Shadow Art Fair

We love the Shadow Art Fair. Started in July 2006 as a prequel-- and tongue-in-cheek competitor-- to Ann Arbor's over-hyped, overcrowded, and overpriced art fairs, the SAF in Ypsilanti-- the town next to us (some call it Ann Arbor's poorer cousin)-- is now pulling its own weight and drawing a loyal group of followers to the Corner Brewery twice a year. An eclectic mix of local and regional artists and designers doing their own wonderfully whimsical thing, I love the SAF for its unpretentious indie vibe and the awesome coziness of just a bunch of people happily cramped into a pub rather than the sprawling monstrosity that is the Ann Arbor art fair which not only disrupts the whole town every summer, but doesn't even really sell much art (no one can convince me that sunglasses or toaster ovens constitute art).

And so today, Jude, Jenn, and I braved the gnarly snow and spent the afternoon at the SAF. It was like being at an etsy sale- handknit winter hats and mittens, $1 haikus, quilted shopping bags, handpainted "art cakes", handprinted tees- I thoroughly enjoyed everything :) It helped that I got to sip some delicious hand-roasted coffee (and made a couple of new acquaintances in the process while waiting for my latte- some guy told me how much he loves my name and how he might just name his future daughter "Serene" now, plus I got a crash course in how to make those lovely milk foam patterns...), fell in love with what has to be the world's cleverest and most adorable "foodie" greeting cards, and bought some hand-appliquéd tea towels from Handmade Detroit for Christmas presents. But my favorite purchase today has to be Jude's choice of this illustrated print from Kill Taupe:

It's just so sweet and delightfully strange (especially in the context of the rest of his work) that I can't wait to frame it up so that we can put it up on our wall with the rest of the prints we've been collecting :)

Some photos of our haul here.

LiveSTRONGer

I can't feel my thighs, or my butt... No actually, I take that back. I can feel them- a lot. Because the entire length of my leg from my hips to my calves is aching to high heaven right now. Just getting up from the couch took so much effort I audibly groaned just to go to the fridge to get water.

Jude and I took our bikes out for the first time this year. Bill & Jolie- who we met via Libby- were going to bike into Ypsilanti and asked us to come along. It was yet another beautifully blue day and we needed little nudging to abandon everything to spend the day out :) These guys have been doing this for the past 7 years and know exactly the prettiest, most scenic route to take. Jude and I biked from our place to meet them at Gallup Park (about 2 miles or so), and then we all rode into Ypsi together (this leg is more or less 6 miles). The motivation for everyone apparently was that we were going to end up at the Corner Brewery where you would replenish all the calories lost with beer and cheese :)

This was the longest bike ride we've done- 16 miles (26km) in total- and honestly, I couldn't have gone on any longer even if someone paid me to- I don't know which would have given way first, my back, my butt, or my breathing. I have a feeling things are going to hurt even more tomorrow, which is why I've been icing my knee (just in case), and trying hard to massage my legs when I can. They feel so much like jello I can't even bring myself to get a glass of water because I don't want to have to maneuver down the stairs to the kitchen...

Tune of the week: Back to Ypsilanti

I was cruising through my RSS feeds and came across a post by Mark Maynard (of Crimewave USA fame) about an Ypsilanti anthem. In the post he linked to a wonderful track by native Ypsi resident, Lee Osler, called "Back to Ypsilanti". It's a groovy little number that really put a smile on my face this evening. You can read more about the song on the Cousins Vinyl blog.

For those not local to Ann Arbor or Detroit, Ypsilanti (or Ypsi, pronounced ip-see) is the neighboring city to Ann Arbor where we do our groceries and find the restaurants to be cheaper. The city's (it's more of a town really...) a little rough around the edges and suffers somewhat from being the poor cousin next to Ann Arbor. However, there's a growing local-pride movement and the city's attracting a young hipster set who are interested in a DIY, local arts and crafts mindset. Heck, it's the birthplace of Iggy Pop and has one of the best public jazz radio stations I know of.

But whatever it is, the tune's bound to make those familiar with Ypsi smile :)

Ypsi Shadow Art Fair finds

We've been looking forward to attending the Shadow Art Fair @ Ypsi for a while now, more so than the Ann Arbor one next week. We had tons of fun at the event and here are some of the highlights:
- We got to have lunch at Haab's on Mich. Ave. in Ypsi. The place is definitely a throwback to an earlier time and the fried chicken's really all that it's cracked up to be!
- It was our first time at The Corner Brewery in Ypsi and it was the venue for the Shadow Art Fair. It was kind of crowded because of the event, but we'd definitely come back to investigate the place some more :)
- I got to meet Mark Maynard, head guru of the art fair and of the zine Crimewave USA!!!
- We also managed to catch up with Diana, Chrispy, Aiko, Jonathan and Rachel over beer.
- And we found a copy of Bantam Rooster's Watch Me Burn 7-inch! I had to get it, being the groupie that I am :) Just know this Eric, this is the first piece of vinyl I've bought in 5 years! Now I have to get that turntable dammit!!! ;)

[Front cover]

[Back cover]

Some regrets from the Shadow Art Fair:

- not getting the "Iggy was from Ypsilanti" T-shirt :)
- not being able to afford any of the silk-screened posters that were on display.