ArtWalk ’94 Puts Together a Good Turnout : Thousand Oaks: Open-air fair brings craftspeople, buyers and browsers together. Many artisans ring up strong sales.

Steady gusts of wind up to 15 m.p.h. were all the advertising Debra Barsy needed Sunday.

The Moorpark artisan was selling dozens of her handcrafted wind chimes at ArtWalk ‘94, the annual Thousand Oaks arts and crafts fair that drew thousands of collectors and spectators to the Exxon Lawn along Hillcrest Drive over the weekend.

“It’s been the best show I’ve ever done,” said Barsy, who was selling her cut-glass chimes for $10 to $80.

“I think it’s the wind, but also the graduations,” she said. “People just seem to be buying lots of gifts.”

More than 150 artisans gathered along a meandering lawn for the seventh Conejo Valley Art Museum fund-raiser, a larger turnout than in previous years, organizers said.

The show featured a variety of media, including photographs, textiles, handblown glass and paintings.

“The crowds have been outstanding,” said Patti Pawloski, one of the ArtWalk ’94 coordinators. “It’s getting bigger and bigger every year.”

More than an open-air art mart, ArtWalk also handed out awards for craftsmanship and style.

Simi Valley furniture maker William Coleman was awarded Best of Show, which won him the honor of displaying his work at the Conejo Valley Art Museum gallery.

But Coleman was skeptical.

“I’m not sure I’ll do it,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, and a lot of these pieces I already sold to other people.”

Coleman said he sells very few of his pieces at shows like ArtWalk. “But a lot of people call me afterward and order stuff,” he said, handing out flyers with his business’ name and history.

Thousand Oaks salesman Greg Fancon bought a bonsai plant for his 9-year-old daughter, Jessica.

“It’s all mine, and I have a little figurine to go with it,” she said proudly, holding up the plant and glasswork for inspection. “I’m going to water it and feed it all the time.”

Mark Chen of Chino, who sold dozens of bonsai and other miniature plants at the arts fair Sunday, said the diminutive plants hold a near-sacredness in Asia.

“They’re evergreen, and they take a lot of time to maintain,” Chen said. “We like to say it’s a means of good luck.”

Wilma Monsalve of Thousand Oaks could not resist a pillow handwoven in muted Southwestern colors by Alicia Blackwell, a craftswoman from Bishop who maintains herds of goats and sheep as a source for her materials.

“I love the colors,” said Monsalve, who plunked down $45 for the headrest. “There’s a lot more things I’d like to buy, but I can’t afford them.”

Blackwell said she makes only $5 to $7 an hour for her efforts. But she does not do it for the money.

“The only way I can create more is if I sell what I make,” said Blackwell, who was honored with second place in the textile category on Sunday.

“My husband’s a saddle maker,” she said. “So he pays all the bills, and I come up with the fun money.”

Chet Blacketer of Yucaipa molds sculptures out of iron. Sunday he was selling a series of old-time locomotives crafted down to one-twelfth scale.

“They take anywhere from a few hours to a year, depending on the piece,” said Blacketer, who has set up shop at ArtWalk for most of the past six events.

Blacketer’s artwork is a favorite of Joe and Jonathan Nathan, a father and son who live in Thousand Oaks.

“We admire this work every year we come,” said Joe Nathan, an environmental geologist. “We’re Western (art) collectors ourselves, so we’ve picked up a few pieces over the years.”

Business was not so brisk over the two-day show for Ben Brown, a New Orleans-based photographer visiting California for the first time.

“I have a buyer from Thousand Oaks who invited me out here,” said Brown, lunching under a shady tree behind his booth. “Most of my work is in galleries, so I’d never been to a fair like this.”

Brown’s work consists mostly of black-and-white nudes and colorful, mosaic-like images. But he didn’t sell a print all weekend.

“It’s disappointing, and a little humiliating,” he said. “But if compliments were money, I’d be leaving a wealthy man,” he said.