ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI (Pink Suitcase Chronicles #43)

We have just returned home from a very art-filled weekend! Here you can see all of us - including Pink - reading the maps and newspaper articles describing the ArtPrize venues, artists and details before we set out to explore the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A few years back, a philanthropist in the area decided to offer big cash rewards to artists from around the world to enter this art contest to compete for large sums of cash prizes. The winners were to be voted upon by the people visiting the show.

The show uses city buildings, restaurants,parks, bridges, museums, churches, etc. to display the works of art. This contest has attracted more and more artists each year, and people are coming to the city from all over as well.

There are now some 1500 pieces of artwork on display from now

until October 9, 2011.

Wes and I were "hosted" by our dear friends, Marny and Tracy.

The art pieces were tiny (think a Mona Lisa jigsaw puzzle with some 80 pieces that could fit inside an Altoid box) to large (think in terms of a waterfall/fountain containing life-sized wood-carved grizzly bears). Think wood, glass, metal, steel, fibers, photographs, mosaics, clay, paper,

frying pans, glue, filaments, resin, plastic. You name it, basically, and there was an art piece featuring it!

This eye was a project two brothers created together by taking daily photographs for two years

and making a mosaic that had a picture within their pictures.

Here we see scaffolding with a sculpture. We were surprised to find the guy on the left was a real man who gave us a 'thumb's up' gesture as we checked him out!

Do you see Barbie in the shark composition?

These yellow sunflowers covered a large expanse of grass by the Gerald Ford Presidential Library. The flowers are all made out of recycled water bottles. Marny and I had a mini tutorial on the process by the artist herself.

This large sculpture dog was called "Rusty" and was made out of recycled metal parts.

I predict right here right now that this will be one of the Top 10 winners.

I was happy to see that a quilt was accepted into the competition at ArtPrize.

Imelda would have been happy, too.

If you feel that you are caught up in details at work, this wooden sculpture man can

certainly relate to your pain. Perhaps he's a modern-day Jonah.

How fun is it to be in Grand Rapids and see our very own CTA Brown Line? We take the Kimball train quite often - and never even noticed it is made out of duct tape! The artist did, however. This piece is close to actual size of a train, so we are talking a lot of duct tape here!

I hope you can get just a little idea of the big enjoyment we had this weekend. Let's hear it for

Marny and Tracy

and

A r t P r i z e!