All Fired Up

Hello Spencer List readers! I am a new blogger for Spencer list, having recently returned to town from an extended trip abroad. Even though I miss the sun and surf of my "adopted" country of New Zealand, I'm excited to be in Spencer, where there is almost always something going on.

Unfortunately, Grand Meander was cancelled last Monday due to weather. This would have been my first, and I was disappointed to not be able to see what it was all about. However, this last Thursday was a reception for the current exhibit at Arts on Grand, called All Fired Up. It consists of various clay pieces by a number of local artists who work in the medium. There are a range of pieces in style and design. Some of my personal favorites where some pieces with photo transferred images by Anita Gilbert and Anthony Vadroska. But no matter your taste, I'm sure you would be able to find something there to enjoy, so go check it out. The exhibit is open until January 10. (And while you're there, don't forget to check out the gift shop! There are even more works by many more local artists, including photography by yours truly. But local, and support local art!)

In addition to the reception for the exhibit was the lighting for the new fixture, delayed from Monday. Designed by local artist Holly Kellogg, and put together with the assitance of Cycle Country and Bogenreif Studios, the light will be the centerpiece of the new front entrance to Arts on Grand when it has been redesigned. The new light was part of a grant, and design of the new light was a contest open to all local artists. There were three entries, and Holly's was the winning design. Until the new front is done, the light is now hanging in the corner just inside the gallery, on the right of the entrance. It's worth checking that out, as well!

Clouds

We are in a tornado warning right now, yes, but did you see the clouds this morning? It was beautiful! This photo was taken at about 5:40 a.m. and I could hardly believe it wasn't much later, it was so bright.

Getting ready for the Memorial Day parade.



Oneota Park.

The Grotto of the Redemption, West Bend

Did you know the Grotto is only an hour away? This place combines several of my favorite things, including installation, rocks, and religious art--all in one place! It's free, too.

See the Grotto's website.

Briefs

-A Piece of Work, Inc. Emporium of Original Art opens this month (today) in Spirit Lake! I stopped by to peek in the window a few days ago and it looks very impressive inside. At this point, only a few spaces are filled and there is plenty more room for more artists to display and sell their things. I look forward to what this gallery will add to our area.

-Rocking M Pottery I recently met Beth Cathcart at an Artist Gathering and purchased one of her pieces. She is a potter from Linn Grove and she creates beautiful organic bowls and wall hangings and other things. Her "rocking M" signature is derived from her family's brand. I find her work inspiring.

-Little Sioux River





-The Market Natural Foods & Global Deli, Hill Ave, Spirit Lake. I found three things I have been wanting but have been without: frozen vegetable egg rolls, alfalfa sprouts, and organic (and no high fructose corn syrup) Blue Sky soda pop! You win, the Market!!

-Adirondacks! Look for (21 of) them in Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, and Emmet Counties. A project of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation and ArtsLIVE, these chairs are sponsored by businesses and recreated by local artists. Some can be found outdoors, some indoors through September 28th. An auction will occur in conjunction with Artoberfest. Look out for brochures soon to list the locations, sponsors, and artists. Try to check 'em all out. I have seen a couple already and it's amazing the different, imaginative things people have come up with.

Movie Gallery: Selection Highlights

A few DVDs available for rent at Movie Gallery:

Paris, je t'aime Eighteen five minute films about (different kinds of) love in the city of love. Each film takes place in a different neighborhood of Paris. Among the many directors are Gurinder Chada (Bend it Like Beckham), the Coen brothers, Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Wes Craven, and so on. The cast is absolutely star-studded, with Gerard Depardieu, Natalie Portman, Miranda Richardson, Juliette Binoche, Elijah Wood, and many international stars. I love this film because it's very French and I love French cinema, it's about Paris, my favorite city, and you get to see so many parts of it. One of the films that stands out to me is "Père-Lachaise" (the cemetary). This one stars Emily Mortimer and Rufus Sewell playing a British couple vacationing in Paris, looking for famous peoples' graves. The reason I like this one so much is that what happens is something I have always wished would happen whenever I visit the grave of Oscar Wilde--he appears. Only in the film, he gives romantic advice and disappears, whereas in my fantasy, we become BFFs.

Like the woman felt sitting in the park bench in the "14ème Arrondissement," this film leaves you feeling both joy and sadness--but more joy than sadness.



Deadwood Season 3 I wouldn't recommend watching this HBO drama without first watching seasons 1 and 2. Set in the gold mining camp Deadwood in the 1870s. Features a large cast including Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, and Powers Boothe, with many of the characters being actual historical figures. The third season is very intense, as gold tyrant George Hearst (Gerald McRaney) has got the whole camp, pardon the expression, by the balls. It seems that at any moment, someone is going to get killed. Be warned--this show is full of cussing, nudity, violence, etc., etc. Especially cussing.

30 Rock Season 1 Hilaaaaaarious sitcom created by Tina Fey (you know, the first female head writer for Saturday Night Live), staring Fey, Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, etc. Fey plays Liz Lemon, head writer of NBC's The Girlie Show, a weekly live sketch comedy show, when she gets a new boss (Baldwin), who changes her show to TGS with Tracy Jordan, giving her a new star, the semi-lunatic Jordan (played by Morgan). The best episode: Tracy Does Conan.

House Concert: Chad Elliott

Before I moved to Spencer some nine months ago, I knew very little of it. I'd been before, but those experiences existed only as vague memories of the odd Labor Day gathering from my youth, or the RAGBRAI visit that I can't really distingish from all the other RAGBRAI towns (sorry). So when I moved here, one the the first people that I met was Chad Elliott--at a reception at Arts on Grand. And then he was everywhere! (I was at the library the other day and there on the bulletin board were fliers for two different events in town and he's playing at both of them.) Chad Elliott has been a fixture of this town in my experience of it. He's there at the Tree (if not there in person, he's there through his art), he's there are Arts on Grand, he's there in Buddy Holly, he's there where everybody's talking about him. And it's good because Chad is extremely talented and an extremely warm person.

And now he's leaving. He's got a great job at Sticks in Des Moines. When I first heard, I was very disappointed. What is the town going to be without Chad? What's going to happen to me? I'll never get to work with him at the AOG ceramic studio again. I'll never see his friendly, musical face.

I went to the house concert at Martin Arthur's last night. Despite having seen him play before, I'd never actually been to a proper Chad Elliott concert before. He's funny, did you know that? Top quality musician, too. So many songs about wandering and changing weather. I realized--I don't have to be sad that he's gone. As he says, it's just part of the changing weather.

The concert last night was a wonderful experience. There were maybe 125 people in attendance. There was such a buzz. Just top, top quality like you wouldn't expect to find in a town this size but there it is. It's really a blessing that we've got this going on. And it's not going to stop just because Chad's going away--check out Spencer Concert Association for the upcoming schedule.

Chad--thanks for everything, and we'll be seeing you again.

SPL - Jane Austen

Last summer I read Jane Austen for the first time after watching Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice (you know, the one with Keira Knightly). Starting with Pride, I devoured every single Austen book the library had. They didn't have Northanger Abbey. Shame. The past couple of months, PBS has been showing a series of Jane Austen films--pretty much every Jane Austen film made, it seems like. Two versions of Emma--the one with Gwyneth Paltrow and the one with Kate Beckinsale (unrelated, she plays a meddling character in Cold Comfort Farm as well--I highly recommend it). Early on in the series, they showed Northanger Abbey--truly a delight. A story about a girl who reads too many gothic novels. Usually I try to read the book before seeing a movie, so having seen it (and having bought the DVD, actually), I'm required to read the book, ASAP. So today I went to the library to interlibrary loan it (not realizing until writing this that the text is actually available for free online: Project Gutenberg, and other places easily found by a quick Google search). I did a quick check of the catalogue just to make sure it really wasn't there, and guess what. They do have it. In the large print section. Hurrah. It's the size of a small textbook. Thank you, Spencer Public Library!

Comments

I'm an avid blog reader. I follow several blogs, among them the very popular Boing Boing ("A Directory of Wonderful Things") and The Sartorialist (the inspiration of this blog's title). One of my favorite things about blogs is the discussions in the comments. It can be a lot more fun and a lot more interesting when readers share their input. I want to encourage you, readers (are there any of you?), to comment. You don't have to register--you can always leave your comments "anonymously" and just sign them at the end. No need to create an account. Blogger is with Google, so if you have a Google account (such as gmail) you are already in. Or, use your Livejournal, Wordpress, Typepad, or AIM ID by selecting the Open ID option.

Spencer Antique Shops

I come from a family of collectors. Not collectors of valuable things (besides my dad's antique fishing lures, some of which I suppose really are quite valuable), just things that we find interesting. Such as my dad's spread of interesting rocks, and shed antlers and skulls from various animals. My mom picks up junk off the street she finds while running and saves it for art projects. I'm the absolute worst one. I've got more stuff than I've got space. Besides my cheap plastic souvenir snowglobe collection (mostly from Paris) and postcards, I collect anything that I find interesting from bowls to books to found photographs to unidentifiable objects, especially things painted gold (gold praying hands salt and pepper shakers, horse head bookends with painted gold manes..). I don't care if it's valuable, as long as it looks interesting, and I generally keep it aaaaall on display, so my space is quite cluttered.

So naturally I love going to antique stores. I've most often frequented MainStreet Mall Antiques, 303 Grand Ave. They have wonderful ceramics from gorgeous art pottery vases to highly collectible press molded mixing bowls. They also have very nice cabinets and display cases, postcards, jewelry, salt and pepper shakers, and a whole section of scotty dog stuff. I love walking by and looking at everything in the window. A few things I have purchases there recently:



Autograph book from the 1940's, filled with rhyming messages of friendship. Was a gift for my friend Sarah, who really connects with that sort of thing, and it really relates to the kind of art she is planning to do for her thesis show in college next year. I also got a beautiful, small warm red cornucopia-shaped Shawnee pottery vase for my other friend Sarah, but I forgot to take a photo.



In accordance with my love of things painted gold--a small icon made in Italy. I'm guessing it's a cheap souvenir item. I have also bought vintage valetines, a "Hawaii" belt buckle from 1976 as a gift for a friend but somehow got lost in the mail, and probably many other things I've forgotten about from this store. It's great.

Anna's Antiques, just south a block or two from MainStreet Mall Antiques also has a nice collection. I've found (but didn't buy) a bright floral laquered coaster set from Japan, a pristine pillbox handbag, picture frames, jewelry, and a variety of other things I think are quite nice. The window display seems to usually be themed. I remember in February, it was maxed out pink and romantic. In the back room is a maze of furniture and odds and ends piled on each other--certainly some quirky items are to be found, including a large display of glass fairies. My first purchase there was this picture, a small print in a black wooden frame:



I know nothing about it but I find the scene intriguing. On my way out the door I spotted the following item:



A wooden hemisphere with a metal coil attached--I'm not sure if it's called a bookend because it is one piece. My mother has one that belonged to one of her grandparents, but hers is smooth black where this one is carved. I'd never seen any others anywhere. It was only $4, if you can believe that. I went right back in and bought it at once.

I used to think that it was Grantiques as in "granny", but finally realized it had more to do with being located on Grand Avenue (307 Grand Ave, to be precise). This is the one with ivy in the window that serves coffee and scrumptious looking sweets. With a high, tin tiled ceiling, this shop has got shelves upon shelves of beautiful things from spurs to light fixtures to fishing lures to books to shoes and so on. In the basement, you'll find rows of chairs and boxes of shoe trees among other things. I find that most things are out of my price range for the time being, but I did find this for $10:



A single owl bookend. Did I mention I collect owls and bookends?

While Goodwill is not an antique store, I'm just going to mention it for a moment because I always see horse toys in antique stores but I can never afford them because they go for $20 or $30. But a couple weeks ago I was in Goodwill and spotted a whole bunch of horse toys for 75 and 50 cents each! So I got two:



Dear readers, I would like to know what you collect, and where are your favorite places to find things?

Field Trip to the Gathering Place

Field Trip to the Gathering Place, originally uploaded by TreeBed.

Chad Elliott had a show down in Cherokee at The Gathering Place... we (the Shaky Tree crew) had heard good things about what was going on down there... so we loaded up, and went.

What we found was a great venue, full of great people, ready for great live music... and I am pretty sure no one left disappointed. At one point I couldn't help but smile, because I was fully aware that this was what it is all about. It doesn't get much better than people gathering in community to enjoy being alive.

In the smaller context of NW Iowa... it was a chance for the "cross-pollination" of energy in the the growing music/art culture. I hope to see further collaboration between Spencer and The Gathering Place/Cherokee in the future.

Thank you to the Gathering Place for hosting, thank you Chad and crew for performing, and thanks to all the people who made their way to the show (many of whom came down from Spencer).

People Project: In case you missed it...

People Project, originally uploaded by TreeBed.

Way back in January, during the hustle and bustle of the Okoboji Winter Games, there was a piece of art being created. It wasn't a brush stroke, or a sculpted mound of clay that local artist Chad Elliott used as a medium... no, it was people that Chad worked with to shape his artistic vision. Back in the fall of 2007, ArtsLive decided to join the fun of the Winter Games, and create a community art project. They enlisted the artistic talents of local artist/musician Chad Elliott, and the People Project was ready to be born.

To have a "people project" though... you need people. Everyone involved was a little nervous, but as the buses arrived it was clear that there would be a strong community of people to become the art. The actual form that Chad chose to facilitate was a turtle. The turtle design that was chosen came out of the location being habitat for nesting turtles (just below the Iowa Lakeside Lab on Miller's Bay). Turtles are also tied to Sioux legends of creation, rebuilding, as well as lending itself to ideas of community. All which came into play when trying to get over 170 people to form a design on a frozen lake. Although I think the real "art" of the whole thing was being a part of this short lived community (seeing everyone work together, laugh, listen, create)... the result of this ephemeral art, was the final fly-over photo revealing the design that Chad had laid out earlier in the day. It was a very cool thing to be a part of, and I hope it continues and grows larger each year.

The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions

So, today I went to see the Lipizzaner stallions at the Clay County Regional Events Center. I managed to get a few decent shots mid-jump (I already forgot what all the moves are called).









More info about the horses at the show's website.

Tonight: Go see this show at 7:30 (call 580-3000 for info), or head on over to Shaky Tree to see musician Matt d at 8:00 pm.

Grand Avenue Shop Windows

"Hi! I'm the cutest shop window in Spencer, Iowa!" --Music Connection



Arts on Grand, window by Holly Kellogg (paintings by Holly Kellogg, sculpture by...er..me). That one in the middle looks like and floral explosion to me right now. What do you think?



I stop and look at how cool this pitcher is every time I go by Mainstreet Mall Antiques.



I have never been in this shop but it looks very charming.



Warner Monuments.

Mike Blackwell @ Shaky Tree Tonight

Mike Blackwell (Americana folk musician) is playing at Shaky Tree tonight. It's a good show. I know because I walked by a few times.

The thing is--I don't do "punctual." This has been a problem for me and Shaky Tree events because I also don't do "entering a facility through a door adjacent to a stage during a live show." I mean, I've seen other people do it, but it's not for me. It doesn't help that I know that when I walk in, I'm going to have to find a seat while everyone is looking in my direction, and if I find one, I'll be sitting by myself (because I don't know a soul), and I'm either too scared to get up and get a drink, otherwise I don't happen to have any cash on me if I want to, and therefore I'm sitting by myself with nothing to do with my hands. And that's very awkward. It's easy to see how my track record with these shows doesn't look good.

I really like Spencer a lot (obviously, it inspired me to start a blog about it), and people are really nice, but I don't have any friends. I mean, I literally have not "hung out" with another person on my own without any of my family members present in eight months of living here. I have moved about four times in the last six years and I have never not made friends right away. Part of it is that this is the first time I am not in school, and I guess the older you get, the busier you are. Even with that understaning, it's frustrating. It's no wonder that, yet again, I am chilling at home with the cats instead of enjoying a good show at the neighborhood Tree.

"A Geometry of Space and Time"

Joanne Alberda's current show at Arts on Grand is magnificent. Over-the-top stunning. When, several weeks ago, I was told that the next AOG show was going to me quilts, I have to admit that my first thought was "meh," but the show is far from "meh." The color and shape is great, and I love how she plays with our idea of the medium by matting and framing pieces as if they were paintings. There are also very textural B&W photographs, and big, spare charcoal drawings of seed pods (I am seriously thinking about buying one) that really tie in with some of the shapes found in her quilts.

Show runs till March 24. Artist talk at some point... For more info, call Arts on Grand, 262-4307.



A small quilt on display in the window.



One of these simple charcoal drawings (I guesstimate they're like 2' x 3' but I'm bad with that kind of thing).

My Goodness, My Guinness

Wednesday night brought the return of Irish band Gaelic Storm to the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji--a sold out show. They'd been there last year and a lot of people came back for more. I've never scene such a buzz in the lobby--people wearing their wellies and Gaelic Storm t-shirts. Myself, I'd been a fan since 1997 when the movie Titanic came out (Gaelic Storm played the party band in the steerage scene). I hadn't heard much of them since then (not that they weren't out there, I just wasn't paying attention), but when I heard they were coming to the area, on my BIRTHDAY, no less, I knew how I was celebrating my __th!

After an excellent meal at Minerva's, followed by turtle cheesecake and crème brûlée, my party enjoyed 3rd row seats to the lively show. Gaelic Storm is made up of five very talented musicians from Ireland, England, Canada, and New Jersey. Frontman Patrick Murphy (accordian, harmonica, as well as lead vocals) is part musican and part comic and introduced the audience to the "Irish moonwalk" (the kind you take after a night of drinking). Bagpipe player Peter Purvis brought out an electric bagpipe toward the end, which I thought was really interesting as I'd never thought about them existing. It's pretty much just the chanter, a wire, and a footpedal (no blowpipe or drones).

I good time was had by all, and the show ended with plenty of audience screaming, singing, and jazz hands. I hope they come back next year!

Check out upcoming show schedule at PLAC.

Buddy Holly and Barb Ryman

When Neal Conover is excited about something, he'll make sure to tell you. You and everyone else he runs into. This time it's Spencer Community Theater's "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story." The performance was fabulous, he said, Chad Elliott was, naturally, fantastic in the part of Buddy Holly, and not just him! Neal raved about Ritchie Valens (played by Dylan Dykstra) as well. I personally find Neal's excitement infectious, and if I wasn't already planning to go, I would have made plans. This weekend is its second of three weekends. Tickets $16. Times this weekend: Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. matinee $15. Call 262-7336 for tickets or go to 518 1st Ave. E., Spencer, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. More info on the Community Theater website.

We're lucky here in Spencer to have our pick of musical entertainment. The House Concert series continues this Friday with Barb Ryman. According to the flier, "Barb Ryman is a nationally touring, award-winning singer-songwriter who expects music to be more than entertaining. Her music is lyric-driven, emotional, heart-opening. With a clear winsome voice and skillfully played guitar, she delivers a rich mosaic of contemporary folk, country blues, Celtic flavored ballads, old-time gospel, and bits of folk-rock." Concert at 8 p.m., doors at 7:30, at Martin Arthur's home (323 E 4th St). Suggeted donation of $10-$15, with proceeds going to the artist. Please RSVP (262-4500). More info at Spencer Area Concert Association's website. Check out Barb Ryman's website.

"Make Your Own Tiles" Class rescheduled

My tile sculpting class is being rescheduled due to, well, only having one person signed up. It'll be on the 12th, 19th, and 26th, same time.

"Make Your Own Tiles" Class at AOG

Arts on Grand offers all sorts of classes for children and adults in a variety of media. Somehow I got bold enough to propose one of my own, but now that it looms closer, I'm getting more than a little nervous. I've never taught anything before! But I'll go on ahead with it, as long as someone signs up, that is.

Some time ago, I decided to make some decorative sculpted tiles. I wanted to do some art nouveau style work, but I don't throw (pots), so I didn't have anything to put it on--but tiles are easy. My first one was (loosely) based on a design I took from a silver art nouveau cup. A year or so later, I made some tiles again, starting off the same pattern I'd used before. This time my main influence came from the enigmatic writer and illustrator (we think of him as an illustrator, but he considered himself a writer) Edward Gorey, known for his gothic/Edwardian style drawings of people and monsters (and elephants!). I made a series of Gorey-style creatures, some direct from his illustrations, some of my own invention. Of course, the result is a lot more gothic than art nouveau. An example is this set of birds (unglazed in these images):



This one is also unglazed in the photo. Finished, it looked amazing, stained dark, reminiscent of a tree or roots, but I also thought of veins:



Looks way cooler in real life, but I sold it (a mistake) and I'm not sure if I have any other photos.

The class is for adults, will be Tuesday evenings February 5, 12, and 19 at 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the clay studio at Arts on Grand (262-4307). We'll be carving into and building up on our tiles. I'll try not to be too lousy a teacher...

Artist Profile: Holly Kellogg

This is the first in what I intend to become a series of artist profiles.

Artist Holly Kellogg is a recent transplant to Spencer, Iowa. Though she has a degree in Painting, she has in her recent years explored the mixed-media genre of assemblage, creating art out of found objects (esp. things found in the road while running) and discarded blue jeans (waste-not-want-not), while also incorporating paint. Pattern and geometric shapes also characterize these works. At the same time, she shows her more traditional side through her colored pencil still life drawings and the occasional still life painting. She's been known to dabble in clay.


Things Found While Running


River Rocks in a Bowl

An Oklahoma native, she graduated from Ames High, started out at Cornell College, and ultimately received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Art has always been a fixture of Holly's life. She is the daughter of two artists (father a retired ISU professor of architecture and painter/sculptor, mother a painter/ceramist/paper sculptor), and grand daughter of an artist/architect. It was during her time as a student at Ames High that she decided that art was important to her (the art program there is on par with many colleges).

Her formal training was in painting. She says, "I enjoyed that [painting from life], but in time felt a desire to work more conceptually. I began dismantling used blue jeans to create a canvas and exploring the use of various materials and ways of applying paint in my work. A reoccurring theme that has developed from these explorations consists of a layering of form or materials, with part of the image being hidden, which suggests to me that our understanding and view of life, ourselves, one-another is partial. That there is more to be seen or discovered. Exploration is key for me."

She is currently working on building a body of work that began with a mop: "I had some cotton cord that came from a mop head (unused). I had the idea of laying the cord on a jean canvas painted red. I lay the cord in curving lines that resemble the lines on a geological map. It took many hours to sew the thread on. I liked what was happening, but wanted to do some work more quickly." The current work (as shown in examples here) sprung from this--2-D paintings using the line of the mop cords. "I began laying the cord down to created shape, drawing along those lines and painting from there. When working, I seek to bring in elements of composition to the work. I hope to created depth through the layering of shape and through color. I play around with various combinations and keep trying things."


Amoeba


Riverwalk

She currently works in a studio in her home. Her work is available at Arts on Grand here in Spencer, at the Octagon in Ames, and by appointment.


The artist in her studio.

One of my personal favorite pieces entitled Are You Awake is an example of Holly's work that uses layers of plexiglass in a shadowbox, spraypaint and stencils, and a photograph of her eldest daughter.:

More on "Together"

I finally got a chance to see the exhibit at AOG, "Together, and Artistic Journey," today. I'd half forgotten about it and I was going anyway to unwrap a pot I'm working on (it's a slow drying process), and I was very excited when I remembered what else I would find there. First off, when you approach the front entrance of Arts on Grand, you see two things. On the left side are some of Gilbert and Vodraska's works. My eyes were immediately drawn to the white sculptures in the center--matte white organic shapes. They're buglike and I immediately thought of fossils. Also in this window are other ceramics and paintings. In the OTHER window, lined by a Pollock-esque background, stands a lone Chad Elliot sculpture. OK, so I can't remember what the title was, but it was very romantic (you know, "Romantic," not "lovey-dovey"), and the work itself is a column of extremely Chad Elliot-esque ocean waves, and at the top, a storm-tossed boat. It's got rich color and, as I said, romance, adventure, and great MOVEMENT.

Moving on... upon entering, I was faced with a feast--a visual feast. As a potter, I'm biased (I notice ceramics more than anything else), and I spent most of my time examining the pottery and sculpture. The front area of the show features works from their collection (not for sale). My favorites were the whitish sculptures emerging from African sand. I believe that Marta (AOG Director) was telling me that these works were inspired by the drought and dryness in Africa (the Vodraska's spent much time there), but everyone approaches art from their own experience, and I just kept thinking of fossils. I really like rocks and everything having to do with rocks, so that includes canyons, caves, potholes, and fossils.

Towards the back, their are works for sale. Many of them are smallish enclosed pots (little round pods), some sculpted, some smooth. FLAWLESS glazes. I am rarely interested in glazes and even more rarely impressed with their execution, but these are just perfect. One of my favorites was a coppery/goldish, sleek metallic glaze that was used in several pieces. BTW, these little pods I'm talking about are all very affordable (around $40-$60), for any of you who would like to own original art but aren't made of money.

I'm sorry I'm not very good at describing things. I am pretty sure that no one is going to be able to read this and come away with any idea of what it's really like. Unfortunately I am unable to include photos, but even those wouldn't do justice. This is why it is so important for everyone to go look for themselves. Not only would it enrich and inspire you, it would help out AOG (become a member! buy something in the gift shop!), and AOG is not something we want to lose.

Not to turn this blog entry into more of a ramble than it already is, I'd like to say that Arts on Grand is a really great place to buy gifts. Not only can you buy a work from the "Together" show, you can browse through all sorts of works, from prints, to original drawings and paintings, to scarves and bags, to greeting cards, photography books, ceramics, jewelry, glass works, etc., etc. Things I have bought recently: a print of a pencil drawing, wooden bookmarks, a wooden box, glass icicles, and handmade earrings. There really is something for everyone!

Together: An Artistic Journey

The exhibit by Anita Gilbert and Anthony Vodraska opened at Arts on Grand yesterday. I haven't yet had a chance to see it, but based on the show postcard, it looks very interesting. It includes paintings, ceramics, and photographs. The couple has lived in Africa and it shows in the ceramic work that I have seen.

There will be an artist talk and reception on the 11th at 5:30.

I look forward to seeing their work myself because I've heard rave reviews from others who've been to their studio. Even my dad is impressed, and he isn't into art.

Tracks, towers

Tracks of many kinds:



The bell tower of Grace United Methodist Church: graceful and strong.



You can't see it from this angle, but there are a dozen pigeons up there. They must be able to see forever.

Some winter photos

The first three photos are from last week while the temperatures were below freezing. All the trees in town were covered with this layer of white:



It was a "winter wonderland."



This ice formation has been building up for weeks on the side of the police station:



This last photo if from yesterday when the sun was out.



In front of Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji.

Bright light

This morning I drove north at nine o'clock. Once I passed the north edge of town, I entered a fog, but the sun was bright and there was no gloom about it. That frosty layer that's been on all our trees in town but is now gone remained on all the plant life within the fog. And everything was illuminated. The sun passed through the fog and caused all the buildings and fields and trees to shine as if lit from within--despite the mist. It was very beautiful.