The largest arts festival in Texas is underway in Fort Worth.
The Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival is a four-day event that brings an estimated 400,000 people through the booths that line blocks of Main Street in Downtown Fort Worth.
"It can't just sound beautiful. It has to look beautiful, woodworking artist Adam Crowell said of his melodic percussion boxes. "I want something that can be displayed as a sculpture, but that you can take to a concert and play a gig."
Crowell won one of the festival's six Merit Awards for his musical art.
"This particular one is in the key of E," Crowell said, pointing out his work involved more than art. "Physics! It's a length, width, mass, density ratio."
A few booths away, mixed media artist John Blackwell was getting some attention, too.
"Best of Show Award," Blackwell said. "Blew my mind! There are so many great artists at this show. I was dumbfounded, actually flabbergasted!"
Blackwell is a glass blower who switched mediums to try something totally new with wood, epoxy, and resin.
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"Each layer is a smorgasbord of colors," Blackwell told a booth visitor. "And then once it's all built up, I drill it out, exposing the layers of color - it's just about the color - it's about the shine."
Blackwell does not have a social media account or website, and he likes it that way.
"I do art shows old school," Blackwell said. "I want to meet you. I want that personal connection to be there."
For the kids, the festival has a Maker's Zone with projects to spark creativity. Danielle Oliver's son, 3-year-old Daniel, was all-in at a coloring booth.
"We want to expose him to the art, the music, the culture," Oliver said. "Plus we're Fort Worthians. We want to make sure we support the effort so that the tradition continues."
An estimated $4 million of art will be sold during the 4-day event. The Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival runs through Sunday at 6 p.m.
