Arts | May 11th, 2016
By Ben Haugmo
Culture and coffee combine at the first ever Cone Pack Mug Market is being held this week at Twenty Below Coffee in Fargo.
Cone Pack is a group of artists from in and around the Fargo-Moorhead area promoting public awareness of ceramic art through lectures, exhibitions, and events such as the mug market.
Each hand-crafted mug will sell for $25.00 and come with a drink token so that customers can immediately take their purchase for a test run.
Guillermo Guardia is one of the Cone Pack artists featured in the mug market. Guardia’s earliest experiences with art are playing with modeling clay as a child. Since then, he has become well familiar with the techniques and challenges of ceramic sculpture.
“Especially when you make large pieces like sculptures,” said Guardia, “it has to be hollow. Otherwise, if it’s a solid piece, there’s a good chance there’s an air bubble. If there’s an air bubble, and you fire it, it will explode.”
Guardia primarily produces figurative pieces. Common motifs he employs are renderings of the human form etched with puzzle pieces, or the character of the baby devil, which he recently began decorating with images that call back to his home in Peru.
“I am from Peru,” said Guardia, “and I’m just trying to incorporate something of my background into my artwork.”
The utilitarian, functional ceramic form of the mugs presented a new challenge for Guardia. He had to adopt new approaches to make the mugs, and to express his personal artistic style.
“I know how to throw, I know how to make stuff like that, but it’s not something that I do for a living. I was actually very challenging. I can make a mug, but I wanted the product to look related to my work. I made very simple mugs with no handles, but I incorporated the Peruvian designs on the surface.”
The hope is that those who are familiar with Guardia’s work will see the symbols of Peru his art is associated with, and connect that back to him.
If you feel the need to add some unique artistic flair to your mug collection, check out Guardia and the other Cone Pack artist’s work at Twenty Below Coffee this Saturday.
If you go:
Mug Market
Saturday, May 14 at 9 a.m to 3 p.m.
Twenty Below Coffee, 14 Roberts St N, Fargo, ND
June 15th 2026
May 19th 2026
April 24th 2026
April 15th 2026
April 15th 2026
By Bryce Vincent Haugen The Republican Party of Minnesota nominated business executive and Army veteran Kendall Qualls for governor at its convention in Duluth the last weekend of May. Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, one of…
Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.Paradox Comics-N-Cards, 814 Main Ave., FargoCalling all nerds: it’s time to get down and nerdy with vendors aplenty, who are selling comics, toys, video games, board games, various collectibles…
June 6-7StatewideYou grab a line and I’ll grab a pole — and if you’re a North Dakota resident, you can head on down to your favorite fishing hole, no license needed (for this weekend, anyway). All other rules still apply…
By John Strand It took us over 30 years for us to reach out and ask for your help. The High Plains Reader has always been subscription free and paywall free. Our content has — and always will be — free to access for all of our…
By Ed RaymondWere women created to do the work of God?One of the first requests made by new Pope Leo XIV was to invite an expert on the alt-right conservative Catholic organization known as Opus Dei to brief him about its…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick GionThe scarfing of canned fish and seafood products by online food influencer types is hard to miss on social media these days. Some of the consumed morsels range from exquisite to downright nasty. However, there are many…
By Bryce Vincent Haugen The curtain has come down on Jade Presents. Fargo-Moorhead’s largest event promoter has brought thousands of shows — more than 150 per year — and hundreds of artists to the area over the past 36 years. On…
__300x100.png)
By Greg Carlson The feature directorial debut of established internet phenomenon and entertainment hyphenate Hayley Kiyoko — known unironically to her fans as “Lesbian Jesus” — carries with it a curious backstory becoming more…
By Jacinta Zens I recently sat down for a chat with ceramicist Louie Albertson, Clay and Studio Program Manager at the Plains Art Museum. Before the interview, I had the pleasure of getting to know him a bit as a colleague when I…
Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Eli Liverani Cholesterol is probably one of the first molecules I have ever heard of in my childhood. Most of the relatives on my mother's side had high cholesterol in their blood, and apparently, levels above a certain range…
January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…
Chris M. Stoner I was recently dismissed from my role as drag show director and emcee for Dakota OutRight, a role I had been fulfilling for more than two decades. The reason given? My political commentary during shows, while…