Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa. So I just gave this blog post a title, and now I'm wondering if it's politically incorrect. OhWell. My thoughts and they are true.
Have I mentioned my husband and I are not shoppers? Last week as more and more stores advertised "open on Thanksgiving" we cringed. Cringed for the people in retail who were required to spend their holiday as NOholiday. Cringed bigtime for the shopaholics who spent their holiday at the mall. What kind of a holiday was that, and just how much thanks did they give, anyway?
And may I rant on just a little more? A local DesMoines (Iowa) television station gave air time to the people who camped outside a shopping mall just so they could be one of the first of the 37 thousand in the door. Don't understand. Not going to go there. And may I suggest an alternative? Didn't see that one coming, eh?
This weekend, December 4th and 5th, the UniversityOfIowa fine arts council sponsors an event at the Iowa Memorial Union in IowaCity, Iowa, called Thieves Art Market. We don't know where the name came from, but I can promise you it's all on-the-up-and-up.
If you crave:
>camping out on frozen concrete so you might be the first one in the door
>stampeding crowds fighting over who gets one of 3 come-on sale items
>non-existent sales staff
>or if you luck out and find one---sales staff really not interested in helping you, and probably don't know how even if they are
>mauled over merchandise
>surely by now you get the idea?
IF you crave any of the above, then you won't like Thieves Art Market. So don't come.
Later, Cooper
Oh, maybe I should mention: if you love a laid back atmosphere, where you can look at unique interesting things, and have the people who created them tell you why, then you are a Thieves Art Market kind of person, and you should come. 10AM to 5PM each day. I have a painting I'd love to show you. :)
