Mar 1st, 2012 by ++Mira++ | Comment
Yes, these are stuffed animals hanging on a house. You aren’t seeing things.
I had heard about The Heidelberg Project and decided to go explore it myself. It is named after the street it is on, Heidelberg St. in Detroit. It sits in one of the worst parts of the city. I won’t go into the details of how it came to be and why. You can read all about it on the Heidelberg website & here. I will however invite you to explore it with me, via these shots.
Some people happened to be shooting a video of sorts that day. It was nice to have company since the streets were pretty void of humans and Detroit has its cast of characters always roaming the streets. It is not necessarily dangerous, but trust your instincts and don’t put yourself in a bad situation. You’ve been warned.
There was so much to see everywhere. So many details. The street art collection is always changing, with things being added and detracted, but the main structures remain.
Cars seemed to be represented all over the properties, and they were boards propped up with painted cars on them.
This was my favorite house. So much to see. I have photo vignettes with close ups in the 3 photos below.
The street itself was even part of the art. Polka dots painted in the streets and on the sidewalks.
A boat full of stuffed animals aptly named Noah. Alot of religious themes are thread through out the different houses and art. It’s interesting to pick up on them.
The “Penny Car” below, has pennies glued all over. Funny enough, the car also has a Santa inside, and sticking out the back with a toilet seat.
Need to make a call? No problem. Pick a phone up. It’s not connected to anything. Reminds me of Alanis Morissette: “Nobody callin’ on the phone, except for the Pope maybe in Rome”.
Signs with ironic and warning messages are everywhere. Read the one with the lady in the background.
Numbers anyone?
Want to go see it for yourself? Get some Directions to the street (not to be confused with the museum address). It really is a must see in Detroit. Lots of amazing art that really gets you thinking. Some tips on visiting are: don’t go alone, go in a group and use common sense. Always follow your gut and don’t do anything stupid, and of course go in the day. While you can see alot of it from the car, you will miss the little details unless you walk up to the houses. I can’t wait to go again soon. It is really a gem, grab your cameras and go!
Sep 8th, 2010 by ++Mira++ | 5 Comments
Arts Beats and Eats (check the site for the music lineup) moved to Royal Oak this year, while it was previously held in Pontiac. I love Royal Oak, and I was really excited. So, Sunday, we got there around 3. Couldn’t find parking (even paid) anywhere close, so we parked in a lot next to i96. Parking on the side streets required permits for residents ( good idea). Guess how much parking was? $15. Yes, fifteen dollars. Which on top of, we had to walk for like a mile. Granted I know every time its the first of something there are kinks that need to be ironed out, but $15 is crazy for parking.
SO, we get there. Guess what? A line. A line for what? An entrance fee. How much? $3. Fine, whatever. But once you are inside, you realize 1/2 the booths were advertisers (in case you were looking for insulation for your attic between band sets). So why the entrance fee then?
Anyways, we get in there, where is the ART? Um, no maps or signs so it took over 1/2 hour to figure out where everything was. At that point I was like, whatever, here to have fun, here to chill, move on. Ok. But guess what, you could not move! You couldn’t look. You couldn’t stop. You were jam packed in a sea of humans.
Apparently they didn’t expect that many people. Well, then don’t have it on Washington street. Which is one street off Main St. This time I couldn’t take great pics. Remember the Plymouth Art fair?
Here goes…
This pic was of the thinnest crowds.lol.
One of the koolest things there…
The view from behind the tents into the vending stands.
Did you know Hour magazine is based out of Royal Oak?
Ok, my favorite parts of any festival / fair. The art. I didn’t even come close to taking pics of everything, but some of my favs were these custom cutting boards. Crazy right?
The one thing about the art is, I wish they would bring more up and coming artists in. Some paintings were thousands of dollars. Michigan’s young artists need the exposure, and then we could actually buy something! I’m not going to spend 350$ on a signed print.
Then the Food. Sorry, but it was terrible. Terrible lines, terrible selections and not vegetarian / kosher / halal friendly. This basically meant we were stuck at this truck, especially since we had already bought 16 tickets (non-refundable) for $10 (which is the minimum).
Stuck with this menu (and yes, it says chicken on a stick):
So, we ended up with oily heavy elephant ear ($5)
And oily soggy cheese fries. I love fries. If they were crunchy and good I really would’ve been happy especially since we skipped breakfast looking forward to ABE. The cheese was watery too. Weird. Oh, and guess what, this much for $5.
It’s not my style to hate. But really, I was seething that day. I felt ripped off, tired, and disappointed. It wasn’t even about the money. It was the principle. Don’t charge me for all this, make me eat soggy fries, tell me the band doesn’t start till 5:30, waste 4 hours of my life, have no maps and THEN bombard me with advertisers. Get it straight. We are not dumb.
Jul 12th, 2010 by ++Mira++ | 10 Comments
The 2010 annual Art in the Park event, in Plymouth , was this past weekend. Artists come from all over to attend the second biggest art fair in Michigan. The weather was amazing and it was packed!
I always love the chalk drawings, and this Andy Warhol’s chalk repro of his famous Marilyn Monroe is no exception. The colors are so vivid.
What would an art fair be without a caricaturist?
And a jazz band?
And a happy woman selling happy lemonade?
Plymouth itself is the perfect backdrop for the fair, because it boasts amazing specialty shops.
The sign below says “Old World Olive Oil”. All this store sells is olive oil and vinegar from around the world.
These shops were just too cute!
And this looked like the most perfect neighbourhood toy store.
On to the ART! So, I just wanted to highlight some of my favs from the fair. This is by no means an inclusive list. There were too many talented people there to count. But here it goes…
These metal sculptures caught my eye right away! I mean, for starters they were pretty big, and they were just gorgeous, making me want one right away for my backyard. They are by michigan metal sculpturers: Anderson’s Metal Sculpture. Click on the link to check out more of their awesomness, they take conseignments too.
A butterfly on a flower…
A gorgeous goldfish…
A colorful dragonfly…look at those kaldeiscopic glass eyes
And my fav….the grasshopper!
I think it was the little “hairy” spikes that made me fall for this fella.
Another group of metal “animals” perfect for the yard, are these beyond cute Yardbirds. Make sure to check out their website. They came all the way from Louisville Kentucky. I really really, and i mean REALLY loved the venus fly trap below. He also reminds me of Randall from Monsters Inc.
These next piks show how much my photography skills are not so great yet, and really do not do the art justice. You HAVE to visit his website Pubsof. He goes around the country and draws the local pubs that are the heart of the city. Truly amazing work. The detail, the colors…trust me, just take a look at his work and you will be hooked.
Now this next artist is a penmaker and woodworker by the name of Ben Sturk (you can reach him at RSturk@aol.com). I was intrigued. Wooden pens that don’t even look like wood, and hand made, I mean, all that work! He had so many of them too.
I love the marbling effects.
And these were my fav. They look a bit like snake skin, right?
And for the the rest of it I just wandered around. Here are some other cool shops from Art in the Park.
I was in tie die heaven (i’m a hippie at heart).
And I was surprised to see Bonzai trees. I love em and have been wanting one for a while.
The funniest maid and cook outfits.
I’m also a sucker for vintage signs. These would be for a game room, or man cave.
I don’t think the ones below are vintage but they were great non the less.
Lots of jewlery shops. I loved how these were displayed.
Cartoony melancholic drawings are another love of mine. I should share my etsy finds on here. Soon, I promise.
More cutesy fun garden stuff. I especially liked the “weeds for sale sign”.
If your around next year, this is definitely a great event to attend. As always help support local artists and spread the word.
*discalimer: all Art pictured is property of their respective owners. I have no rights to any of it. If you know the aritsts names of the other art please let me know.
