West Bottoms

I met my new friend Craig down at the West Bottoms today and we hit Rag and Bone, Nook and Cranny, and I did a quick run-through of Liberty Bell.  Scored some cool stuff that I will post later, but here are some of the cool things we saw:

Rage and Bone

This cabinet had a tag on it explaining that it had belonged to an artist who died in a car wreck.

Nook and Cranny

Why did I not buy this lamp?  It is awesome.  Look at that globe shade.

Close-up

Liberty Bell.  I found an awesome watering can begging for mosaic, two stamp pad tins, and a metal goat.  Dig.

Art Here

After exploring Thistle at 329 Southwest Boulevard, we hit a great spot across the street from Strasser Hardware. WOW.



So many fun things to see!!




And it was full of the owner's art. Barbara McCreery combines her sequin and pin creations with toys, dolls, animal skulls, chicken feet, dried bats, etc. to create one-of-a-kind art - amazing!




I picked up lots of fun mosaic ingredients and will definitely be back - maybe for some great garden statues next time.

First Fridays

I've spent most of my life in Kansas City and it is the place for me. Easy to get around in, affordable, great restaurants (like Lulu's Noodles where we ate last night), and plenty to do, including First Fridays. This is an art event in the Crossroads District where you can bounce from gallery to gallery and soak in some amazing art inspiration. We started last night with Andrea and Bryan Ring of Amuck.

This is Andrea wearing one of her new designs that I now covet, just like everything else she makes.

Andrea and Bryan fashion their incredible designs from street signs. Not just color and texture, but true reflective quality that adds depth and dimension to every design.

I am in love with the black and white City Bird necklace.



Look for Andrea and Bryan at the Plaza Art Fair coming in September.

We also checked out our friend, Hector Casanova. The Phrenology of his wife, Rene, was breathtaking.


We also loved Rene's ceramic transfer pieces.


And First Fridays are a great place to people watch. Imagine my husband's shock when I yelled out to Mary Magdalene the Dancing Queen because I know her from Rocky Horror. Brendan and his friends even wrote a song about her and when I asked him what it was about he said, "It's just about how much we love her." Not hard to figure out why a bunch of 16 year olds would love Mary with her outrageous (and oh, so cool) outfits.



Such interesting works of art.

If you're from KC and haven't been down to First Fridays you are missing out!