By Kelly Maue

Presented by the Centene Charitable Foundation, The St. Louis Art Fair returns to downtown Clayton September 9-11th!  

In its 29-year history, this acclaimed show consistently ranks as one of the top art fairs in the nation. And this year promises to be no exception. After a hiatus due to Covid, The St. Louis Art Fair will be in-person once again and showcase more than 180 of the best visual artists from across the country. Find one-of-a-kind treasures. Ceramics, sculpture, wood, jewelry, glass, fiber, mixed media, metalwork, paint, photography, printmaking, and more – will fill the streets in the heart of Clayton.

While at the fair, visit the “HEC Media Spotlight” booth. HEC is not only a proud media sponsor of the St. Louis Art Fair – it is the leading producer of education and arts programming in St. Louis, making this partnership a natural fit.  

HEC Media supports the fair with its “Meet the Artists” series. Short video vignettes give viewers insight into their favorite artists. Find out what inspires them, their methods, and more. Watch videos on some of the St. Louis Art Fair’s featured artists here.  

Megan Clark, a goldsmith from North Carolina, will be at the St. Louis Art Fair in September. She creates jewelry she describes as “quiet but still has a presence.” Clark uses 18 karat gold and sterling silver for contrast, often incorporating natural stones. Her work has a “modern feel, that’s different… but also timeless.” 

Other exhibiting artists include Tom Bloyd, who studied art at the University of Kansas, where he fell in love with glass. His blown glass sculptures always include a metal work component and are lovely accent pieces to be lived with and admired. Currently, he is featuring his “Meditation Series,” which has a little movement and a peaceful feel, intended to give off “good vibes.”   

Mariam Steen is a fair favorite. An artist from St. Louis, Steen works in watercolor, collage, and mixed media. Her paintings have evolved through the years – away from flora and fauna and towards the abstract. Steen loves color. Sometimes her work is soft, quiet, and calm, while other pieces are bright and cheerful.

A wood sculptor, Joey Graci, lives and works on the southern shore of Lake Superior in Michigan. Graci grew up with woodworking. He starts at the sawmill and goes through the material, looking for specific characteristics in the wood. Then, using both hand and power tools, he creates carved wood panels and other objects. During the process, he has “conversations with the material,” finds the best use for a piece of wood and tries not to overpower it.

Joel Fermion is an artist from northern Indiana who uses a self-taught fabric collage technique. Drawing upon his background in architecture, the mixed media artist uses discarded upholstery fabric, leather, suede, markers, paints, and more. The result is a medium that is truly his own, refined over decades.  

Living and working in Florida, Dennis Angel works with colored pencils. Incorporating a reference to an artist from the past is his trademark. For example, he may use a postcard with a famous work and then create his still life around this image. Full of exquisite detail, his art is meant to be studied and looked at carefully.

Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand are known as the “Pottery Boys.” These ceramic artists make functional and beautiful pieces from porcelain clay and crystalline glaze. Nature is often their source of inspiration. Everything from gourds and leaves to shells and driftwood shows up in their work.

Richard Wilson became interested in art at a very young. What began as drawing action figures and cartoons has evolved into stirring images in oils and pastels. Wilson’s work often incorporates history. His “Shadow Series” features past trailblazers with children in the foreground – often his children or other family members. He created these moving images to promote the African American culture in a positive, inspirational way.

Visit these artists in person, along with more than 170 others! Plan your visit to the St. Louis Art Fair in downtown Clayton September 9-11.  

Learn about the first 25 years of the St. Louis Art Fair through HEC Media’s Exclusive Documentary “Meet Me at the Fair.”