St Paul Art Crawl Tips

A picture of my studio building, the Jax, that shows the mural on the side of the building.

A shot of the front of the Jax.

Inside my studio.

The art crawl officially begins tomorrow evening. I have some paintings still to hang and some sprucing up of the studio left. I'm not too happy about the weekend weather forecast. We may squeak by with decent weather Friday evening if the rainstorms can hold off, but Saturday and Sunday look to be cold and rainy. Rainy weather seems to discourage folks from venturing out, but if it's not too cold...Actually cooler weather can be a plus--the studios stay cooler. Hopefully folks will still turn out for the crawl.

Here are my crawl tips:

--Buy a crawl catalogue for a small donation ($2, I think). It contains a nifty map of the crawl, artist information, and a picture of one of my pieces (along with work of other artists).

--Wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. You will be doing a lot of walking and after a while, comfort takes priority over fashion.

--Generally start on the top floor of a building and work your way down (except at our building--than start with Studio 300). It's easier and less tiring to go down steps. Don't count on elevators--some buildings don't even have public elevators.

--Select a few buildings to begin your crawl experience. I recommend starting with the Jax (again Studio 300) where I'm located. Seriously, the Jax has a high concentration of open studios. Also select at least one building that combines living space with art studios. Try the Tilsner (300 E Broadway)...that's where I will be living shortly. They have a record number of artists participating this year, plus some musical entertainment.

--Although you won't find a meal, you will be offered plenty of treats. Some studios even serve wine. There will also be music and performers in some studios or outside buildings.

--Feel free to chat with the artists. They open up their studios so you can learn about their work and because they would like to hear what you think.

And finally, have a good time.