Minnesota State Fair!

Well it's that time of year again in Minnesota - time for the Great Minnesota Get Together - aka the Minnesota State Fair!
Yes, it's a big deal, one of the biggest and most well attended in the US.
Along with that is the highly competitive Fine Arts Show. Yes, there's are a log of paintings of farm animals, cute children with hats but there is a lot of really good work that doesn't fit into those genres.
I've been fortunate to get my work in a number of times, won a a lot of awards and gotten some sales too. Most of my stuff is a little off kilter and weird, but I have to say that this year's piece takes the cake. I entered in my piece "The Jack in the Basket" which features a snake in a basket with the head of a human skull. The skull is wearing a hat made out of a Winnebago pickup camper with a large satellite dish on top. The piece references the 'Don't Tread on Me' snake and this deathly obsession we have with cable news which creates a 'trailer park mentality' in grabbing the juiciest soundbites as fact - on both the left and the right.
Frankly, I'm surprised that it made it past the first judging so to see it actually in the show will be quite interesting to see how it's received.
If you get a chance, take in the show. The 2017 fair runs Aug. 24 – Sept. 4. Check it out!