Cave Creek artist Lee Brotherton turns vintage western collectible boots into elegant purses. She and her husband Rob Koch secure the boots from auctions and antique stores. Koch removes the shoe part and cleans, cuts, dyes and stitches the leather shaft and turns it into a bag that Brotherton decorates with braids and tassels. They also turn children’s boots into bags for cell phones.
“We’re capturing a part of the west and bringing it back to life again,” Brotherton said.
The Boot Hill Bags, as they are called, are not available in stores. But they will be for sale at the Fountain Festival of Arts and Crafts from Friday to Sunday in Fountain Hills.
Brotherton’s work is among the one-of-a-kind art and crafts that 500 artisans will display and sell along the town’s main thoroughfare, Avenue of the Fountains.
This year, besides the national participants, the artists come from Israel, England, France, Belgium, El Salvador and other countries.
Among them are also Sedona-based Robert Shields, known for his acrylic paintings and metal work as well as his mime performances; and Robert Trisko, the jewelry sculptor from Minnesota who attracts a large following.
The art is juried. More than a thousand artists apply to attend and only a half is admitted. Even repeating artists go through the jury procedure each time. The 18 mediums range from paintings and sculpture to fused glass designs, jewelry and textiles and everything in between.
The festival, in its 34th year, attracts about 200,000 people and is the largest put on by the town’s Chamber of Commerce. Several hundred volunteers enlist.
Long-time organizer Sharon Morgan said it was special because of its “uniqueness, new ideas, quality of art and presentation.”
The booths, in six rows, are contained in one area rather than spread out. Even so, to browse them all, expect to stroll nearly two miles.
Serious and speculative collectors search for something that takes their fancy. But most visitors come to buy gifts for the holiday season. The items, ranging from $5 to $50,000, are priced for both wallets.
Some also come for the music. This year’s performers are the Native American band Brule and the mellow, Mediterranean musicians The Sahnas Brothers, who play from two entertainment stages.
There’s also cuisine of various types to indulge.
Visitors come from near and far.
“I get calls from people from back East: “I’m making my plane reservations, what’s the date of the show in 2009?” is a question Morgan fields these days
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