Every year we take this photo because every year we like to be involved in the Flyway Film Festival.

This year the Festival will continue to grow and we are delighted to be a small part of it.

The Flyway Film Festival is still one of our favorite events each year. Each year it continues to improve and this year will be no exception.

We love to participate because we love films.

The Flyway Film Festival is one of our favorite events each year. It is an uninhibited creative endeavor over three days in October. Each year it has grown in size and scale and this year promises to be especially exciting.

First, the Flyway Film folks received a generous grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism that will really boost marketing efforts. This extra money will be used to widen the circle of marketing.

Second, the festival graphic is noteworthy for the artist. Gaylord Shanilec created the original etching of the three pelicans that are used in the poster. Gaylord is unquestionably talented, pelicans are indigenous to this area and it is just an exceptional image of this region. Totally appropriate.

And finally, a very limited edition of signed fine-art are available for purchase, which will be used to help fund the festival. We printed the limited edition prints on a Hahnemuehle textured 100% cotton paper that should last for hundreds of years.

October 23-25. Can't wait.

The ice on the Mississippi River has broken up enough to allow for barge traffic to begin moving upstream. This is significant in this area because it officially signals the end of the winter weather.

We had a significant blizzard in December and we never had a mid-winter melt. This means the snow accumulated all winter and we eventually had the fourth snowiest winter on record.

This creates flooding concerns up and down the Mississippi River, but just as the days starting getting longer, we sunk into a prolonged period of weather that hovered around the 32 degree mark. This slowed the melting substantially and the river crested to just below the flood point. Another crest is expected in about three weeks when the run-off from up north reaches this area.

This photo is taken from the Eisenhower Bridge.

Once again we are delighted to be a red carpet sponsor of Flyway Film Festival. This event is in its third year and is really beginning to collect some traction. The quality of the movies this year is very impressive.

The Festival begins on Thursday, October 21 with a gala event in which the sponsors, directors, actors and organizers get together, nibble on snacks, drink some wine and have creative discussions. At the end of the evening there will be an awards ceremony.

The films begin on Friday, October 22 with the screening of "Baraboo", which sounds like a very interesting film about life and the hand we are dealt. Over the course of the weekend, 21 films will be screened.

Details are at www.FlywayFilmFestival.org. See you in Stockholm in two weeks!

This weekend is the much anticipated 2nd annual Flyway Film Festival. The event begins on Thursday night with a meet-and-greet reception and the opening night of movies begins on Friday night with "Storm", followed by "Ink". In many cases both actors and the directors of the films will be at the film festival to answer questions and over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday over 30 independent films will be shown.

Saturday will be a bit different with a one-day, genre-specific event of classic and cutting-edge independent zombie films. And everybody loves a good movie about the undead :)

We are proud to be a red carpet sponsor of this ambitious art endeavor and to have provided the large format graphics to promote this event.

Details are at www.FlywayFilmFestival.org. See you in Stockholm this weekend!

We are super excited.

This year Red Wing Framing & Fine Art Printing will be a 'Red Carpet Sponsor' of the 2nd annual Flyway Film Festival in Pepin, Wisconsin from October 22 to 25, 2009. The primary venue will be the Lake Pepin Art & Design Center. Besides providing support in part for the entire event, we will be the presenting sponsor for the opening night events on Friday night, October 23rd at 7 pm.

This is a significant investment for our modest operation, but it makes sense for several reasons;

1) We like what this group is trying to accomplish and their ambitious way of going about it.
2) We love films, which should be apparent by past entries regarding the Chief Theater in Red Wing.
3) We feel it is very important to contribute to the community and we like art venues that try to be all-inclusive.

More about this as the calendar gets closer to the the film festival.

Several Fiddler on the Roof selections were sung (a teaser for an upcoming production) and Rosanne Cash and her husband came out and performed for about 90 minutes. It was a straightforward performance, very professional and simple (two guitars). Just a class act. Then Roomful of Blues picked up the tempo for the next 90 minutes. The skies cleared (it was spitting rain on occasion) and the Sheldon Brass Band took the stage and played mostly some traditional John Philip Sousa music.

It was the final score, which was Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, that something truly remarkable happened. Right at the crescendo, right at the peak of the music, cannons began firing off explosions and all the church bells in town started ringing. Red Wing has a lot of church bells and between the Brass Band, the cannons and the church bells, it was a very moving experience. Several people started spontaneously crying and it is hard not to get choked up thinking about it now. The Sheldon Theatre deserves a ton of credit for making this an amazing day in Red Wing history.

It has been fun charting the progress of the newest neighbor in our neighborhood. But now it is time to move on to other curious topics.

The Red Wing Central Park Bandshell appears to be ~99% complete. The railings need to be anchored and the grass needs to be mowed one more time. It seems right-sized for the park; not too big and not too small.

The side walls (six total) all pivot open when needed. The inside ceiling has a complete lighting system. It isn't clear what purpose the two round towers to each side serve. They each have doors as well, and when opened close the gap between the towers and the shell. It might be both dressing rooms and off-stage space. One of the very interesting aspects of this location is that in every direction a church steeple can be seen.

This is the view from the bandshell looking out. The balustrade wall was built in 1880 when Hamline University owned this land.

Even the view behind the Bandshell is impressive. The activities begin on July 4th at 3 pm, The Sheldon Phoenix Theatre, Rosanne Cash, Roomful of Blues, the Sheldon Brass Band at 9 pm (complete with cannon) followed by fireworks over the Mississippi River. Awesome.

It is a week before the Red Wing Central Park Band shell grand opening and it looks like the project will finish right on schedule. All of the landscaping is in, the roof is finished and the walls are just finishing up. Photos will be posted this week.

This photo is what the bandshell replaced. It essentially was a semi-circular stage with no walls, roof or sound (except those two primitive speakers on each side). One feature that did carry over from the old stage is the two small curved staircases in the front.

88 degrees and humid, but dry.

The landscaping and sod arrived this morning and by the end of the day all of the greenery should be installed. In speaking with some of the subcontractors, the project is slightly ahead of schedule.

For anybody who is curious about the mysterious little back door; it leads into a vary narrow and small utility room. The circuit breaker box and the water meter are in this room. Kind of disappointing.

The walls arrive tomorrow (rumor has it).

The first of 32 - 1/2" laminated and tempered glass windows were installed today in the back wall of the shell. This promises to be one of the more striking design elements of the Bandshell. It should really open up the entire shell from both sides. The limestone block is quarried in Winona, Minnesota and each block is hand-cut. The pattern is random. The keystone blocks are manufactured in a factory.

Rain is forecast for the rest of the week.

It is hard to tell if the Bandshell is ahead or behind schedule. The irrigation system was installed today and the handicap access ramp concrete was also poured. Fill was being spread by the hard working Sentence to Serve crew. Sentence to Serve are nonviolent offenders that work on community improvement projects. There are mixed feelings about Sentence to Serve labor; on the one hand working outside is better than killing time in a cell. On the other hand it is an easy source of cheap labor for communities that can become too easy to use.

The sod is scheduled to be laid on June 29, which seems awfully close to the July 4th dedication. The entire park (one city block) will be re-sodded.

The Red Wing Central Park Bandshell continues to make progress. The roof is on, but not yet shingled. The foundation work seems to be complete, judging by the dirt fill that was brought in. The back wall will be glass and the shell walls will be the next significant milestone.

The inauguration of the Bandshell will be on Saturday, July 4th, 2009. The schedule of events are as follows (all times are pm):

+ 3:45-4:30 The Phoenix Theatre will sing selections from their upcoming production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' (free!)
+ 5:00-6:00 Rosanne Cash (free!)
+ 6:45-8:00 Roomful of Blues (free!)
+ 8:45-9:30 Sheldon Brass Band finishing with 1812 Overture, complete with real cannon! (free!)
+ 10:00- ?? Fireworks over the Mississippi River (free!)

Recently a letter to the editor of the local newspaper made the argument for funding art at the elementary school level. Apparently there has been discussion about reducing the amount of art received in elementary schools because of budget pressures. The typical solution has been to increase the tax levy and ask the tax payers to pay more.

A more sustainable approach is to simply spend local. Every dollar spent locally in a community can have up to three times the multiplier tax return to the community versus buying from an out-of-state big box retailer, all without raising taxes a single cent. Let's use two simple examples:

Example 1) A citizen spends a dollar at a local big-box retailer. Taxes are exchanged for that dollar spent and the dollar is promptly deposited in an out-of-state bank account somewhere in Four Corners, Arkansas. That dollar is retired as far as the local economy is concerned.

Example 2) A citizen spends a dollar at their local custom frame shop. Again, taxes are exchanged but this time the local frame shop owner races to their local bank to cover the check they wrote to the local plumber to have their hot water heater repaired. The plumber in turn cashes that check to buy a silk suit from Josephsons Clothing Store. Tom from Josephsons then uses that money to buy himself a beer next door at The Staghead Restaurant to celebrate having finally sold that XXXL silk suit.

The same dollar has contributed to the local economy three separate times, each time participating in the overall tax exchange and actively contributes to the cash flow of four different local employers.

Red Wing Downtown Main Street is focused on exactly these types of issues. The Eat-Shop-Play-Local tag-line could include many other action verbs (Buy. Stay. Invest.), but the point is to think about where your money goes after you spend it.

Visit the DTMS web site or the DTMS Facebook page and consider joining this non-profit organization.

The Central Park Bandshell took a big leap forward yesterday when the crane arrived to install the ironwork. The entire back wall will be glass, so the bandshell will be inviting from both sides. The roof shape is supposed to create a better acoustical environment. The rendering on the bottom image is the architectural orthographic projection.

The actual audience will not be semi-transparent.

Mostly the bandshell is shrouded under plastic right now, so there is very little to see. Loyal readers may want to see the architectural rendering of the bandshell layout. It is going to be awesome!

Clare Baker called last November for an interview for The Big Picture magazine, which is a trade journal for the wide-format printing industry. The gist of the article is about printers who have carved out a niche business of providing wide-format, fine-art printing. Wide-format printing is anything larger than 44" and fine-art printing is usually defined as low-volume, high-mix printing with tight duplication standards.

Over a period of weeks, Clare and I would occasionally talk, but I lost track of the publication date. I was pleasantly surprised to receive the article in my mailbox this week. Clare did her homework and did a terrific job of detailing the priorities in wide-format fine-art printing:

1) Invest in capture, calibration and proofing technologies.
2) Push the envelope in new applications and learn from the failures.

An electronic version is right here.

This week we decided to host our first major exhibit at our new location. It is an exhibit of original art from the Cream of Wheat advertising campaign from the period of 1913-1925. It begins on October 10, 2008, which doesn't leave much runway for a show of this magnitude, but it was a fairly spontaneous decision on the part of all the players involved.

The worst thing an art gallery can do is be boring, and this exhibit is anything but.

This exhibit is fascinating on many levels. To begin with, the art is amazing. The campaign director was very insistent on using the best available illustration artists and the art reflects that. The imagery is very wholesome and comforting and humor is a common element in many of the illustrations.

The exhibit also presents and discusses the use of racial stereotypes in the media. Times change and so do acceptable standards. The Cream of Wheat campaign usually used an African-American chef as a welcoming and reassuring icon. Was this naive, demeaning or enlightened on the part of Cream of Wheat?

And finally, Cream of Wheat went from a minor grain mill in North Dakota to a major worldwide cereal company in ten years because of their effective use of advertising and image branding. This alone is worthy of a Harvard business case study.

Cream of Wheat was located in Northeast Minneapolis from 1897 to 2002. The company has changed hands several times and is no longer independent. These paintings were in storage in the archives of the headquarters until the building was converted to condominiums in 2005. This might be the last opportunity to see a body of work this complete.

The best part of this exhibit is the chance to work with Dan and Sarah again. We first worked with them last year for The Dream Girl exhibit and they are a class act. Maybe next year we can do a pulp fiction or science fiction theme?

The Sales Department and Marketing Department both said it isn't. The Accounting and Operations Departments were not so sure. You be the judge.

There were no complaints. Mostly these kind of events are about meeting our downtown neighbors and learning more about them...and getting rid of some things in the process is the bonus. The first two items to go were items that I only reluctantly sold, because of sentiment more than anything else. But hey, if it has a new home and somebody else can appreciate it, so be it.

Something a bit different this weekend during Art al fresco; refreshing refreshments. "What kind of refreshments?" you are probably asking yourself right about now. Well, stop by and find out.

And while you are enjoying your refreshing refreshment, check out some terrific deals on custom frames, original art and Motawi Tiles.

Leah Lundgaard is the latest 'Art al fresco' artist. We came to know Leah several years ago and have enjoyed watching her grow as an artist over the years. Leah is a full time artist and is both a painter and a potter.

She typically paints with either a watercolor pencil or with oils. A common element in her paintings is a burst of color and activity, i.e., fall leaves or waves crashing on beach rocks.

Her pottery has an interesting pattern of geometry. I see a Fibonacci sequence in her patterns. This is a common sequence found in nature. Sunflower heads, honeybee combs and artichoke flowers are all examples of Fibonacci patterns.

Leah is modest and soft-spoken and a very genuine person. She clearly has an inner voice that she expresses with her art. Visit her website at: www.triple-l-design.com and buy lot's of her art. Right now.

No, not art in the nude (maybe next year), but rather 'art in fresh air'. We are going to try something different this weekend by hosting a mini-art festival in our parking lot. We have this terrific street-side parking lot and the intention is to pop up a tent and host a different artist each weekend.

This is actually the brain child of Ingrid Bjerstedt Rogers from Beldenville, Wisconsin. Ingrid is a veteran of the art fair circuit and it was her suggestion to turn our parking lot into an art venue. And why not? We have this terrific black walnut tree that shades the entire parking lot and it is very pedestrian friendly. Stop by this Saturday and check it out.

Ingrid is our first artist. I would describe her pottery as being both primal and whimsical. It creates a very positive vibe when you experience it and it is very affordable. Good stuff.

I will post the 'Art al fresco' schedule as it evolves. We should have something every week.