Open Your HeART to Art

Editor's Note: The following announcement comes from Angela Emerson. The Open Your heART to Art event takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 25 at the .

Get your best pal, invite your favorite niece or gather up the whole family and come spend a few hours listening to great music, eating free snacks and beverages, shopping from a dozen or so local artists booths and participating in some craft activities for all ages!  There will also be a silent auction and a raffle for door prizes which include gift baskets, free services and items from local shops and businesses - Including Finding Joy Boutique, Grey Fox Pottery and Tonka Cycle and Ski.  While you're having a great time you can also feel good about supporting a wonderful organization: Free Arts Minnesota!  The workers and volunteers at Free Arts are making a difference in the lives of children who have suffered abuse using Arts education. Some children have no language to describe their thoughts and feelings; visual expression offers a greater range of effective vocabulary than is possible through verbalization. Not only is Art theraputic in this way, it's builds self esteem through validation, freedom of expression and accomplishment.  

This event is organized by three local women entrepreneurs, Sadie Giese, Haley Stampp and Anjee Emerson. You might have met Anjee and Sadie who both work behind the counter part time at the local Hopkins Dunn Bros on Shady Oak Rd. Anjee, a native Saint Louis Park Artist started Claymate Creations in the Summer of 2011. She is best known for making whimsical monsters and creatures in bright, joyful colors. She sells her artwork directly, in local shops and Galleries as well as teaches polymer clay workshops out of a space in the Center for Performing Arts in South Minneapolis. Sadie has created Sadie Sage Services, a do it all service featuring green cleaning with all non-toxic products.  She also does home and office organizing, house sitting, pet sitting and so much more.  Haley Stampp of Haley Stampp Photography is an artist of all trades but really is unsurpassed in her ability to direct people comfortably within a setting so as to capture the true essence of the people and things she photographs.  She does portrait and wedding photography as well as commercial photography on top of frequenting Art fairs and festivals where she sells unique jewelry, book art (like mini journals and recycled matchbook notepads), and abstract paintings among other fantastic hand crafted items. Haley is Anjee's sole photographer for all of her monster creations and they are working together on a children's book illustrated by Haley's non-photoshopped photographs of Anjee's sculptures placed in sets designed by the two of them. 

Haley has put in a ton of volunteer hours at Free Arts. All her enthusiasm and gushing about the moving experiences she keeps having watching the children she works with grow, change and build self esteem have inspired Sadie and Anjee to support the organization as well. Working at the Hopkins has put Anjee and Sadie in contact with many prominent figures who were able to help with finding donations for door prizes, a place to hold the event and even getting a donation from the Hopkins Friends of the Art Center Board toward the cost of renting the space for the event.  

Free Arts volunteers will be at the event to answer any questions you might have about what they do and to sign up new volunteers. They will be selling books and cards featuring work that children they have worked with have done. You can also check their WISH LIST before attending and drop off art supplies in the donation box by their table when you arrive.   

Another great feature of this event will be a mini gallery showing of young and aspiring photographers, mentored by Free Arts volunteers (including Haley) and well-known Artist Wing Young Huie in collaboration with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Please come ready to make some art of your own, dance a little, eat some healthy and not-so-healthy snacks, have a glass of wine or juice, do a little shopping and maybe win a prize.