From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what’s exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. 

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Edible creativity at the State Fair

Morgan Kempton of Minneapolis, who works in education at Hennepin Arts, is a fan of the Creative Activities building at the Minnesota State Fair, which runs through Labor Day.

While many flock to the rides or concerts, Kempton is drawn to the detailed displays of baked goods:

Morgan: It’s just interesting to see how many different types of pies people can make, and all the designs on the top of the pies can always be so unique and interesting to see.

— Morgan Kempton

Carved emotion in Hopkins

Janet Kilsdonk of Hopkins recommends “… good dog …” an exhibition of wood carvings by artist Fred Cogelow at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. The show runs through Sept. 6.

She was captivated by the lifelike quality of the work:

Janet says: It actually makes you step back and feel like you’ve stepped into a drawing when it's actually a wood carving.

— Janet Kilsdonk

Transforming stuffed animals with clay

Courtney Mault of Minneapolis is looking forward to the Spiralia World’s Clay Critter Workshop, led by artist Ricky at Odd Mart in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Participants are invited to bring their own stuffed animals and create colorful masks for them using a variety of materials:

Courtney: You’ll be able to totally change the personality of your stuffed animal.

— Courtney Mault