One of the highlights of spending the Fourth of July in downstate Illinois is the charming “Norman Rockwell” quality of it all. Including corn dogs, lemon shake-ups, flea markets and vintage car shows. I’m not so much into the old cars… but I am REALLY into the beautiful colors and rusted patina on this beauty from 1939!!! Seventy-six years of rust… beautiful!!!

It was an early morning Evanston artist trade… a stamped cake plate stand for some rusty spirals. I already had a collection started, so I was thrilled to get more!!! They’re now in my dining room “growing” in the corner behind the radiator!

Thank you Joanie Drizin of Girly Steel for making my “curl collection” grow!!!

A half hour until we “officially” open…
and I’ve already made my first artist trade!!!
One less cake plate & more rusty metal coming home!!!
Thank you Joanie from Girly Steel.

So I stepped out onto my back porch again today. Still frozen.
But I was struck with the beauty of the icicles & shadows as they played across the brick wall. While I was a bit confused by the frozen waterfall covering a patch of brick wall?! How did THAT get there???

And what was making all of the cool shadows on the wall, you may ask?
My favorite curtain of rusty metal things, cogs & cowbells! Welcome to my back porch!

Next to the Casket Arts Building, there’s a little sculpture yard… with a big tube with a five!
And you know how I love rust! Apparently it’s somehow connected to the folks from the Franconia Sculpture Park. Remember that really cool park that I showed you all last May when I was up in Minneapolis for the St. Croix Pottery Tour?

And while I loved the sculpture from the front… nice & crusty & rusty!
But it was even cooler from the inside. I love the way the sun makes another 5 inside.

While driving the official Pottery Tour route, you’ll pass this great sculpture park on the side of the road between Conne & Guillermo’s studios. I’ve driven past it many times, but this year we finally decided to stop. We had pretty much “closed out” the Tour at Guillermo’s after playing with Delores Fortuna. The weather was great, the sun was slowly setting and we decided to take in even more art. So we stopped off at the Franconia Sculpture Park.

Of course, some of it is better than others. I’ve tried to capture some of my favorites. Trust me, there are a LOT more pieces out there. But my thought is that just because you throw a bunch of stuff together, and weld it in place, doesn’t necessarily make it “ART.” Some times I wonder if I just don’t get it?! If there’s some  concept or message that I’m missing.But I know what I like… and these are a few of them.

This one is actually a boat filled with the large wooden balls. I was especially drawn to the textures & woodgrain of the balls… especially how they’re cracking and the way the shadows played against them.

Then there was this crazy playhouse. Yes, they encourage you to go up inside it. Stairs, slides, swings… and a LOT of colorful pieces all welded together. Kind of made me think of a whimsical take on an post-apocalyptic shelter. Enter Mad Max.

This one was pretty cool. It just looked like clear acrylic triangles arranged in the mulch bed. But as the sun continued to set, the prismatic surface of the pieces started to glow in a rainbow of colors.

I think this one was my favorite of them all… a great metal contraption of a Fibonacci Spiral. Not so bad that it’s all rusty either!!!

Oh… what to do with a bunch of logs???…

I loved the silhouette of this contraption. Again, they encouraged you to climb up inside of it. But it was really the strong silhouette and the really cool dot of blue glass glowing in the top center.

And speaking of rusty metal… another favorite. Basically it’s rebar & wire mesh.

I also loved this one – a combination of weathered wooden crates and classical columns. The balance and precariousness of it was pretty cool.

One last one on the horizon as we were leaving. It was a lot of “art” today – what with the Pottery Tour, Continental Clay, Northern Clay Center and now Franconia Sculpture Park!!!

For more information about Franconia Sculpture Park, click here for their website.

It’s always great to see a sign like this on the road… a sign that great things are in store!
This great mailbox is on Pottery Trail… seriously, i’m not making that up... as you’re driving down the road to Jeff Oestreich’s studio!

Don’t forget to “Spring Forward” tonight… and change your clock.
Remember to move your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed tonight.
It’s time to go back into Daylight Saving Time… or losing an hour of your Sunday?!
And wouldn’t it be more fun if you were changing the time on one of THESE clocks?!

Gotta love a good steampunk clock. And the whole “Steampunk Movement”
for that matter. Rusty. Crusty. Gears. Patterns. Layers. Details. Groovy cool.

While in Dover, Delaware recently for the “glitter gig” meeting, I had the chance to
tour the Dogfish Head Brewery. They’re one of the sponsors for another large event
we’re working on for this summer. I love factory tour. Love seeing how things are
made. And this time was no exception!

Dogfish Head Brewery is located in Milton, Delaware. Somewhere between Dover
and Rehoboth Beach. And when you pull up to their headquarters, the first impression
is a great one. Not only to they have an incredible treehouse in the front yard, but it’s
all made out of RUSTY METAL!!!… which you know it’s my favorite!!!

Once inside, you’re quickly greeted by a very friendly receptionist… and a lot of whimsical
artwork all over the place. And one pair of chatty blue jeans!!!

Your tour typically starts in the “Tasting Room” where you’re also surrounded by a lot
of Dogfish Head paraphernalia. Including these really great beer barrel tables – with
really great tops made from broken & recycled beer bottles!

And then the factory tour begins. You get to see where the beer is made!
I was amazed at how shiny & clean the entire place was. Now I know that it has to be
for health & safety reasons. But seriously…. shiny silver piping & vats everywhere!!!

Even the “hot-water-pressure-steaming-sanitizing” contraption is shiny…
and has a wonderfully whimsical name! Things are sure getting steamy in there!

Around every corner, there’s artwork, creativity & whimsy everywhere you look!
Including this incredible wall plastered with their own “branded” oval coasters…
creating their own Dogfish Head logo!

So not only to they have great “energy”… but it’s also refreshing to see how they value
artists and their artwork. All around the building, the walls are covered with artwork
created & submitted by local artisans who have sent them to Dogfish Head. Plus, every
year the folks at Dogfish Head commission an artist to create original posters for their
different branded beer flavors. Here are just four of them…

So there’s my quick visual tour. While the whole “beer thing” is completely lost on me…
I do still enjoy a good factory tour. But even more importantly, you know how I LOVE
creativity, whimsy and people who admire, appreciate and encourage the arts!!!

You know how I love my rust… and I REALLY wish these were mine!