ZOMBIE ART CRAWL

Blood splattered sidewalks and a few skull posters were the only reminder that the streets were filled with lurching zombies groaning for a drink the night before. The morning offered gorgeous blustery summer weather for art viewing in St. Paul, MN. Parking is free on Sundays so I located a central spot in Lowertown, visited the Farmer's Market, toted purchases to the auto, and then began crawling on October 9th. No zombies in sight but Central Corridor Light Rail Transit destruction continues to haunt the area. www.zombiepubcrawl.com

Consistent signage is direly needed by the St. Paul Art Crawl. Most sites had balloons but I couldn't always determine if it was an official participant. They need to adapt LOLA's (Longfellow neighborhood, Minneapolis) huge neon yellow signs because they were much easier to notice. Encouraging messages on the stairwell from Caprice Kueffner Glaser compelled me to trudge to the fourth floor of the Jax Building, worth the effort but an elevator is sorely needed. She builds and paints wood tableaus at www.8blockrule.com Took the wrong stairwell and ended up in the smelly Jax loading dock. Better interior signage is needed for the art crawl. Visited about a third of the locations due to lack of time and energy. Eighty plus degrees Fahrenheit can be rather draining. www.stpaulartcrawl.org and www.stpaulfarmersmarket.com

Saddened by the lack of hospitality. Very few artists seemed happy to have visitors. Perhaps they were grumpy because the Minneapolis-St. Paul Zombie Pub Crawl VII scared off patrons on Saturday night. If you can't kill the zombies, then invite them to join the art crawl! Zombies should visit the sites and purchase artwork. Lisa Jaster wins the Congeniality Prize. She was personable, had terrific munchies, vino, and altruistic. She shared her space with a youthful emerging artist who is nine years old and displayed items from the Pet Haven of Minnesota nonprofit organization. www.pethavenmn.org She creates great photographs, too. www.lmjoriginals.com definitely an artistic social entrepreneur.

Please contact the artists mentioned in this blog and let them know where you saw their name. I wish that I had a digital camera so that I could include photos of their work.

Best of Show:
Shout out loud for the big bold and brassy work of Diane Simon. Jasper Johns would be impressed by Dyne’s huge murals, painted furniture and accessories. 651-235-4200

Honorable Mentions:
* Zombies may have died on the floor (paint spatters) but DeAnne L. Parks artwork is quite imaginative and dream-like. www.artdeanne.com
* Bright enameled eruptions dance across canvas for Christina Habibi. Fantastical images open one's visions. www.habibiart.com
* Band-aid plasters are ingeniously repurposed by Beth Barron into wall mounted sunbursts. She creates wonderful fabric art. www.bethbarronart.com
* Fairies would approve of jewelry fashioned by Amy Purdes, who wears wings, blithely spirited designs at www.spritecreations.dnsdojo.com
* Calm meditative landscapes with exquisite Maxfield Parish inspired skies are painted by Tom McGregor. www.mcgregorpaintings.blogspot.com
* Stunning aurora borealis and funky jewelry are Marla Gamble’s forte. 651-224-6711
* Flowing fabric falls into woven masterpieces by Sara E. Williams www.loomsong.com

LOLA art crawl reviewed on September 21st. This review was completed and then some stupid zombie computer glitch ate it so I had to reconstruct the words, thus delaying this posting. ARGH!

Zombies eat AAARRRTTTT!
© 2011 Ima B. Musing