by ruralpearl | Jul 23, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels
Monday was the last day of my trip, and a long day at that. Headed out at sunrise and turned an 11 hour drive into a 15 hour drive with a detour onto highway 240: the Badlands loop. I think I could have stayed in the Badlands all day. I’m pretty sure I took photos of every square inch of what I saw. Pretty spectacular. And then on to the Corn Palace, because a trip to South Dakota is not complete without seeing a building decorated ornately with corn. I got home that night and pretty much rolled out of the car and into bed. It was a really great trip, and I feel so lucky that I got to combine “work” – if you could call it that, with travel and sightseeing.
by ruralpearl | Jul 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
I am taking part in The Sketchbook Project: 2011 Tour put on by art house co-op. In a nutshell, a bunch of artists ordered blank sketchbooks and will fill them in according to the theme they picked. I picked Happy Thoughts. These sketchbooks will then be returned to art house co-op and will go on tour throughout the country to art galleries, museums, and even SXSW, available for viewing, and then on to their permanent home at The Brooklyn Art Library. I thought it sounded like fun and gives me a chance to force myself to do something a little different.
So, I will be posting each page here as I go. Mind you, I’m purposely veering from my normal path here. I generally use sketchbooks for doodles and quick sketches of ideas and sometimes for personal journaling, and that is what you’ll find here. I’m enjoying it so far and I hope you do too. Here’s page 1. Page 2 coming soon.
by ruralpearl | Jul 20, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels
Thursday marked the start off to Spearfish, South Dakota, to prepare for the festival. Setup wouldn’t be until Friday morning, but it was time to make my way up there. Detour around the parts of Custer State Park that I missed the day before, and then on up through Deadwood, backtrack through Lead, and then on through scenic Spearfish Canyon to get to Spearfish. South Dakota is so lucky to have so much natural, beautiful scenery, along with a few manmade attractions, in such a small area. It’s great for people like me that want to see it all; you don’t have to drive forever to get from place to place – I think the longest distance traveled was about 45 miles, although you could spend all day getting there because of all the things to see and do. Anyway, on to pictures:
The best way to see Mount Rushmore and avoid crowds, is from highway 16A that surrounds Custer State Park to the east. Since you’re already on top of hills, you get a more level view rather than having to look up from below with a bunch of heads bobbing around you.
Spearfish Canyon is an alternate, more scenic route of getting into the town of Spearfish, where you drive through canyon walls along Spearfish Creek. I think I’d like a cabin in there somewhere – the creek is so beautiful. Crystal clear running water, waterfalls, places to dip your toes and even walk through. Love it!
Friday morning I got my tent all set up. The festival began on Friday night and ran through Sunday afternoon. I really lucked out — although it was very, very hot (not Kansas hot, but hot still), my tent space was right in front of Spearfish creek – a nice, cleared space where you could walk right into the water.. which I did. Many times. It was icy cold and provided lots of relief from the heat. And besides that, it was just totally awesome being right there in front of the creek all weekend. If I didn’t have on a dress the whole time, I would’ve laid in it or gone tubing or something.
Anyway, the festival was a success. Sold lots of artwork, prints, cards, etc. I also now have some of my stuff in Blue Stem Studios in Belle Fourche, which is north of Spearfish. I imagine if I don’t have anything interfering next summer, I’ll be going back.
by ruralpearl | Jul 19, 2010 | Cut Paper, New Work!
16 x 20 inch paper cutting. Black paper over layered tissue paper. Sold
by ruralpearl | Jul 15, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels
Tuesday morning I woke up early and headed out of Colorado City towards Hot Springs, South Dakota. It started off with a beetle sighting – in fact, the largest beetle I may have ever seen in person.
Long day ensued – about 9 hours on the road, crossing through Wyoming on the way.
It’s a strange feeling these days to drive across so much land with no cell phone service and very few other people on the road. Kind of nice, actually. I also enjoyed the drive – I no longer get that “are we there yet” feeling. Time sort of ceases to exist out there – there’s just so much to look at. On to South Dakota.
It’s amazing the way the landscape changes so abruptly between Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota, which is pretty close to the border. I don’t have very many pictures of the approach of the Black Hills, but what a surprise once you get into them… Spent the night in Hot Springs, which unfortunately has turned into a bit of a ghost town. Lots of commercial spaces closed down and not many choices for dinner. The last time I was there — 20 years ago — I believe it was a much more bustling community. One major plus – my hotel was right next store to the Mammoth Site – an old sink hole containing the remains of 50+ mammoths. Pretty amazing to see them in the process of being excavated. And then I tried on a buffalo hat.
Wednesday, I spent the majority of the day in Custer State Park – perhaps some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I wish I could live in there.
My pictures don’t really do the park justice.. I’m going back for more tomorrow, and then on to Spearfish. Setting up for the Festival in the Park on Friday morning.
by ruralpearl | Jul 13, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels
My second day in Colorado started off with a hearty breakfast and ended by a hearty dinner… Somewhere in between there I got my tent all set up for the Greenhorn Valley Arts & Music Festival that would begin the next morning.
Fast forward to the next morning. The day started off right with nice weather and live music by the Blackwood Brothers – a band that has carried on it’s own legacy since 1934 and supposedly Elvis’s favorite gospel group. The crowd was quite nice for a first time festival and the organizers did a great job doing just that: organizing. Thank you for the donuts in the VIP tent! I ate more than I should have.
The weather was a bit spotty with a couple different occasions of rain, but nothing too serious. I just happened to be under two large trees, and they helped shield a lot of it. Overall, the festival was a success, and as happens after every festival, I was relieved to pack everything away and sink into the couch for some snoozing to the sound of the tv.
One of the reasons I chose to do this festival is because it was local to my dad and stepmom’s home and I was due for a visit. We spent the day after the festival driving up into the mountains, and if I haven’t made myself clear before, one of my favorite things to do is drive through the outskirts and take pictures. Luckily, my dad has a big truck, and we got to take it up a long, winding gravel road to the top.
Next stop: South Dakota, with a lot more sight-seeing on the way.
by ruralpearl | Jul 12, 2010 | Cut Paper, New Work!
16 x 20 inch paper cutting. I’ve got a great big pine tree outside my window where I sit and work, and it’s always got lots of birdies hanging out.
by ruralpearl | Jul 12, 2010 | News & Events
I’ve been accepted into the Bizarre Bazaar in Lawrence, KS, on November 27, 2010! Really excited about this one — I’ve heard really great things about it. The name should be pretty self-explanatory, but in a nutshell, its a fair for the out-of-the-ordinaries of the creative world.
I’ll also be exhibiting at Frick Electronics Modern Art Gallery in Independence, MO, during the month of August. I’ll post more details soon!
by ruralpearl | Jul 9, 2010 | Cut Paper, New Work!
This is the end result of what I was showing you here. 16 x 20 inch paper cutting.
by ruralpearl | Jul 9, 2010 | Art Fairs & Art Travels
Thursday morning at 4am, I headed out for Colorado City, CO, where I am taking part in the Greenhorn Valley Art & Music Festival this weekend. After that, I’m heading northwards to Spearfish, South Dakota, for the Spearfish Art Festival In the Park.
The drive couldn’t have been any better. It was pretty cloudy the whole way and there was a tiny bit of rain, but nothing to stress over. And now I’m here for some sightseeing and the first of what is to become an annual festival. On to the road pictures:
