This weekend, Kingstonians will once again enjoy the art, music and food that is indicative of ArtFest. With 150 vendors of a variety of art mediums, it is hard to imagine how they all started creating. With that in mind, three artists have describe their artistic journey and what led them to ArtFest.

Naomi Smith, a member of the Chippewas of Nawash nation, started beading when she was seven, but it wasn’t until much later that she started sharing her work with others through Black Tulip Designs.

“Beadwork has been a recent incorporation into our culture because of course we didn’t have any glass beads until they were introduced to us by the Europeans,” Smith said.

“They’re small and they come in colors that we can’t replicate from nature. There are lots of advantages to that because many of our pieces that we create are meant to be passed down from generation to generation.”

Smith draws inspiration for her pieces from history, blending historical and contemporary patterns in her work.

“There’s just something captivating about them, and I want that history to be preserved,” Smith said.

When she’s beading, Smith thinks about her heritage and honouring her culture and community.

“We’re always told to bead with a good mind or to have good thoughts in our minds because our ancestors believe that when you’re doing something that’s considered to be important that you have respect for it,” Smith said.

Smith will be carrying on the memory of her good friend Jay Bell Red Bird this year by helping to bring his vision of creating an Indigenous arts pavilion at ArtFest alive.

“He was my friend and I really miss him,” Smith said. “I really do, and just being there is honouring what he started.”

Owner of Solasta Soaps, Frances MacLeod is a one woman show. Aside from occasional help from her daughter, MacLeod designs, makes and packages her soaps herself.

“There’s an art to (soap making) and there’s a lot of science behind soap making as well,” MacLeod said.

Making soap was a passion project until MacLeod’s coworkers at Kingston General Hospital encouraged her to start selling her creations.

“Prior to retiring when I was still working at KGH, a lot of people asked me—they knew I was making soap—to start bringing some in,” MacLeod said. “I’ve always kind of been interested in arts and crafts, those kind of things. I’ve always wanted to learn about soap making.”

After 40 years of working in health care in Kingston, MacLeod transformed her basement into a soap kitchen.

“Soap takes six weeks to make,” MacLeod explained, “That’s where the science part comes in because you want these crystals within this soap to really form and become hard so it’ll be a long-lasting bar, so it won’t just melt away.”

A long-time attendee of ArtFest, MacLeod is excited and nervous to be one of the artists chosen for the event this year.

“Once I knew that I had been accepted I thought, ‘Oh dear, I might need a lot of soap,’” MacLeod said. “I like a lot of colors, I like smells, I like pretty things and so it’s just an opportunity to put my work out.”

Ken Waller is the sole employee of Ken Waller Woodcraft, a business Waller started after retiring as an aerospace engineering officer with the Canadian Air Force.

“I’m a wood turner, which is a specialty in woodworking. I’ve been turning for 42 years,” Waller said.

To turn pieces of wood into finish products, Waller uses a lathe. A lathe is a machine that rotates wood on a horizontal axis, allowing Waller to manipulate the form of the wood using handheld tools.

“I do some unique approaches to turning some of my wood. My pieces still have the bark around the edges,” Waller said.

Waller has a workshop in his home base of Sharbot Lake and in Phoenix, Arizona. His work showcases the natural beauty of the wood from both places.

“I turn burrows, which are the round bulges you’ll sometimes see in a tree,” Waller explained. “Usually, inside, the grain and figure have gone crazy, it swirls and adds colour. Each piece is extremely unique.”

A veteran vendor at ArtFest, Waller is excited to bring his bowls, kitchenware, pendants and more to Kingston.

“(I’ve) been looking forward to this! I haven’t done a craft show in maybe two years because of COVID,” Waller said. “I really enjoy doing ArtFest because it literally has something for everybody.”

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