ArtPrize 2023

It's been a spectacular September here in the mitten - we typically get some of our nicest weather of the year, and this go around has been no exception. Even better, the humans have had great reason to get out and enjoy it, since ArtPrize is back in downtown Grand Rapids until October 2. Mom's been lucky enough to get out to see a lot of art in person, while we get to enjoy it vicariously through her photos. 

Here are some of our favorites!

First, our picks from this year's series of daily monster drawings, Monstravaganza. (I think we were all hungry at the time...)

Bethany's pick: pickle otter

Julie's pick: popcorn llama

Lily's pick: blueberry ox

my pick: taco Nessie

And now for a stroll for through our personal top 5's. I'm going to go first, because this is my post and I'm eager, ha ha.

Felicity's Picks:

Reclamation-Golden Hour

series of sculptures made from foraged materials and fibers

They are supposed to make the viewer think about walking through a forest at dusk, and I can see that. I was more thinking of forest fairies creating these with magic... but that's probably because I spend so much time around Bethany.

a closeup on my favorite (from ArtPrize's website)

Return To Office

photographic tryptic

I feel like all my fellow introverts can relate to this one.

Reflections of Dali: Anamorphic Symmetry in Wood

birch plywood stained various colors + reflective column = Dali's portrait

Twelve Drummers Drumming

Colored pencil masterpiece of many animals (more than 12, I think) drumming and/or plugging their ears.

Unicorns

sculptures made of willow branches, spray paint, screws, and lights

Ok, so the name could've been more creative, but it's easy to remember. I think this was done by the same artist who made the hummingbird last year, which was one of Julie's top picks. Putting these guys by the Grand River and adding lights gave them a fun, magical quality - similar to how my first pick made me feel.

The lights slowly change color

A nighttime view

Bethany's Picks:

Evanescent

giant iridescent bubble inflatables

They look cool by day, but I think they are especially pleasing to behold at night.

Great Lakes Embroidery Series

the landscapes are based off photos the artist has taken herself

a close up on the Pictured Rocks scene to give you an idea of the detail and scale

(photo from the ArtPrize website)

Unspooky Alphabet

26 ink drawings of animals in various occupations, from an alpaca accountant to a zebra zookeeper

Michigan Beauty

Bethany's favorite of several oil paintings in this series depicting Michigan nature scenes

Tale of 10 Dresses

10 wearable dresses made from the pages of various books

some of Bethany's favorites: 

the Secret Garden dress (far left) and Disney dress (center)

another especially cool one, the Harry Potter dress

It's fun that each dress had a framed photo nearby of a real person modeling it

Julie's Picks:

one of several Lake Michigan driftwood sculptures from MI.eden

(Driftwood Adam/Groot was hanging out with various driftwood animals)

Have a Seat

mixed media: torn and cut paper, colored pencil

If you look closely, you can see a racehorse picture on the wall of the first one.

Julie says she would most want to sit in the plush red one.

Wishmaster

fish sculpture bedazzled with tons of crystals

After Party Guests

scrap metal installation

Lucindas East of Eden

oil on canvas

I think we all know why Julie picked this one. <3

Lily's Picks:

Perfectly Imperfect 2.0

one of many starburst style flowers in this entry, which are crafted from handmade papercloth and metal

No Use Crying Over Spilled Paint

paint cans, puzzle pieces, and paint on canvas

Ebb and Flow

acrylic and oil paint on polished brass and aluminum: a series of 5 bird-themed scenes

this incredibly talented artist, a veteran, has had his artwork featured in this fountain for several years in a row. (They're sealed with a clear, waterproof coating, so it's ok if they get wet.)

Belgian and the Poppy

what a gorgeous glass mosaic!

Dancing Sky

This is "Spirit Dancers," one of several mixed media masterpieces in this series depicting northern lights scenes. As always, we love this artist's style and all the imbedded sparkly stones.

On the Star Stable front, we're still lagging away. It's becoming the new normal, which bites, but we haven't given up playing, at least not yet. We're in the midst of a 4-week birthday celebration: Star Stable is now 12 years old. Neither of the two horses only available during the event are must-haves, though we do quite like them. 

We've been enjoying the decorations and the special tasks, especially the daily cake baking: 200 Jorvik shillings a day just for that!

And finally, some big real-life news. 

You may recall that Nala, our aunt's high energy, intense, ridiculously strong, power chewing, couch- and toy-loving pittie mix, lived under the same roof as us and Mom for several years. Most recently, Nala spent almost a year living primarily with our aunt in an apartment, only returning for short-term visits while our aunt and her boyfriend were away. Everybody was much happier with this arrangement, Nala especially. Sadly, our aunt lost Nala in August due to advanced lymphoma.

Rest in peace, Nala. 

I personally thought for sure she'd make it well into her senior years, as strong and energetic as she was. By our best estimates, she was only approaching 8 years old.

Our aunt spends considerable time working from home, so Nala's abrupt absence had to have been extra hard on her. We were so happy to hear that she and her boyfriend have adopted a new dog from a local shelter. Meet Hazel, the "boxer mix!"

She may bear a striking resemblance to Nala physically (and will be able to wear a lot of her gear), but she is her own dog: sweet, a bit shy, people-loving, and - thank goodness - not an energizer bunny meets bull in a china shop.

We all loved her when she came to visit for the first time this week. She has issues with separation anxiety, apparently, but we're sure rooting for it to work out with training. (If not, we have room for her here!) 

Welcome to the fam, Hazel! <3

Laggy Limbo

Labor Day weekend is upon us! As much as I'm looking forward to fall's arrival in a few weeks, I'm in no particular rush for it. Here we all are chilling in some still clearly summery outfits with some of Mom's more summery bird plushies. 

Red-winged blackbirds hang out in open fields (don't get too close to their nests!), mallards and ring bill gulls are all over the lakeshores, and barn swallows like to swoop down and take quick drinks out of pools. You know you're horse-obsessed when you spend quite a bit of time imagining what various birds would look like as pegasi... But a red-winged blackbird, though! That'd make one epic pegasus!

Our graphics lagginess issues on Star Stable have not improved after the last few weekly updates, sadly. We're debating downloading the game onto the family desktop computer to see if we'd have any better luck there... 

Most days, we just log on long enough to care for the horses and maybe attempt stable chores and/or a training race. The shovel glitch is finally fixed (hooray!), but the hoofpick/brush glitches are always still there, as is the lag as soon as we set foot outside. *Sighs* The lag in combination with the lack of any limited-time sales on breeds we're interested in has made it easier to convince my sisters to keep our little herd to 5 for the time being. If, hypothetically, we were to get a 6th horse, right now the Lippizaner is still the frontrunner. As my sisters have brought up on several occasions already, it would be highly appropriate to take home a "ghostly" colored one around Halloween...

On weekends, when we have more time and patience, we have managed to do some questing. (It's not nearly as enjoyable with the perpetual lag, but still possible.)

One of our last quests before lag onset was this one, to find out what was causing all the dangerous holes in the road on the way to Fort Pinta. James and his tourists were being blamed, but Clara was not convinced and headed off to investigate.

She eventually discovered this:

After a car chase, the GED worker confessed.

James was going to spin the ordeal to his advantage and begin selling all sorts of chipmunk-themed merch. As a thank you, he gave Clara a chipmunk t-shirt. =)

Post-lag, most of our questing has revolved around trying to make contact with the mysterious Mrs. X, leader of CHILL, the organized resistance against GED.

To find her, Clara and NPC Herman first had to make it over the Graydew Mountains, but they needed a special compass to guide them to the hidden path. A very young NPC had hidden the compass, and Clara had to get creative to convince him to tell her where.

She found it hidden in one of the silos.

Clara and Desertdash followed the compass to a series of green-glowing stones, which eventually led them to the start of the path. Clara then had to obtain and get help decoding a guide of the multiple booby traps on the path itself. Then, finally, it was time to set off!

Glitch, probably, but Herman spent the entire long ride doing the limbo.

We'll admit it: it took us several "do-overs" until made it all the way. It involved avoiding falling trees and boulders, jumping over a chasm, and carefully making your way around these geysers, which would randomly blast and take you out if you're too close.

The celebration was short-lived: a GED guard intercepted them immediately.

Clara and Desertdash got away, then attempted to sneak back and rescue Herman later with the help of a CHILL member named Jupiter. 

Herman talked on an on about what he'd overheard while Clara tried unsuccessfully to pick the lock. In summary, GED is after something with codename "Drakonium" (after Ms. Drake) which would make them uber powerful. This is what they were mining for in Old Hillcrest. When they finally drilled down to the Drakonium, however, a mysterious purple mist poured out. Anybody who didn't flee fast enough has seemingly vanished into the mist, though their "bloodcurdling cries" can still sometimes be heard. The area was abandoned and walled off, but now GED is preparing a small army to retake Old Hillcrest. Their reasoning: the mist and unsettling noises are all just "smoke and mirrors," the efforts of some rival corporation to scare GED off. Herman thinks whatever's responsible is something far more sinister... At any rate, if GED succeeds, the Harvest counties are basically doomed, so it's as important as ever to find Mrs. X.

Then Herman was lifted away by a crane...

...and guards showed up to capture Clara. Luckily, she escaped again on the back of trusty Magicmirror.

No success reaching Mrs. X yet, so Herman will have to stay captured a while longer. 

Clara found herself dragged into another problem quickly. This dude, Ricky, former Jor-Jitsu competitor, lost his confidence after losing to Ivan Drake (brother of Mrs. Drake?)

He was stuck underneath this barbell when they first met.

Clara challenged him to several timed physical activities to help him regain his confidence. One of these involved cutting down pine trees and lugging them back to his house. Clara had the unfair advantage of a draft horse to help her, ha ha.

After jogging down to the stables (Clara intermittantly blowing a horn at him when he slows down), they ran into Ivan Drake. Turns out the situation is more dire than Clara realized: the stable (run by Ricky's girlfriend) owes the bank/the Drake family money, and Ivan has big plans for the property once he gets his hands on it.

The plan: to help Ricky train and win the upcoming Jor-Jitsu championship. He could then use his winnings to save the stable. I sure hope they're successful!

Before I go, I also wanted to share one piece of very cute real-life news. It turns out that Mom's beloved Hoppy, the first of her "elite 3" stuffed animals, has a long-lost sister! 

Her name is Cloudy, and she was previously living in California!

Mom saw her on eBay and could not resist. While not a twin of Hoppy, Cloudy does bear a striking resemblance to Hoppy when Hoppy was young and new. (Before years of being held by Mom as she slept every night, and before her ill-fated camping trip and consequent spin in the washer.) 

Hoppy is so secure in her position as "top stuffie" that she was not miffed by this turn of events. In fact, she was even more excited than Mom for Cloudy's arrival - you should've seen the two hopping around like crazy and embracing with those little arms when they first met. The two are quickly making up for lost time. <3