Perfect Weather and Much To See Again at the Park Point Art Fair

This weekend was the 48th Annual Park Point Art Fair. I would love to photos from the early years if you have them. I can't imagine that all the artists back then had pop-up tents, though I could be wrong. I doubt many had devices for accepting and processing credit cards. Few, if any, had business cards and none, you can be sure, had a sign-up sheet collecting email addresses so they could stay in touch with you after the show.

As has been the custom in recent years, it is a juried fine arts show, though also am arts and crafts commercial center of sorts. That is, it costs money to maintain a presence here and the aim by day's end is to sell products. In other words, it's work, and when all is said and done the hope is to end up on the positive side of the ledger.

The setting couldn't be more beautiful, at at the end of Park Point Recreation Area near the Beach House. The sand dune serves as a windbreaker, from cold breezes off the lake; the sun warms bodies as well as hearts. Saturday was a hot one, but yesterday was perfect. Considering that it can sometimes rain on the outdoor shows, the weather could not have been nicer.

The woodcut prints by Stanley Leonard were remarkable.

An assortment of food trucks take advantage of the occasion each year to service the 120 artists and their friends as well as the estimated 10,000 visitors who meander through. There were picnic tables arranged near a makeshift stage where musicians performed throughout the two days. We watched Jason and Veikko of WoodBlind for a bit. They were accompanied by the Monkey Man. Always fun to listen to.

The variety of works generally fell into the following categoories: ceramics, two-dimensional work (includes painting, collage, various print media suitable as wall art), fiber, glass, jewelry, photography, sculpture, mixed media and wood. The majority of artists represented are from the region, as in Minnesota and Wisconsin, though sculptor Alex Zaves did claim to hail from Santa Barbara, California. (Beautiful part of the world here, eh, Alex?)

Anyways, here are some photos from our art fair walkabout yesterday. I'm saving my ceramics photos for tomorrow. There were so many things to see and share.

Jim Dee's paintings were designed to put you in a meditative frame of mind.

There was ample photography.

And plenty of jewelry to select from... for yourself or that special someone.

These mirrors were quite striking.

Looking for a unique mandala?

If you've never been, then mark you calendars. It's always the weekend after Grandma's Marathon.

Related Links
Stanley Leonard Studio
Jim Dee Art
This coming weekend is the Friday Art Crawl (Joseph Nease Gallery, Ryan Tischer Photography, Duluth Art Institute and more). But it is also the annual Free Range Film Festival at The Barn in Wrenshall. Yet another weekend in which you wish you could clone yourself.

Meantime art goes on all around you. Engage it!