North Shore Arts Scene

Greetings from the North Shore, where we gather together to celebrate this beautiful place where we live. Sometimes it’s at a local restaurant or picnicking on the beach next to a bonfire. Or being together in a blizzard or a thunderstorm, hunkering down in a tent or cabin,  hoping all will go well. Other times it’s sitting  by the Big Lake, staring in wonder at its beauty and power.

Ah, but what about the hikes through the woods, the wildflower discoveries, the serenity of paddling across a Boundary Waters lake, finding that boulder that has a story going back thousands of years, the quiet conversations with a companion who loves this place as much as you do?

Let us count the ways, my friends.

And art-making continues.

This week, Art Night at Joy and Company will offer a mini-workshop on painting bookmarks.

Participants will use Deco-Arts paint to create colorful and personalized book marks. The workshop will be held from 3:30-5 pm at the shop. Open to all. It is free, with a suggested $5 donation.

Also today, and every day except Mondays and Tuesdays through June 15, the Summer Solstice Puppet-making Workshops will be held at the Cook County Community Center.

The workshops are held from 3-8 pm on Thursdays & Fridays, and from 10 am- 1 pm and 3-8 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Open to all. Children under 10 should be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, visit https://goodharborhillplayers.org . Questions? Email info@goodharborhillplayers.org.

The Summer Solstice Pageant is at North House Folk School June 21 at 8 pm.

Also on Thursday, Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center will hold a bird-banding session from 7-11 am which is open to the public.

Sugarloaf is participating in bird research by banding birds. This gives everyone  a chance to figure out things like how to tell the difference between males and females, learn how long birds live, and see if they migrate to places south and return to the same place to nest again.

At 10 am there will be a special program about bird banding and the birds of Sugarloaf Cove.

Note: This event is weather dependent: rain or excessive wind may cause the banding session to be cancelled. Call the Cove at 218-663-7679 to check. (Please note: staff may not be able to answer the phone immediately, as they may be out banding birds.)

And last, but not least, painter Donna Bruni will give a demonstration entitled  “The Art of Discernment” at the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Studio 17 from 4:30-5:30 pm.

In this demonstration, Bruni will explore the role of discernment in the creative process—how artists make decisions, both intentional and intuitive, at every stage of a painting. From initial composition to final refinements, she will discuss the balance between spontaneity and control, offering insight into how choices in color, form, and texture shape a dynamic abstract work. Through live painting, Donna will reveal the subtle yet critical moments of decision-making that bring a composition to life.

Free. The public is invited.

On Friday, Objects to Crave, a gift shop in Hovland, opens for the season.

The shop is open every weekend through October.  The hours are Fridays, noon – 5 pm, Saturdays, 10 am -5 pm and Sundays, 10 am – 3 pm.

Jeri Person will hold a workshop on how to make a glass spinner at Joy and Company from 1-4 pm on Friday.

The glass objects can be used as light catchers in windows or in the garden. The cost is $20. Open to all. No registration is required.

Also on Friday, Jeanne Hedstrom will teach a Summer Solstice Painting Workshop starting at 6:30 pm at the Cook County Community Center.

The public is invited to help bring the Summer Solstice Pageant to life by learning how to paint visual elements for the event’s puppets and sets.

No experience needed—just wear paint-friendly clothes and come ready to create. Free.

If you’re going to be in Duluth this weekend, consider stopping by Wussow’s Concert Cafe in West Duluth to listen to local and regional musicians at Pete Fest 2025.

 On Saturday, the Gunflint Clean-up will be held on the Gunflint Trail from 9 am-2 pm.

This is your chance to be a part of the community and make a difference. Sign up for a 1 mile portion along the Gunflint Trail and take pictures of interesting trash you collect. This year’s cleanup takes place from 9 am – 11 am. The Trail is broken down in 40 sections that you need to sign up for.  Registrations bags can be picked up on Friday, June 6 from 5 – 7 pm at the Schaap Community Center. The bags contain Reflective Vests, garbage bags, and more.

Afterwards, clean-up crews will  meet at the Schaap Community Center from 11 am – 12:30 pm for food, activities, and prizes from local Gunflint Trail businesses. Be sure to take pictures of unique trash you find for a chance to win prizes.

New this year– plant trees along the Gunflint Trail from noon- 2 pm. Bring your spades and work gloves, carpool to the location with other participants, and watch the trees grow in years to come.

Sign up to participate here.

Northern Goods will hold a Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening at the store starting at 9 am on Saturday. The day will feature a ribbon cutting with the Cook County Chamber of Commerce at 9 am, followed throughout the day by giveaways, special sales, demos, meet and greets, and much more.

Northern Goods is an outdoor retailer specializing in camping, paddling, fishing, winter sports and every outdoor activity in between The facility also features a micro-hotel above the shop. For more info, click here.

Saturday is Cook County Market day in Grand Marais when more than 20 artists  and artisans set up shop under tents in the parking lot of The Hub.

Look for paintings, baskets, pottery, jewelry, fiber art, leatherwork, glass and more crafted by local artists. The market is held from 10 am to 2 pm. The public is invited.

Children’s Story Hour with Kevin Kager wil be held at Drury Lane Books from 11 am to noon on  Saturday.

Kevin is an entertaining and funny storyteller and children love to listen. Free and open to book lovers of every age.

The Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Studio 21 will have two events on Saturday – an Open Studio with two artists-in-residence from 11 am to 1 pm and an Opening Reception for a new exhibit opening at the site.

Meet the Art Colony’s 2025 juried artists-in-residence, printmaker Christopher Hagen, and multimedia artist Santiago Cucullu on Saturday. 

Visitors will learn about their creative process as well as see works in progress. Free. The public is invited.

Then, from 4-5 pm, the Art Colony will host an Opening Reception for Duluth painter and illustrator Kaitlin Klennert, whose work is kicking off the Art Colony’s Arrowhead Artist Exhibition. This exhibit features a monthly exhibit of regional artists through September.

Kaitlin’s work explores themes of femininity and autonomy, often with floral and figurative subjects, reflecting how she celebrates herself, community, and the overall feminine perspective. Through her practice, Kaitlin strives to empower people, honor individual growth, and create space for expression.

The public is invited to the reception.

Also on Saturday evening, Drury Lane Books will hold an Author Talk with Andrea Gilats starting at 6 pm.

She will discuss and read from her latest work, Radical Endurance: Growing Old in an Age of Longevity. The floor will be open for discussion and questions after the reading and presentation, and Gilats will be available to sign books.

She is a writer, educator, artist, and former yoga teacher. She is author of After Effects: A Memoir of Complicated Grief (Minnesota, 2021), which received a Foreword INDIES honorable mention, and Restoring Flexibility: A Gentle Yoga-Based Practice to Increase Mobility at Any Age. The co-founder and longtime director of the University of Minnesota’s popular Split Rock Arts Program, Gilats also created and directed two University of Minnesota lifelong learning programs for older adults, LearningLife and Encore Transitions: Preparing for Post-Career Life.

The public is invited. Free.

On Tuesday, June 10, the North Shore Federal Credit Union will hold the annual Hunger Hero Golf Scramble at the Gunflint Hills Golf Course.

Since 2016, Credit Union members have collectively donated over $354,500 to local food shelves and community organizations. Be part of this effort. Call 218-387-9988.

Also on Tuesday, the Two Birds Healing Arts Center will hold Vibrations in Stillness with Melanie Eldridge.

Participants will be using metal sound bowls. People can bring their own and/or the center will provide them. Melanie will talk about the history, myths, and most common uses of this meditative healing tool, as well as introduce meditative techniques.

Freewill donations are accepted.

On Wednesday, Drury Lane Books will hold a Full Moon Poetry Reading beside a bonfire on the beach near the shop.

Everyone is invited to participate in this monthly open-mic style reading. While the event does focus on poetry, the broader goal is human connection, so storytelling, short readings from books, or your own work is welcomed.

Open to all. Free. It starts at 6 pm.

Exhibits:

Neil Sherman: Recent Works continues at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery.

Sherman is a plein air painter who has been painting Cook County for years. He was the Grand Prize Winner in the 2024 Grand Marais Summer Plein Air Competition.

Look for outstanding landscapes, solar plate etchings and special moments on the trails. The exhibit continues through June 15.

The Heritage Post is also featuring work by Duluth multi-media artist and painter Sue  Rauschenfels. She is the Artist of the Month at the gallery for June.

Look for a variety of work focusing on trees in our landscape.

The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Saturday and from 1-4 pm Sunday. Free and open to the public.

Printmaker Kelly Dupre is currently exhibiting work at the Cedar Coffee House in Two Harbors.

The exhibit continues through June.

The Member Show at the Duluth Art Institute continues featuring work by more than 140 member artists.

The exhibit ends June 9. To see all the works on display, here’s a QR Code to take a look.

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery has a number of new exhibits, including Benjamin Chee Chee: Modern Painter.

The exhibition shines new light on a significant and underexamined series of abstract paintings in the permanent collection by self-taught Ojibwe artist, Benjamin Chee Chee (1944-1977). Known for his Black Geese Portfolio (1983), a series of playful geese depicted in minimalist style, his artistic vision stretched into the world of modernism, abstraction, and graphic design. These works signal new intersections of modernism and Woodland style in his practice and express how he wished to be seen: as a modern painter.

To learn more and see images of his work, click here. 

The Minneapolis Institute of Art is exhibiting the show, Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.

“Giants” highlights works by black artists from the around the world. To see a video conversation with The Deans (Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, click here.

Upcoming:

Great Expectations will host Makerspace, an opportunity to make cool stuff this summer.

It will be held at the school on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Free. The first one will be held on Saturday, June 14. Makerspace will be held from 10 am to noon on those days and is free. Open to all.

The Cook County Pride Committee will present the Annual Pride Celebration in downtown Grand Marais on Saturday, June 14.

As in past years, events for the regional Pride event will occur throughout the month of June and culminate in a rally and march in downtown Grand Marais on June 14.

The day will also include family-friendly activities, wellness and community-oriented gatherings such as yoga, dancing, singing, drag, arts and crafts and live music. The full day of festivities will climax in an after-dark DJ dance party at Up Yonder in Grand Marais. See the full schedule in the poster above.

Next weekend the Lyric Opera of the North will present a new production of Die Fledermaus.

This operetta is an ode to bubbles, waltzes, masked balls, and shimmery melodies, plus it’s fun to watch and has great music. The operetta is presented to celebrate Eric Opera’s 20th anniversary. There are two performances only: Friday, June 13, at 7 pm and Sunday, June 15  at 3 pm.

Sarah Lawrence and David Metts, two of the founders of the Lyric Opera, will be among the performers. For tickets and more information, click here.

And, on June 20-21, North House Folk School will host the Summer Solstice and  Wooden Boat Festival.

This is a full weekend of activities, classes, boats and fun.

The Summer Solstice and Wooden Boat Festival highlights include:

• Hands-on craft for all ages
• Maritime Music Concert
• Craft tools and supplies auction
• Live music and contra dancing
• Cookout and ice cream social
• Summer Solstice Pageant by the Good Harbor Hill Players
• Mini courses

For more info, click here.

Kudos:

It’s a little embarrassing to do this, but acknowledgment and thank yous must be made.

NorthShore ArtScene and myself (Joan Farnam) won the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council’s Maddie Simons Arts Advocate Award recently, and a ceremony was held at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday.

Thank you! ARAC! And Thank You! to those who nominated me for this award. And a special Thank you! to everyone who came! It was a great celebration honoring the arts, artists and their supporters. Onward!

FYI:

 Cook County Schools will once again be hosting a Summer Food Program. This program provides free meals for all children 18 and younger. No registration or income requirements necessary.

Meal times:

• Breakfast: 8:30-9:15 am
• Lunch: 11:15-noon

Dates:

• Monday through Friday, June 9 – Aug. 15

Please note:

• Meals must be eaten on site in the cafeteria.
• Take-out meals are not available.
• No meals will be served on June 19 or July 4.
• Free

Artists At work:

Online Findings:

Dangerously Modern is a new exhibition in Australia which celebrates 50 globetrotting women who traded parochial Australia for European modernity to create subtly subversive art.

To read about this exhibit and see more images, click here.

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Contest 

Online Music:

Music Selections by Kari Carter

Photographs:

Here’s a selection of photographs we found this week:

Wildlife:

Potpurri:

Flowers:

Landscapes, Waterscapes, Moonscapes:

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

And yes, it’s true. We do need financial support to keep NorthShore ArtScene alive and well. Please consider making a contribution today to keep ArtScene a part of your weekly life. Thank You!

 

Thank you to Jeremy Lopez (Live Music schedule, tech advice, music suggestions), Yvonne Mills (proofreading and music suggestions), and Kari Carter (caption corrections) for helping put ArtScene together. And thank you to Visit Cook County for its outstanding Events Calendar.