I stepped out of my comfort zone this weekend to put myself out there and compete in the Amana Art Guild’s Fresh Paint Plein Air Juried Competition.
I knew I wasn’t going to be on the same level as the more experienced and disciplined artists, but I did not anticipate my brain to go into full panic mode every time I took out my paints. OI VAY!
Once I realized I did not want to set up my table at ALL the lovely spots I wanted to paint, and I am not a fan of Easels, We inquired at Catiri’s Art Oasis about a place to purchase clipboards for easier sketching, and will be forever grateful to the lovely shopkeep that was kind enough to have her husband deliver her 2 personal artist’s boards for Bill and I to use on Friday. I am surprised that with all the focus on art in Amana that they don’t have a little art supply shop or a even a small local grocery store with at least eggs, milk and butter etc lol (now I am wondering if we could have asked the bakery for those items), just gift shops and Casey’s….sigh.
We managed a few sketches in our traversing of Amana’s lush countryside on Friday, but the paint just was not happening. So we took a little trip to Cedar Rapids in search of artist’s boards of our own.
I was so overwhelmed with all the natural beauty of Amana and discovering where to setup, that I did not successfully put paint on paper until Saturday morning on the beautiful patio of Millstream Brewing before they opened. We did indulge in a variety of their offered ales later and I tell ya what… they have the best lineup of beer that we have encountered in some time. They did not disppoint! Just as good as 2 years ago!
Overall it was a good weekend and a lot of fun chatting with our flatmates, thank you Jane and Karen! We had a lovely meal at Millstream Brau Haus before the awards show with Jane. The awards show was a neat experience with local wine that was quite delicious. All 3 of their wineries and Millstream Brewing had really good varieties to offer and we will be visiting Amana as often as possible to indulge ourselves in such finery! We took lots of source photos to practice our craft over the next year in preparation for next year’s Amana Plein Air!
Thank you again to our hosts Suzanne and Jeff who are also the Organizers of the event!
And a special thank you to the Amana Visitor Center’s Apple tree and the generous local who encouraged us to pick some apples. Truly organic, just growing naturally around town, they are hands down the best apples I have ever cooked with!
With just Organic Maple syrup, some margarine(no butter available) and a dash of Sea salt and they were so simple and as delicious as my own mother’s homemade applesauce from my childhood. Once home I made some apple pancakes and a lovely puree of my cooked apples and some coconut milk for a smear that brought a tear of joy to my eye and inspired a happy dance. Talk about divine dining! Absolute heaven in every bite!
Miss Riverwright
3 September 2024
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