Sunday we hosted a vegan brunch at our house. Our friends Ryan and Val brought tons of good eats too. Mark has already posted about it over at Irreverent Vegan. Ryan and Val did a great write-up on it (from which I nabbed this photo) on their blog i’m just doing this thing. Their about page is pretty funny, so check that out too!
brunching it up! for photos of food- visit those other two blogs pronto!
So, that last post would have gotten out of hand if I had included everything I want to write and show, so I decided to break it into two posts. And now for part 2! This year’s poster and t-shirt were designed by the amazing and talented Melissa Dettloff (aka Mad Dog) who just happens to be my friend and studiomate. The shirts and posters were printed by the ubiquitous VG Kids.
She's clearly pleased her design was chosen.
Here’s a quick look around the fair: 
the mervelous Amelia and her new lavender-scented skunk friend
A couple of booths I’d like to feature:
Sarah Bradstreet, working it at the Broad Street booth
the lovely Maria working the Swipple! booth
Swipple!
Their booth debuted a sleek new design this year for maximum art viewing (and therefore purchasing).
And then there was the food! This vegan was pleased as punch about Jennifer Albaum’s Chips and Cheeeze which rocked to a sold-out audience. Thankfully, you can find the recipe over at her blog Scumpdilly.
Jennifer serving ups Chips and Cheeeze! We had ours with lotso jalapenos...
Mark Maynard was also signing people up for his Cycle Powered Cinema project. Mark (my man) has volunteered to help out. MM was posting to his blog live during the SAF, which is pretty funny. There’s even a bathroom video interview with Ryan Groendyk, one of the meisters in charge of the Shadow Brew which sadly got all drunk up before we made it back for our second visit for the day. I hear it was pretty amazing and…”weird” (hey, that’s Ryan’s own description).
As twilight fell, Manhole rocked some Chuck E. Cheese-style limbo action outside under a glorious sky.
I hope you had fun! (I know I did)
So like a carnival sweeping through town, the Shadow Art Fair descends on Ypsilanti, Michigan twice yearly. The summer SAF in July always has an especially festive air, as there are longer daylight hours (as opposed to the December SAF) in which to enjoy it and the opportunity to spill into the Corner Brewery‘s outdoor beer garden after supporting local and regional craftsters, artists, and creative peoples. So, of course “supporting” means buying up a bunch of stuff, and if one is going to “go consumer”, the SAF is the place to do it. I go a little bit nuts each time I go, buying gifts for others, but mostly for our home…and for me. I deserve it, right? So, this post is about the spoils I plundered this time around and is an opportunity to give a shout-out to those artists who caught my eye long enough to catch me digging into my wallet. Props to Mark for picking out cool stuff with me and being patient with my spendy self.
From left to right, the ceramic pieces of Christina DeAngleo are so lovely we bought four exquisite little shot glasses and one stein with a bug drawn onto it. Never underestimate the importance of a large mug for holding lotsa steaming hot droughts come the cold Michigan winter. The earrings are handmade by the b-line, a jewelry designer who uses mostly polymer clay, but I snapped up these beaded little brassy bluebells. The t-shirt is by Great Lakes Shirts. Mark got one last year and this year, it was my turn. Now I can pay tribute to the more watery parts of these northern mid-western states of ours. The painting is by Jason Wright. Mark and I have wanted one of his pieces for a long time now, and finally have brought one home. Jason runs Swipple!, an online and often actual art exhibition space where he features artists from all over, but especially regional artists and sometimes outsider artists. Jason also works closely with Michigan prisons. He works to get the inmates’ artwork seen and has curated several successful exhibitions of prison art.
Whenever we bring home new stuff, the cats get into investigatory mode. Ramona wanted to be sure that I feature a close-up of some of the stuffz:
Wobbly Bob doesn’t care about the stuff, he just likes the paper it’s wrapped in. He favors hunkering down in a little nest of it.
After speaking to a bunch of people at our vegan brunch yesterday (more on that later), it was agreed that a highlight of the fair was the booth of Broad Street: “jewelry for the eco-fabulous.” And man is it ever! I bought an amazing chainmail neckercheif creation off the neck of some poor girl who was trying it on, but karmicly, another girl snatched a necklace out from under me a little later, so the universe is working as it should. If you ever see Sarah Bradstreet selling her wares, be sure to snap up what you want early on, because it gets gone! Here’s a photo of me modeling the first item I bought:
Two more sellers deserve some props. Sally England of SED (Sally England Design) had a really eclectic booth with faux bois printed plush logs, felt Michael Jackson portraits and these amazing golden t-rexes, one of which had to come home and join the menagerie in the kitchen window box:
The other artist is is Lori Brown, who as Morninglori, makes up wonderful stories about imaginary beings and makes them come to life in her sculpted and plush creations. We bought some as gifts, so I can only show the tippity tip of an ear so’s not to blow any surprises, but if you visit her etsy site, you’ll get the idea.
Now that we’ve indulged me by reveling in my post consumer bliss, next up: the people and place of the Shadow Art Fair. I haven’t even mentioned the Chips and Cheeeze yet!