Vintage Valentines

I love shopping at antique stores because I like finding things that no one else has. Mainstreet Mall Antiques (303 Grand Ave, Spencer) has two booths where you can find vintage Valentines for $1 to $3 or so. Very charming! Good for collecting or giving to your sweetie. There is writing on the back of most of them ("To Ivan From Mary Ann") but that just adds to the charm.

"Puss in Boots brings this Valentine that says if you'll be mine than I'll be thine"

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!

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?

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.

"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).