Hazel Park Art Fair coming soon to Green Acres Park

HAZEL PARK — Organizers for the Hazel Park Art Fair, now in its 10th year, hope it will build on the momentum of last year’s record-setting show that was attended by more than 4,000 people.

This year’s fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28. The venue once again will be Green Acres Park, 620 W. Woodward Heights Blvd. Admission is free.

The fair is presented by the nonprofit Hazel Park Arts Council. More than 90 artist vendors will be there, both seasoned veterans and newcomers gaining experience on the art fair circuit. Together, their works span a variety of mediums, styles and subject matter. The event is billed as suitable for all ages.

There also will be musicians performing, such as The Strains, Adriana Nikole and Smiley Kaul, as well as aerial performances by Shadow’s Circus and the D3 Circus Troupe. For a $20 donation supporting First Step of Michigan, guests can participate in a 60-minute yoga class fundraiser.

There will be free take-and-create art kits for families to complete at home, a variety of artisan food vendors to sample, and a craft beer tent for charity featuring local breweries.

Timothy Branson will be one of the artists featured at the fair. He operates Timothy’s Trinkets in Dearborn.

“As an emerging artist, I love that the fair has allowed me the opportunity to display my creations to the Hazel Park community and surrounding areas,” Branson said in an email.

His life as a professional artist began with the pandemic. In 2019, he began researching silver jewelry casting for a Sea Scouts project. When he caught COVID in March 2020 and found himself at home with plenty of free time, he began studying casting and silversmithing in more detail.

Branson, an avid sailor, began receiving requests from friends in the Detroit sailing community for custom-made “boat club” jewelry. Today, he works with more than a dozen clubs from the metro Detroit area, Windsor, Belleville and Ohio. He launched Timothy’s Trinkets in late 2020. One year later, he officially retired from Firestone, where he had worked as a lead technician for nearly 30 years, so that he could focus on jewelry full time.

He uses computer-aided design programs and 3D printing to create models. Then he takes the resin models and casts them using primarily silver but occasionally 14-karat gold. He also recently purchased a gemstone inventory from a local jewelry store that closed, allowing him to add those to his creations.

“I truly love my craft, and enjoy challenging my abilities by creating new designs,” he said. “Every day that I’m out in my studio, I feel privileged to be playing with precious metals and natural gemstones. When I start a project from just someone’s idea, and then finish with a piece of wearable art, well, it gives me an indescribable feeling. I absolutely love it!”

Andolini Aziz, of Madison Heights, is another artist featured at the show. He had an interest in art from the age of 4, when his mother first showed him how to draw a fish at the dinner table. As a young adult, he decided he wanted to be a professional artist. But it wasn’t until his late 20s that he had what he described as a creative breakthrough, no longer comparing himself to other artists but instead drawing and painting what made him feel good. He said that sharing his works with others has been an important part of his journey.

“I had been a recluse with my art and personalizing it, but I always felt like I was half of myself. I started doing little pop-up shows here and there, including the Hazel Park Art Fair. I found that if I want to know who I am as an artist, I have to immerse myself with creative people. Getting into it was the only way … to find how I affect my surroundings, and how my surroundings influence my art,” Aziz said in an email. “It’s helped me love my art, and myself. It’s helped me heal, and in a way become a self-portrait. Not necessarily what I looked like, but what I felt on the inside.”

He added that while he loves painting, there’s something special about illustrating with a pencil — something that reminds him of where he started, doodling fish with his mother at the kitchen table.

“I say I’ve created a wonderful life of color,” Aziz said.

Another vendor attending the show is Deborah Tedrick, owner of Second ACT Soaps-n-Such. She began making soaps as an undergrad in college, but her focus was studying music and theater. After college, she toured with a band and later got her master’s degree in musical theater. She is now a professor at Rochester University, as well as a voice teacher and singer/pianist who also runs a youth theater program. However, when COVID hit in 2020, she lost her music and theater income and had to pivot to stay afloat. She decided to create a company selling her custom-made soaps, candles, and bath and body products.

“Soap was a perfect gift during the worst of COVID-19, and I loved that my creations were fun and inventive enough that parents had no trouble getting their kids to wash their hands repeatedly. That made me so happy,” Tedrick said in an email. “I continue to use the creativity of music and theater by making creations that are often arts-themed — (for example), music symbols, and show colors like the ‘Wicked’ musical, (with its) green/black/white combo. I do a lot of custom orders, and recently did a larger order of black soaps with gold Oscars on them as party favors for a woman who had an Oscars party. I also did a large basket for a music director friend who had a production of ‘Legally Blonde’ — lots of pink products, and Chihuahua-themed ‘Bruiser’ items. So much fun!”

In addition to supporting the artists, the Hazel Park Art Fair also supports the community with proceeds reinvested into initiatives such as the Hazel Park Art Fair mentorship program, which aims to help young artists prepare for marketing their work at future fairs.

“The annual Hazel Park Art Fair is one of our favorite community events,” Ed Klobucher, Hazel Park’s city manager, said in a prepared statement. “I am proud of the hard work shown by everyone involved, and the entire weekend underscores our city’s friendliness and inclusiveness. I know I’ll be there!”