"Ten Days of Murals" at 4 a.m.

At the very end of 2017, I did a little side project on my Instagram page. I posted some 4 a.m. photographs for 10 days straight, and I called it my "Ten Days of Murals." On the first day, I added this mini statement about the next 10 days:

Usually I photograph very public and scenic areas of the city that are quiet (and therefore sometimes unusual) at 4 a.m. But for the next 10 days, I want to show some murals I’ve been photographing. These public pieces of art are meant to be enjoyed during the day, and they take on a new life under the streetlights - a way they maybe aren’t intended to be viewed.

Here's what I posted over those 10 days:

[click each photograph for a larger image]

Day #1: near Snelling Ave in St. Paul.


Day #2: a Minneapolis neighborhood mural on the side of Falls Liquor on Minnehaha.


Day #3: the side of Classic Retro at Pete’s on University Ave.


Day #4: a Midway Murals mosaic piece on the side of Star Food Market from the Taco Bell parking lot.


Day #5: along Snelling Ave in St. Paul.


Day #6: an in-progress mural on the garage doors outside of Can Can Wonderland.
(Sidenote: when you view this image on your phone from your Insta account, it's a 2 image panorama.)


Day #7: another Midway Mural off of Snelling Ave.


Day #8: the side of Dunn Bros. on Grand Ave depicting the two downtowns of the two Twin Cities.


Day #9: Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox on the side of the (now permanently closed) St. Clair Broiler.


Day #10: the 5-story Golden Spiral by Ed Charbonneau Jeremy Szopinski in Pedro Park.


Bonus mural photo: this one helped inspire the "Ten Days of Murals" as I made
this photo from the side of Creative Lighting 2 weeks before this mini project.

Again, click each image to see it larger, and follow me on Instagram for more of my 4 a.m. work.

"Phases of Matter" at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts

My boys and I went out to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts last Thursday for the closing reception for "Phases of Matter." Linda Gammell (a former CVA professor) was one the artists featured in the show. Here are a few pics:

Walking the halls with my boys as we got there early.


Charlie posing by lots of looms. They thought this classroom was amazing.


In the gallery. Some of Linda's pieces (and her husband).


This huge piece in the middle entranced my 1st grader.
He watched all the gears until he had everything figured out.
Beautiful subtle movement that made the boat seem like it was on a lake.


The gallery starting to fill up.


More people.


More of Linda's work.


Roaming the gift shop before heading home.

Linda and I got to say hi (we had seen each other just a week before at an art event here in St. Paul), and I also got to briefly catch up with long-ago CVA professor Linda Rossi. I need to make it a point to stop in to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts when we're driving by to visit family by the lake over the summer.