The 2014 Cherry Creek Arts Festival was part Old Curiosity Shop wonder and slick new organic shapes and colors.  The miles of booths brought to mind memorabilia of another time and place.  I noticed the trend for recycled-objects-art was waning and there were few fine art photography booths. This show was unusual but lovely with its odd, nostalgic, narrative tone. Contemporary art mixed elegantly with classic, vintage themes, style and colors.

The art work below is exactly why I came away with ‘nostalgia’ in my conscientiousness. See for yourself.

I was enchanted with the sepia intonations in many of the works, and the use of multi-mixed mediums to create a work of art. The brown & black, pen & ink drawn and colored over a collection of old music sheets was typical and original.  I was transported to the pages of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and the bewitching art of early children’s book illustrations, prints and re-touched photography. The feeling I took away from the festival was, let me say, a circus poster.  Colorful exquisite details in the art,  elegantly reminiscent of an eye-popping, vintage color poster that brought a sense of excitement to the moment. I felt like the circus was coming.

List of artists:

Beverly Hayden, Chattanooga, TN; Valerie Bunnell, Northampton, MA; Bradford J. Salamon; Claudia Roulier, Denver, CO; Richard Ryan, Bourbonnais, IL; Brianna Martray, Denver, CO; Cali Hobgood, Urbana, IL.