New on the itinerary of the 2019 Art Harvest Tour in the recently stocked Art on the Prairie Atelier at 1107-1109 Second St. in downtown Perry.
Construction began on the store front earlier this month, and the shelves were quickly filled with pretty things in time for this weekend’s art event. Organizers hope to be fully settled in time for this year’s Art on the Prairie festival in November.
Among the impressive elements in the new atelier is an old job press, used for letterpress printing with movable lead type and producing old-style handbills and placards. The 1,500-pound unit was moved Friday morning from the basement studio of Betsy Peterson Designs at 1121 Second St. to the Art on the Prairie Atelier.
The new atelier was shrouded in secrecy until Saturday, and the organizers sought to keep far from the prying eyes of the new press the old press.
“I don’t want this on ThePerryNews,” said Jenny Eklund, president of the board of directors of Art on the Prairie. “I do not want this on ThePerryNews. I don’t want this on ThePerryNews.”
The Art on the Prairie Board of Directors is composed of Eklund, Vice President and Co-Treasurer Mary Nichols, Co-Treasurer and Technical Director Sven Peterson and Secretary Colleen Eckhoff.
The sixth annual Art Harvest Tour features work by artists in fibers, textiles, wood, glass, earthenware, iron and copper, along with printing, painting and photography and even a few body-care products. The tour’s 11 stops take in local studios and galleries from Ames, Boone and Dallas Center to Ogden, Perry and Woodward.
