WHEN YOU THINK ART, you likely think of a studio artist creating a work of art via paint or ink or some other media.
Dan and Pam Larson of Rice, Minnesota, (their home in the warm months) craft these gigantic crayons from poplar wood and three crayons per crayon. For the past six years, the couple has traveled to flea markets around the country peddling their popular crayons. Last weekend they were at a flea market in rural Dundas. They make 20,000 – 25,000 of these crayons annually. I consider their rustic crayons to be works of art as much as tools of art.
But I think beyond the expected.
I also see art in other places, like on the front end of a tractor. Emblems, while identifying a tractor brand, are also art. Rural art.
Here’s some rural art I photographed at the recent Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show in rural Dundas, Minnesota:
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
More treasures; love this stuff. The faded colors and textures are wonderful.
And it is my camera which has truly helped me notice the details.
There is art everywhere, isn’ t there? I am always thrilled when I find unexpected beauty in objects that would otherwise be overlooked.
Precisely. Everywhere. I’ve photographed this show so many times that I needed to find a new and creative way to document it this time. And my focus was art.
A great collection here! I love vintage photography … it’s a way of collecting without paying!
That’s an interesting perspective I’d never considered. Love it. Collecting without paying.
Great pictures. Love the old John Deere truck.
I agree about the JD truck. It’s beautifully done.
Art is everywhere as well as in the eye of the beholder too 🙂 What I see as art might not be art to someone else or maybe they have a different perspective on it. I like to just be open and see the world through my eyes as well as experience through others. Beautiful Art/Captures – Happy Hump Day!
You nailed it with your comment that art is in the eyes of the beholder.
Congrats – You have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award on my blog. http://missyscraftymess.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/one-lovely-blog-award/
Thank you so much, Missy. I am honored.
I agree that art is everywhere – we need to be open to the beauty in and skill that created everything around us. Having a son as an artist, as well as being an obsessed picture-taker, has helped hone the way I look at what’s around me. There is much to behold in the details.
Like you, my camera has driven me to view life and my surroundings in new ways. And, yes, it is a bit of an obsession, isn’t it?
I love those giant crayons and would love to have a set like that. And I know my husband would love that beautiful John Deere truck xx
I bet more than a few husbands would like that pick-up truck.
“Sky Chief Texaco”…now I haven’t seen one of those signs since I was a youngster! Beauty does surround us in all things…we just have to take the time to notice.
Exactly. Take the time.
Nice use of close ups. I need to shoot more of those.
Thank you. I’ve learned, through years of shooting, to do both to tell the entire story.