Local Potter Creates “Art Hunt” for Trail Hikers

ST. CLOUD -- A St. Cloud artist has schemed up a way to help others beat the stay at home order blues: hiding artwork for area hikers to find.

Danielle Dinger is the creator of Art Hunt St. Cloud.

Dinger, a potter and mother of four, says her family has always enjoyed getting outside and exploring nature.

“Like everybody, we’ve been stuck at home with very few options for things to do,” Dinger said. “And, we have kids who are going stir crazy in the house. So, I started wondering how we could use our time and our resources to bless other people."

Dinger has been creating and selling pottery professionally for five years, and says it brings her joy to see others using her work.

“I started at the Paramount with one class,” Dinger said. “Then I took another class, and another, and then I dove in pretty deep. I discovered it combines all the elements of art I love.”

“It’s a lost art today – knowing where our things came from," Dinger added. "I love being able to give that gift, turning something made of simple mud into something functional in someone’s home.”

Dinger takes pictures of each handmade treasure, along with clues for where to find it, and posts them to her professional Instagram account, Pottery By Dane.

“I thought this might incentivize people to get outside and go for a walk,” she said. “It might even get someone to take a hike for the first time. I’ve actually heard that a lot from people – they’ve never hiked before. Maybe they think it’s intense, when in reality it’s really just a stroll on a path that might not be paved.”

Dinger says other artists have joined up and hidden their art along area hiking trails, hash-tagging their pictures and clues with #arthuntstcloud and uploading them to Instagram. Dinger says she's received rave reviews from art hunters .

"I've heard from families that have gone out," Dinger said. "They've said their kids were so excited, as if they're on this massive treasure hunt, which is really cool. It's not that big of a gift for me to give - a simple mug - but for them, it's exciting to find this cool art piece on a trail in St. Cloud."

To learn more, search #ArtHuntStCloud on Instagram, and search for Pottery By Dane to follow along.