This summer I spent about 10 days in Minneapolis in two separate trips. I filled my days with art fests, delicious, creative food and beautiful strolls through gardens, zoos and more. One of my favorite days was spent at the Loring Park Art Festival. This charming, fest featured a variety of artists, the garden paths surrounding the small pond at Loring Park and some delicious food.
Artists I discovered were: Jamie Heiden, photographer, whose work reminded me of Maggie Taylor's, half way between dreamy paintings, unique collages and photography. I loved her work so much I bought one of the larger photographs called Next Door to the Queen. Another photographer, whose work I really enjoyed was Robert Meyer. He had lovely film based, dark-room made black and white images that were framed in vintage 4 x 5 film holders. I also enjoyed the mixed media pieces by Barbara Danger Lash. These images combined beads, collage elements and typography in unique juxtapositions. Lauri Rockne's wonderfully lush felted creations were also a favorite. I wish I'd had more money to buy one of her nuno felted scarf/shawls, truly gorgeous fiber arts work. There were many others I loved, but these are some of the highlights.
The next day I celebrated my birthday with my daughter by visiting the Uptown Art Fair. This was a much larger fest with many more international artists. Mauro Pozzobelli's unique sculpted wall reliefs made me feel like I was traversing the catacombs and hidden alleys of Italy. Jaana Mattson had beautiful felted paintings that were exquisitely crafted with rendering of tones in fiber. Katie Musolff wasn't really a new find for me. I actually know Katie, meeting her when she was a young student in a watercolor class with Thea Kovac. Seeing her new works was a great experience as she has grown so much in her talents and themes.
So many artists stretching on and on along the streets of Minneapolis was overwhelming. We finished our time there by visiting the Future Artists of Uptown exhibit, which featured works by young artists ranging from elementary to high school. The students had their own booths and were present selling their work. I bought photo notecards from one talented student and my daughter bought a beautiful cable-knitted headband from another. This made me wonder if we could do something like this in Pewaukee....a student art sale....hmmmm the wheels are turning already.
The main goal of a vacation is to get away, reinvigorate and rest. I feel I've had a great opportunity to do all of those while finding new inspiration to bring back to my classroom. Happy summer....happy new School Year!
To see more of the artists I liked check out my Pinboard on Pinterest.