Found Art in Farm Country

We took a trip as a family this week to the heart of America. The city where we stayed is unique in that it straddles three states- Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa. We stayed in a hotel that was in downtown Sioux City, Iowa just a few blocks from the art center.

The art center reminded me very much of the one in Flint, Michigan where I learned to make pottery. All around the building were the usual modern metal sculptures.

This was an installation piece for their current show about trucks. I thought it was interesting and fun, a statement about the trucks history as a workhorse.

         

 I expected my mechanic husband and car crazy teenage boys to like it too, especially since they have several old truck restoration projects going right now, but no, they did not see the purpose of this as art. They didn't appreciate it one bit.

     

This part of the city was quite run down and had seen better days. It was clear though that efforts are being made to revitalize it.

     

                                         I liked this tile mosaic tribute to the arts.

When we were heading home on Sunday from the Omaha airport, I spotted this gallery on the way to our gate. 

       

These two artists were demonstrating their work. They explained that the gallery was an artists cooperative of about fifty people from the Iowa and Nebraska area.

                                     

Russell is a sculptor who makes bronzes. He was demonstrating the first stage of the work in a clay/beeswax mixture from which he would make a mold to cast the figure in bronze.

                                        

                                       He had numerous finished pieces for sale in the gallery.

      

                                         This lady was working on her paintings.

     

     

                          There were some very beautiful and well made baskets.

     

There were also a number of glassworks. I thought this piece was very well done. I had never seen a landscape done with this technique. A Midwestern farm scene. I thought of Sarah when I saw these glass plates.

I had asked permission of these artists to take photos but after a took a few around the gallery was informed not to take photos of the work so only have these few.

It is always great to travel and see new places, or revisit old ones, but it is even better to return home.

My garden is in the mid summer perennial phase so I was greeted with these happy rudbeckia--

                         

                                             And these very friendly Shasta daisies--