Totally unexpected by Nicholas Narog.
A smokey sunrise over the Big Lake by Chuck Olsen.
Smokey Sunrise Sparkles by Roxanne Distad.
Greetings from the North Shore, where the Northern Lights have been bouncing on the horizon and smoke from wildfires in Alberta continue to cloud our daytime skies. What’s really good, though, is this weekend marks the beginning of the summer season on the North Shore, and artists and art lovers are looking forward to it.
First up is Art Night, a chance to experiment with a variety of different art supplies carried by Joy and Company held every Thursday at the store. This week, participants will learn about the variety of blues that are available in watercolors.
Variations in blue watercolors will be the topic for Art Night at Joy and Company on Thursday from 4-6 pm.
The art activities and demonstrations will focus on the similarities and differences between blues in watercolors. There are many variations. To find out more, come to the event, which is held from 4-6 pm this Thursday, May 25. It is free, with a suggested donation. All invited.
Also on Thursday, Minnesota ceramic artist Erin Paradis will be the Instagram Takeover Artist for the Grand Marais Art Colony. Follow along here.
Ceramic artist Erin Paradis is the Art Colony’s Instagram Takeover Artist this week. See it here.
Paradis is a ceramic sculptor, living and working in Minneapolis. She has worked extensively as an artist, resident, business owner, and instructor at art centers and academic settings both nationally and internationally. She will be teaching a class at the Art Colony in late August.
The Cook County Historical Society will hold Historic Cook County Trivia Night at Up Yonder from 6-8 pm on Thursday, May 25.
The Cook County Historical Society will hold Historical Trivia at Up Yonder from, 6-8 pm.
Everyone is invited to play. It’s an opportunity to show off your Cook County historical knowledge and learn something new at the same time. Prizes will be awarded.
On Friday, the Grand Marais Art Colony will open its summer exhibition, Air: Openness at Studio 21 with a reception from 5-7 pm.
The opening reception for the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s summer exhibition, “Air: Openness” will be held on Friday, May 26, at Studio 21 from 5-7 pm.
The exhibition will feature artwork by Mary Bergs, Walter Early, Ben Moren, and Galilee Peaches. The show will include sculptures, a film, and two installations and will continue throughout the summer.
On Saturday, the Cook County Market opens for the season in the parking lot of the Senior Center (The Hub) from 10 am to 2 pm.
The Cook County Market opens for the season in the parking lot of The Hub on Saturday, May 27. It is open from 10 am to 2 pm and is held every Saturday through MEA Weekend.
The market features everything from pottery, fiber art, leatherwork, paintings, jewelry, locally collected semi-precious stones, glass, weaving, and more. This year’s market features a number of new artists and artisans as well as old favorites. All are local artists. Open to all. Live music will also be featured.
Children’s Story Hour, hosted by Kevin Kager, The Muffin Man, opens for the season at Drury Lane Books on Saturday.
Kevin Kager, the Muffin Man, will be featured at Children’s Story Hour at Drury Lane Books on Saturday at 11 am. The Story Hour is held every Saturday throughout the summer.
Kager is a master storyteller and enthralls the children every week with the stories he tells and his funny antics and questions. It is held from 11 am to noon. Open to all. Free.
Unfortunately, due to high water, the opening of the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center on the Gunflint Trail this Saturday has been delayed. Stay tuned.
The Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center’s opening has been delayed due to high water flooding the road.
In Duluth on Sunday, May 28, the popular Magic Smelt Parade, “Run, Smelt, Run” will be held, starting at the Lift Bridge at 3:30 pm and continuing along the Lake Walk to the party and smelt fry at Zeitgeist Arts Cafe on Superior Street.
The Magic Smelt Prade, put on by the Duluth Puppet Group, will be held on Sunday, May 28. The parade starts at the Lift Bridge at 3:30 pm and proceeds down the Lakewalk to the Zeitgeist Arts Cafe for a party and a smelt fry. Everyone is welcome to join in. Wear something silver!
un Smelt Run is an outdoor parade performance in celebration of the annual smelt run on Lake Superior. This is a lively, site-specific spectacle, featuring masks, large puppets, and a Twin Cities brass band, the Brass Messengers.
Here’s a video of this fun event taken a few years ago:
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to wear silver!
Also in Duluth, the Duluth Dylan Fest continues through the weekend.
Duluth Dylan Fest runs through May 28.
There;s lots of music throughout the city at different venues. To see the schefule, click here,
other art news, A Celebration of Life for artist Howard Sivertson will be held at Up Yonder (formerly the Harbor Light) on Wednesday, May 31 at 5:30 pm.
A celebration of Howard Sivertson’s life will be held at Up Yonder on Wednesday, May 31.
Gather with friends and family for a cash bar and dinner starting at 5:30 pm. After enjoying food and spirits, participants will share favorite Howard stories and enjoy music from Liz Sivertson’s band, The Splints, until 10 pm. All are welcome!
And on Thursday, June 1, Grand Marais artist, Paula Gustafson, will give an Artist Talk entitled “Chasing the Light: Trusting What You See” at Studio 21 at 5 p.m.
Cascade off the Grade, oil, by Paula Gustafson. She will give an Artist Talk at Studio 21 at 5 pm June 1.
Gustafson will talk about her career as a designer and painter and the influences that molded her artistic life. The event is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is necessary.
Exhibits:
This is the last weekend to see Up North Landscapes, an exhibit of paintings by Douglas Ross at the Johnson Heritage Post.
The Woods are Alive, oil, by Douglas Ross, is one of the paintings currently on view at the Johnson Heritage Post.
The Heritage Post is transitioning to its summer hours next week. This week it will be open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Saturday and from 1-4 pm Sunday. Next week, it will be open from Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. Free.
This is also the last weekend to see the charcoal drawings by Dodie Logue in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park.
Two Trees, charcoal on paper, by Dodie Logue is one of her artworks on display at Tettegouche State Park.
In Duluth, the Member Show is currently on view at the Duluth Art Institute.
The annual Member Show has opened at the Duluth Art Institute.
The exhibition features work by more than 100 artists from throughout the region exhibiting everything from ceramics to paintings, fiber art, and more. The exhibit continues through June 18. The opening reception and awards ceremony is on May 31 starting at 5:30 pm.
More than 35 members of the North Shore Artists League are currently exhibiting work at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wis.
Fused glass totems by Nancy Seaton, left, and a monoprint by Lee Ross are among the works on display at the Phipps Center for the Arts.
The exhibit features a wide variety of work in different mediums and continues through July 9.
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is hosting an exhibit by Neechee Studio artists, “Oh My Creator,” a celebration of its 10th anniversary.
Respecting Family, bison jaw bones, artificial sinew, beads, paint, by Sophie Moquin, is one of the artworks in the Neechee exhibition at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
Neechee Studio is a free art and culture program for Indigenous youth ages 14-29 in Thunder Bay. Organized by a team of young, aspiring, and professional Indigenous artists, the Neechee Studio Committee team works together to bring free art workshops once a month in the city.
Oh My Creator! is about the support of many youth artists who have built up Neechee Studio into what it is today. The exhibit continues through July 16.
Upcoming:
To help kick off Cook County PRIDE Month, Drury Lane Books will host a Full Moon Rainbow Reading Bonfire starting at 5:30 pm on Saturday, June 3. It will be a LGBTQ Literary Slam.
A Full Moon Rainbow Reading and Bonfire will be held at Drury Lane Books starting at 5:30 pm on Saturday, June 3.
People are invited to bring a favorite book passage, literary monologue, or poem written by an LGBTQ writer or artist to read by the bonfire. You are also welcome to read a passage from an original song, poem or story that you wrote. Bring homemade mead, cider, and cookies to share, or just a good story to tell. Very special musical guests TBA. Free! Tourists, travelers, community members, and friends are all welcome.
The Wooden Boat Show is June 16-18 this year
Cedar strip canoes are only one of the highlights at the North House Folk School’s Wooden Boat Show. It will be June 16-18 this year. Click here to find out more to see the schedule of events, speakers and more.
Opportunities:
Sacred World Publications (Tor and Siffy Torkildson) are accepting essays about dark sky experiences in the Lake Superior region. The essays should be original, unpublished, edited, and 2,500 words or less. The 35-40 essays selected will be published in an anthology. Each author will receive a copy of the book. Once the authors are selected, they will be asked to answer 5 questions related to their dark sky and quiet experiences. These questions will be the same for each author. Submissions can be submitted to Tor Torkildson, Sacred World Publications, at: yamatork@yahoo.com no later than 01 October 2023.
Artists at Work:
Duke It Out, oil, by Patricia Canelake.
Aspen burl bowl by Lou Pignolet. He is one of the artists who will be at the Hovland Arts Festival July 1-2 at the Hovland Town Hall this year.
Sandhill Crane, Ajijaak, watercolor, by Sam Zimmerman.
Close at Hand, collagraph on stretched canvas by Noah Prinsen.
I love to see my pots in action, by Randal Anderson, member of Rogue Potters Pottery.
A generous gift, monoprint and digital, by Marty Harris.
Burnt offering XXX, enamel on clay, by Judy Stone, a member of The Enamelist Society. Photo by Dan Kivita.
Online Findings:
The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast duo of Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs met up with Kevin “The K-man” Kramer and “Omaha” Erik Dickes for the 2023 fishing opener.
The Temperance River had an unwelome and dangerous surprise for Boundary Waters Podcast co-host Joe Friedrichs. Photo by Kevin Kramer. Listen to the story here.
The group set out in search of fish and open water. Not long after portaging around a stretch of rapids on the Temperance River, the adventure went sideways. This was not the fishing opener the group expected it to be. Click here to listen to the story of a near tragedy and triumph.
Online Music:
Honoring Tina Turner today
Live Music:
Thursday, May 25:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
Friday, May 26:
- Barefoot Bluegrass, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:30 pm
Saturday, May 27:
- Tom Knutson, Senior Center Parking Lot, 10am
- Barefoot Bluegrass, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:30 pm
Sunday, May 28:
- Barefoot Bluegrass, Up Yonder, 1-4 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Tuesday, May 30:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
Thursday, June 1:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
Friday, June 2:
- The Thirsty River, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:59 pm
Saturday, June 3:
- Tom Knutson, Senior Center Parking Lot, 10am
- The Thirsty River, Up Yonder, 8:30-11:59 pm
Sunday, June 4:
- Billy Johnson, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Photographs:
We found some great photographs this week. Here’s a selection:
Wildlife:
Drumming Ruffed Grouse by Paul Sundberg.
Guatemala grasshoppers like this are all over the place by Amy Freeman.
California quail by Adam Skalzub.
Grey tree frog by Alisa Berns.
Baltimore Oriole by Thomas Spence.
Looking for lunch by David Johnson.
Red Fox Family by Thomas Spence.
A sunset swim by John Romaker.
A Morning with a Wood Duck by David Johnson.
Potpourri:
Serviceberry/Saskatoon/Juneberry bush showing off its spring splendor by Jim Boyd.
Rust spores on Spring Beauty leaf by Chuck Olsen.
The Blue Hour by Adam Malmanger.
A good day in the woods by Lou Ann Jacobson.
Landscapes, Skyscapes, Waterscapes & a Bridgescape:
Caribou Lake Aurora by Paul Sundberg.
Fun waves at Split Rock Lighthouse by Roxanne Distad.
When the skies are clear by Jeffrey Doty.
Gooseberry Dance by Christian Dalbec.
The Cascades by Hayes Scriven.
Under Superior by Christian Dalbec.
The Power of Water by Charlotte Durie.
CCC bridge in Pisgah National Forest by Bryan Hansel.
And finally, this beautiful shot of the Northern Lights by Thomas Spence was featured on spaceweather.com recently.
The Northern Lights from Schroeder by Thomas Spence.
Have a good Memorial Day Weekend, everyone.