An Atari controller with hands plays itself. A friendly, lean fellow in a bow tie, looking like an extra in the 2005 animated film “Robots,” pours four drinks at once. A 4-foot-tall troll holds a spear in one hand and dangles a key in the other, seemingly asking for a password. 

The father of each of these metal creatures is sculptor Adam Holman from Tucson, Arizona, one of 195 artists who exhibited on Park City Main Street over the weekend during the Kimball Arts Festival. 

Holman has been obsessed with Jim Henson, “Star Wars” and LEGO since he was a kid, if it wasn’t obvious from his passion for birthing weird little monsters using his imagination and hands.

“I kind of think of them as steel cartoons in a way. I’m always thinking, ‘What story do they fit into? What world do they fit into? What might their backstory be?’” he said. “That’s, I think, why they have so much life.”

Holman’s creations incorporate both new metal and found objects from estate sales and junkyards. The troll’s key, for example, comes from an actual castle. Homan’s stepfather, an Army veteran stationed in Germany in the 1960s, brought home lots of strange souvenirs.

“On the weekends, he’d go in the German countryside, and he’d pick through these bombed-out castles from World War II. He came home with, like, 50 keys,” Holman said. “They’re probably stolen and hot merchandise, but perfect for that.”

The strangest object Holman has ever used was a component of a radiology machine that a radiologist client gifted him.

“It looks like something out of a ‘Buck Rogers’ movie,” he said. “We actually had to take a Geiger counter to it, make sure it wasn’t radioactive.”

Holman started his artistic practice as an eighth-grade English teacher, picking up welding from family members. He’s now been an artist full-time for 30 years. 

This was Holman’s second year at Kimball Arts Festival. He first attended about two decades ago and finally freed up his schedule to make the trek to Park City again. The crowd was just as enthusiastic as he remembered. 

Artists in Holman’s circle constantly recommend the Kimball Arts Festival, he said.

“That word of mouth becomes so important, especially from other artists,” he said. “That’s firsthand experience, not ‘I hope it’s a good show.’ It is a good show. They get a good crowd. It’s well organized. It’s a beautiful location. You can’t really lose.”

Artist Cassidy Watt from Santa Fe, New Mexico, said the same. This was his third year at Kimball Arts Festival. 

Watt specializes in “totems” of copper and brass, composed entirely of scrap metal left over from making jewelry. 

Each stripe of the rectangular prism shows a different pattern — one turquoise and marble-like, another black and etched with gold. The catch? Watt produced the various colors and patterns without using a single drop of paint, only chemical reactions. 

“Everything I do is a patina. It’s a reaction,” he said. “But I’m self-taught, so everything you see here is something I’ve invented myself, whether it’s a chemical formula or even the process of how to get the patterns with said chemical formula.”

Watt uses chemicals ranging from those found under the kitchen sink to those you’d only ever find in a science lab. And no, there haven’t been any exploding test tube incidents. In fact, the only time the artist has injured himself was when he sliced his hand with a wire wheel while preparing metal. 

“It’s thousands of pieces of steel wire moving at a couple of thousand RPMs,” he said. “What I learned is (that) you have to be careful. So, when I’m doing a job, it doesn’t matter how long or short, I take it seriously.”

Self-described “mad scientist” Watt wasn’t the only inventive type at the Kimball Arts Festival. Bob McNally from Rockaway, New Jersey, visited for the first time with his original instrument, the Strumstick.

McNally invented the Strumstick in 1984, wanting to design an instrument for “the musically disinclined.”

“I had been building instruments for 14 years, and I also taught guitar for about 12 years. I specifically wanted to make an instrument for beginners that would not make them quit because they were frustrated with how bad they sounded, which is why people quit guitar,” he said. 

The Strumstick has the neck of an acoustic guitar and the fret pattern of a dulcimer. It only has three strings, and the chords are much simpler than a guitar.

“That’s very, very accessible, because it’s hard to do anything that you don’t like,” McNally said.

The instrument’s been picked up by professional musicians, including Tracy Chapman, Amy Grant and Jon Anderson from Yes. Its dulcet tones were a hit with Parkites, too.

While many artists came to the Kimball Arts Festival from across the country, there were also plenty of locals.

Painter Sadie AbuHaidar was raised in Park City and currently lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she works as a wrangler and ski instructor.

AbuHaidar takes equal inspiration from pop art and the Old West. Her works range from javelinas painted on discarded diner placemats to cowboys on horseback, but a self-portrait sticks out among her body of work. It depicts AbuHaidar in melancholy orange and blue hues staring down two trout. 

“I fly fish quite a bit. As a woman, you are pretty alone out there on the river, and it’s a very gatekeepy world out there as well. I mean, you’ll go into a fly fishing store, and the workers in there would rather do anything but tell you where to fish or how to get resources or what flies to use or anything,” she explained. “I made that piece around that lonely feeling. You’re kind of having to stick up for yourself.”

Womanhood is a central theme in AbuHaidar’s work. Her goal is to modernize romanticized Wild West stereotypes by including more gender and racial diversity in the subjects she depicts. 

“A lot of times you don’t see (women) represented, or they’re represented in a pin-up, objectified way,” she said. “A lot of my stuff has that kind of more working, gritty feel to it, no matter who’s in the piece.”

AbuHaidar’s sole passions growing up were horseback riding and painting. In high school, she was a student in the Kimball Arts Center’s Young Artists’ Academy and a volunteer at the Kimball Arts Festival. For AbuHaidar, participating in the festival as an artist for the first time this year was a full-circle moment. 

“It was very cool growing up, being able to go to this festival. It gave me that first thought that I can be a working artist, and this is not some stupid vision for the future that’s not attainable,” she said. “To be able to work my way up … and be able to show my own stuff is really, really special to me.”

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The 57th Park City Kimball Arts Festival is a few weeks away, and volunteer opportunities are now open.

This year’s festival runs Aug. 7-9 on Main Street, and those who want to volunteer can register by visiting kimballartsfestival.org/volunteer.

“It usually takes upwards of 300 volunteers to make sure things run smoothly,” said Volunteer Coordinator Natalie Hall. “We have over 500 shifts that need to be filled, and a lot of our volunteers help out with two, three or four shifts. Then we have rockstars who are there for most of the weekend, which is amazing. And we have people who pop in for one or two shifts and head out.”

Shifts vary in length, depending on the station, Hall said.

“The average is from three to four hours, and on the long end, we have shifts that run five hours,” she said. “I try to keep them less than that.”

Almost every shift is suitable for every age, according to Hall.

“The only one that does have (age guidelines) is our VIP lounge that serves alcohol,” she said. “So those volunteers have to be ages 21 and older, and they need to be TIPS certified to have an extra level of expertise for selling and serving alcohol.”

TIPS stands for Training for Intervention Procedures and is offered through state-sanctioned programs.

Still, other volunteer opportunities abound, Hall said.

“A big one is manning entry gates,” she said. “We have 11 or 12 different points where you can enter the festival, and people are going in and out all weekend long at all times of the day.”

Volunteers will work directly with Kimball Art Center staff at the gates, Hall said.

“Our staff has been trained with (entrance-gate) technology, but we also rely on volunteers to help check people in, make sure they have wristbands, welcome them and give them overviews of the festival,” she said. “We have tens of thousands of visitors over that weekend.”

Artist relations is another big volunteer opportunity, Hall said.

“We have around 200 artists that will participate this year, and we need a crew of seven to 10 people per shift,” she said. “Their whole job is to walk up and down Main Street and check on our artists to see if they need anything — snacks, water or booth sitting while they go on break.”

The artist-relations volunteers are the eyes and ears of the festival, Hall said.

“They can jump in whenever they are needed, and I think that is one volunteer experience that sets us apart from other festivals,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of festivals that offer those types of services for the artists.”

There are other opportunities that can be explored while registering, Hall said.

“We have groups like the National Charity League and the Young Men’s Service League who volunteer for us, and we have mothers and daughters and whole families who help, too,” she said. “We also have a lot of Kimball Art Center art class students who will hop in and help with our art projects.”

Volunteer registration is open until the festival begins. 

“Even then, if you show up, we’ll find a place for you,” Hall said.

Since the arts festival has been up and running for nearly 60 years, Hall, who began coordinating volunteers two years ago, sees many returning volunteers.

“Some people have been doing this for more than 20 years, which is amazing,” she said. “These returning volunteers know the festival like the back of their hands and have helped make it go so much smoother. It truly is a family and an amazing community.”

Volunteers are also eligible for an array of benefits, Hall said.

“Folks who volunteer 20 hours or more for the Kimball Art Center over the course of one year will get a complimentary Kimball Art Center membership,” she said. “There are some people who hit that 20-hour mark just during arts festival weekend, which is crazy.”

Kimball Art Center members get discounts on arts classes, and they can enjoy perks during the nonprofit’s exhibition openings, Hall said. 

“At the festival itself, volunteers get free admission all weekend long,” she said. “Some folks like to volunteer early on and spend the rest of the time with their families and friends. Even if your shift is later, you can still get your credential, enjoy the festival and do your shift.”

Other benefits include a free arts festival T-shirt and items such as, but not limited to, sunscreen and lip balm, from festival sponsors, Hall said.

“One of our sponsors is Coca-Cola this year, so we’ll have some things from them,” she said.

All volunteers will be entered into an opportunity drawing, according to Hall.

“You get one ticket for every shift you sign up for, and we’ll have five to 10 prizes that include gift cards to local restaurants and business discounts,” she said.

Then there’s the volunteer lounge, which is open during the festival. 

“It’s a nice, air-conditioned space where you can stash your stuff and take a break from the heat,” she said. “We’ll have complimentary snacks and cold drinks so you can come hang out with your new volunteer friends.”

Hall looks forward to seeing some old friends and meeting new ones as she coordinates the volunteer shifts.

“We’re excited for another awesome year, and we want people to know this whole thing wouldn’t be possible without our awesome volunteers,” she said.

For information about the Park City Kimball Arts Festival, visit kimballartsfestival.org.

To sign up for a volunteer shift, visit kimballartsfestival.org/volunteer.

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