Fair-goers were able to soak up some art at the Faribault County Fair this year, with a local artist sharing her talents.

Shelley Caldwell of Delavan specializes in mixed media drawing and installation work. She set up shop at the fair on Thursday and Friday to talk with fair-goers and display her artwork.

Caldwell said that when she was a kid, she was inspired by her mother’s artistic talent through sewing and drawing. From there, she said, art became what she enjoyed doing the most.

“I have lots of hobbies and interests, but it’s the one thing I always came back to,” Caldwell said. “No matter how hard I tried to move away from it, it would sneak back in.”

On Thursday, Caldwell displayed a series of collages made up of different materials from her grandparents’ house, including old receipts.

“They are all specific and unique, and there aren’t any two that are alike, but they’re all also very similar to one another,” she said.

Because the materials are local, there is a nostalgia factor to the collages that people from the area can enjoy.

“All those little details, all the specifics of the materials that were once part of our everyday lives that kind of slowly disappeared, I’m fascinated by,” Caldwell said. “It’s not only to preserve the materials, but to kind of give them a new purpose, and to take them out of their old context and put them in this new conversation with one another.”

Caldwell also works with acrylic and oil painting.

“Basically if I can put it on paper or canvas, I’ll use it,” she said.

Becki Steier, of Becki Steier Studios in Blue Earth, said the push for artists to display their work at the fair was in response to the fact that there was no midway this year. To replace the carnival rides, she asked local artists who have their art displayed in her studio if they would like to get involved.

Steier said this is the first time a local artist has been displayed at the fair in this way, and she can see it continuing in the following years. Steier said in the future she would like to see more art incorporated into the fair, along with the artwork displayed in the Hall of Arts, including free activities for children and educational programs.

“There’s a lot of talented local people that most people don’t know about, so it would be nice to give them some recognition,” Steier said.

Caldwell said she would definitely return to the fair next year to display her work.

“It’s great to see all the various things going on in the community,” she said. “Especially when it’s this gorgeous out.”