More than 100 artists descend on Uptown Normal this weekend for the annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival.
One of them is Bloomington's Gina LaMonica.
LaMonica learned to paint from her grandmother and, after a very long break, picked art back up a few years ago when a friend convinced her to take a general art class. Participants could do “whatever they wanted,” LaMonica said, so she started with colored pencil — a fish, then a skull, in her favorite style: steampunk.
“Then during October, for Halloween, the class was doing something with a papier-mâché pumpkin,” she said. “The ladies chose to do witches, but I wanted to do something different — that’s just me.”
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction marked by Victorian-era aesthetics and various steam-powered, machine age ephemera. Think Dr. Who, H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
LaMonica made a steampunk pumpkin — a "steam pumpkin," if you will — as her first foray into three-dimensional art, and has pretty much stayed there.
“Victorian era is my favorite time period,” she said. “I just like the aesthetic of steampunk, the gears, the vintage look and also the colors — the warm metallics, leathers.”
LaMonica’s art business, called Upcycled Curiosities, primarily includes pieces made with repurposed materials such as vintage metal hardware, upcycled cardboard and plastic and discarded toys.
“That’s where I really excel and I feel I can express my creativity the best through three dimensions,” she said.
A Bloomington-Normal native, LaMonica had been to the Sugar Creek Arts Festival many times as a spectator. She travels the region to set up a booth at various art fairs [most recently named "Best Newcomer" at Springfield's Fine Art Fair]. But 2025 was the first time she was accepted into Bloomington-Normal’s lauded art fair, a staple among art enthusiasts since the 1980s.
“When I was juried into Sugar Creek, I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “A little nerve-wracking. But obviously if they chose me, they must feel the quality was good enough. It was the busiest show I’ve ever been to.”
And the most lucrative. LaMonica is a hobbiest — she doesn’t rely on art for her income — but said she made twice or three times the income of other art fairs she attends.
Perhaps that’s because Bloomington-Normal loves its art. It’s also true that the community knows and appreciates steampunk. LaMonica’s first time selling her art at the Cogs and Corsets Festival.
The festival, which operated for nearly a decade in Downtown Bloomington, went on an indefinite hiatus this year. In an email to WGLT, organizer Cathy Sutliff said, “life intervened.”
“The three creators of the event found ourselves going in separate directions and not having the time to devote to the effort anymore. We’ve since dissolved the corporation and I doubt the event will be back any time soon. But if there are people who are interested in reviving it, I’d be happy to work with them.”
LaMonica said she’s not visited other steampunk festivals. But she’ll have plenty of steam pumpkins and other spooky wares for sale, leaning into Sugar Creek Arts Festival’s 2021 decision to move the festival from summer to early fall.
“I’m not really one to dress up; I’m more for the artwork,” she said. “That’s what, really, I love about it.”
The 43rd annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival runs Saturday and Sunday in Uptown Normal. For details, including a festival map and list of participating artists, visit sugarcreekartsfestival.org.
