by Cori Hilsgen
Local artists saw a steady stream of visitors at Minnesota Street Market and Bruno Press at the December holiday sale.
Visitors had a chance to see Mary Bruno demonstrate her art on her printing presses and view works of other artists.
Artist Amy Skeate-Carlson’s husband Mike Carlson said it was great to see so many people at Bruno Press.
“It’s fabulous,” Carlson said. “It’s amazing to see a variety of things being shown by artists from our community and to see how many people support them.”
Skeate-Carlson’s college friends Janine Ikhaml and Shannon Stein drove from Bloomington to visit their University of Minnesota-Morris friend.
“It’s great,” Ikhaml said.
“It’s very different than what you typically see,” Stein said.
Other artists showcasing their works at Bruno Press included Nick Campbell, Katie Ballantine, Jeff Steinkopf and Keri Schueller.
Sandy Millerbernd was busy at the Minnnesota Street Market spinning some sheep fiber.
Millerbernd said they saw a steady stream of visitors from the start at 10 a.m. and that continued throughout the day.
“It’s been very beneficial for the artists,” Millerbernd said. “This is a good natural setting to do things like this.”
Millerbernd and Minnesota Street Market general manager Pat Benson thought the sunny and mid-30-degree weather probably helped bring more people out and about.
Troy Battig viewed the artwork on display at the Market.
“It’s fun,” Battig said. “I went to school with Mary’s brother, Martin, and I always like to support the local businesses.”
Photographer Tony Peroutky said he had had a good day of sales. His wife, Pat, said it’s always fun around the holidays because people have their lists and are shopping for gifts.
Peroutky enjoys taking photos of wildlife. He lives on Two Rivers lake by St. Anna and has a chance to photograph many different species of birds during migration. He also travels to Glacier National Park in Montana and the north shore in Minnesota and photographs nature at those locations.
Other artists showcasing their work at the Minnesota Street Market included Joe Singewald and Jill Dubbeldee Kuhn.