Uptown Art Fair. Calhoun Square, Minneapolis.

Having sorely missed my favourite fairs like Chitra Santhe, Dastkar & Kala Madhyam back in Bangalore, India, I placed all  hopes of quenching my creative thirst on the Uptown Art Fair, an annual art event held in the Calhoun Square in the Uptown area in Minneapolis.

Apart from showcasing amazing art the fair is a celebration of hip and unconventional Uptown community. A blend of urban energy with the serenity of the city of lakes.

First we decided to see the Youth Art Fair, they definitely are tomorrow's stars!

Some lovely work by the youth was on display.

Creativity galore.

Look at these earthy pottery made by a young high school student Nate Saunders. He has a FB page where you can check out his latest creations!
Saunders Pottery

The art fair started way back in 1964 as a way to increase awareness of the arts at the same time raise money for Uptown projects.

I was just happy to see so much colour, creativity and art and take in the beauty of a bright sunny day.

Art by Chris Vance, an Iowa-based artist.

I love handcrafted books and I just had to stop by the booth of artist from Texas, Mychal S. Mitchell of Iona Handcrafted Books.

Keep your journals super safe with a lock!

As I flipped through the Uptown Visitors brochure I read that "An average of 375,000 people attend the Uptown Art Fair making it second only to the famous Minnesota State Fair."!

Paintings by Stephen Baldauf
Loved the colour palette in these acrylic paintings

Dolan Geiman's work was simply stunning. Later while researching I learnt that he's a nationally recognised mixed media artist, he works with salvaged wood, found object and recycled materials.

His work is an amalgamation of traditional folk art and contemporary, urban style.

Map of Minnesota:-)

It was pure bliss walking past some lovely work...

...and stopping to stare at the blue blue mid-western sky.

Black and White work by Erik Saulitis, a photographer specialising in Dance Prints.

Amazing work by artist William Kwamena-Poh

Quirky Silverware Art by The New Homestead . They repurpose antique silverware and create something interesting!

There was an abundance of beautiful ceramic booths and needless to say they had my full attention:-)

Michigan-based potter Brian Beam's lovely work.

Loads of delightful creations in various booths...

I had a tête-à-tête about various clays with Jackie Matelski of Jackie Matelski Ceramics

DeVries Pottery display.

Salt Shakers on display by Duluth potters Cheryl and Bob Husby...

What a day it was!
I came out feeling like Santiago from The Alchemist  "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true"

My wish was granted.

{ Do click on the names of the artists, they are all linked to their websites}

(Images are copyrighted)

Castello di Amorosa, Napa Valley.

I have been missing from this space for over two months and the reason is my new passion: Pottery. 

It's been an interesting experience of moving out of my comfort zone, of trying something new, of rediscovering myself.

It's been loads of practice, struggle, frustration and patience. 

It has also been about a sense of achievement of seeing one's first not-so- perfect pot fired and glazed.

You can see my progress in this beautiful art here.

Now for a post about the trip to this delightful castle winery in Napa Valley in sunny California: Castello di Amorosa.

Napa Valley attracts visitors from all over the world due to it's picture perfect scenic views, the blue skies, rolling hills,vineyards and wineries on either sides of winding road.

As we drove through the wine country we realised they were filled with a wide variety of wineries. 

On researching, we found a castle for a winery and decided to follow the GPS leading us to the gates of Castello di Amorosa. 

...and what followed will be conveyed through my photographs.

The castle isn't particularly ancient, it is just 20 years old and was built by Dario Sattui of V. Sattui  Winery in a 13th-century Tuscan style. The architectural style with the picturesque vineyard backdrop is what makes it so breath-taking.

  

We were just in time for a wine tour...

The castle is built over 171 acres of land filled with forest, stream, lake and vineyards. It has 107 rooms on 8 levels above and below the ground.

The gorgeous courtyard where balmy evening parties are hosted...

The Tuscan style is evident in the details...

Our super interesting wine guide giving us information about the castle.

The afternoon shadows of furniture in the courtyard.

The castle has a Chapel as well!

We sure felt transported to Tuscany.

The masonry and ironwork were handcrafted using old crafting techniques.

The Great Hall has lovely frescos painted by two Italian artists who took over a year to finish.

The castle has authentically designed features of a moat, drawbridge, defensive towers, an interior courtyard,  a chapel, a knights' chamber and a a torture chamber! (will omit that;-)

The metalwork were all hand-crafted.

Now for the cellar and wine-tasting :-)

The huge wine cellar.

Following our wine connoisseur's instructions of smelling, twirling, sipping the wine...

Their list of wines.

Our wine tasting session.

One of their popular wines:-)

 ....and I came back with a bottle of their best dessert wine and one teeny-weeny bottle of grape-seed oil. Filled with great nutritive properties, going to replace the olive oil with this one for the salads!

Hope you enjoyed the visual tour of the castle winery.

(Images by Arch)