Original Art at Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener Gala

Was this your lucky night?

If you were lucky enough to be invited to the gala dinner that was attached to this year's Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener in Waconia, you may have snagged one of the tabletop centerpieces as a prize. Forty tabletops had original "Sculpted Shores" made by Minneapolis artist Russ Dittmar and his merry band of ten artists, crafters, and logicians during the days leading up to the event.

Creating A Shoreline  

Each sculpted shore began with a carved base which was first painted and then painstakingly covered with rocks in three sizes, wood, leaves, organic elements (moss in many colors, dried flowers, shrubs, pine cones and more), and a host of whimsical elements including aluminum waves, individually hand-painted lily pads, and carefully crafted benches.

Finishing Touches

Finishing touches included painstaking wiring to attach fishing lures, trimming out dogwood twigs for the center of each shore, and bending and filling crystal tubes with beads and colored water. The tubes are not in these pictures, which were taken just before each shore was boxed for transport to Waconia.

Hard work but lots of fun 

All of us in the merry band had a great time. I painted lots of the bases, and crafted my share of shorelines. Although I am a huge fan of glue guns, Russ had us all use permanent indoor caulk. I am now an Official Caulking Gunner who only dreamed about white glue and caulk for two nights during this project.

Want a  shoreline for your very own?

If you are interested in having a shoreline sculpted for you and your family that recollects or recreates a lake shore  that is dear to your family, contact Russ Dittmar at 612.721.6849, russeldittmar@earthlink.net or visit his website at http://russeljdittmar.com/