Day trip to Hudson!

My friend, Julie, was here in Minnesota about two weeks ago for a visit...a visit that included lots of great conversation, good food, and artsy fun! We kicked things off by taking in the opening reception for the Textile Center's Figuratively Fiber show. Julie had a piece in the show--that beautiful, vibrant piece you see through the window. The show is up until April 16th, so if you're local you might want to check it out. (You can even see Julie's piece from the street as you drive by on University Avenue). Here's a detail pic of Julie's piece.

The piece is titled For Pele: Playing with Fire. She wrote about it here. I may be a bit biased, but this is my favorite piece in the show. Really, it's one of my favorite pieces of Julie's--I love all that vibrant color!

We also made a quick trip to the town of Hudson, Wisconsin. I love this town. Not too small, not too big...and it has a very vibrant art scene. Our first stop was at the Phipps Art Center. Currently (thru April 3rd) their galleries feature the work of six different artists. I fell in love with these mixed media pieces created by artist Daphnae Koop. They were created using repurposed wood and glass. Incredible.

And then there were these whimsical pieces by Susan Feigenbaum. Pictured below is both sides of this fun piece.

 
We wrapped up our trip to Seasons on St. Croix Gallery in downtown Hudson. This place is a goldmine--filled with light that shows off all the fantastic artwork. It's a nice mix of gallery and retail space. I like that they generally have a little show on one side (either featuring an artist or a themed-show; currently the show features artwork with a "food" theme). They also feature works in several mediums--painting, fiber, glass, ceramics. They even have glass and ceramic studios on site--sometimes you can see artists at work!