Come to the Upper Minnesota River Valley September 30th – October 2nd and take your pick of 41 artists’ work, much of which will be showcased in the studios where it was made – such as the one belonging to Bryan and Peggy Mooney, two of the new featured artists in this year’s event. At Moonstruck Creations LLC near Granite Falls, visitors can see the place where the Mooneys craft barnwood into handmade picture frames, birdhouses, and more, all available for purchase. Their studio, like all studios on the self-guided tour, will be open from 12-6pm on Friday 9/30, 9-6pm on Saturday 10/1, and 9-4pm on Sunday 10/2.
Another pair of new exhibitors will show a mélange of jewelry, digital art, multimedia works, and traditional / nontraditional Dakota quillwork at the Granite Area Arts Council — Autumn Cavender, a 2022 Rural Regenerator Fellow, and Dani Prados. Prados, the 2020-2021 Granite Falls Artist in Residence, says that it’s “an honor to be joining the leagues of these long-celebrated local artists who have opened their studios and practices for decades on this unique and magical adventure. The only downside is that now I can’t go Meandering myself.” Tamara Isfeld will join Cavender and Prados on the walls of the gallery with a returning exhibition of oil paintings.
In Madison, Mary K. Boylan – an artist in many mediums, primarily oil paintings – joins watercolorist Deborah Meyer as a new featured exhibitor at the Madison Mercantile. Boylan’s pieces celebrate rural spaces in broad, bright strokes. She says, “Having grown up in the Midwest out in the country, I love everything farm life… simple things we see every day.”
Another new featured artist Keith Vettel will be selling stained glass at his home studio in Montevideo with writer/painter wife M.E. Fuller, a returning artist.
More artists will exhibit work in and around Granite Falls, Montevideo, Dawson, Milan, Danvers, Appleton, and Ortonville. For more information and locations, including those of studios found outside city limits, head to artsmeander.com or facebook.com/MeanderArtCrawl. Prospective visitors can also call 1-866-866-5432 to receive a free brochure.
The Meander is once again organized by the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission (UMVRDC). The UMVRDC works with local governments and helps implement programs in the region that stretch across city and county boundaries. Started in 2004 by a collective of local artists to spur economic development and showcase the region’s arts scene, the event draws more than 2500 visitors each year to Chippewa, Big Stone, Swift, Yellow Medicine, and Lac qui Parle Counties. Its name originates both from the region’s many river bends — and from the fact that its many local and national attendees are encouraged to spend the weekend, well, meandering from place to place.