Joycelyn Hairston sat in the room where her grandmother had spent so many nights, thinking about lunch at Rich's Magnolia Room.

Grandmother Ruby Champion was dead now and her mind was full of chicken salad, coconut cake and conversation.

Kimberly Smith/AJC (ENLARGE)

Suwanee folk artist Joycelyn Hairston will exhibit her work at the three-day Folk Fest 2008, beginning Friday.

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"We did everything together right up until her passing at age 92," Hairston said recently.

When she finally left the room that day, Hairston turned the corner into her studio and began to paint what would become "Rich's Magnolia Room."

The piece, one of the Suwanee artist's favorites, will be among the offerings this weekend at the 15th annual self-taught art show and sale.

Hairston is just one of many local and national artists whose works will be on display at Folk Fest 2008, which opens at 5 p.m. Friday.

The three-day event, which runs through Sunday at the North Atlanta Trade Center in Norcross, is the brainchild of Steve and Amy Slotin, who founded the fest shortly after discovering a plethora of folk art while on their honeymoon in 1994.

Steve Slotin said he first wanted to exhibit folk art at an outsider fair in New York but organizers rejected the idea.

"They weren't interested," he said. "They only wanted dead artists and were very snooty about it."

Unable to sway them, Slotin decided to start his own show.

That year about 60 galleries and 6,000 visitors turned out for the first Folk Fest.

The festival has grown to more than 100 galleries and dealers and more than 12,000 visitors from all over the country.

"The great thing about this art form is that this is the only art form not influenced by European masters, not influenced by the academic community," said Slotin. "It's truly an original American art form.

"When you look to the South you always think great food, the blues, but it's this art that is the greatest visual culture that we've ever produced."

And one Hairston, a self-described southern colorist and a member of one of Atlanta's founding families, said she is proud to be among.

"It's a wonderful collection of national and local folk art heritage," she said.

This will be the second year Creative Enterprises Inc., a Lawrenceville nonprofit serving adults with developmental disabilities, has participated in Folk Fest.

"This venue allows us the opportunity to get in front of the largest audiences for folk art," said Mark Knott, art coordinator. "And hopefully it's a springboard for us to get people to come into our studio and seek out more work."

About 20 artists from the agency will be represented. Their work, Knott said, will cover all mediums from watercolors to colored pencil to oil pastels and acrylics.

Folk Fest is particularly important to this niche group of artists, he said, because they "are true outsiders."

"Their work is difficult to market mainstream," he said, "but Folk Fest accepts all types of art work."