Minneapolis

Exhibits, awards and publications

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This past Friday night was the opening reception for the 4th annual Horizontal Grandeur fine art exhibition at the Stevens County Historical Museum in Morris, Minnesota.  The exhibit brought together artists from across the country, all living in states with prairies.  Inspired by Bill Holm’s essay, “Horizontal Grandeur,” there were inspiring and wonderful interpretations of  the prairie theme.  I was honored to have two of my photographs juried into this show.  This image, “Dawn’s first light on the prairie” was photographed while I was an artist-in-residence at  the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa.  My second photograph in the exhibit is the image from my April 11, 2010 blog entry “Pasque flower welcome to spring.”  For a complete viewing of the pieces in the exhibit, please visit the website for the Stevens County Historical Museum at www.stevenshistorymuseum.com.

Here in the Twin Cities I’m a member of the Minneapolis Photographic Society — a group of wonderfully talented photographers with diverse interests.  Each year there is one image that is selected as Color Print of the Year and one that is selected as Monochrome Print of the Year.  This year I was awarded the Color Print of the Year for my image “Through the red barn window.”    To see more of the award-winning images from the group, please visit the website:  http://www.mplsphoto.com/mps/site/a28yearend.php

And lastly, I am excited to have a photograph published in the July/August issue of  “The Iowan Magazine.”  This image “Swept into the center” is the opening spread of the portfolio section titled “red.white.blue.”

It’s been a busy and exciting few months, and I feel honored with these exhibits, awards, and publications.

The ups and downs of spring

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As we headed into the first day of spring, the week seemed to have been filled with ups and downs.  Our weather has bounced from 60’s to 40’s, from spring to winter.  My favorite NCAA basketball team, the Jayhawks of Kansas University were up and then down, causing my brackets to bleed red.  But today has ended the week on an up note.  The Minnesota Twins held an open house for their season-ticket holders and we had the opportunity to see the brand new Target Field.  Just like someone getting dressed up for company, the skies were blue, the sun was warm, and we learned the stadium is a gem!  From our seats near the first base foul pole to the upper deck to the clear image on the scoreboard to the speaker system that you can actually understand — it’s all good.  And to add icing on the cake, we’ve learned that our home-town MVP Joe Mauer has agreed to a contract extension.  The team is looking good, and now our new stadium is almost done.  Spring is in the air when you know opening day for baseball is just around the corner!

Not your usual ice fishing houses

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In Minnesota we are proud of our winter sports and activities.  Although many people don’t understand, there is a complete culture of ice fishing fanatics who count the days in winter until they can slide their ice houses out on the frozen lakes and pursue their catch of the day.  On a bay of Medicine Lake on the western side of Minneapolis you will find an unusual collection of what looks to be ice fishing houses.  But this is a different collection of people — this is a group of art shanties that are set up on the ice for about five weeks each year.  The collection of 20 “houses” includes a teepee shanty, dice shanties (where you can sit inside and play card games), and a dance shanty, where the music has a great beat,  and people keep warm by dancing on the wood floor with a chandelier overhead.  If one ventures further out on the lake, you’ll find the more usual collection of ice houses, with the dedicated fishermen and women, but Medicine Lake (and Minnesota) is big enough to cater to all types in this cold season of winter.

Purple trillium in bloom

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Purple trillium 39152In the heart of Minneapolis is a hidden garden gem — the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.  With fifteen acres of woodland, wetland, and prairie, it is the oldest public wildflower garden in the nation.  The garden was established in 1907  by botanist Eloise Butler and the Minneapolis Parks Board.  We spent a delightful early Saturday morning at the garden.  These purple trilliums were blooming profusely, along with marsh marigolds, hepatica, anemones, two-leaved toothwart, and trout lilies.