Museum Hill was a dizzying scene of bright colors and smiling faces Saturday as shoppers and artists mingled at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

Now in its eighth year, the bazaar of handcrafted arts makes Santa Fe a destination for travelers. Perhaps more important, the 180 artists from 29 nations who show their works at the folk art market make profits to reinvest in their home communities.

People who have been to the market before know that there is a set of rules that will make the day easier. One of them is getting up early. Mark Vitagliano and his wife, Chris, were the first people in line for the 9 a.m. market opening.

Although they did not strain to make it to the 7:30 a.m. "earlybird" shopping opportunity, the couple wanted to minimize their time standing in line.

"This is a great market," Mark Vitagliano said. "It's something you can come to and actually afford to buy things."

Before noon, he had picked up a drum from Nigeria, felt figurines of a donkey and two pigs from Kyrgystan and a papier-mâché lobster from the West Indies.

"We're going for fun things this year," he said as he took a break in a shady pavilion to eat lunch. "Nothing too serious."

But shopping was a serious affair for Lucy Billingsley of Dallas, who was visiting the market for the first time.

In less than 15 minutes at one booth, she tried on a half-dozen coats from Uzbek artist Matluba Bazarova and had purchased two of them, along with a vest and two large tapestries in the suzani embroidery style.

"There is nothing as special as something where a woman has given days or months of her life to create a thing of beauty," Billingsley said as she ran her finger across the intricate cotton stitches.

Each year, market artists face the challenge of securing visas from the U.S. State Department. Typically, several artists who plan to come are unable to appear with their goods because they didn't get permission from the government to travel here.

Market co-founder Judith Espinar said organizers continually communicate with the State Department to improve relationships and increase the chances that artists will be granted visas. This year, a Cuban painter got her visa Friday morning and was en route on Saturday.

"I understand she is bringing more work, which is great because they are selling like crazy up there," Espinar said. "We're just so excited they are here. Their work needs to be seen."

Among elbow-to-elbow shoppers was a Kenyan woman who planned to buy very little. Instead, Purity Mwendwa Tharp was trying to figure out how she could get involved with the market to help the women and children suffering from HIV whom she helps with the aid of an organization called Compassion Beyond Borders.

"I kind of wanted to see what happens, when people come and what people are selling, and are they selling these things to support themselves or to help other people?" she said.

Her husband, Lawrence Tharp, said one lesson they have learned is about the popularity of garments.

"It looks to us like we could bring Kenyan clothing made by women who are in the sewing cooperative," he said. "I don't see anything like that here."

Artist Gasali O Adeyemo had a busy booth in part because of this year's of market emphasis on indigo, a natural dye he uses to create patterns on wall hangings and clothing.

Adeyemo, of Nigeria, spends about half the year living in Santa Fe. During the last school year, he helped children at Salazar Elementary School make tie-dyed scarves.

Kitty King, a Santa Fe resident, was heading home on the shuttle bus just before noon. She purchased an indigo wall hanging and was pleased that the artist gave her a small piece of the natural materials from which the die is made.

King said in the years that she has gone to the market, she's noticed larger crowds and better organization each time.

"I think they're doing an amazing job. In most situations, it's very orderly," she said, noting that sometimes shoppers can be aggressive, but she didn't experience that Saturday.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.


IF YOU GO

The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. No parking is allowed on Museum Hill, but shuttle service is available beginning at 8 a.m. from the PERA parking lot, the South Capitol Rail Runner Station and the state Capitol parking garage. Admission is $10. Youth ages 16 and under are free.