Moldy Apples: DIY Festival Kid Row
Art
Held at the Utah State Fairpark every August, the 17th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons is Utah’s largest local-centric arts, music, science and technology festival. Over the three-day weekend, experience the best of our state’s creative culture with over 500 local artists and makers, three stages for music and dance performances, a youth entrepreneur area, a STEM building with hands-on exhibitions, dozens of food vendors and more. Kids of all ages and dogs are welcome — find more info and get tickets at craftlakecity.com!
A lover of all things strange and peculiar, Via Jones (they/she) has been an artist for all 14 years of their life. The name “Moldy Apples” comes from their love of apples and fascination with mold.
Jones uses found materials in her artwork to create unique textures and patterns. “I put a lot of junk in my scrapbooks,” she says. “I’ll just add things like candy wrappers, fabric scraps, buttons, soda tabs … I’m drawn to grandma florals, vintage fabrics, polka dots and whimsical things.” But her signature creation is her cat masks. “I adore cats,” Jones says. “I own five cats who are all very lovely.”
Their masks are also inspired by the blue animated cat Giovanni from the 1985 anime film Night on the Galactic Railroad, Louis Wain’s anthropomorphized cat illustrations and Rosina Wachtmeister’s whimsical cat paintings and sculptures. Jones starts the process with a paper mask base from a local craft store. “Then I alter the mask by adding ears or changing the eye shape,” they say. “I add felt and then handprint it; sometimes I add accessories or buttons. It all takes a lot of time, but I enjoy the process.”
At the DIY Fest, Jones will be selling stickers, upcycled clothes, dolls and her signature cat masks. “It always brings me joy to see someone else love the things I’ve created as much as I do,” she says. Find her booth in Kid Row on Saturday, August 9 from 12:00-4:00 p.m. —Asha Pruitt
Read more DIY Fest features here:
Kid News: DIY Festival Kid Row
Ten Cent Pistil: DIY Festival Artisan
