Mermaids, stage combat and fantasy art are all cornerstones of this weekend's Mid-Winter Medieval Fair. Running from Saturday morning until late Sunday afternoon at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds, the fair is open to everybody interested.

Promoter Robert Mullens, OU aerospace and engineering graduate, said he wants to celebrate the fact that there are no renaissance festivals in the winter, especially fairs hosted by a seven-foot-tall costumed fox named Scarlet.

The fair is organized by Foxmoon Productions, which Robert and his wife Angela Mullens own. They are best known for the mermaid costumes they make.

"Our mermaid costumes are internationally known and we will have actual girls in the costumes as one of the centerpieces of the fair," Robert said.

Angela said, "The mermaid named Marina is actually an OU student as well."

As an artist, Angela wishes to expose the different forms of art inspired by the medieval period.

"The art brings a lot of color to the festival, which is very important," Angela said. "If the art matches the historical basis of the festival, it goes a lot better. It enhances the fantasy elements."

Artists featured at the fair are Norman resident Alain Viesca and studio art sophomore Erin Williams.

Fantasy fairies are the main subjects of the paintings that Viesca and Williams are bringing to the fold.

Viesca said he likes to explore possibilities through his artwork until they are exhausted, especially those such as fairies, dragons and even Japanese culture.

Even though he focuses primarily upon the female form presented as fairies, Viesca said that there is a purpose other than just painting nude women.

"I like to lean toward sensuality," Viesca said. "I hope that people will find it aesthetically pleasing as beauty. I want to stand out. Right now I take the fairies with varying nationalities and maybe place them next to a bottle of tequila. People will find it cute, if not beautiful, and understand."

Viesca has many more credentials rather than just being a local artist. He has worked for the Japanese manga (comics) and anime (cartoon) production company VIZ. Viesca created videocassette covers and advertising spreads for magazines and manga.

Williams also has more to her resume than just being an OU art student. She has had booths in Dallas renaissance fairs and her artwork is featured on subculture Web sites such as Morbid Outlook.

"I was impressed by their work," said Robert. "I saw Alain's work and was absolutely amazed because it looked like actual photos of fairies. I had to do a double-take when I first walked by. Erin's work was very good as well."

The Mid-Winter Medieval Fair is Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A masked ball will occur Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight.

For more information visit http://FoxMoonProductions.com.
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