Ozark Folk Fair
While you're enjoying live music in the Basin Spring Park in the heart of Eureka Springs, be sure to look around at our Ozark Folk Fair! We'll have many artists and craftspeople showcasing original folk art.
Julie Kahn Valentine
Julie, who has called Eureka Springs, Arkansas home since 1969, has spent a lifetime traveling with her art, including Israel, France, Spain, Mexico, California, New York & New Orleans. She is internationally known as a portrait artist. Drawing is always the backbone of all of Julie's work, whether done in watercolor, acrylic, or oil. Much of her current work focuses on Eureka Springs scenes, which express the real personality of the unusual historic town that Julie has chosen as home. Julie is Eureka Springs' only official artist and is a big part of the Eureka art scene.
JAMWORKS23
JAMWORKS23 is a husband wife team that create fine wood art, heirloom wood decor and much more. Our projects start with self sourced local to us wood, Walnut, Maple, Cherry, etc. After securing wood, a chainsaw is used for rough blank making. Blanks are then wet turned on a lathe, and stored for drying. This process can take up to three years depending on the size to be fully cured and stable for turning. Once drying is complete the blanks are turned again on a lathe (known as “twice turned”) to their finished size and shape. Another method we use to prefect natures imperfections is casting some pieces in or with resin, using various forms and molds. After resin is fully cured, the piece is turned to shape, and hand finished to perfection. We make everything from beautiful hollow forms, center pieces, bowls, platters, pepper grinders, bottle stoppers, and writing pens, and much more. We strive to create beautiful heirloom pieces and something for everyone, and any occasion.
Michael Huels | Huels Custom Washboards
Rooted in the rich musical traditions of the Mississippi Delta and the Ozark Mountains, Michael Huels creates one-of-a-kind folk art that bridges the gap between Delta blues and Ozark bluegrass.
Michael’s obsession with the instrument began 35 years ago at a small Arkansas festival, the Booger County Buggy. Later, as a blues harmonica player, he needed a rhythm instrument to keep the beat alongside bands until his own solo opportunities came around—so he built his very first board. He soon realized that making these custom instruments was just as much fun as playing them. Drawing on his 24-year background as a history teacher, Michael uses that storyteller's eye to weave a piece of living history into every single board he creates.
First and foremost, each piece is handcrafted display art designed to hang on your wall as an unforgettable conversation piece. Yet every washboard is also fully functional and ready to play, built from authentic vintage washboards passed down through generations. To create custom soundscapes, Michael arms his boards with vintage "traps" (attachments) like antique tins and mini cast-iron skillets.
Lisa Crews Potter
Lisa Crews has 40 years of practicing and making art. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Arkansas State University. She took Graduate Studies in Ceramics and Sculpture at the University of Memphis and the University of Delaware. While teaching art for 10 years in Missouri and Arkansas she learned historical techniques for making Mississippian Native American pottery (500-1500 AD). She also learned French Faience and English Delftware pottery from the 17th and 18th centuries. Her current work combines multi-media with pottery, including sculptural pieces to include clothed figures with a more personal and emotional content. The decorations on vases or other forms are inspired by Nature and include Luna moths, dragonflies, frogs, birds, cats, turtles, and mushrooms.
Vicki Hardcastle
Vicki Hardcastle (Eureka Springs, AR) has made fiber art for over 40 years. She loves creating unique one-of-a-kind felted fiber sculptures. She has taught various classes and owns the Hardcastle Folk Art Shop in Berryville, AR. She is a member of the Arkansas Craft Guild.