Peculiar purses and wacky shoes are some of the weird crafts on display at the Western Fair

Between the carnival games, thrilling rides and deep fried food at London's annual Western Fair is a much quieter and seemingly sophisticated art competition.

Intricate paintings, sculptures and photos are on display in the expo centre for fairgoers to take in, but hidden just steps behind those pieces are art projects that capture the zany ethos of the fair.

Ugly lamps, peculiar purses and wacky shoes are just some of the odd categories part of the fair's Creative Arts Competition, giving local artists, crafters, bakers and growers the opportunity to showcase their talents in new ways.

"The most important thing to me is to be challenged in my art," said Cynthia Nowak, who won this year's ugly lamp competition. "I like to do things outside of the box and that I've never done before. This category definitely helps you think of different ideas and think of things in different ways, instead of doing the traditional painting and drawing kind of art."

To construct her winning ugly lamp, Nowak used her family's old photo slides to construct a lamp shade. She also crafted a box of her summer childhood memories, including swimming badges and signed cigarette boxes by rock band The Stampeders, which won second in the memory box competition.

This is Nowak's ninth year competing in the Western Fair's competition, but has been submitting artwork to other Ontario fairs for more than a decade. In addition to the weird and crafty categories, Nowak also submits to the fine arts competitions.

"I started getting into fall fair competitions in 2012 and it's been snowballing ever since. Now, it's a sweet little addiction to help pay for my craft habit," she said.

The Western Fair releases its list of competition categories months ahead of the fair, giving crafters time to brainstorm and create their projects, Nowak explained. Artists drop off their projects at the beginning of summer, giving a panel of judges time to assess the work and pick winners who will receive a cash prize.

"The word 'weird' gives it a whole different connotation, so I'm not looking for something normal. I'm looking for something odd or thinking outside of the box," said Barbara Johnson, who judged the weird and crafty category at the Western Fair last year.

Johnson, who is a certified judge through the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies, said there is a criteria book that judges must follow when reviewing entries.

Crafts are judged using a 100 point scale, she said. Pieces can receive up to 50 points for workmanship, 20 points for colour and materials, 15 points for creative design, and 15 points for general appearance. The "weirdness" of the piece counts toward the workmanship and creative design, Johnson said.

Jennifer Black is a three-time first place winner at the Western Fair this year, taking home top prize in the peculiar purse, junk wind chime and button art flower categories.

"I'm a London girl – born and raised – and I've always really enjoyed seeing all the entries that go into the Creative Arts Competition, so after seeing the peculiar purses last year, I decided to enter," said Black, who made a purse resembling a komondor dog.

"I was going around my house, I found this particular purse and the shape of it really made me think of a dog's body," she explained. "I put two and two together by looking at some of the other craft supplies that I had in my basement, and that's how this particular dog was born."

With a love for crafts, but no formal arts background, Black said she likes getting inspired by the fair's competition.

"It's almost like being able to revisit my childhood again by really getting in there, doing weird things and crafting," she said.

Some other out-of-the-box categories at the Western Fair include naturally imperfect vegetables, popsicle stick ferris wheels, candy bouquets, straw bale decorating and table scaping.

The Creative Arts Competition is on display in the Western Fair's J-ARR Expo Centre until the fair closes on Sept. 14.