Tour de Minneapolis and the Art Fair trifecta

This morning, as I jumped in my car to head to work, I realized that hadn't been in my car since, well, the last time I went to work. Then I realized that I hadn't been in a car at all over this weekend. I know this isn't really a huge feat, but when I considered all I had done over the weekend, I was pretty proud of myself. The really exciting thing about it was that I wasn't even trying to avoid driving - It just happened! I love where I live :)

Friday was a very low-key day. I had to recover from the busy week of final projects and papers, oh yeah- and that whole full-time job thing that I do on the side. Saturday, Jake and I went to the Powderhorn Art Fair and ate lunch at the Birchwood. We stopped at the Uptown art fair on the way back, even though I have decided that I am not as much of fan of the Uptown Art Fair as I used to be. It's very crowded, expensive, and some of the people there are very obnoxious. Not to mention all the strange vendors. We walked through some tent filled with mechanical animals and a creepy mechanical man. We left with giant four-color pens. Still not sure what they were promoting. Then we went to the grocery store and got some dinner and waited outside to watch the huge storm that completely bypassed us, only to drop a tornado just a couple miles away. I felt jipped.

Sunday, I got to spend some time with my good friend Lauren, who I haven't seen since Christmas, because she decided to move to boring old Iowa. We went to the Loring Park art fair and I felt a minor sense of accomplishment for actually experiencing the entire Mpls art fair trifecta for the first time ever. Lauren then began the trek back to Iowa, and Jake and I decided to go float on Ceder Lake for the rest of the humid afternoon. The rest of the day included another trip to Trader Joe's, a BBQ at the Lake Harriet bandshell, and a giant ice cream cone. A fantastic summer weekend and I biked the whole thing! The bike trails in this city can get you to almost anywhere you might want to go. I highly recommend getting a trail map and checking them out. You will be pleasantly surprised.

And now for my art fair favorites...

Dick Cooley

This is the "spark plug guy." He makes fantastic little sculptures from random metal objects and spark plugs. They are unbelievably expressive considering what they are made of. He had them arranged in all sorts of situations - including a wide range of professions, including morticians, gynecologists, farmers and, of course, mechanics.

Sarah Dudgoen
I have seen this girl before at other shows. It's pretty obvious why I love her work... green, birds, branches, pottery.

Robert and Michelle Meyer
I bought a photograph from these people. They take photos the old fashion way, so each one is one-of-a-kind. They frame them on old dry plate film holders (My picture is a bit out-of-focus because the flash was reflecting off the glass so I turned it off). It's so beautiful and interesting. I love it when things have a story and a history. My photo is of a tree in Northern Wisconson.

Steve Tomashek’s Miniature Menagerie

I bought a postcard from this guy, because his prints crack me up. He carves and paints all of these tiny little animals and then places them into somewhat cliche situations and photographs them. Definitely follow the link to his site so you can see more. They are very cute. I got this hippo one to put in the bathroom :)