Longfellow Art Crawl planned Sept. 17-18

The eighth annual Longfellow Art Crawl will take place Sept. 17-18, 10am to 5pm both days. The League of Longfellow Artists (LoLa) art crawl has become a tradition showcasing the diverse work of artists and crafters living and working throughout the Longfellow neighborhood.

Connect with 110+ local artists at their studios, area businesses and at their homes throughout the neighborhood to discover and purchase unique art. The event is free and open to the public. For more information and a full list of participating artists and locations visit www.lolaartcrawl.com.

(All images shown were provided)

Photo left: Adam Iverson, site #1, Hook and Ladder Theater and Lounge, 3010 Minnehaha Ave. Iverson is fascinated by the human condition, by the beauty that persists even in the face of absurdity and suffering. There is something in him that is driven to look for the good; and by photographing the good in people, somehow it lasts a little longer.

Photo right: Janna Hallas, site Soderberg’s Floral, 3305 E. Lake St. Featuring unique handcrafted jewelry and gifts for all occasions. Each piece is designed and created by Hallas, who is inspired by the beauty of the Minnesota outdoors. Beads and findings are bought in small batches based on her current inspiration, so each piece is one-of-a-kind.

Photo left: Laura Borealis Art, site #58, 3706 E. 42nd St. Eight years ago Borealis was given some leftover clay and decided to make a light switch plate. She became addicted to making these miniature works of art, as well as totemic animal sculptures of owls and turtles, and larger meditative pieces. She will be demonstrating how she works with the clay.

Photo right: The Red Door, site #53, Natural Built Home, 4020 Minnehaha Ave. Two long-time friends started The Red Door together three years ago. They love supporting local artists and showcasing their work, so twice a year we have a sale doing just that. The rest of the year they are busy painting furniture, repurposing items into something useful and searching for vintage items.

Photo left: Chris Miller, site #22, 3231 36th Ave. S. Miller says he has a little trouble sitting still, and so he likes to have a project. Glass-on-Glass mosaic has become that project. “A little red house in a sunburnt field. A gnarly dead tree on a lonely road. The limb of a cherry blossom tree. I visit these places one shard of glass at a time. I like to think of my designs as jewelry for your home.”

Photo right: Sue Kolstad, site #15, Blue Moon Cafe, 3822 E. Lake St. Kolstad has been making collages from tissue and other papers layered with acrylic, including paint and other found materials. There is often a reference to climate change, or other events in the news, in her abstracts.

Photo left: Kelly J. Gordon, site #35, 3355 45th Ave. S. Gordon’s medium is acrylic on a black paint board, typically square and small. The subject matter varies from still life to landscape. Gordon loves every step in the creative process: sketching, mixing of the paint, capturing the light, seeing things you never noticed before.

Photo right: Barbara Hamilton, site #39, 3531 40th Ave. S. “Travel for me is essential. A traveler is always somewhat of an intruder, but I try to tread as lightly as possible.” Hamilton’s photography and watercolors are filled with color and light. She hopes she captures the spirit of her adventures, whether in the streets, people, and jungles of Mexico or right in her own backyard!

Photo left: Meg Erke, site #48, Riverview Cafe, 3745 42nd Ave. S. Erke’s work is inspired by nature and the accessibility to outdoor spaces in the Minneapolis area. She finds beauty in the discarded (broken books, old windows, yellowed paper). She is especially drawn to old and broken books—integrating parts of salvaged books into all of her work. During LoLa, she will be showing multimedia paintings, block prints, and hand-bound books.

Photo right: Wildmineral Jewelry, Terese Chillingworth, site #ParisVintage, 3721 Minnehaha Ave. S. Chillingworth strives to design and fabricate jewelry that is well made, comfortable, and that has a personal connection for the wearer. “I feel rewarded when my work speaks to someone’s soul. I make unique, one of a kind, handmade jewelry often having a past and future twist.”

 Photo left: Jean Shannon, site #21, 3223 36th Ave. S. One of the original organizers of LoLa, Shannon is a printmaker—woodblock prints, monoprints, stencil and screen prints using imagery drawn from years of living in Japan and her interest in folk art. “I like printmaking because it is a democratic art, available to all. Whether the image is a folk toy or a deity, I hope that it awakens an interest in cross-cultural meanings and gives visual delight.

Photo right: Lee Love, site #21, 3223 36th Ave. S. One of the original organizers of LoLa, Love was born in Sakai, Japan in the same neighborhood as Tea Master Sen No Rikyu, and grew up in Michigan. Love moved to Minnesota in 1983 to study with the late Soto Zen teacher, Dainin Katagiri Roshi. Love’s work is functional pottery and is influenced by traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ceramics, especially everyday pots that were sometimes chosen for the tea ceremony.

Image left: Anita White, site #4, Urban Forage Winery, 3016 E. Lake St. White is an artist and teacher of art for elderly people with memory loss, mentally ill adults, and children. “I am a documentary drawer who uses my daily sketchbook to draw the world around me with compassion, empathy, and humor. I also love painting in outdoor places like Longfellow Garden or at the beach. My travels to Mexico and Romania have inspired many large paintings of women, courtyards, and markets.”

Image left: Cherie Rinehart-Burke, site #37, 4729 Isabel Ave., Rinehart-Burke likes to play and does a bunch of different things! “It’s fun! One thing inspires another.” Her work encompasses mosaic, jewelry, watercolor pencil, oil, acrylic, and collage.

Image left: Bob Payton, Abstract Art Quilts, site #52, 4005 40th Ave. S. Being able to turn a 1908 one and a half story Longfellow home into an art gallery has been one of the benefits of the LOLA Art Crawl for musician/visual artist Bob Payton and his wife, Denise Dreher. They exhibit over fifty of Payton’s colorful abstract art quilts throughout the first floor of their home.