Minnesota Prairie Roots

I EXPECTED TO POP in and out in perhaps a half hour. But instead, I spent a good hour-plus filing through art at the Paradise Center for the Arts’ comeback Recycled Art Sale.

Nearly 10 years have passed since the Faribault arts center last solicited donations to sell to the art-loving public at discount prices as low as $1. As a thrifty art lover, I appreciate the opportunity to buy unique, affordable art while simultaneously supporting the Paradise.

On Wednesday afternoon, opening day of the four-day sale which ends with Saturday, June 20, hours of 10 a.m.-2 p.m., the place buzzed with people looking for art to take home.

Hundreds and hundreds of pieces filled the three main gallery spaces and the smaller student gallery and hallway, plus the gathering space outside the galleries. So much art. Plus frames and art books and mirrors. At times I felt overwhelmed. But not enough that I stopped looking.

The main gallery features the original art of Faribault area artists, all of the artwork hung on walls or displayed on pedestals. This art is priced a bit higher, but still affordable for an original.

I saw several pieces by my friend Rhody Yule, a Faribault sign painter who also painted portraits, landscapes and the occasional still life. I helped coordinate his one and only art show at the Paradise in January 2011. Six months later, he died at age 92.

Memories of my friendship with Rhody and his creativity made me smile as I viewed his over-sized landscapes, his floral and several other paintings. Maybelle Stark’s pheasant art reminded me that I have her 1959 painting of the H.H. King Mill in my art stash at home.

And in one corner I noticed portraits created by former Faribault resident Dana Hanson. I watched her paint portraits of musicians during Thursday evening concerts in Faribault’s Central Park. Missing from the gallery display was her portrait of Bob Dylan, once filling the blank space next to Judy Garland and below Elvis. Her portrait of “Faribault’s Founding Fathers”—Alexander Faribault, Taopi and Bishop Henry Whipple—hangs in Buckham Memorial Library.

I bet many of the shoppers at the recycled art sale could share stories of other local artists. Some were artists themselves, shopping for artwork and for frames for their own art.

Others, like me, were simply searching for art to bring into our homes. From prints to originals, it was all there along with pottery, ceramics and more. Framed art on the floor leaning into each other. Art in boxes. Art on tables. Art on walls. Art on shelves. So much art.

I found five pieces for $10, all but one custom-framed. Three are portraits of African women, two with children. Another features an abstract depiction of “Indian Market,” colorful poster art from Santa Fe. I can’t pinpoint a particular reason why I chose this art. Perhaps it’s because I’m currently drawn to diversity and pops of color. These pieces differ from most of the art I own, art which I regularly rotate.

I also purchased a woodcut print (#25 of 50), “Navigating the Attachment Journey,” by northern Minnesota artist and children’s book illustrator Betsy Bowen. I’ve always appreciated her nature-themed art crafted today in her studio inside a former historic Lutheran church in Grand Marais.

On this day, the historic Paradise theater held a whole lot of art from a whole lot of artists. Among the hundreds of pieces, I found new-to-me art to which I felt connected. The walls of my home may not be gallery walls. But they are walls where I showcase art that speaks to me, moves me, brings me joy. And that, to me, should define our personal art choices.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling