AnnArbor.com digital journalist James Dickson is blogging today from the Ann Arbor Art Fairs. In Part One, he spends some time on Main and Liberty streets.

Lou Zale brings "magic realism" to Main Street

The Ann Arbor Art Fairs account for a good deal of Lou Zale's business every year. That's why the Deerfield, Illinois native has been presenting his brand of "magic realism" in Treetown for the last 15 years.

"I call what I do 'magic realism;' it's the gentler side of surrealism, you could say," Zale said. His works are "two-and-a-half dimension" panoramas, photographed inside small, constructed rooms that he builds.

Lou Zale calls his style "magic realism."

James Dickson | AnnArbor.com

When a friend married a woman who cheers for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, he sent Zale a replica cardinal along with a mini bird's nest. He put those items — along with replicas of Albert Pujols and Lou Brock, and baseball cards for Stan Musial and other Cardinals greats — all on the backdrop of Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Asked what drives his style of photography, Zale said: "A strong sense of whimsy helps."

Chelsea's Jane Wilhelm: "Once it's gone, it's gone"

Fans of Jane Wilhelm's Polaroid emulsion transfers better grab them soon, the Chelsea-based artist said. Because when the current batch runs out, they're gone forever.

Wilhelm, who said she's been presenting at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs on-and-off since 1973, was affected when Polaroid announced a few years ago that it would be discontinuing its film operations in favor of digital products. She is stationed on Main Street.

Jane Wilhelm has a number of styles to fall back on, now that she has no film left to do Polaroid emulsion transfers.

James Dickson | AnnArbor.com

"I use colored film, and I count on the film to create my images," Wilhelm said. She transfers images from Polaroids onto 24K gold paper using hot water. "Once film is expired, it becomes discolored, unpredictable. I don't mind an imperfection here or there, but I prefer to have some control.

The lifelong artist has a number of other styles at her disposal — floral prints especially — but appreciated the individual nature of the emulsion transfers, which she says were so unique that each print was an original.

"My life is like my booth — eclectic," Wilhelm said. "I may have to move on to other forms now, but such is life."

Both Zale and Wilhelm are on Main Street north of Liberty in the Summer Art Fair.

Buckeyes beat Wolverines in school spirit at Rich Ernsting's collage booth

Of all the 500 schools Rich Ernsting uses in his work, it's usually a given that his University of Michigan prints will sell the best when he comes to the summer art fair.

Ernsting and his partner Rebecca Higgins have traveled to more than 500 colleges and universities across the country.

"She gets campus maps from the internet, then we walk the entire thing, photographing every important building along the way," Ernsting explained. He used to repaint the images into collage form, but nowadays he uses photography.

Rich Ernsting's University of Michigan prints typically sell well at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs. But this year a certain school down south is inspiring more interest.

James Dickson | AnnArbor.com

Ernsting, who is stationed in the Liberty courtyard, an "unofficial" adjunct to the fairs off Liberty Street, comes up from Indianapolis, Indiana for the Ann Arbor Art Fairs. He said that, usually, the University of Michigan is the best seller. But this year another school — a school down south, one might say — has taken that mantle.

"Usually I sell way more Michigan than any other school," he said on Thursday morning. "But this year I've sold about 12 Ohio State and only three or four Michigans. I don't know why."

The former Indiana University student joked, "I went to a lot of these schools, but didn't graduate from any of them."

How Jim Beran learned to stop resisting and hit his commercial niche

Much like the Hallmark seems to have a card for just about every occasion, Jim Beran of Fort Lauderdale, Fl., has a cartoon for just about every lot in life, from lawyers to Jewish mothers to teenage boys to psychologists. Beran's booth is on Liberty Street near South Division.

Jim Beran admires his work at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs.

James Dickson | AnnArbor.com

Beran was toiling unsuccessfully as a street artist in San Francisco a number of years ago when a lawyer approached with a suggestion.

"Why don't you make a cartoon about lawyers?" he asked.

"At first I resisted," Beran told AnnArbor.com. "My attitude was that I set my own agenda. Eventually, I tried it, and the lawyer loved it. Then people in other professions would ask for them and I thought 'Hey, maybe I'm onto something here.'"

James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com.