By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — While corn dogs, lemonade shakeups, taffy and livestock are all expected at the Illinois State Fair, those who stopped by the Artisan Building (formerly the Poultry Building) viewed a whole other side – the artistic one – of this annual event.

The Illinois State Fair offered a Professional Art exhibit featuring paintings, sculpture, textiles and an array of artwork. This year’s 2011 Best of Show craft went to Eugene Frith Mettzer for her sculpture titled, “Government Stimulus.”
Janet Poll from New Douglass, Ill., won first place with her watercolor titled “Jack.” William Morris from Springfield won first place in the Digital Image category with his entry “Hillbilliestva.” Christine Rollman of Sycamore also received first place for her “Summer Wind.”

For those enjoying rural settings, originals and prints of work from Roger Dewitt from Gillespie, Ill., were on hand. Dewitt’s work features historical scenes of the Midwest.  His work represents a simpler time on the farm.

Dewitt and his wife have raised American Paint Horses for more than 25 years. Log onto www.rdewitt.com/index.htm to learn more about his work.
 For the more imaginative, Jeff Garland’s sculptures were on display and brought to life in a book written by his son, Brenhan, titled Emo’s Great Story.
Enthralled with Steve Irwin, the late “Crocodile Hunter” and his story of assisting endangered species in the wild, the younger Garland began saving money to go to Australia to meet his mentor.

Even after the death of Irwin, after reading the writings of his widow, Brenhan decided to write Emo’s Great Story and sell copies along with his father’s sculptures, to assist with an award he received to visit the land of his dreams. Check out www.emosgreatstory.com for more information.

Artist Jonathan Benning’s prints and photographic prints were also available. Benning’s prints reflect iconic images of Springfield, such as Lincoln’s tomb, the Cozy Drive Inn (where the cozy dog was invented) and more.

Benning also had other Illinois images that are attention-grabbing. His images are available online at www.jonathanbenning.ecrater.com

Architecture of the buildings at the fair, the famous butter cow sculpture, plant creations and many other images give a cultural creative edge to this 10-day mega event each year.