Action-packed family field trip yesterday via the new green line train to St. Paul. We visited the Science Museum of Minnesota, had lunch, and explored our twin city, all in honor of Sawyer’s 11th birthday. From pre-history to the farthest reaches of space and back to Minneapolis, all in one day. What a ride! What a kid!
86/365: science museum
We were seeking the warmth of tropical air inside the Conservatory, the heady perfume of the sunken garden, and the comforting scent of damp soil. But then the polar bears drew us in with the sheer exuberance of their icy swimming and the joyous clouds of steamy breath rising into the arctic air.
46/365: bear with bubbles
from Como Zoo & Conservatory, St. Paul, MN
Hi there. I’ve been absent from the blog for a while. A long while. Let’s consider the past three months my creative hibernation…
I figured today was as good a time as any to jump back in since I have pieces in two exhibitions opening tonight!
While I haven’t been blogging or taking many photos lately, I have been working on other projects and business opportunities; I hope to start sharing more about all that in the coming weeks. Plus, I’m revving up to get out with my camera ASAP and often.
Opening tonight at the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, MN: Lush Vibes (isn’t that a great name for a spring show?). I’m exhibiting one of the images from the Never-Ending Wood series for the first time. It’s all about GREEN, the color I miss most this time of year.
Also opening tonight: Encroaching City at Flow Art Space, a group exhibition that ‘looks at city life juxtaposed with the natural environment, the relationship between humans and nature, and the footprint city living creates’.
Yesterday I got to scope out my digs for the upcoming CRAFTSTRAVAGANZA! (say it loud with lots of reverb). I’m really excited to be part of this big, indie craft fair at the state fairgrounds in St. Paul. Consider yourself invited! The big day is Saturday, May 11 from 10am to 5pm. I’ll be rolling out new work and new items including wood-mounted prints.
If you’re in the neighborhood, stop and say hi. I’d love to see you.
104/365: progress center, state fairgrounds
I’ve been craving a trip to the Conservatory for weeks. I needed to smell the soil and feel the damp mist on my skin. I needed to remember the color green in all its glory. And, not least of all, I needed something novel to photograph.
Enter the veltheimia’s exotic blossoms. Whimsical, strange, and completely unknown to me, they floated above the other flowers like visiting fairies in gowns of ruffled petals. It was just the little discovery I’d been seeking.
77/365: veltheimia
I thought this enormous ice throne might belong to King Boreas (he of local Winter Carnival lore). But, in the lovely public space of Hamm Plaza, anyone can be royalty – for as long you can handle sitting on a block of ice.
ice sculpture
During the winter months, the Twin Cities Model Railroad Museum runs the night trains. The vintage scene includes a Mississippi paddle boat leaking jazz as it rolls downstream.
riverboat
These tiny plants grow on floating volcanic rocks at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. Green is the most lovely color – so fresh against the coarse black rock and inky water, so welcome in the middle of January.
green on black
avant garden 365 