Art in the park at Estancia

Luis Pena

Estancia Park will be the place today and Saturday for art

aficionados. The ninth edition of the Artistic License Fair will

bring serious artists and their affordable fine art pieces to locals.

For those who remember an art fair at Estancia in the past, for 28

years it was known as the Denwar Fair.

This year, it will feature more than 70 artists, including

artists from Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. These aren’t just any

artists. They are leaders in their fields, and many of them are

nationally and internationally known, said Drew Ward, co-organizer of

the fair.

The fair is a hot spot for serious collectors. Many are artists

themselves, so they understand all of the hard work and effort that

goes into producing the pieces.

The fair attracts a crowd of around 3,000 people each year. It is

so popular that a 50-yard line for the fair starts to form as early

as 8 a.m. on Friday morning, even though it doesn’t open until 10

a.m.

What many of the collectors do is case the artists whom they are

interested in from the previous year, and they seek them out. “The

spirit of the fair is a very warm intimate kind of experience,” Ward

said, because of the closeness that has developed among the artists

over the years.

The theme for this year’s fair is “Sculpture for the Home, the

Public and the Pocket Book.”

All of the fine art, including ceramics, glass and jewelry, is

handmade and one of a kind.

One of the artists, Karen Gray, makes two-dimensional sculpture,

4-foot ceramic figures meant to be mounted on walls.

Larry Tannis reassembles engine parts into different creatures.

Vicki Banks makes award-winning bronze birds.

The art is affordable, between $40 and $1,200.

Local artists include Joanna Craft, Michael Crook, Laurie Falter,

Teresa Patterson, Carol Reinhold, and Robert and Stacy Vetrovec.

New artists are selected every year by a jury of their peers.