GARDEN CITY, Idaho — The Western Idaho Fair has been a staple in Boise for 127 years and for 60 of those years Steve’s Splatter Barrels has been there too, helping people create one-of-a-kind art pieces using special spinning barrels.
- Steve's Splatter Barrels is celebrating 60 years of art at the fair.
- Visitors can pick one of three different mediums to paint: a picture in a frame, a frisbee, or a ceramic tile.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"So every one of them is a different spin, you never can re-create, you can try with colors, but they turn out different. Every one of them do."
He has been spinning art at the Western Idaho Fair for decades.
"This is a huge family tradition, you know, and as long as I can and I have help or family that help me we'll continue it from here on out."
He owns Steve's Splatter Barrels, which has been a staple at the fair since his cousin started the business in 1964.
"He got the idea from the World's Fair in New York City in '64 and came back and put it together and we've been going ever since."
Steve bought the business in 1981 and has returned to fairgrounds in Garden City each year since then.
"When I was younger I loved it! So when it became available, I just thought it was a great idea. I had no idea that I would carry it on for 43 years now, but here I am 43 years later still enjoying it, still a hobby. I'm retired, but I still do this."
The concept is simple. First decide what you want to paint: a picture in a frame, a frisbee, or a ceramic tile.
Then you load it into one of these barrels where you can add, mix, spin, and splatter your favorite combination of colors until you decide your masterpiece is done.
"It's funny it doesn't matter what age, you can be a child that can hardly even stand up to reach the barrel to somebody 80-90 years old it applies to all ages."
Steve tells me he's seen families come back to create unique art pieces... generation after generation.
"It's a fantastic feeling, when you have somebody come that came as a little child and remembers it and does it every year, has come back every year then they grow up they start bringing their children and then their grandchildren. Yeah it's an amazing feeling to know that you affect that many lives."
