Getting the show rolling . . .

Here's a possible poster for the up coming show. I wanted to make it eye-catching and easy to read from a distance. I felt that we need to convey more details with a follow up to a response via email or telephone or mailing/dropping off/picking up applications. Cheers - Jason

Art for the new Mississippi Market?

Mississippi Market is coming to Victoria Park on the West End. Hooray! I cannot wait to walk to my co-op!
Should we approach the Mississippi Market folks and ask them about plans for art in or around the store? A mural, a sculpture, whatever? Maybe we can contribute.

Claremorris Open Exhibition in Ireland

Sheila D. let us all know about this juried exhibition that takes place in Claremorris, Ireland.
Claremorris Open Exhibition

Could West Seventh host a similar event? It's a nice twist on a traditional art crawl: a juried exhibition that attracts participants from all over the place.

Art Crawls in Seward and on Grand

Paulette let us all know about upcoming art crawls close to home.

• Seward Arts Festival (This already took place, on November 10th.)
• Art on Grand, Thursday, November 15th, 4-9 p.m.

Art on Grand proves you don't need to devote a whole weekend to an event. It also shows a nice collaboration between arts and businesses! Check it out if you can, and think about the possibility of organizing this type of event along West Seventh.

West End Garden Tour, Spring 2008

At our West End Arts meeting on November 7th, Kent Petterson talked about the plans for a West End Garden Tour tentatively scheduled for June 21, 2008, a Saturday from 10-4PM. Some suggestions came up about how we might participate:

• Lending (or commissioning) sculptures to featured gardens.
• Arranging musical performances in featured gardens.
• Beautifying random green spaces along West Seventh.

Joe L. has passed along minutes from a Garden Tour planning session, which I'm excerpting here. If you're interested in finding out more, you can contact Kent Petterson at terrace-AT-winternet-DOT-com. Kent owns Terrace Horticulture Books at 503 St. Clair Ave., right here in St. Paul (phone 651-222-5536).

An ad hoc committee of neighbors met at the Fort Road Federation offices on October 24th at 6:30 PM regarding a proposed summer 2008 neighborhood garden tour. Our informal survey that night indicated this tour would be the only community sponsored summer event next year. Our thanks to Betty Moran and the Federation for making their conference room available.

Kent Petterson acted as moderator for this first meeting of the group and will be a contact point in the future. Information will be transmitted via email as much as possible in the future. Please let Kent know at terrace-AT-winternet-DOT-com if you wish to be added to this email list.

Your Favorite Local Billboard

Esteemed and Artsy Neighbors,

Please see the two attached low-res photos of your favorite local billboard. (High-res available upon request.)



You will see that the two photos have very different for-art-grounds. Some elements of the scene include:

1) the sign face
2) the vertical boards below the sign
3) the grass between the sign and the sidewalk
4) the sidewalk
5) the Brewery and its fence
6) the advertising bench
7) the non-advertising bench
8) the Employment Guide box
9) the waste unit
10) the bus stop shelter
11) the bottle

So... what was the question?

AMH

Andrew's Ideas

Opportunities (preceded by footnotation for more information)

1) Cullen Park
2) Schmidt Happens
3) SuperAmerica
4) Jefferson Parkway
5) dance
6) poetry
7) flash gallery
8) smokestack
9) neon
10) metals
11) jewelry

AMH

1) Cullen Park
The canvas that is Cullen Park needs to be stretched. Shovels and barrows and biceps are what's needed to expose the curbstone, the central and defining element of the site. Once The Cullen Streetscape is resurrected, the locations of new features will become more evident. (Was that at all artsy-sounding?!)

2) Schmidt
We already have our foot in the door - or should I say sandal in the gate? - at the Schmidt Brewery, so I think it would be cool to somehow get the W 7th/Oneida gate opened and have a Save The Brewery Fundraiser behind The Bottle. Perhaps in conjunction with the new "Welcome to the West End" billboard. Even if we only raise $17, we'd be several steps closer in gaining a permanent physical presence there.

3) SuperAmerica
We're pretty tired of looking at the blank back wall of SA that seems to attracts drug-dealers. I recall using the "grid" method of enlarging cartoons, and wonder how easy it would be to use that elementary school technique using rectangles ("concrete blocks"). I also wonder if a particular style would be less likely to get tagged. (Cool grafitti? Would that backfire?) Tangent: We might want to prepare the community for the potential loss of the mural on the Keg House.

4) Jefferson Parkway
Erik With A K has a great vision for Jefferson Parkway, from Lex to the Brewery. Imagine a median of sculpture... and less bituminous...

5) dancing
One of the most fun I've had at the CSPS Hall was the Irish Dancing night (St. Pat's?). I'd like to see other types of trippy dancing on the stage.

6) poetry, man
Our neighbor Dudley Vogt is involved with young adults and poetry slamming. The Black Box at Central HS seems to be a hotbed of energetic poets. Maybe we have some in our midst, too. A show on the CSPS stage might be fun for local youngsters, and even oldsters.

7) flash gallery
Carol Carey and others at Historic Saint Paul have been discussing "Flash Stores" or something like that. The concept is to set up a temporary shop for a week or so, and just see what happens. Maybe we could put a gallery-ish twist on that.

8) Smokestack
I've always said we should ask Christo to put a pink condom on the Xcel smokestack for an AIDS reawareness event. Do you have his number, Paulette? I am FOR saving the chimney, but fear I am in the minority. I'd like to take a poll at the next meeting.

9) Neon
It would be fun to attract a neon signmaker to the neighborhood. Have you seen the Danny Boy's "Cheeseburger" sign in Shamrock's? I hate bad signs, and was even born under one, but I love good ones.

10) Metals
John Yust wants to learn how to shoe a horse. Surprise, surprise. A Metals Fair would be cool. "Free Horseshoeing For All Saint Paul Residents!" "Get the dents out of your pewter tankards here!" "Platinum Nose Rings R Us"

11) Jewelry
I'm not really into jewelry.