The Mulvane Art Fair was held June 1 and 2 on Washburn’s campus. It was a juried art fair featuring 89 artists from various states along with Washburn student artists. The mediums included ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, photography, printmaking, wood, sculpture and painting. Approximately 3,0500 people attended the fair.

Gabbi Rollins is a senior art major with an emphasis in general studios. Rollins is also the President of Washburn Art Club (WAC).

“It’s a wonderful experience. Especially seeing all types of artist,” said Rollins. “I’m happy that I had the experience to meet them and see the work.”

Members and officers of WAC started preparing for the Mulvane Art Fair in April of this year.

Kyra Miller, senior art major with emphases in painting and drawing, and secretary of WAC, described how hard the student members of WAC worked on making their booth for the fair.

“It’s a really nice fair; it has a lot of good quality items. It’s such an honor that WAC is able to have two booth spaces,” said Miller. “It’s really getting student work out there to a lot of people.”

Miller has loved art since she was a young kid. She decided to start her journey as an artist in her freshman year of high school.

“I just love making art. It makes me the happiest. If I could make a job out of that, then I feel like I would be super happy,” said Miller. “I love when people see my art, it makes them smile enough where they want to buy it and hang it in their house. That is the best feeling to me. It’s not really much about the money. But, it definitely would help if I could get a good paying job that involves making people happy with my art.”

Yueyi Sun is a senior art major with an emphasis in painting. It was her first time participating in the Mulvane Art Fair.

“I really like the Mulvane Art Fair. It is a good opportunity to know about local artists, their styles, and customers’ preference of art,” Sun cheerfully explained. “Talking with artists and people who visited art fair helped me get inspiration… I am so glad to hear someone loving my works, which provides confidence and enthusiasm for me to create more art.”

Those students who entered their work gained learning experiences and confidence by participating in the Mulvane Art Fair.

“The most important thing I benefited from the Mulvane Art Fair is how to make profit by art. As a student artist, I’m confused about how to make a living by art because selling art is not an easy thing,” said Sun. “During Mulvane Art Fair, I found out customers love many artworks, but they can’t afford all of them. As a result, cups, bags, or prints of original works are popular.”

Rollins explained how the art fair is beneficial for advertising student artists, as well. 

“I think they [student artists] can benefit by getting their name out there, giving them experience to have their artwork shown,” Rollins said. “I think our students should recommend doing exhibitions or fairs like the Mulvane, especially to have that privilege before going out in the real world.”

“It’s definitely a good opportunity to talk with people, to talk about your art, and to see what people are interested in,” said Miller. “I think all artists should participate in a fair at least once in their life just to have the experience.”

Edited by Joelle Conway,