I've had a strange relationship with the State Fair over the years. When I was little my grandmother tried taking me, but I was bored (she didn't teach me how to knit, crochet or sew and I wonder why?). When I was a teenager I was only interested in hanging out and maybe going on some rides. When the kids were little we went to see the animals, mostly.
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At this point I like to go to Creative Activities, and I especially enjoy volunteering for The Guild, which I did yesterday. Folks love to see socks in production and this year's Snicket Socks were a hit, mostly because of the fabulous yarn (thank you, Rosemary) but also because of the cool pattern.
But what I really like is the Fine Arts building. This piece caught my eye right away - It illustrates what church should do, I think.
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I liked this a lot too, I'm not sure exactly why.
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This fabulous piece is made out of discarded plastic fruit bags.
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And this is made of those return address labels that everyone sends you - you know what I mean, right? Some organizations keep sending them to you even after you quit giving them money. Who sends that much snail mail these days, anyway?
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It's called, "Return to Sender"
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This one is called, "Road Trip" and it's made of road maps cut into strips and woven, used as a canvas.
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I really liked the effect.
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And who wouldn't want a bejeweled bicycle?
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This was one of the most popular. I love the fact that they're on a scooter, not a Harley.
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In creative activities this caught my eye: a starfish with beaded bikini, bag and hat:
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I also found Girl-child's octopus. It's very hard to see the knitted things because there are so many they are crammed into the cases. I see more on the blogosphere, frankly. And, of course, there's the September Guild Meeting to look forward to.
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When I was volunteering at ARC's Value Village one of the young ladies said that she had a sculpture made of garbage at the DNR site. She's a recent graduate of MCAD.
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This made me think of Girl-child and her BFF; they're big drinkers.
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I loved this patch in the sidewalk.
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All in all it was a good trip this year.