Art on Ice

On Friday we stopped by Medicine Lake while we were out running errands to check out Art Shanty Projects. It turned out that nothing was open during the week. The lady who lived in the Shan-Tea we walked into informed us of that. She was wearing a beard. We didn't ask further questions.

Art Shanty is "a four-weekend exhibition of performance, architecture, science, art, video, literature, survivalism and karaoke, ASP is part sculpture park, part artist residency and part social experiment, inspired by traditional ice fishing houses that dot the state’s lakes in winter."

It quickly became our new top Outdoor Winter Activity Outing (Special Event category). There are 20-some ice shacks with creative designs. Each has a different focus to explore.

The second picture is one of several "dice-shacks"--they've got a table, benches and several games to play while sitting inside.
The third and fourth pictures are of the Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty. Today was Danish day.
The fifth picture is the Art Swap Shanty where you bring in a piece of art you've created and trade it for one that someone else brought in. And yes, that is a knit hat on top of it.
The sixth photo is Anders & Nils on vacation in Egypt in the Stay-cation Shanty.
The seventh picture is Nils and I entering the Tiny Shanty.
The eighth photo is inside the Gunderson Residence. The refrigerator is the secret entrance into Listening Post Seven-Gamma--a top secret spy outpost (but you didn't hear that from me).

There is also a working post office (the only one on ice--it has its own special ZIP code) and a branch of the local library where you can check out books.

The picture on the left is what I traded for in the Art Swap Shanty. It's by Sylvia St. Claire (though the back is signed by Jan Elftmann, so we've got some researching to do).
The second is a photograph I "bought" in the Shop Shanty. They had several things to "buy" but you couldn't use money for them. I got the picture by guessing what city it was taken in (Madison). There was a large vase you could "buy" by bringing a live bouquet for it, a red shirt you could "buy" if you had a Target ID card on hand and some DC Comics stamps you could "buy" if you showed a superhero pose to a stranger.

So that was the last few hours of our afternoon. It was cold, but we had a good time on the ice.