Georgie and I packed our bags for a road trip this weekend...it was short but long deserved as far as I was concerned! Too much work makes Bruce a dull boy. I needed some winter painting material too and hadn't been down the Loess Hills in Western Iowa for some years, so that's where we headed.
Even though the color of autumn was fading, the hills are usually good for nice pockets here and there plus the landscape has much physical character. You can always count on the prairie ridges (the grasses) for color though - without fail!
One area we always go through when we're in the Loess Hills is the area of Preparation Canyon and further north. It was very windy when we went through on Saturday but not nearly as bad as today! (Gale force winds sustained at 40mph and gusting a lot higher)
With real windy weather I rarely come up with publishable images, but they give fodder to work with on long winter days and nights in the studio. Winter - yikes, lets hope for a "long" fall first!
It's been a while since my last entry; we have been so inundated with work and shows and other commitments that we don't know whether we're coming or going.
Last weekend we were in Ft Dodge at Iowa Central Community College at their very first artist alumni showing. The reception was held Sunday (Oct 12) and was held in honor of my first college level art instructor - Mr. Robert Halm. It was a wonderful day...I think I must have still been smiling Monday morning. Mr. Halm was my favorite art teacher in college, and I had a lot of them later on (Uof I School of Art)...he left the most lasting impression on me of anyone and was that way for many if not all of his students. And interestingly enough, it was "Mrs." Halm who was my High School art teacher. Mrs. Halm passed away about 5 years ago...God Bless 'em both.
Today I went to something that I've been interested in for as long as I can remember...had nothing to do with painting or photography...area archeology nearby at the Prairie Heritage Center. Always been interested in the cultures that lived on the Tallgrass so many years ago...the oldest known cornfield in Iowa (around 900 A.D.) is only a couple miles from our home! I finished doing part of a permanent archeological display for the nature center a few weeks back and find the whole story and heritage so intriging!
This weekend we are showing work at some good friends north of here that are having an open house. Dwight and Bev Rutter at the Prairie Flower, a native plant nursery. Pay us a visit if you're out and about through Sunday afternoon!
I wanted to take a moment after the Artisans Road Trip weekend to thank all of you for helping to make it a success in the new Studio/Gallery here at Prairie Hill Farm. It was a pleasure to see so many familiar faces and getting to know new ones - many from the "neighborhood"!
Thank you for supporting Local Artists - have a great fall!
...Bruce and Georgie
The NW Iowa Artisans Road Trip begins this weekend! Oct 4th and 5th - Saturday 9am - 5pm and Sunday Noon- 5pm. 42 artists from 8 counties will have their studios open for visitors; artists of many disciplines and in many interesting nooks up in this corner of the state.
The weather's been great, the scenery is turning to autumn...take a road trip!Hope to see ya!
