[0:00] - It's a beautiful

gallery, a great showcase

[0:03] for local artists, so I'm

very happy to be here.

[0:06] - It's really fun. I

wish we'd do it more often

[0:08] because I think there is a lot of talent

[0:10] that we don't know about.

[0:12] - My name's Leon Erstad.

[0:13] I live in Bloomington,

[0:14] and for the last decade I've

been doing art with rocks

[0:18] and glass and tile.

[0:20] - I'm Janet Adams.

[0:22] I live in Bloomington

in a senior cooperative.

[0:26] I moved here in 2006.

[0:29] - My name is Steve Sack.

I'm a lifelong cartoonist.

[0:32] I worked for 40 some

years for the Star Tribune

[0:36] doing editorial cartoons.

[0:37] I retired about three years ago,

[0:39] and now my hobby is

creating 3D sculptures.

[0:44] The work I have here is just

things that I do for myself,

[0:48] basically. It's humorous,

whimsical figurines,

[0:51] and I've always drawn cartoons

[0:53] and that's kind of the

way I see the world.

[0:56] - I've always enjoyed looking

at rocks and cutting into them

[0:59] and seeing the beauty on the inside

[1:01] and started out doing a

little bit of jewelry,

[1:03] but found that awfully limiting

[1:05] because the patterns in many of the agates

[1:08] or Jaspers are big and and nice.

[1:11] And so I wanted to think of

a way to display the beauty

[1:15] of the rocks without needing to hang it

[1:17] around somebody's neck.

[1:19] - I've been experimenting with the idea

[1:22] of what's the least you can

do and still call it art.

[1:26] So you'll see some of my

pieces are very, very simple

[1:28] and almost nothing is happening,

[1:31] and yet they're kind of cool,

[1:33] for me.

[1:34] This particular exhibit,

the range of the styles

[1:37] and media that are there

is just really remarkable.

[1:41] And to see the talent

of many of the artists

[1:44] that are displaying there

is fun and exhilarating

[1:48] and inspirational, and it's

motivating me to do more.

[1:52] - I hope people come out and take a look.

[1:54] Other artists have wonderful work there

[1:56] and it's always fun to

see people's expressions.

[1:59] - It'll be fun. Yeah, there's

such a variety among our works

[2:02] and even among our individual

works of one artist,

[2:06] there's quite a lot of variety.

[2:08] Artistry is a great gift to the community

[2:10] and that it's so accessible

is part of the gift.

[2:13] I know when I moved here,

I came, I saw and I joined,

[2:18] and I've been part of it ever since.

[2:21] I want all my friends to come.