BY ALTA MAYHUGH
SVN REPORTER

GRAND DETOUR - Roxy Hey, of Dixon, owns a reproduction of Jeanne Rager's "Trails End" painting. She'd purchased it for her log cabin in Tennessee.

"You can feel it, can't you? It's as though you're in the picture," Hey said as she gazed at the original piece Sunday at the 59th Annual Grand Detour Arts Festival. The watercolor painting shows two men dressed in Western gear headed to their cabin on horseback during winter. Frosty, sparkling snow blankets the ground and trees in the scene, and the cabin is lit with a soft glow.

"The light in the window is a welcome sign," Hey said.

Vehicles lined Clinton and Illinois streets in Grand Detour as hundreds of people came to look at and purchase art from more than 40 local, out-of-town and out-of-state artists. Festival attendees found a variety of art, including handmade jewelry, photography, sculptures and stained glass.

Some artists had more unusual pieces, such as Kelly Bedeian of Durant, Iowa. Her jewelry, many of which incorporate photos she's taken, combines her passions for photography and jewelry-making. The pendants of the necklaces were of all shapes. One was a tiny circle with a photo of a windmill. Another was a small square with a photo of sunflowers.

Bedeian travels the world and took some of her photos while in Ukraine and Istanbul. Her windmill photo, however, was taken near her home. "I do a lot with photography and jewelry because I can't decide if I want to do jewelry or photography," she laughed.

Robert Kerwin, of Rockford, displayed his "Interesting Little Boxes," small wooden containers with hidden compartments. The boxes were in all shapes, including a mushroom-shaped box with a smooth rock as a handle.

People often buy boxes to use for their jewelry and trinkets, Kerwin said.

"I tell people they don't have to do anything with them; they can put them of the shelf and look at them," he said.

As festival attendees moved from booth to booth, Jim Henkel and a group of musicians played the Alabama classic "Dixieland Delight." The hot afternoon sun beat down, reflecting on some of the art, such as Donna Moore's stained glass.

Around noon, Bob Coddington, of Mount Morris, scooped up buckeyes from the ground with Karen Kraft, of Cantrall, a community north of Springfield. Kraft said it's the first time she's been to the Grand Detour festival.

"I like art shows where there's quality things (such as this one). There's good artistic presentations," she said.

Some artists engaged in hearty banter with people who visited their booths. Mike McNamara of Grand Detour laughed with an acquaintance about a person who thought one of his sculptures was a lamp shade. Wife Lorna McNamara said he likes to display his sculptures at the annual festival partly because he bumps into people he knows.

"I like the ambiance of this show. There's a lot of people that come back year after year," she said.

Some of the visitors make the arts festival an annual tradition, such as John Nix of rural Sterling.

"We come every year when they have it," he said, adding he likes to see photos of old barns and cottages.

Cathy and Richard Frint of Byron have been going to the festival for five years. "I think the variety of things is what draws us here," she said.

ADULT Award Winners: 2007 Grand Detour Arts Festival
Judge: Jeanne Coe, Rockford, IL

• Best of Show -- Jeanne Rager, Rockford, Grand Detour Arts Festival
• Best of Oil/Acrylic – Jayne Rose, Grand Detour, Jim & Judy Valenti
  
• Best Watercolor – Graydon Cafarella, Dixon, Franklin Grove Bank
  
• Best Photography – Bob Logsdon, Grand Detour, The Telegraph
  
• Best Jewelry – Pat Malin, North Aurora, IL, Ken Nelson Auto Group
  
• Best Sculpture -- Mike McNamara, Grand Detour, Grand Detour Arts Festival
  
• Best 3 D – Kurt Salla, Topeka, IL, Grand Detour Arts Festival
  
• Charles Kested Award – Lisa Lefevre, Sterling, Grand Detour Arts Festival
  
• James Thomas Award -- Donna Moore, Franklin Grove, His Family
  
• Tradition Continues – Fran Swarbrick, Grand Detour Arts Festival

STUDENT Award Winners: 2007 Grand Detour Arts Festival
Judge: Carolyn Freese, Serena, Illinois

• Best of Show – Ryan Hartman, Byron HS, Maja Shoemaker- Award: Jim & Gloria Fallon
  

• 1st Place – Christian Hage, Faith Christian, Becky Hage
  
• 2nd Place – Brittney Book, Mary Morgan Elementary (Byron), Diane Conroy
  
• 3rd Place – Sydney McClung, Mary Morgan Elementary (Byron), Jean Eiten
  
• 4th Place – Olivia Warren, Covenant Christian, Mrs. Scudamore
  
• Judges Choice- Riley Shriver, Lincoln (Rochelle), Nan Elson
  

Grades 6th through 8th, Awards Friends of the Arts

Grades 9th through 12th, Awards Friends of the Arts

• 1st Place – Jessie Gillmeister, 11h, Byron HS , Mrs. Shoemaker
  
• 2nd Place – Abby Boomgarden, 12h , Byron H S, Mrs. Shoemaker
  
• 3rd Place – Lindsay Aiello, 11th, Sterling HS, Ms. Rendleman
  
• 4th Place – Dawn Montague, 11th, Dixon HS
  
• Judges Choice-- Hailey Kruger, 11th , Stoney Point Studio, Pat Lathe