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Creative Creatures at the Putnam County Fair

Out in the community

We brought an art table to the Putnam County Fair in late July, put out the oil pastels, and let whoever wandered by make something.

A child's oil pastel drawing of a purple butterfly, an orange fish and a pink flower, made at the InterArts booth at the Putnam County Fair.
Made at the InterArts booth: a purple butterfly, an orange fish, and a great deal of confidence.

Creative creatures

There is a particular kind of magic in an open art table at a fair. Nobody signed up. Nobody was graded. Kids drifted over between the animals and the food tents, sat down, picked up a pastel, and got absorbed — sometimes for a minute, sometimes for a very long time.

What came out of it: butterflies and goldfish, hearts on stems standing under three suns at once, leaf rubbings in violet, a mermaid with pipe-cleaner hair and googly eyes, and a great many creatures that do not exist in any field guide.

A child's drawing of six heart-shaped flowers under three yellow suns, made at the InterArts booth at the Putnam County Fair.
Six heart-shaped flowers, three suns. No notes.

Our own Stacey Ruud ran the table for the weekend. “I had a lot of fun and enjoyed all these creative creatures,” she said afterward — which is about the highest review a craft table can get.

A purple oak-leaf rubbing beside a pencil-drawn creature, made at the InterArts booth at the Putnam County Fair.
A leaf rubbing in violet, with a creature sketched in alongside it.

Some visitors went with what was in front of them: a real leaf under the paper, a pastel rubbed sideways, and suddenly every vein shows up. Others decorated tote bags they could carry home.

A child's mermaid drawing on a decorated tote bag with googly eyes and pipe-cleaner hair, made at the Hudson Valley InterArts booth at the Putnam County Fair.
A mermaid, in pipe cleaner and googly eyes, on a tote bag headed home.

Why we go

Not everyone who should find their way to InterArts knows we exist. Fairs are how people meet us before they ever look us up — and there is no better introduction to what we do than handing someone materials and getting out of the way.

Thanks to the Putnam County Fair for having us, and to everyone who sat down and made something.

Want to keep making things?

We run classes for every age all year round in Patterson and Ballston Lake. See what is on the schedule →

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