Not Politics at the 2019 Fair

Following up from yesterday's post about politics at the 2019 Minnesota State Fair, today it's just the nonpolitical goodness.

But still with crop art.


This exquisite birdhouse was made by Elinor Davies, who entered in the under-age-12 category. If you zoom in, check out her key cards and the great detail in the roof and sides. Elinor has a gift for crop art and I look forward to seeing a lot more from her!


Charlotte Ferlic made a love note to our newly named state bee, the endangered rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis. I forgive her for the quote marks and the errant capital "a" in affinis.


I don't think there was a title on Kristin Schroeder's catzillas. Pretty great color use in this one. And check out those kitty paws.


Christy Klancher made a croppie out of crop art. Ha. The fish is pretty cool, but it's really the wood grain on the plaque that makes it. (Hint: that's not wood.)


Amateur Brittanie Karkula brought a classic folk art style to her illustration of local personality Fancy Ray McLoney.


Sarah Anderson won a special ribbon for her dyed grapefruit, and I can see why. Most of what you see there is oats. The "seeds" are pumpkin seeds and the rinds and pith are hulled millet and quinoa.


Theresa Linihan's "Persephone of Minnesota" is a vase or a planter. The face is nice, but the thing that made me include it here is the use of pine cones as hair.


And this, by Dan Lindquist, is the topper. Even if you're not a Game of Thrones fan, zoom in on this one just to appreciate the simplicity of the illustrations and the way the various crops are used as texture. Lindquest even got a second ribbon for the beauty of his key card.

Well, finally, that's enough crop art!

Nearby in the horticulture building, I was pretty taken with this arbor:


It's made from arched steel hog panel fencing and wood, with straw bales at the base on one side as a growing medium. The dangling squash (or melons or cucumbers) are a beautiful way to do vertical gardening.

Inside the Creative Activities building, I saw a lot of great stuff, but I have just a few photos to share. I love these decorated cookies:


They were only fifth place and the other were very nice as well, but I think Nicole Kennedy's were the best. She even illustrated not just the monarch chrysalis and caterpillar, but also the egg, which you can barely see. And she has a wood lily!

Among all of the school-age artwork, the thing that almost always grabs me the most are the house models made out of cardboard. This house by a 9th grader (shown front and and back in two photos) won a top prize:


Its mailbox has come apart, I guess. But the newspaper is still outside the door.


The details inside were deft and the color palette sophisticated.

This house, made by a 7th grader, is fun. Check out the that second floor deck, and the crazy roofline:


I try to imagine whether I would have entered a house into the competition if I had grown up going to the Minnesota State Fair. I think I might have.

In the Fine Art Show, I saw three notable pieces:


This stunning dress is made from bicycle inner tubes.


It's been a long time since Duluth's Chris Monroe had a piece in the show. This one is called "Lucky Ducks."


I am a sucker for mosaics, so this one, titled "Betty!", made me smile.

Finally, here's a shot that's classic State Fair:


You can't go wrong ending with rainbow unicorns.