ArtPrize day 2

Back to the city for more ArtPrize today.  I was more tired than I thought and filled far too many parking meters for the amount of time I was there, but I did see a few things that I really liked.

The first was at Park Church (if you live nearby and plan on going.)  These are a series of quilts from a local group.  Each is  something iconic from a bike ride around Mackinac Island.  They are beautifully done and no photo can do them justice.  These are definitely "nose to fabric" things.  If you're a quilter you want to get close to see how they did what they did.  Let me tell you, Itsy bitsy, that's how they did it.  One of their group, the only name I recognized, was obviously the machine quilter of all of them.  What a treasure and they need to live together for the full effect.  I hope the group sells to someone who will keep them together.  I couldn't pick a favorite.

I expect they took a field trip together to the island to choose their scene.

 It's important for the locals here to see the names of these quilters.  The pieces are just gorgeous.  There is a bicycle in each piece.  For those not from Michigan, Mackinac Island has no automobiles on it.  The mode of transportation is horse or bicycle.  Bicycles are second nature to the people who have been to the island and each person added a bike to the piece, because, after all, it is titled "Mackinac Island Bike Tour." 

My cousin told me the Harris building was her favorite venue so I went there.  I can see why.  Grand Rapids is in the midst of finally realizing what they have in the old, old buildings downtown.  Some enterpreneurs are finally stripping them down to the bricks and making something of them other than parking lots.

 This you could see from the street windows and it draws you inside helplessly.  The artist loves her coffee in paper cups.  She loved getting her cup and savoring her drink.  Well, she saved those cups, writing the date on the bottom, what was served in it and from where.  And then she doodled a decoration on the outside.  There are 1,001 of them hanging here and it's so beautiful!!

In the same place there is this forest of books (trees re-imagined.)  The covers are stripped off and the contents spoked onto pipes, growing from the gravel.  There are real leaves interspersed in case you don't "get it."



But once again it's what you don't expect to see that surprises you. When I walked into the Harris building I stopped in my tracks.  I wasn't sure what I was looking at.  Was this whole room a store?  Was it an elaborate ArtPrize exhibit? Living art?  What was this place!??
It turned out to be The Local Epicurean.  A shop that makes fresh pasta and all the stuff that goes with it.  Sauces, pesto, bread, pastries, balsamic vinegars, olive oils, you name it.  And it's all stunningly gorgeous stuff.

All handmade

 The flavor combinations are mouthwatering.  You can't help it.  You slurp your drool back into your mouth.

I didn't know where to start. I had to maintain some semblance of control.  I bought some Crispy Prosciutto DeParma - house dried Prosciutto so thin you can see through the slices.  Some aged Asiago and Oregano pasta  and some Dark Cocoa Georgia Pecan pasta. I mean, come on....chocolate pasta?  With pecans besides??? Did they know I was coming that day?  I asked someone what a person would do with cocoa pasta.  She suggested whipped cream and raspberries.  Well!  This was a girl who knew her stuff!   I will let you know.