Artists' Colony Blossoms in Hannibal, MO

Another one of the great things about being an art fair artist is that you are not wedded to a particular locale, you can move close to the shows, you can find a region that appeals to you, you can choose a big city or a small town. In 1987 when our home in Detroit kept getting broken into (because everyone could see the big van was gone on the weekends) we realized we could live just about anywhere and started looking as we traveled to our art fairs.

We moved to Coldwater, MI, that winter, chosen because there were big homes we could afford (which we needed to hold the studio, darkroom, framing area), it was within a few miles of the Indiana Toll Road (good for east-west travel), on a north-south Interstate and we could reach Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago within three hours, as well as our regular Michigan shows. Plus, it was so safe that some of our neighbors didn't even have keys to their houses, they left them unlocked. If your property got broken into the police would immediately catch the culprit because someone would know someone who knew who did it. It has been perfect for us.

Where to live is a continuous thread of conversation at the shows. Here is a terrific article by Susan Hegger from the St. Louis Beacon about Hannibal, MO, a haven for artists Joachim Knill, Janice Ho, Matthew Naftzger and others. They have bought houses, apartment buildings, old community centers, the old jail and are transforming the town.


Do read the article. It is full of information about artist's lives, earning a living and gives hope. Then tell us more about your life style choices.


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  • Bob is not doing shows anymore.  He paints on barn wood and sells them on E-Bay.

  • Thank you for the article, very interesting and inspiring. I love Janice Ho jewelry, it is really amazing.

  • I haven't seen Bob forever!! Is he still out there doing the shows? Tell him I said hello.

  • Bob Hoke lives in Hannibal, also.  I may have to stop there in April.

  • Micheal Cohen, the creative - and very original - photographer, lives in Hannibal.  He had extended an invitation to stop in whenever I'm in the area.  Well, this past August, I had four days to meander across the Midwest between shows, so I stopped in.  He and his wife Melissa (a terrifically talented painter) own an old church built in the late 1800s.  I brought wine, someone made a delicious dinner and a bunch of us had a great time.  It turns out that there were six artists living in the area and all six were frantically getting ready to do KC Plaza the coming weekend.  Hannibal could be a very inexpensive place to live; it's just that I love living in CO, especially liking the low humidity and lack of tornados!

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