MINI-WAKAN ART PROJECT

Join us at Gull Point State Shelter on Sunday, August 29, 2010, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m for a brunch buffet, champagne tasting, live music, talks from history experts and art auction. The silent and live auction artworks are inspired by our lakes area.

Table sponsorship of $200 for a 4-top or $400 for a 8-top is limited and encourage early reservation. A $25 individual ticket does not guarantee a table, but will offer an opportunity to join in on the food, fun and auction. Tickets are expected to sell out quickly! Please email Deidre Rosenboom to reserve a table sponsorship: deidre.rosenboom@me.com.

Tickets can also be purchased at the Wine Bar, 139 Broadway Street, Arnolds Park, IA. and at Hy-Vee, Highway 9, Spirit Lake, IA.
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For a little Background...

Recently, the Spirit Lake Protective Association created an ART Committee to organize an event bringing attention to the beauty, charm and historic significance of Mini-Wakan State Park.

The ART Committee acquired a number of original paintings of both the Mini-Wakan Shelter House, as well as the Gull Point Lodge, created by both local and nationally known artists. The donation of other original works of art, depicting sites throughout the Iowa Great Lakes, are currently being created. Also donations of several prints of existing pieces of art have been given for this project.

Additionally, a small number of LIMITED PRINTS, greeting cards, and post cards have been printed and will soon be available in area stores throughout the Iowa Great Lakes area. A lovely display of all of the donated art work is located in the north window of Evan’s Clothing Store in Olde Town Spirit Lake.

The Committee scheduled “Works of Arts for the State Parks …. An Endeavor for the Endowment”for Sunday, Aug. 29th at Gull Point Lodge. Original works of art will be sold at a live auction and the various other donations of art work will also be sold in a silent auction.

The ART Committee was formed with three potential benefits in mind:
1. Increasing public awareness of the Mini-Wakan Shelter House Project and the Endowment Fund for both it and the Gull Point Lodge.
2. Securing additional funds for the Mini-Wakan Restoration Project (including the Endowment).
3. Providing a forum to showcase the works of many artists, each of whom has a special love for the Iowa Great Lakes
area.

The ART Committee members are actively seeking additional art. If you are an artist and you wish to donate a piece of art work for this fundraising effort, please contact Jane Ford 712-226-4333.

All funds raised through these efforts will be placed in the Mini-Wakan Shelter House Project Fund.

THANK YOU TO OUR CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS!

Anelisa Murphy
Candy Mayer
Dan Ruf
Sharon Sadusky
Mari Stewart
David Thoreson
Megan Fuhrman
Kathy Toole
Gary Gunderson
Danielle Clouse
Deidre Rosenboom
Jessie Bogenrief
Karen Cooper
Lissa Potter
Bill Hamilton'
Kathy Evert

DNR to Unveil River Trash Sculpture on Earth Day

Talkin' Trash - DNR to Unveil River Trash Sculpture on Earth Day

What was once an eyesore is now becoming an object of beauty. Trash dredged from the Winnebago, Shell Rock and Cedar rivers last August by hundreds of volunteers on the DNR's annual Project AWARE river cleanup event will be celebrated on Earth Day - not as trash, but as art.

On April 22, the public is invited to view the sculpture from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the main lobby atrium of the Wallace State Office Building, 502 East 9th Street, in Des Moines. Artist David Williamson and DNR staff will be available to greet visitors, answer questions, and most importantly, gather public input to complete the project.

Rather than a finished piece, the unveiling will reveal a sculpture-in-progress, and public input is requested to complete the final transformation of the trash into finished sculpture. As a collaborative effort amongst cleanup volunteers, everyday citizens, and artist David Williamson, more public input is needed before this metamorphosis can be complete.

"Due to the collaborative nature of this project, we encourage visitors to join us on Earth Day to add their thoughts," Williamson said. "With the sculpture about 60 percent complete, this is a great opportunity to welcome public input and the exchange of ideas that are so crucial to this type of project."

As part of a multi-year project known as The River Gates of Project AWARE, the sculpture is not only an interpretive piece that honors the work of volunteers, promotes environmental stewardship, and tells the story of Project AWARE, but it has also been designed for use as a security gate for the DNR building at the Iowa State Fair.

Along with the sculpture, music created through a similar collaborative effort will also be performed, and sculptures from previous years of Project AWARE will be on display.
For more information, please visit http://www.iowaprojectaware.com/ or contact Brian Soenen at Brian.Soenen@dnr.iowa.gov or (515) 205-8587.