Celebrating Roseville's Cream of the Crop Art
Roseville crop artists at the MN State Fair
Minnesota's unique crop art tradition is one of the must-sees at the State Fair every year. Found in the Agriculture Horticulture building, all of the crop art is made from Minnesota-grown seeds, stems, and plant parts. Each year, there are over 700 entries and the popularity of this exhibit continues to grow.
Whether you're going to the Fair or want to skip the line and view them digitally, feast your eyes on these crop art submissions by Roseville residents:
Spaceballs
by Tony Perkins
This piece was created in anticipation of the upcoming Spaceballs sequel.
Illinoise Psyche
by Lucas Roberts
A recreation of the musical Illinoise playbill made from painted poppy, amaranth, and wild rice seeds.
Landscape
by Clare Sorman
"The landscape is inspired by our recent trip up to Grand Marais, where we watched sunsets by the harbor. The trees in the foreground (pumpkin seeds) were all aglow as the taller ones in the back (wild rice) were more shadowed."—Clare Sorman
Hat (in progress)
by Clare Sorman
"The hat shown here is just partially completed—a fully covered version is in the crop art show at the fair and includes thousands of seeds and beans, reindeer moss and dried cuttings from my Roseville garden."—Claire Sorman
Penguin the Cat
by Leo Gapen, age 13
"Leo’s seed art cat, titled 'Penguin the Cat' represents our 19 lb tuxedo cat of the aforementioned name. His paw pads look exactly like black beans which was the perfect choice to render his fur!"--Clare Sorman (Leo's mom)
The Veiled Lady
by Charlotte Ferlic
Inspired by the Veiled Lady sculpture by Raffaelle Monti at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia).
This year, there will be two new crop art awards from Mia:
- Best Interpretation of an Artwork
- Best Interpretation of a Minnesota Landmark, Story, or Figure
Winners of this award and eight additional pieces selected by Mia's curatorial team and museum director will be displayed at a new Crop Art Exhibition at the museum this fall.
Our Dairy Queen
by Charlotte Ferlic
This crop art was inspired by Roseville's iconic Dairy Queen, once celebrated as the oldest in the state. The Lexington Plaza Dairy Queen closed last fall and did not reopen. It has since been reimagined as a new, independent ice cream shop called Sprinkles.
Don Wyse (1947-2024)
by Charlotte Ferlic
Don Wyse was a beloved University of Minnesota agriculture professor and scientist from Shoreview. He was a regular presence at the Agriculture Horticulture building during the MN State Fair.
According to the U of M, "Don was the visionary and co-founder of the Forever Green Initiative, which serves as a platform and model for developing alternative crops and cropping systems that provide longer-living cover on the landscape with additional economic and environmental benefits to rural and urban communities."
Editorial Note:
The Roseville Reader put out a call for information from Roseville residents who submitted art, handicrafts, baked goods, and other items at the State Fair and the response has been tremendous! What we thought would be one article has turned into several. Roseville's creativity is incredible!
Next week, we'll be showcasing Roseville work from the Creative Arts, Fine Arts, and K-12 Education contests.
Don't worry—we'll be back to reporting on city council, school board, and other community happenings soon enough! Make sure to subscribe to get the articles directly in your inbox.
In case you missed it, here's a collection of all of the Roseville Reader's coverage of the State Fair so far:
