How a Minneapolis Art Shanty is born

• Here's what she had to say about her latest creation: "Ripple," a 6-foot-tall explorable parka.

Uh, what's an "explorable parka?": Picture a giant bullet-shaped Russian nesting doll. Instead of the doll breaking apart in halves, this project is disassembled by removing seven "layers" — like taking off coats, Groenert explained.

• The exterior layer is a bright red parka with pockets full of treasure (including fake fish); another is made of wooden dowels and reminiscent of an ice fishing bait cage.
• Every layer has something to do with winter, whether explicitly stated or vaguely interpreted.

How it happened: Groenert was inspired by news stories about dealing with climate change and the "ripple" its effects have on the environment.

• "I wanted to make a physical form that shows how all of these things are so closely related to each other," she told me.
• She debuted a smaller version at last year's event, which took around five months to build, then spent a few more months making additional layers for 2023.

How it gets there: After the parka's layers are taken apart, they are hauled in a truck or van to Lake Harriet. Putting it back together requires multiple hands on deck.

What's next: "Ripple" will be dissected by visitors over and over again for the next three weekends, but Groenert is there to reassemble it each time — and make any minor fixes.

• "I just want to make sure it stays together until the next day," she added.

📍Visit: 4135 W. Lake Harriet Pkwy, Minneapolis. Open weekends from Jan. 21 to Feb. 12.