Nassau County Museum of Art hosts Spring Craft and Fine Arts Fair

Nassau County Museum of Art’s lush grounds provide the setting for a spring showcase of the best of the nation’s crafts artists – including talented artisans from our area – at this weekend’s Spring Craft and Fine Arts Fair. The family-friendly event is much more than an “arts and crafts” show, the artists participating in this showcase, presented by the American Concern for Art and Craftsmanship, offer original creations that demonstrate a range of creativity.
The participating artists represent every region of the U.S., 32 states in all, selected from 750 applicants by a jury of professional crafts experts.
Many thousands of people are expected to visit the booths of the 100 artist-designers who personally present their creations. Among the items of special interest is a hand fabricated one-of-a-kind sterling silver triangular container decorated with handcarved Lapis Lazuli, with a 14kt gold bracelet embellished with diamonds, as well as a 14k gold and diamond stick pin enhancing the exterior, yet removable for use as body adornments, at $11,500 by Joan Michlin. Another container designed and fabricated by Michlin was acquired by the Wrenwick Museum of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Shaman Cloud, a native American Medicine Man from the Cherokee nation in Oklahoma, a spiritual healer and master craftsman, offers authentic dream catchers, peace pipes, and kachinas which combine the unusual and contemporary.
One of the more spectacular creations is presented by marquetry artist Jeffrey Nelson of New Windsor, N.Y.; a Demi Lune Table fabricated from maple and cherry, with leaves and separate matching mirror, finished with an elaborate veneer of Birdseye Maple, Padauk, Mother of Pearl, Malachite and 20 additional exotic and hard woods. Taking at least two months to fabricate, this original design set is available for $5,600. However, there are many more reasonably priced items to be had: from $45 for a one-of-a-kind journal, hand bound and uniquely decorated, employing handmade paper fabricated by Dara Hymowitz of Katonah, N.Y. to $450 for an Octopus print in the 250-year old-tradition that evolved from Japanese fisherman.
The event offers something for everyone, including the kids. Clowns from the Big Apple Circus will be there to entertain, with a preview of their upcoming performances at Eisenhower Park next month. The younger set can also explore their own artistic talents at an interactive painting and craft studio, with supervised instruction and supplies. Parents can look on, participate, or see some of the many craft demonstrations on the weekend schedule. These include wheel thrown pottery, fish printing, and jewelry fabrication. Also see live alpacas being shorn, their wool spun and then woven, and ladies accessories created from recycled materials, among other activities.

When: Saturday, May 22, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, May 23, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission: $7, children under 12 free.
Where: Nassau County Museum of Art, One Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor.
(516) 484-9337 or www.nassaumuseum.org.