Celebrating Ann Arbor's West Side
One of the newest additions to the Mighty Mitten family of prints is the re-imagined sign for the Westgate Shopping Center, and for Ann Arbor townies it could be a new favorite.
Although they cannot hold a candle to Michigan's natural beauty (ahem, Sleeping Bear, cough--Pictured Rocks), strip malls are an ever-present part of life in the Midwest. And Westgate is better than most... except for the parking, which, uh, well is pretty darn bad.
For many of us who live on the west side of Ann Arbor, the Westgate sign dominates our nighttime drive home, a last-minute grocery stop, or a little self-indulgent Maxxinista'ing. There's something about the almost-too-tall sign that brings an unexpected charm to the strip mall experience, and for those of us on this side of town, it's great to see an art print representing something unaffiliated with The University of Michigan.
But I don't just love the Westside A2 print because it allows me to show my townie love; I'm also nuts about the colors and spooky mood of those post-sunset pine trees. Those trees set against the sky remind me of coming home after a trip up north, of driving with the windows down, of chirping crickets and the smell of bonfires. In a word: Michigan.
