Photography courtesy of Michael Merriman
Each year, for more than 20 years, Michael Merriman applied to exhibit his hand-designed, forged-steel knives at the Saint Louis Art Fair. And, each year, Merriman, along with about 90 percent of the 1,100 to 1,300 applicants to the highly competitive fair, didn’t make the cut.
But the 2020 Saint Louis Art Fair, presented by Centene Charitable Foundation, was different. Merriman’s mixed media application was accepted. He’s among 135 other juried artists displaying their work at the fair, set for September 11–13 in the Clayton business district. Admission is free. Last year’s art fair was virtual-only due to COVID, so Merriman and other artists selected for 2020 will be at this September’s event.
Exhibits include mixed media, jewelry, ceramics, photography, fiber, painting, printmaking, drawing and pastels, and metal. “The Saint Louis Art Fair is considered one of the top art fairs in the country,” Merriman says. “I was home alone in Colorado with my dogs when I heard I was selected. I was so happy, I just started dancing.”
Merriman is among other artists who applied for several years to the Saint Louis Art Fair before their work was accepted for exhibition, according to Sarah Umlauf, art fair executive director. But she believes Merriman, who describes himself as a “boat captain and knifemaker” on Facebook, might be making art fair history by traveling to metro St. Louis by boat. “Most of the artists come by plane or van,” she notes.
As his captain and knifemaker Facebook titles suggest, artist Merriman enjoys being close to water. His interest in knife-making harkens to early work as a chef working in the Caribbean. “My handmade knives are made from forged Damascus steel with various hardwoods displayed in sculptural sets,” he says.
As for his boat, Merriman plans to set sail on his 50-foot yacht he named Pooh, in honor of Winnie-the-Pooh and the nickname he had as a child growing up in Ohio. “I don’t have a car. I thought it would be a lot of fun to come by boat to St. Louis,” says Merriman, who has a captain’s license and travels by yacht to other art fairs, too.
For the St. Louis trip, Merriman’s route will take him from the Great Lakes to the New York coastline, down the Southeastern seaboard, to Mobile, Alabama. From Mobile, he’ll travel a series of channels known as the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to Cairo, Illinois, where he’ll connect with the Mississippi River and head to St. Louis. Details as to which area Mississippi River marina he’ll dock at are being worked out, Umlauf says.
Watch a video, produced by HEC, with Merriman below:
