See inside a local artist's studio ahead of Ann Arbor Art Fair
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Ann Arbor Art Fair kicks off on Thursday and will see nearly 1,000 artists set up their work throughout the downtown area.
Stan Baker has lived in Ann Arbor his whole life and bills himself as a true "townie" artist.
He works out of his home studio steps away from Michigan Stadium and said he was the youngest person to participate in the Ann Arbor Art Fair at his first show in 1978.
"This will be my 45th year at the Ann Arbor Art Fair," said Baker, who said he only missed the one year the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Consecutively, I've never missed one. I don't plan on it until I die. It's my goal to continue to do the Ann Arbor Art Fair. Because I live closer to my booth than anybody at the Art Fair -- I walk down there to the Art Fair."
Baker is self-taught. He learned on wheels at Forsythe Middle School and Community High School and continued to teach for years at Community High after he graduated.
He's been living at his house on Main Street making pottery for more than 30 years and built his large, light-filled studio by himself.
He specializes in functional pieces like bowls, vases and mugs.
"I even live my pottery," he said. "I have my design that I paint on every single pot tattooed on my arm – it goes all the way up my arm and down my back. I even have my dragonflies that I do, and I signed it, and I copyrighted it."
He mixes his clay and fires his work in three kilns – two of which he built himself.
Baker says what he loves most about his work is the lasting impact it has.
"The great thing about pottery, I always like this, is that when you make a piece of pottery, it's here forever," said Baker. "We find stuff from the Egyptians.
"I get all these people saying, 'Oh, I had coffee with you this morning,' and I'm thinking, 'I'm just sitting at home.' And they're like, 'No, I have your cup. I love this cup. It's my cup.' And that's the thing that makes you really feel good about what you're doing."
You can find Baker and his work at the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair on Main Street at booth MN 225 Thursday through Saturday.
For more information about the event, visit www.theannarborartfair.com.
