Edina Artists Well Represented at Fair

Local artists and crafts people of all ages made a strong showing with their work as the Minnesota State Fair got under way Thursday.

Elizabeth Feinberg of Edina, who won a ribbon in the Needlecraft category in 2010, had her wares on display again this year. Feinberg’s entry was a pillow with Halloween-themed ghosts, black cats and pumpkins rendered on the cover in needlepoint.

Feinberg said she’s entered her work at the fair every year since 1996. “I was stunned when I won a ribbon last year,” she said. “I was just doing it for fun. I was walking on air.”

Ribbon winners from Edina included Michael McCormick, who goes to Concord Elementary and entered his marker drawing “In the Reef” and a mixed-media drawing, “The Crack.” Those drawings were entered in the Student Art K-12 category, as was “Blue Hair Boxer,” an oil painting by Anna Pugh of Edina.

A number of Edina artists had their work displayed in the fair’s Fine Arts Building, including Fred Senn, James Vose, Marureen Grace Johnson, and Douglas Lew.

The 100th Fine Arts display featured 413 works of art chosen from 2,330 entries.

Also, Eric Swanlund, who was a ribbon winner in 2010 in the Vegetables and Potatoes category, displayed a watermelon this year.

The fair runs through Monday, Sept. 6.