The Dynamic Des Moines Arts Festival!
Those that know me well know I love art of all kinds. It wasn’t always this way, but I discovered after I got out of school and no one was grading my efforts that I enjoyed looking at art and making my own creations so much more. In fact, I strongly believe that “good art” is in the eye of the beholder and not in the artwork itself. I can look at the same piece of art as 20 other people and it would “speak” to us in 20 different ways.
With that thought in mind, I viewed lots of great art at the Des Moines Arts Festival today. I talked to a number of talented and friendly artists who gave me permission to take a photo of their work. Some of them even agreed to be in the photo! 😁 But the coolest thing that happened was a miniature artist (the art is tiny, not the artist 😉) named Blake Gore. He makes absolutely delightful tiny drawings. He offered to show me how he does it. Here’s what he does. (In photos)
Super fine point pen 🧐 ⬆️
Tiny piece of paper 🧐 ⬆️
That is my name in the tiniest handwriting I have ever seen! So now I have a super fun souvenir! So cool! Below are just a few of his other pieces and additional information. ⬇️
And I just HAD to get my arm and shirt in the photo…sorry! 🙄⬆️
Tiny little bookcases and libraries! Loved it! 🥰
Other artists were fun to visit with and had beautiful and unique art as well! I encourage you to stop by this weekend at the Des Moines Arts Festival at Western Gateway Park and the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Downtown Des Moines. The festival will run on Saturday from 11 am to 10 pm and Sunday from 11 to 5. And don’t let the sprinkles deter you. A few sprinkles actually cooled things down for a while this afternoon and the cloud cover was wonderful!
Artist demonstrations too! Check out the link below! ⬇️
In addition to almost 200 artist tents, there are 30 hands-on activities for kids, 25+ food trucks and stands, two separate stages with free entertainment, and LOTS of gorgeous artwork of all kinds in all price ranges. In addition, there is a film festival happening at the Des Moines Public Library. It really is a giant party, so head to Des Moines this weekend and join the fun! More photos below. ⬇️
All artists gave permission for me to post the photos in this blog post. I always ask, as it is their intellectual property and livelihood.
Habitat for Humanity is literally building a family a house during the festival. Awesome! 👏👏👏
Artist name is below. ⬇️
Chris Vance is artist for both photos. ⬆️⬇️
