Art Prize Autumn

Another year another...ArtPrize! This was the third year of the ginormous art contest and my second year in attendance (and my mother's second year participating). Last year I managed to visit during the first week, so was able to participate in voting. This year I went right at the very end so wasn't able to vote, but did attend the finalist party where the winner (of the major public voting prize) was announced in addition to several juried awards. I spent the next day walking all over town looking at art with the fam for 6 hours or so, with a pit stop at Reserve to refuel. The weather was amazeballs so I basically spent the entire weekend outside, topping it all off with donuts at Robinette's (again!) and a trip to the beach. Now, after a lengthy delay (while I looked up details of everything that I took photos of!)...I present: A Fall Weekend in Western Michigan.


Mom's painting The Four Horses


Detail of Mom's painting - nail polish used in the highlights


Rain by Lynda Cole


Serial Reproduction by Meir Lobaton


The other perspective


Look and Learn, Little Girl Series by Jess Larson


Branches Unbound by Wendy Wahl


Salvaged Landscape by Catie Newell


Detail of the charred wood salvaged from a Detroit house hit by arson


A former location of Junior Achievement utilized by Site Lab as a gallery


Wall detail


Disappearances - An Eternal Journey by Shinji-Turner Yamamoto


Detail of Disappearances


View from the opposite direction


Tele-present Water by David Bowen


Glass Totems by Todd Kime


Prosciutto pit stop


Early birthday candle


Art walk at sunset


Robinette's! Donuts! Sugar!


Have you ever seen a bluer sky?


Grand Haven, MI


GH Pier


The Big Lake

Donut Haus

Aside from looking at loads of art last weekend, the other priority turned out to be obtaining apple cider, donuts, and apples from Robinette's Apple Haus. (How can you not want to go anywhere with haus in the title?) Some people (i.e. my sister, Erin) had claimed that I had been there before. Um, that must have been your other sister. Who doesn't exist. This was my maiden voyage to the land of manna. Growing up in Michigan you go to apple orchards, like, every other day in autumn, but I had never been to THIS particular orchard.

Bananas. That's what I have to say about them apples. The donuts were so freaking good that I don't know how I could possibly ever eat another donut not from Robinette's. And they're only 65 cents. What else can you buy for less than a dollar? Here's the deal. They have two (very important) flavors: pumpkin spice and cinnamon sugar. I ate one of each trying to figure out which was superior and could have eaten 10 more in my quest for answers. I'm not kidding. THEY ARE SO GOOD. They melt in your mouth. Did I mention that they were warm? Fresh out of the deep fryer? The outside had a slight crunch and the inside a soft, tender crumb. Even my dad's and aunt's apple-orchard-non-traditional chocolate covered cake donuts were ah-mazing.

Robinette's will send gift boxes...of apples (but not to Arizona, sorry). Dear Robinette's: Can you please make a gift box of donuts??? That would be awesome. Sincerely, Tina