The 61st Annual Salem Art Fair and Festival will be held July 16-18 in Bush's Pasture Park. The event is hosted by the Salem Art Association and acts as a fundraiser for the organization. The organization touts the fair's ranking of number 38 in the nation by Art Fair Source Book.

And of course, there's plenty to do at the fair from live music to vendor booths to fair food, but keep a look out for these artists:

Chris Giffin

Giffin is a Jefferson artist who makes mixed media and jewelry from recycled materials. Giffin assembles his pieces in a cold construction process in an environmentally friendly studio.

Favorite piece:

This sculpture [pictured], titled "Sanguine", is one of a series of sculptures that depicts a group of characters that are a bit melancholic but hopeful, hence the bird is on a base with wheels, and is positive about moving forward. All of my work is constructed from recycled materials and found objects, and I like the way I was able to incorporate into this sculpture a croquet ball head and metal funnel body and old tin container wings into a charming and hopeful little bird.

Influences:

Well, of course everything in my environment is an influence, from nature to the societal and political events of our day. As far as what touches me in the artistic sense is that I see beauty in the refuse and junk that our "throw away" culture discards.

How long attending the Salem Art Fair:

Well, I have been lucky enough to have been juried into the Festival on 5 different occasions. I like doing it for several reasons. It is a joy to be able to show ones work in the beautiful surroundings that the park provides. The Festival is well attended and the community is very supportive of this show. I like to also support local events and meet the folks of my local communities, it gives me the positive sense that we are all in this together.

Terry Evans

Terry Evans lives in Overland Park, Kansas and is making the trip to Salem to show off his woodworking pieces. He uses bandsaw techniques against unusual hardwood species to achieve what appears to be paint or stain. He said, "The means of achieving these forms is often a mystery, even to my fellow woodworkers. Just achieving the correct balance of glues and finishes has taken many years of trial and error."

Favorite piece:

This piece [The Red Treetop, pictured] is one of my favorites because it always elicits a great response from art lovers in my booth. The teapot form is the only form that I make in wood which references a traditional object. Most of my works are simply containers with no pre-determined function. Many craft artists are currently exploring the teapot form, and the variety of teapot designs offers a really exciting genre for collectors.

Influences:

Since I have a formal degree in craft design, and I am a former art teacher, the influences are wide-ranging. My goal has always been to create work that does not look like any other artist's. That being said, I think the fluid quality of my work may be influenced by my exposure to glassblowing as a graduate student. In my early career, I very much wanted to be a glass artist. The works of Henry Moore continue to be a great influence, and I live 10 miles from the Nelson/Atkins Gallery in Kansas City, which holds the largest collection of his work outside the UK. I am also influenced strongly by the philosophy and works of Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy.

How long attending the Salem Art Fair:

I operate under the assumption that you can never predict where you will find a receptive audience - and in particular where you will make that connection between artist and collector. When art speaks to a person, the connection is beyond description. In that way it is a lot like music - it strikes that visual chord, rhythm, or transition that is very personal. I hope that some of the patrons of the Salem Art Fair make that connection to my work. I will be doing several Western shows for the first time this summer.