Art Prize 2013

This past weekend was the last weekend of Art Prize 2013, the world's largest cash prize art fair.  $560,000 in total cash prizes are distributed to winning pieces of art ($360,000 is awarded by public vote and the remaining $200,000 is awarded by a jury).  This is the fifth annual Art Prize (the first being in 2009), and it is pretty cool to see downtown Grand Rapids come alive with people of all ages and walks of life spending time with family and friends to check out all of the exhibits scattered around downtown GR.  

Sleeping Bear Dune Lakeshore (quilt); Ann Loveless; 2013 Winner

Unfortunately, I was only able to spend one afternoon visiting the exhibitions, but I was still fortunate enough to be able to see many very good submissions.  It would be nice if some of the art stayed downtown for a while, not just for the duration of the art fair.  In any case, I included several pictures of some of the coolest things I saw today.  A list of the current 2013 winners can be found here; the winners from previous years can be found here.

Polar Expressed; Anni Crouter; 2013 2nd Place

Dancing with Mother Nature; Paul Baliker; 2013 4th Place

UPlifting; Andy Sacksteder; 2013 3rd Place

Myth-or-Logic; Robin Protz; 2013 7th Place

Tired Pandas; Nick Jakubiak; 2013 10th Place

Other honorable mentions (in my opinion):

  

melting glacier

pretty cool airplane tail (at least that's what it reminds me of) 

Hope you enjoyed some of the pictures.  Already looking forward to next year's exhibits!

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Posted in: 3L,Art Prize,English,Grand Rapids,J-Mad,Law School,Michigan

Pure Michigan: Kayaking Port Austin

Leaving the kayak shop to head past the rock wall to Lake Huron

The third year of law school has actually been off to quite a great start.  I have fewer extracurricular things going on outside of classes so it has been nice to be able to finish reading for classes at a relatively decent time.  This is also the first semester since undergrad where I do not have class on Fridays.  So this weekend, when I found out that I have to go to campus for meetings on Saturday and Sunday, I planned ahead with a friend to take full advantage of having our Friday free to explore.

This is where Port Austin, Michigan, is located in the Lower Peninsula

Last year, I found out about Turnip Rock and Port Austin, a little town on the tip of Michigan's thumb on Lake Huron.  However, by the time I discovered that the rock formations are only accessible by water (the land is private property), it was already too late into the season and the kayak rental shops were closed.  With our free Friday this weekend, we planned to go to Port Austin and actually get out on the water.  We spent all week crossing our fingers that the weather would cooperate (at this time of year, the kayak rental shop does not rent kayaks for Lake Huron if wind speeds are over 8 knots).  When we checked Thursday night and again Friday morning, wind speeds were 5 knots or less during the day, so we were ready to go.

This is the route we chose, the Pointe aux Barques (PAB)

We woke up early on Friday morning and after fueling up the car with gas (and ourselves with snacks for the road and water), we hit the highway.  It was just under a three hour drive from Ann Arbor to the little town.   As we came closer to Port Austin, we saw some heavy fog and were a bit worried that it might prevent us from being out on the water if visibility was bad.  Luckily, the fog cleared up a few minutes later as we continued to drive down the road to reveal a beautiful, sunny day.  In order to find the kayak rental shop, I used a Google search and came across Port Austin Kayak.  It is a small shop owned by a lawyer named Chris who opened it for a fun thing on the side.  He was very helpful and gave us both maps of the route we chose and explained where to watch out for shallow areas and rock formations to watch for.  

The water was amazing.  I've never seen a Great Lake so calm before.  It was sunny with a slight breeze and almost no waves.  The water was cool and refreshing.  The lake was absolutely beautiful and it made the entire trip a wonderful experience.  It took about two hours to paddle to Turnip Rock, but we also made a stop on Bird Island to write MLAW in the sand and have a snack break.  We saw some deer tracks on the island too, but only saw one bird.

writing "MLAW" in the sand

resting on Bird Island

Deer track, my track, deer track

The rock formations themselves were pretty cool.  You could not climb on any of them unfortunately because they are all private property, but it was still very cool to see them and to quick walk around a bit on the shore.  We took a nice break laying in our kayaks in the sun on the water between the rock formations then made our way back past the sea caves to Bird Island then back across the lake to the kayak shop.  It took about an hour and a half on the way back.  I was pretty proud of myself too for using my camera on the lake with nothing happening to it (it's not waterproof, but I did have a waterproof box that I kept the camera in, taking it out only for a picture).

Point aux Barques - looks like Gru's nose or Pride Rock

Turnip Rock - this is what we came to see!

If you happen to be in the area, I definitely recommend this trip.  There was also a lighthouse out on the water across from Bird Island, but the water was a bit shallow around there so we just observed from afar.  The route we chose was the Pointe aux Barques route, and took about 4 hours total, including nice break times.  It was wonderful to get away from Ann Arbor and see another beautiful place in Michigan.

lighthouse viewed by Bird Island on Lake Huron

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Posted in: 3L,English,Great Lakes,J-Mad,Kayak,Lake Huron,Law School,Michigan,Michigan Law,Pointe aux Barques,Port Austin,Pure Michigan,Thumb,Thumbnail,Turnip Rock,UMich,University of Michigan

Last Days in Quito

"The shortest poem in the world is you..." - my favorite graffiti in Quito

I spent my last two days in Quito basically just wandering around the city and visiting placed that I wanted to see before I flew out Thursday night.  On Wednesday, I wandered around to find a post office where I could buy some Ecuadorian stamps for a friend from my hometown.  Unlike Lima, there are only a couple post offices in Quito and they have regular office hours so I never had time to get to one while I was working.  I managed to buy a couple different stamps then wandered around Quicentro Mall to try to find some wrapping paper for the little torito that I bought as a gift.  I was not able to find anything that would work until I ran into a store by Baca Ortiz on my way to La Mariscal.  I wound up at the mercado artisenal on Juan Leon Mera to look at any last-minute items.  I ended up buying myself a large, bright blue alpaca scarf/shawl for $4.00 USD.  I also met up with one of my best friends from work at Achiote for the best locro in Quito.  Packing that night did not take very long either.

you know you're hungry now

On Thursday, August 29, 2013, I went to the Centro Historico and walked from Plaza Grande over to Basilica Voto Nacional.  I thought I was taking a decent route when I had looked on a map beforehand, but between the plaza and the church was kind of empty (not a good thing for a street to be in the centro historico), so I walked really fast (all uphill) to get to the basilica.  After about seven or eight blocks, I arrived.  There is a plaza on the southwest side of the church and the towers were open.

Main Towers, Basilica Voto Nacional (Basilica of the National Vow)

I went up the first tower but to go to a second tower, you have to cross a small wooden bridge suspended over part of the church below and then climb up some spiral stairs.  I put one foot on the bridge and the wooden board beneath me creaked loudly so I jumped back and decided that it was not worth it and I didn't really need to go to the other side (I probably would not have chickened out so badly if I had a friend with me, but I went alone so...).  The clocktower though was pretty nifty.  The views from the towers were amazing.  I think I was even able to see the peak of Cotopaxi.  From the windows on the way down from the clocktower, you could see the duck and pelican gargoyles on the church, which made me laugh.

aw hell no...

My taxi driver friend picked me up from the airport and when I gave him the wrapped bull, he gave me a gift too.  It was a hand-carved wooden Galapagos tortoise with a sticker on the bottom shell that had his name on it, so that I would not forget who gave it to me.  It was so kind of him.  Along the way to the airport, he told me about all of the places I will have to be sure to visit next time I come to Ecuador.  As much as I did not like my experience in La Mariscal, it is important to remember that there are wonderful people everywhere and that it is important to be kind to everyone because otherwise you will miss out on making friends with some wonderful people.  

El Panecillo, as viewed from the Basilica's tower

By this time tomorrow, I'll be back in Michigan with my family and getting ready for the next adventure - my third and final year of law school!!!!

"I will always return." ~ Oswaldo Guayasamin

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Posted in: 2L,3L,Basilica Voto Nacional,Ecuador,English,J-Mad,Locro,Quito