The annual Chickadee Art Bazaar returns Saturday, Dec. 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., bringing 12 Ridgefield Arts Association members together for a day of original artwork, holiday gifts, and community connection. This year’s event will be held in the Columbia Assembly Room at the Ridgefield Administrative and Civic Center during Ridgefield’s Hometown Celebration.
The bazaar is a showcase of fine art rather than a traditional craft fair, featuring paintings, pottery, fiber art and photography created by members of the Ridgefield Arts Association. It also gives residents a chance to meet the people behind the work.
“The purpose of the Chickadee Art Bazaar is to give the local community an opportunity to purchase local art for holidays,” Melody Kranz, member-at-large of the Ridgefield Arts Association, said.
One of the artists returning for her second year is Lori O’Haver, whose path back into art started just five years ago. O’Haver grew up painting, put it aside to raise a family, then rediscovered it in 2019 through a class and later through paint pour sessions. A moment with her daughter during one of those pours shifted everything.
That moment led her to teaching paint parties before the pandemic, then into large-scale work using recycled metal doors. She builds textured landscapes with patina, metal paints, mica powders, sand and other found materials. Her piece “Restoration,” shown earlier this year, grew from those experiments.
After the pandemic, O’Haver continued to push herself creatively, experimenting with new textures and techniques that deepened the layered look she is now known for. She also found unexpected inspiration outside the studio when she appeared as an extra on the set of Leverage, filmed in Portland, Oregon. The production’s dramatic lighting, set materials and painted backdrops sparked ideas that later worked their way into her mixed-media pieces, especially in the way she builds depth and atmosphere into her landscapes.
Ridgefield’s beauty is another factor that fuels O’Haver’s creativity.
“There’s just so much beauty that God gives in our creation that it’s really hard not to see it all the time,” O’Haver said.
The Chickadee Bazaar also gives her a chance to share that inspiration with others.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know and talk to people,” she said.
Like many other artists, O’Haver will bring a mix of art pieces for holiday shoppers, including small paintings and art kits for children.
With new artists joining, a new gallery opening, and one of the association’s longest-running annual events returning, organizers say this year's bazaar is a chance to celebrate and meet the people shaping the city’s growing art community.
“100 percent, this is absolutely what that’s for; building community with the artists,” Kranz said.
