Uptown Art Fair. Calhoun Square, Minneapolis.

Having sorely missed my favourite fairs like Chitra Santhe, Dastkar & Kala Madhyam back in Bangalore, India, I placed all  hopes of quenching my creative thirst on the Uptown Art Fair, an annual art event held in the Calhoun Square in the Uptown area in Minneapolis.

Apart from showcasing amazing art the fair is a celebration of hip and unconventional Uptown community. A blend of urban energy with the serenity of the city of lakes.

First we decided to see the Youth Art Fair, they definitely are tomorrow's stars!

Some lovely work by the youth was on display.

Creativity galore.

Look at these earthy pottery made by a young high school student Nate Saunders. He has a FB page where you can check out his latest creations!
Saunders Pottery

The art fair started way back in 1964 as a way to increase awareness of the arts at the same time raise money for Uptown projects.

I was just happy to see so much colour, creativity and art and take in the beauty of a bright sunny day.

Art by Chris Vance, an Iowa-based artist.

I love handcrafted books and I just had to stop by the booth of artist from Texas, Mychal S. Mitchell of Iona Handcrafted Books.

Keep your journals super safe with a lock!

As I flipped through the Uptown Visitors brochure I read that "An average of 375,000 people attend the Uptown Art Fair making it second only to the famous Minnesota State Fair."!

Paintings by Stephen Baldauf
Loved the colour palette in these acrylic paintings

Dolan Geiman's work was simply stunning. Later while researching I learnt that he's a nationally recognised mixed media artist, he works with salvaged wood, found object and recycled materials.

His work is an amalgamation of traditional folk art and contemporary, urban style.

Map of Minnesota:-)

It was pure bliss walking past some lovely work...

...and stopping to stare at the blue blue mid-western sky.

Black and White work by Erik Saulitis, a photographer specialising in Dance Prints.

Amazing work by artist William Kwamena-Poh

Quirky Silverware Art by The New Homestead . They repurpose antique silverware and create something interesting!

There was an abundance of beautiful ceramic booths and needless to say they had my full attention:-)

Michigan-based potter Brian Beam's lovely work.

Loads of delightful creations in various booths...

I had a tête-à-tête about various clays with Jackie Matelski of Jackie Matelski Ceramics

DeVries Pottery display.

Salt Shakers on display by Duluth potters Cheryl and Bob Husby...

What a day it was!
I came out feeling like Santiago from The Alchemist  "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true"

My wish was granted.

{ Do click on the names of the artists, they are all linked to their websites}

(Images are copyrighted)

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Jewelry Stand for Lisa

My daughter Lisa, came back home for a week from Wisconsin, where she is currently living.



Her best friend (since 1st grade) Mandi, got married and Lisa was a bridesmaid.





While Lisa was in town, we did some Mommy/Daughter time and on a shopping trip to a store going out of business, Lisa found this...








The store was selling displays and Lisa thought she could use this for

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Tic Tock ... it's a New Clock

Happy Tuesday!

When we first bought this secretary (you can see how I transformed it HERE) earlier this year, I added an iron piece I had on hand above it as a temporary filler.  For months, I couldn't decide between a piece of art OR a clock ... art ... clock; clock ... art. Po-tae-to ... po-tah-to.  I gave up.

Then, last week, as I ran into Big Lots to grab something totally unrelated, I spotted this pretty (and really inexpensive) clock.  Without debating with myself in aisle 3, I scooped it up thinking it.just.might.work. 

It looks a bit heavy and ornate, doesn't it?  Well, thankfully, it's not!  In fact, it's made of PLASTIC and light as a feather!  My clumsy self truly appreciated that as I tried to balance the "tiny" mounting hole onto the wall.

Once it was up, I then decided to add a bit of greenery on top of the secretary to give the clock a bit more presence:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

*Yup,* it.just.might.work!

Now, I'm off to get my kitchen ready as I'm excited to be part of another series, featuring kitchen tours!  I hope you'll join us ... there's going to be an amazing giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by,

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Vastu Gyan: Dining Room Vastu

Dining room is a place where you have food with your family members and chat with them. This is the place where you entertain your guests also. So this place should be as pleasant as any other room in your house.
Dining room can be located in the east, south or west in the house but it should be close to the kitchen or in continuation with the kitchen. It will be easy to serve hot food if dining room is close to the kitchen.
Color of the dining room's wall can be orange, pink, green, cream, saffron or yellow as these colors are considered as appetite stimulator. Light colors can make place look brighter and bigger.

Image Source: Click Here

Furniture i.e dining table should be rectangular, square or can be round in shape but avoid irregular shapes since you need enough space to sit and have food comfortably. Table should be clutter free and beautifully decorated. Table should be placed in the center of the room for free movement.

Image Source: Click Here

While eating food one should keep in mind that head of the family should face east and other members can face east, north or west but avoid facing south. It has a scientific reason that if you face south then Earth's magnetic north pole and body's magnetic north pole repel and one can feel restlessness.

Dining room should never face the entrance of the house as it distracts your mind if visitors come while having food and also some people feel uncomfortable. There should never be toilet or bathroom near dining room as bad odor can spoil your dining experience.

Lastly put up some calming paintings and portraits for stress free and pleasurable dining experience.

Hope these few tips will help you creating stress free and comfortable atmosphere for dining.

Earlier posts on vastu here

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Sit A Spell

I love it when a unplanned plan comes together!

 That is the case with these two chairs...


I found them out at a garage sale recently...already with the hard part done...stripped to the bone!

Here is what they looked like,


Though this is only one, there are two identical ones. Someone was thinking of me since they stripped them and were rip for the picking!

I decided to keep much of the

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It's Coffee Painting This Time

[If You like what you see here, don't forget to like my Facebook Page, Click Here.]

Let me tell you I am a true tea lover. So coffee just sits unused in my kitchen shelf and get a chance to come out only when some coffee lover guest pays visit :)

Few days ago when it was raining heavily I wanted to brew coffee for me and when I opened the coffee bottle I realized that coffee has gone bad :( I was about to throw it but suddenly my creative side woke up and told me to put it to some use. 

I had heard a few times about coffee painting, so decided to give it a try!!

Coffee painting in making........

I kept drawing few figures on drawing sheet until I got the result exactly the way I wanted. I drew meditating Buddha. Then I diluted coffee and started the mission :)

Here is a result. It turned out beautifully. 

Then I used some effects..........

It's looking even more beautiful with all the effects.

 This below one is my favorite!!

Here I would like to give one advice to my blog readers that before considering anything trash just think once. It's quite possible that you can put it to some good use :)
Check out more of my art work: Click Here

Have a beautiful and creative weekend!!
All images are mine and are subject to copyright.

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Wicker Drawer Stand

I happened upon a wicker drawer stand that caught my eye at a garage sale.



The price was right



So I bought it



But the piece could use a bit of a design lift.





 This is what it looked like when I purchased it...


It had a bit of chipping of the paint, otherwise it was in great, sturdy condition. I wanted to bring it up a notch though.


I painted just the wood body (sans the

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