Art You Can Afford

To tell you the truth, I haven't been feeling particularly inspired lately.
Maybe it's the apathy that comes with image overload.  Maybe it is being spread too thin.  Maybe it's the sudden onset of humidity (or the utter lack of exercise.)

Whatever it is, last weekend's Art a Whirl lifted my spirits and slapped me upside the head with inspiration.  This open studios event in the Arts District of Northeast Minneapolis is inspiring not just because it offers up the work of hundreds of artists, but also because the community support is tremendous.  I don't know about you but seeing the masses flock to an event celebrating artists sets the world right for a while.

I had many favorites (mostly small scale super moody canvases, perhaps unsurprisingly).  But I felt particular uplift when I spotted a table full of icon images from Christy Johnson of redshoes26 design.

A graphic designer by trade, Christy created this icon series to herald special places in her home state (and she tells me she is branching out to other cities, as well--selects from Chicago and Florida are already available.)  I love that these works are tiny and feel very personal--the buildings she selects as icons include both the obvious and the quirky, without getting all insidery on you.  

She free-hands the images with her mouse, and her dad makes the perfect little frames by hand.

You can pick these up from her etsy shop here, and locals, see the full list of local shops that carry Christy's work, or head to honeyshine in Bryn Mawr, a shop that really deserves a post all its own.

I think I need to pick up a Walker Art Center.

And I know at least two people who were married at the Landmark Center.  I'm getting this really great idea for an anniversary gift.

So, tell me, what iconic building would you want immortalized in art?  Perhaps we can talk Christy in to some commissions....