Navigating the 500-plus artists at the annual Art-A-Whirl is an arduous task, one that can lead the ill-informed through passageways of tacky holiday-themed crafts and not-quite-Kandinsky paintings. Before plunging in -- and going mad -- check out these recommendations from some arty participants. IF YOU ONLY HAVE TIME TO VISIT ONE BUILDING
The Northrup King Building is by far the most prominent spot. As Sean Tubridy, famed Toys on Roids artist and member of the Northeast Arts District committee, puts it, "It gives you the most bang for your buck."
The giant warehouse at 1500 NE. Jackson St. features more than 190 artists and dozens of organizations as well as a prime location a couple of blocks off Central Avenue NE.
Tubridy recommends Angel Bomb Design studio (271), a letterpress shop that will be doing demonstrations and handing out samples. Illustrator Terrence Payne, founder of Rosalux Gallery, suggests avant-garde sculptor Ruben Nusz at Sellout Art Studio (456) and Bird x Bird (322), an aesthetically pleasing, socially conscious project devoted to avian awareness.
IF YOU WANT TO LEARN A NEW SKILL
Minneapolis artist Andy McInnis wants to prove that screenprinting can be a DIY endeavor. He will help visitors print their own T-shirts and hand out his own Ikea-style instructions for making a T-shirt press for under $20; he's setting up at Shuga Records' Hoolie Fest, 135 13th Av. NE. -- which will be presenting music by the likes of the Guystorm and Kid Dakota.
"There's something about screenprinting," McInnis said. "It doesn't matter what age they are, when people create an image, their eyes get big."
IF YOU WANT A ONE-STOP WHO'S WHO OF TWIN CITIES ART
Check out "Flocked," a wallpaper project in the Casket Arts Carriage House, 1700 NE. Madison St. (Studio 203). This 22- by 10-foot floor-to-ceiling installation has a bill of collaborators that might as well double as a yearbook for the best up-and-coming artists in the Twin Cities. Art entrepreneurs, gig poster designers, local celebrities -- they're all involved, from Miles Mendenhall, a participant in Bravo's upcoming show "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist," to Dan Ibarra of Aesthetic Apparatus and Jessica Seamans of screenprinting duo Landland.
Organized by studio mates Nick Howard (Rosalux Gallery), printmaker Anna Tsantir and Vincent Murray, the project asked more than 30 artists to contribute five prints to see if the pieces would work together or create dynamic contrasts in juxtaposition.
Payne, a contributor to the project and a veteran on the scene, said it was fun getting to know new artists while working on "Flocked." "You're either hating them because they're better than you, or you're excited by what they're doing," he said.
