Sometimes, Minnesota seems like a barren tundra of cold to me…and then one day, more than a few months ago I was walking through a mall parking lot and I came across this and my hope was restored.
Only in America would you find a car like this! -specifically cold northern America.
Oh, my lands, only in the Land of 10,000 Lakes – a project for the long winter!
And, quite possibly only in Minnesota!! -because we need to amuse ourselves during the white outs!
What a thrill to discover it was covered in plates! -’cause this a food blog, after-all!
Plates with kitchen wisdom….
and honest truths!
Plates with messages, I took personally.
During my photo snapping guess who eventually came around?
This is Jan, the owner of this car!! She has a passion for collecting and searching for the mystery in society’s bi-products! And, she works in schools! And because this is a foodie blog I couldn’t resist asking Jan what Minneapolis restaurants she recommends and they are: The Craftsman, 112 Eatery, & La Belle Vie.
Jan is also the proud owner of the Cork Truck and participates in something called the Art Shanty Project. This is something some Minnesotan’s do in January even when the current temperature is zero degrees Fahrenheit, like today or less. (Ever hear of the phrase “cold snap”–it’s a Minnesota thing, and I’m pretty sure it’s a form of brain damage.) The Art Shanty Project is a temporary artist community built on frozen Medicine Lake, west of Minneapolis because in the middle of the winter some people here begin to ask “What can you do with a lake in January when you can’t swim in it?” Here is a closer look into that sort of “cold snap” outcome– a video of some of the artists’ thoughts and explanations of this event from a previous year…watch this. Now you can see what really goes on here in Minnesota…and you can see if I complain a little, it’s just a form of survival and a way of moving my mouth to create some body heat.
According to the website it looks like Jan is going to be there this year in the Art Car Taxi Shanty, so I’m going to try and drag my Suburbia Man and kids there to follow up with Jan and remind them that where we live is really really cool…. I mean, cold. And, to let them see really really cool art…. I mean, cold art. Here is what I think a very real look at what happens to the northern Minnesota brain in the middle of the winter -again, it is just a logical guess that this project took place…during a very long gray winter.
Saturday January 16, 2010 is the opening day of this year’s Art Shanty Project. It’s going to be cold..again, just a logical guess… but, “it’s something to do in January” if you want to “get out and play“. And, I heard there might be food? Want to join me? Comments, conclusions, questions, & expressions of outrage…feel free to share!
