Author: Gamer Girl Jewelry

The artists at our little co-op go to great lengths to make their masterpieces.  Today we’re looking at one of our photographers, Eric Dyck, and the way he finds the beauty on the prairie.  The above photo is one of Eric as he photographed a prairie burn just a few months ago.

Eric has been known for his compositions of the Chase County Courthouse, and for his hours-long timelapse of the solar eclipse.  He uses natural talent mixed with a touch of Photoshop to bring his pictures from photography to art.

Eric began taking photographs just a few years ago, starting with documenting his trips to Mexico and family reunions.  It’s only recently that he joined Prairie PastTimes in the hopes that others would appreciate his view of the world.  He always seems to know exactly how to catch the perfect shot of the beauty in our state.  There really is nothing more beautiful than that which nature creates.

Come in today to see some of Eric’s work!  You can take it home in full-sized form, framed (in hand-made frames Eric also made!) or in notecards.  If you want to see more of what he can do, visit him at KansasFolks.net

Now that summer has truly started, barbeques, parties, family reunions, river rafting, camping, and other exciting activities have begun to take over our lives.  The best one (at least we think) is the 4th of July!  Fireworks, family, friends, good food and drinks, and a celebration of our country.  What could be better?

Well…We at Prairie PastTimes don’t think we can best a good 4th of July celebration, but we do have items in the store that could make it a bit more festive!

With family possibly spending the night, why don’t you freshen up your room with a red, white and blue quilt made by Margie Dyck?

Or some Kansas-themed hand towels in your bathrooms?  Made by the amazing Bernie Dette?

If you’re more focused on being outside, what’s a better way to make your wine selection available to your guests than a hanging wine rack?  This one was made by our own Dave Edwards at Persimmon Forge!

And for the more subtle among us, there’s some fantastic jewelry!  Gabi Dyck, with Gamer Girl Jewelry, is always making new an interesting pieces.  A lot of them are holiday-themed!

 

So, while we won’t be open on Monday July 4, 2016, we do hope you stop in for some amazing decorations and holiday spirit any time before that (Tuesdays-Sundays, 11-5)!

Raise your glasses and May Freedom Ring!

As May draws to a close, we in Chase County like to begin to really celebrate summer.  There are a ton of fun events to bring you down to visit us.  Visit the Chase County Chamber page to find out all the fun details for this summer.

In the meantime, come down this Thursday-Saturday (June 2-4) for the Flint Hills Rodeo!  It’s an exciting event, held every year in Strong City, with dancing, parades, trade shows and, of course, bull riding and horses! It’s an incredibly fun and exciting event, and Prairie PastTimes is getting involved!

While we won’t have a physical presence at the rodeo, our store is (literally) just down the road, and it’s the perfect place to stop in to pick up a souvenir!  Our artists have been creating all kinds of special items with rodeo and horse themes.  Check out a few of them below!  We are open 11-5 Tuesday-Sunday, so we’ll definitely be open during the rodeo.  It’s going to be a very special time to stop in and pick up a one-of-a-kind, locally-made item to celebrate the start of summer!

 

There’s little beauty in the world like that of a talented blacksmith working away over his hot forge, and Prairie PastTimes is lucky to have our very own man of talent–Dave Edwards, owner and operator of Persimmon Forge!  Dave has been working in black iron for a long time, and his art shows his long-forged (pardon the pun!) talent.

He says he chose to work in iron because: “A famous artist blacksmith once said that iron has great strength and yet also has the capacity to appear light, graceful and delicate.  “It has this capacity — but no desire.  It will do nothing by itself except resist you.  All the desire, and all the knowledge of how to impart this desire to the iron, must come from the smith.’’  It is a stubborn material.  The smith learns to use fire and force to encourage the metal to move.  At a high heat steel has a plasticity similar to glass and clay but still requires a lot more force to shape.”

He takes pride in what he does and doesn’t stress about getting the “perfect” look.  Dave is someone who truly understands that good art is created, not perfected.

Today, his beautiful wife, Betty, is working in the store!  She can answer all your questions and show you some of the articles and interviews we have on-hand that go a little more in-depth on Dave’s work.  Stop in today from 11-5!

Well, sort of!  While today is still May 17, June is in the building at Prairie PastTimes, manning the register and spreading her wide smile to all of you who come to visit!

When you first walk in the door of our lovely co-op, you see a beautiful “Welcome” stained-glass sign hanging in the window.  June made that sign, and it IS for sale!  Everything she does is a masterpiece, and each item can be custom made!

June also makes the lotions that are near the register and knows all the secrets to getting truly soft skin!  Stop in and see her, today!  She’s there until 5!