com.

The Geneva Arts Fair is listed among the top arts fairs to attend at the artaffaircalendar.com.

It has also earned top accolades from Sunshine Artist Magazine for 2020, 2021 and 2022, based on revenue.

A standout feature of the event is a floral installation at the Arts Garden, at South Third and Franklin streets.

Plandscape Inc. of Elburn sets up a 30-foot in diameter circle of a garden setting, said owner Todd Selin.

“We’ll have trees and benches and a musician to do live entertainment during the event,” Selin said. “It’s our 14th year doing it.”

The company used to do the installation on the four corners of the intersection, but that was too involved, Selin said.

Now it’s in the center, which also serves to break up the intersection between the artists’ booths and offers a peaceful retreat during the fair.

“At 5:30 Friday evening, a group that steamrolls this thing and we take it down by 6 on Sunday,” Selin said.

Musicians will perform live from noon to 2 p.m.

Also offered is a free children’s art workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days on Franklin Street behind the information booth.

On Saturday, Water Street Studios of Batavia will host a firefly craft or drawing project.

On Sunday, the Geneva Foundation for the Arts will host artist William Estrada to show how to create a screen-printed tote bag.

The city of Geneva and Kane County Magazine, published by Shaw Media, are event sponsors.