North Shore Arts Scene

So this year, we have Gales of October! Two already this month, pushing the Big Lake into unbelievable turmoil.

On Wednesday, Oct. 10, the high waves pushed water inland, flooding Canal Park in Duluth and the Co-op parking lot in Grand Marais. Local wildlife took immediate advantage in Grand Marais, though. Check out this photo:

Look for more photos of this October gale in our photo section.

Meanwhile, to the arts & entertainment news:

A Beerthoven at Voyageur Brewing, making Japanese sweets at North House, a once-in-a-lifetime art opening at the Johnson Heritage Post and a music adventure at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts is on the tab for this weekend.

First up– the Beerthoven, where a classical string quartet from the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra will descend on Voyageur Brewing Co. at 5 p.m. on Thursday to offer musical treats for everyone.

The DSSO  musicians will perform a wide variety of music (and presumably some Beethoven) for this great event. The concert is free. Voyageur brew and appetizers are available. All invited.

And, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, North House Folk School will host “Japanese Sweets for All” in the teaching kitchen. Are you brave enough to try mochi, yokan, and ohagi?

Learn about the way Japanese people developed a variety of sweets using simple ingredients like rice and beans.  The flavors and shapes of many sweets reflect the seasons, so this is a great chance to try some fall specialties adapted for the Minnesota palate and pantry. The cost is $5. Call 387-9762 to register.

Friday evening will be busy in Grand Marais.

First, the Johnson Heritage Post opens a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of artworks by nationally acclaimed Grand Portage artist, George Morrison, with a reception from 5-7:30 p.m. The exhibit, entitled “George Morrison/Surrealist Forms & Other Drawings” will feature original and archival prints of the master’s work, some never seen before by the public.

Some of the archival prints will be for sale. The exhibit runs through Nov. 4. The Heritage Post is closed on Tuesdays. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Monday, and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

Two nationally recognized musicians will be in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Friday, too. Robert Jones & Matt Watroba, a duo from Detroit, will be showcased in this concert as they take us on a journey through traditional American musical styles drawn from many cultures.

They will present their Common Chords program “Music That Matters,” celebrating cultural and racial diversity and cooperation. Through folk, blues, spirituals, work songs, and chants, they illustrate how American roots music is rich, diverse, direct, and powerful music that reflects history, social change, migration, hopes and dreams. Woven together, these diverse traditional styles create the fabric of the great American musical tapestry.

Here’s a video of one of their performances.

Tickets are general admission: $15 adults, $5 youth 18 & under. For sale in advance at www.aca.tix.com or box office night of show (opens 6 pm).

Saturday begins with the Cook County Market, which is held in the parking lot of the Senior Center throughout the summer. There are only two more markets this season. It ends during MEA weekend. And, to accommodate the early fall this year, a friendly fire pit will be going in the middle of Market to keep people warm this year.

The Market features a wide variety of local art and artisans and runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All invited.

North House Folk School continues its focus on wool and felting this weekend with a two-day Rug Design Workshop with felter Mary Reichert. The workshop will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $25. Participants will learn about rug design and begin developing a unique one for Cook County. Registration is required. Call 387-9762 for more info and to register.

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, North House will offer Drop-in Community Rug Design Workshops from 3-8 p.m., where the public is invited to come in to make their contribution to this unique rug that says Cook County. Free. All invited.

 George Morrison’s exhibit, “Surrealist Forms & Other Drawings” continues at the Johnson Heritage Post, which opens its doors at 10 a.m. on Saturday, 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Also on tap for Saturday at the Heritage Post, is an in-gallery performance of “Musical Impressions: The Art of George Morrison” with Briand Morrison at 2 p.m.

“Musical Impressions: The Art of George Morrison” is a blu-ray disc produced by Briand  consisting of 128 images of George Morrison’s work from the 1940s through 2000. Briand will perform the compositions he wrote to accompany the images.

Then, at 3 p.m., Hazel Belvo,  Briand’s mother and George’s lifelong friend, will lead an artist tour of the exhibit.

All invited.

In Duluth, there’s a lot going on at the Tweed Museum of Art, too.

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 6:30 p.m., Peter Spooner, who was curator at the Tweed for years, will give a presentation on Swedish-American painter David Ericson.

There are five Ericson paintings on view in the “Quiet Simplicity: Life in 19th and 20th Century America” exhibit. Ericson was born in Sweden and lived in Duluth. for years.

“122 Conversations: Person to Person, Art Beyond Borders” by Anne Labovitz continues at the Tweed Museum of Art as well. The project celebrates the combined 122 years of relationship with Duluth’s five Sister Cities: Rania, Iraqi Kurdistan, Växjö, Sweden, Petrozavodsk, Russia, Thunder Bay, Canada and Ohara Isumi-City, Japan. The project is a catalyst for positive social change, one individual at a time.

“122 Conversations” is a participatory exhibition, so viewers will have the opportunity to browse through the artworks in the three galleries –Studio Gallery, Special Exhibitions Gallery, and the Activity Gallery, and create their art piece and share their message to make this world a better place.

The Tweed is also featuring “Utterance,” a senior exhibition by UMD art student, Alden Lebsack.

There are three exhibits on view at the Duluth Art Institute: Amanda Breitbach: Land/People; Nick Nerburn: Nik Nerburn is a Camera and Aaron Squadroni: Mesabi Land Portraits.

Squadroni is an artist from the Mesabi Iron Range. His work is centered on mining imagery and metalpoint drawing techniques. His most recent work focuses on the Hull Rust mine, located in Hibbing, which is one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. The exhibits continue through Oct. 28.

In Thunder Bay, Christi Belcourt’s Retrospective with Isaac Murdoch continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.

Upcoming:

The Moose Madness Festival will be held Friday, Oct. 19 through Sunday, Oct. 21, and features all kinds of family activities, contests, presentations and more, including events at North House Folk School and the Grand Marais Art Colony.

 Check out the Moose Madness Tribune for all the info here.

Make-A-Bowl for Empty Bowls. The Grand Marais Art Colony is holding Make-A-Bowl events for the public to make bowls for the Empty Bowls Fundraiser Nov. 15. Empty Bowls raises money to feed the hungry in Cook County.

There are opportunities to make ceramic bowls Oct. 19 and Oct. 21. People can make glass bowls in the glass studio on Oct. 22. For more info, click here or call 387-2737 for more info.

Artist News:

North Shore Folk-tonk duo Pushing Chain returned to WTIP’s The Scenic Route with Will Moore to talk about their new album called “Sorrows Always Swim.”

Moore talks to Boyd “Bump” Blomberg and fiddler Adam Moe about producing the new album and they play the a few songs.  Listen here.

One of NorthShore ArtScene’s favorite photographers, Jan Swart, is profiled in the latest issue of Lake Superior Magazine.

The title of the article is “Cityscapes & Shorelines: The Photography of Jan Swart.” Read the article and see more photographs here.

Requests:

Volunteers and sponsors are needed for the Empty Bowls Fundraiser, which is Nov. 15. this year. There will be two seatings, lunch and dinner, and will be held at St. John’s Catholic Church. Proceeds from Empty Bowls helps fight hunger in Cook County. For more info, click here or contact Beth Kennedy at bkennedy@boreal.org or Pat Companaro at pcampanaro@gmail.com

Looking  for old Playhouse photos! As the Playhouse builds towards its 50th anniversary, it is looking for photos of past productions to add to its files. Contact Sue Hennessy if you find some at sue@grandmaraisplayhouse.com

 Music:

Here’s the music for the week:

Thursday, Oct. 11:

• Common Ground, Cascade Lodge, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, North Shore Winery, 6 p.m.
• DSSO String Quartet, Voyageur Bewing Co., 6 p.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
• Gene Lafond and Amy Grill, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 12:

• Timmy Haus, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4 p.m.
• Robert Jones and Matt Watroba, Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 7 p.m.
• Don Juan Trio, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Saints of Circumstance, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 13:

• SonofMel, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Lutsen, 7 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Log Cabin Concert, 7 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Doug Otto and the Getaways, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Saints of Circumstance, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• DJ Beavstar, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 17:

• Joe Paulik, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.

We found lots of photos this week. Let’s start with wildlife:

 

 

 

 

Fall colors:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a selection of storm shots we’ve found so far…more next week.

 

Here are some of the Oct. 10 storm mages we found: More next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay safe, everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of our favorite weekends on the North Shore. The Fall Studio Tour is on-going through Sunday, and the leaves are at peak in the maple forests. Plus that, it’s crispy fall weather. Time for lots of fun.

We start off on Thursday with a fall event to help the hungry, when the Grand Marais Art Colony opens the clay studio to the public to Make-A-Bowl for the Empty Bowl Fundraiser, an annual fundraiser to help the hungry in Cook County.

For a donation of $5 to cover material costs, the public is invited to come into the studio where they will throw a bowl on a wheel and then handbuild a bowl, which will be donated to Empty Bowls. The Make-A-Bowl sessions continue through October. The next session is from 1-2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4. Call 287-2737 to make a reservation. All invited.

Also on Thursday, North House Folk School welcomes felt maker Mary Reichert to a month-long residency in October. During her stay, she will conduct classes, demonstrations and talks. This Thursday, at 7 p.m., she will host a Feltmaking Skill Share and Presentation in the Blue Building at 7 p.m. This will be a quick introduction to the magic of felt-making.  Explore some of the many variations of raw wool, and then see for yourself what happens when you apply a little water, soap, and agitation.  You will come to understand why this was one of the main fabrics for generations of nomads of Central Asia as you create your own coasters or trivet.

One of the projects Mary wants to do while she is here is make a felted a rug with members of the community. Felted rug making is an art of storytelling and the rug the community will make will reflect that fact.

Classes will be offered in this process as well as open studios for the public to come in and help out.

Click here for all the classes and opportunities with Mary Reichert. She will also be giving demonstrations at various locations in the county as well.

This is the final weekend of the Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour — it ends on Sunday. The tour features more than 20 studios and 50 local artists and artisans in Cook County demonstrating and exhibiting their work from 10 a.m. to 4-6 p.m. daily.. Here’s a map of all the studios in the tour:

Here is a brief sampling of what you can see on the tour. (For the complete schedule of events, click here. For the Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour brochure, click here.

Here are a few things you will see on the Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour.

Quite a selection, ah? And this is just a small taste of what is being offered during the Fall Studio tour this year.

There’s more happening this weekend, too.

The Cook County Market will be held in the Senior Center parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, featuring work by Cook County artists and artisans.

One of the highlights of the first weekend in October is the raku opportunity at Sivertson Gallery on Saturday.

Award-winning raku artists, Richard Gruchalla and Carrie Rosetti, set up a  table full of tea bowls to be glazed, a raku kiln and a glazing tent in the parking lot behind the gallery and offer the public the chance to glaze a pot and watch it being fired. There’s a small charge for the tea bowl, and Rosetti is there to help you glaze it. Richard then fires the pot, and you can bring it home when it’s done.  All invited.

And there’s fused glass demonstration at the Grand Marais Art Colony from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with Nancy Seaton.

And woodcut printmaker Richard James Nelson will give an Artist Talk at Cook County Higher Education at 7 p.m. on Saturday. All invited. Free.

Exhibits:

This is the last weekend to see the exhibit, Grand Marais Plein Air 2018 at the Johnson Heritage Post. The exhibit features a great selection of plein air paintings crafted by 70 plein air painters during the week-long event.

And Patricia Canelake’s exhibition. “Blue Horses Golden Goat” continues at Yellow Bird Fine Art through Sunday.

In Duluth, the Tweed Museum of Art has opened a spectacular exhibit entitled “122 Conversations: Person to Person, Art Beyond Borders” last week.

For it, Anne Labovitz travelled to Duluth’s five sister cities and worked with the communities there. This artist-led project based on the art of engagement — art derived from the process of interconnection and cross-cultural dialogue. The project celebrates the combined 122 years of relationship with Duluth’s five sister Cities: Rania, Iraqi Kurdistan, Växjö, Sweden, Petrozavodsk, Russia, Thunder Bay, Canada and Ohara Isumi-City, Japan. The project is a catalyst for positive social change, one individual at a time. This is a not-to-be missed exhibit. It continues through Jan. 6.

In Thunder Bay, the Definitely Superior Art Gallery has once again launched one of the largest poetry performances in Canada — Random Acts of Poetry. In it, 25 of Thunder Bay’s finest professional spoken-word poets and singer/songwriters perform for the public in a week-long unique series throughout the City of Thunder Bay.They perform everywhere … at the library, at City Council meetings, on street corners… Click here to learn more.

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery offers Chill Nights at the Gallery in the fall offering a relaxed approach to art appreciation and well-being in the gallery space.

Participants can enjoy meditation, music, yoga, walking, grounding exercises, sensory exploration and art making with guest artists and or practitioners. Cost is $7. Chill Nights are held from 6:3-7:30 p..m. (EDT) pm Tuesdays through Nov. 27, except on Oct. 20.

Upcoming:

The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra’s String Quartet will perform at Voyageur Brewing Co. from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. This traveling quartet gives a great show. All invited.

The Johnson Heritage Post will open a new exhibit of George Morrison’s work on Friday, Oct. 12 with an opening reception from 5-7:30 p.m.

The Johnson Heritage Post will open an exhibit of George Morrison’s work on Oct. 12.

Entitled” George Morrison: Surrealist Forms and other Drawings,” the exhibit will include his drawings and prints. Briand Morrison, George’s son, will perform the music from his video, “Musical Impressions: The Art of George Morrison”  at the opening. On Saturday, Oct. 13, Briand will screen the video at 2 p.m. at the Heritage Post. Stay tuned for details.

Also on Friday, Oct. 12, the North Shore Music Association will present Robert Jones & Matt Watroba: Common Chords, in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts.  The concert is at 7 p.m.

Check them out:

Music:

Here’s the music for this week:

Thursday, Oct. 4:

•  Gene LaFond & Amy Grillo, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, North Shore Winery, 7 p.m.
• Billy Johnson. Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 5:

• Billy Johnson, Voyageur Brewing, 4 p.m.
• Pushing Chain, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Jim & Michele Miller, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 6

• Joe Paulik, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Log Cabin Concert, rural Grand Marais, 7 p.m., reservations www.michaelmonroemusic.com
• Gordon Thorne, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 7:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.

Monday, Oct. 8:

• John Mark Nelson, Singer/Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 8:30 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 10:

• Gordon Thorne,  Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

We found lots of great photos this week. Let’s start with wildlife:

 

 

 

And more mushrooms:

 

 

A spectacular agate:

Plants:

 

 

And here are some shots of individual leaves:

 

 

Many leaves:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And water:

 

 

And finally, this one:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Whew! This is the weekend for art studio tours on the North Shore, that’s for sure.  Three studio tours open this weekend,  (Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour, the Lake Superior 20/20 Art Studio Tour and the Cooter Tonder & Friends Studio Sale), and there are opening receptions for three art exhibits, too. Plus, there’s lots of music and an incredible number of art-related events, demos and talks in Cook County over the next 10 days. So let’s get to the details:

First up is the Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour which runs from Friday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 7 throughout Cook County. The tour includes a total of 21 art studios and galleries representing 50 local and regional artists. They all will be open to the public for 10 days, with receptions, art events, talks, demos and more.

All the studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 4-6 p.m. daily, and there’s really a lot to see. Paintings, pottery, bead art, weaving, sculpture, woodcut prints, glass, photographs, jewelry, etchings and book illustrations and more will be on exhibit at the studios and galleries during the tour.

Many of the galleries and studios have organized events, talks and demos during the tour. It’s quite a list. Want to learn how to throw a pot? There are a demos at the Big Lake (Hannah Laky Palma) and the Grand Marais Art Colony (Natalie Sobanja, Kathy Reeves & Joan Farnam.) How about watching a printmaker at work? (Betsy Bowen Studio and Dan & Lee Ross). You can see a bronze pour at the Mueller Studio (Formerly Last Chance Gallery in Lutsen) at 4 p.m. on both Saturdays, or watch a raku firing a Clay Phoenix Ceramics in Lutsen on several days. Lou Pignolet, a woodturner in Hovland, will be giving wood-turning demonstrations every day and painter Kathy Fox Weinberg will offer a canvas for a community paint during the tour. Bead painting demos with Jo Wood, woodcarving demos and more are scheduled for this tour, as is an oil painting demo with Paula Gustafson at Yellow Bird Fine Arts.

There will be art talks, too. Natalie Sobanja and Martye Allen will give talks about ceramics at the Frykman Art Studio & Art of the Elements Gallery and  John Books will talk about bronze sculpture, Ron Piercy will demonstrate cutting semi-precious stones for jewelry at Yellowbird Fine Art … the list, goes on and on. There will be film screenings at the Grand Marais Art Colony during the next week, too, and activities for kids (and adults) at Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery in Lutsen where Tim Young is the artist-in-residence.

Take a look at the Daily Event Schedule Fall Tour Schedule here.

Here’s where all the galleries are located and check out the Art Along the Lake Facebook page here for lots of images of what you will see.

Meanwhile, in Lake County, two art studio tours are scheduled.

This is the 7th year for the Lake Superior 20/20 Art Studio Tour, which features studios within 20 miles of Two Harbor. The tour is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Glass, ceramics, woodwork, painting, printmaking, jewelry, sculpture, and photography, including work by painter David Gilsvik are featured on this tour. Demos, hands-on activities and refreshments are also planned. . Check out this Facebook Page for more details.

The Cooter Tonder & Friends Studio Sale will be held this weekend, too, at the studios of potter Dick Cooter and handweaver Debbie Cooter and glass artists Michael Tonder and Jodi Friej-Tonder. The studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Both studios will feature a variety of guest artists. Check out their Facebook page, here, for more images and info.

And not to forget–all the studios in the art tours serve refreshments, and many of the artists are on-site. Plus that, the leaves are turning, so get ready for a great visual experience.

Meanwhile, there are lots of other events in Cook County this weekend, too.

First up is the Grand Opening for two businesses in Lutsen: the Jeweler of the North Shore and H. Lill’s Boutique from 4-6:30p.m. on Friday. These two businesses combine custom design jewelry, jewelry repair, gifts, home décor and yarn. The public is invited. Refreshments will be served.

Also at 4 p.m. on Friday– the opening reception for Patricia Canelake’s “Blue Horses and Golden Goat” exhibit at Yellow Bird Fine Art. The opening reception will be held from 4-7 p.m. in the Annex.

The exhibit feature Canelake’s large format paintings of farm life. All invited. Refreshments will be served.The exhibit continues through Oct.7.

Also on Friday at 4 p.m., Upstate MN will hold an opening reception for an exhibit of artwork by Andy Ness.

Ness is an accomplished artist who has a graduate degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he subsequently taught. Ness is  opening of an exhibit of his work in Ferrara, Italy next week, and will not be able to attend the opening reception, however, all are invited to come see his work. Refreshments will be served. The exhibit will continue at Upstate MN through the Fall Studio Tour.

And finally, The Grand Marais Art Colony will hold an opening reception for member artists who will be exhibiting in the Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour on Friday.

The opening reception is from 5-7 p.m. Refreshments will be served. All invited.

Also on Friday, Drury Lane Books will host a Writer’s Salon featuring Patricia Hampl, the author of “The Art of the Wasted Day.”

Hampl will talk about her books and writing starting at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, the Cook County Market begins the day in the Senior Center parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market features a variety of Cook County artists and artisans.

For writers, the Grand Marais Public Library will be hosting a writer’s workshop with Elyse Lawrey, who writes under the name Maddie LeSage. She is a published author from Duluth. The workshop is from 2:30-6 p.m. on Saturday, and participants will write a short piece of “flash fiction” during that time. LeSage writes romantic suspense fiction. The event is free.

And at 7 p.m. on Saturday, the Violence Prevention Center will present “Lunafest” at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts from 7-9 p.m.

Lunafest is a fundraiser for the Violence Prevention Center. The short films cover a wide range of issues as well as styles. Recommended.

Exhibits:

The exhibit, Grand Marais Plein Air, continues at the Johnson Heritage Post, featuring work by the 70 plein air artists who participated this year.

In all, 300 paintings were exhibited at the opening last Friday. Many have sold, and reserves put up in their place, so the show stays fresh for multiple viewings.

We also found an image of the winner of the Night Paint competition during Grand Marais Plein Air. Take a look:

In Duluth, the Tweed Museum of Art continues its exhibit of native artwork from the Pacific Northwest. Here’s a moon mask.

In Thunder Bay, the Christi Belcourt Retrospective with Isaac Murdoch continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. Here’s a painting from that exhibit, which continues through November.

FYI:

WTIP and its listeners are missing Senior News Editor Jay Andersen’s friendly voice on the radio. Jay has been ill since late August. Andersen has worn many hats, including being the director of the Grand Marais Art Colony, the founder of the Arrowhead Center for the Arts and the former editor of the Cook County News-Herald, to name a few.

He’s at St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth and is in need of good cheer. Cards and visits are welcome. Just contact the hospital and ask for his mailing address and room number: (218) 249-5555. A bank account has been set up for his recovery fund at the North Shore Federal  Credit Union under “Friends of Jay and Tamera Andersen.”  Call the bank at 218-387-1312 for more info.

In color news, Lutsen Mountains has just installed a fall color cam that captures high resolution images every 10 minutes. Here’s what David Johnson found when he was out photographing around Lutsen Mountains the other day.

Check out the fall color cam here.

In music, WTIP Community Radio attended the Woods, Winds and Strings .. and a Little Jazz concert a few weeks ago. The concert is a fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department.

To listen to the concert, click here.

And, just to complicate your life, we are going to post the Fall Studio Tour events schedule again. There’s lots going on in the next 10 days. Check it out.

Music:

Here’s the music schedule for this week:

Thursday, Sept. 27:

• Polkariety, Voyageur Brewing, 5 p.m.
• Frozen Britches, Cascade Lodge. 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
• Maria Nickolay, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, North Shore Winery, 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 28:

• Polkaviety, Voyageur Brewing, 5 p.m.
• Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 29:

• Log Cabin Concert, Michael Monroe, rural Grand Marais, 7 p.m. Reservations at michaelmonroemusic.com
• Circuit Breakers, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• TBA, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m..

Sunday, Sept. 30:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.
• Eric Frost, Acoustic Sunday at the North Shore Winery, 2 p.m.
• Open Stage, Joe Paulik, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• TBA, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 31:

• Irish Sessions with Tom, Eric & Michelle, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.
• Sofia Talvik, Monday Singer/Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 8:30 p.m.
• Pete Kavanaugh, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 3:

• Gordon Thorne, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Photographs:

So, it’s fall color season and mushroom season. Here are some great images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found some wildlife photos, too:

 

 

Here are some great landscapes, too:

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the week, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September is the month to celebrate art on the North Shore. First up, the Grand Marais Plein Air exhibit. Next, Art Along the Lake’s Fall Studio Tour. Add in lots of live music and fall colors and it’s easy to see why this is one of the most popular seasons of all.

Grand Marais Plein Air registered 75 artists in this year’s event, and they painted up a storm in Cook County for a week. They held paint-outs at various locations throughout the county, set up at night for a Night Paint, and participated in a Quick Paint at Artist’s Point to cap off the week. All of this work was on display at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday. The exhibit continues through Oct. 7.

Here are images of the Main Category winners in Grand Marais Plein Air 2018.  Jeffrey T. Larson was the juror.

There were a number of different categories in this year’s show, which was co-sponsored by the Johnson Heritage Post and Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, including the Night Paint and the Quick Paint competitions. Hannah Heyer won the Night Paint category with “Light Keeper’s Place,” and Dan Mondloch won the Quick Paint competition with “Crisp and Clean.”

Check out the Johnson Heritage Post web page for all the details, photographs,  winners and more.

The Heritage Post is closed on Tuesdays. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Monday and from 1-4 p.m. on Sundays. Everyone is invited to come see this great show celebrating the beauties of the North Shore.

Last weekend, music was the headliner as musicians from around the region as well as West Virginia converged on the Grand Marais Rec Park for three days of music at the Radio Waves Music Festival.

There’s another 3-day music event this weekend at Wunderbar Campground and Eatery. Entitled  the Stomper’s Retreat, it features a great selection of local and regional musicians playing the three-day event, Thursday through Saturday on indoor and outdoor stages.

Musicians include Gabe Douglas and 4onthefloor, Tabah, Superior Siren, Plucked Up String Band, Sarah Krueger, RLGDPPL and the Whiskey Rock ‘n Roll Club. For tickets, click here.

Also on Thursday, North House Folk School will hold “Try-it: Baking in a Wood-Fired Oven.” There are two sessions: 1-3 p.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m. Cost is $20 per person or $30 for adult/child. To register, call 398-9762.

And if you’re in Duluth, consider attending the opening reception of Resonance: A Celebration of the Art of John Steffl at the North Shore Bank of Commerce, 131 W Superior St., in Duluth. The reception will be from 5-7 p.m. Thursday.

The work of late Duluth arts icon John Steffl spans mediums, ideas and time. His exhibit will include paintings, pottery, photography and more. Steffl was the executive director of the Duluth Art Institute for years and his impact on artists and art in the region reverberates across individuals and institutions. “Resonance” is an exhibition in celebration of the lasting beauty he leaves for the community. All invited. Free and open to the public.

On Friday, North House hosts “Try-it: Timber Framing” from 10 a.m. to noon. Students will be introduced to the concept of timber framing by exploring timber framing tools, joinery, and history. As a group, students will raise a small timber frame and take it apart.

On Saturday, look for the Cook County Market in the Senior Center parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring a great variety of local artists and artisans.

Drury Lane Books will host award-winning Canadian author Jean Pendziwol at a Writer’s Salon from 7-8 p.m. on Saturday. At the Salon, Pendziwol will explores the influence of place on her work through an examination of the setting of her bestselling debut novel “The Lightkeeper’s Daughters.” The novel is set on Porphyry Island on Lake Superior.

Pendziwol is the author of nine books for children. She was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Children’s Literature and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award for her picture book, “Once Upon a Northern Night,” illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. She lives in Ontario, in the shadow of the Nor’Wester Mountains. “The Lightkeeper’s Daughters” is her first novel. All invited.

Also on Saturday night, Pura Fé will be in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. A member of the Tuscarora Indian Nation, Pura Fé is co-founder of the Native women’s a capella trio Ulali and is recognized for bringing Native contemporary music to the forefront of the mainstream music industry.

 

Pura Fé  is a multi-talented artist  and studied and performed with the American Ballet Theatre Company and appeared in Broadway musicals. And she has shared bills with artists including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Miriam Makeba, John Trudell, Richie Havens, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and the Neville Brothers. The concert is sponsored by the North Shore Music Association. Tickets are general admission: www.tix.com, 218-370-1272, or at the door night of show.

On Monday, Drury Lane Books will host a Full Moon Reading by the bonfire with Rachel Andres. Each full moon the community gathers outside around the fire to hear local writers read their own work or the work of others. Everyone is invited. to enjoy the spoken word and the moon rising over the lake. The reading starts at 6:30 p.m.

And next Tuesday, Sept. 25, Anna Hamilton will read from her first novel, “Boy” at Cook County Higher Education at 7 p.m.

“Boy” is a story about a few weeks in the lives of Hugh and Betty Roberts, an elderly couple living alone on a family farm in Iowa. They are buried deep in grief over the loss of their only child and struggling to hang onto the only life they have ever known when Dementia sneaks in. But an unusual visitor brings a welcome distraction and reprieve just before Thanksgiving. All invited. Free.

Exhibits:

The Duluth Art Institute just opened three new exhibits: Nik Newborn: Nik Nerburn is a Camera, Aaron Sqaudroni: Mesabi Land Portraits and Amanda Breitbach: Land/People.

In the Twin Cities, Alison Aune and Kirsten Aune are exhibiting their work at the American Swedish Institute with an opening Sept. 22. The title of their exhibit is “Colors from the North.”

The Aune sisters explore the intersection of craft, art and heritage in this exhibit with a combination of textiles, prints and paintings. In their work, each artist honors their family and cultural roots and pays tribute to women’s artistic and domestic contributions. The exhibit continues through Oct. 28.

Upcoming:

 Next weekend is the tour de force for the art scene on the North Shore. The Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour should be pretty incredible this year, with more than 50 artists exhibiting in studios and galleries up and down Hwy. 61. Potters, painters, fiber artists, printmakers, sculptors, weavers, woodturners, bead painters, glass artists and more are represented in this outstanding Cook County event.

The Fall Studio Tour, which is sponsored by Visit Cook County, features exhibits as well as artist talks, art openings, receptions, demonstrations, films, raku firings, wine and campfire chats and more for the entire length of the event, which runs from Sept. 28 through Oct. 7. Studios are open from 10 a.m. to 4-6 p.m. daily, with artists in residence and refreshments for all.

At the Grand Marais Art Colony, potters as well as glass artists will be represented and an opening reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28.

And there will be opportunities for hands-on activities at various sites.

Tim Young will be the artist in residence at Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery in Lutsen, for example, where he will be painting as well as reading stories about the Adventures of Mr. Pumpkinhead. Pumpkin carving is on that menu.

It is pretty impossible to document all the artwork that will be on display during the Fall Studio Tour, but here’s a map of all the studios and galleries that will be open:

And here’s a link to the scheduled activities. And here’s a link to the brochure. Put this event on your calendar…P.S. fall colors are a perk during this event. Stay tuned for more images and info next week.

Here’s something new that’s coming up at the Grand Marais Art Colony in November: The North Shore Illustrators Gathering. The event will be held at the Art Colony Nov. 1-3 and will feature workshops by published illustrators,  authors, and book professionals who will share their knowledge and expertise about the illustrative process.

Featured presenters include Betsy Bowen, Mary Casanova, Chris Monroe, Jonathan Thunder, Kari Vick, Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux and  Nick Wrobleweski, to name a few. Click here for more info.

Music:

Here’s the music for this week:

Thursday, Sept. 20:

• Stomper’s Retreat, Wunderbar, 5 p.m.,  4onthefloor, Silverback Colony, Sarah Krueger, Tabah
• Kilbron Quartet, Date Night, North Shore Winery, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats with Randy Sabien, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
• John Russ, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 21:

• Jim McGowan, Voyageur Brewing Co, 4 p.m.
• Stomper’s Retreat, Wunderbar, many bands, 5 p.m.
• Space Monkey Mafia, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 22:

• Stomper’s Retreat, Wunderbar, many bands, 5 p.m.
• Maria Nickolay, Cascade Lodge, 6 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Log Cabin Concert, 7 p.m. rural Grand Marais, www.michaelmonroemusic.com
• Space Monkey Mafia, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Dance Party with DJ Beavstar, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 23:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.
• Maria Nickolay, Acoustic Sunday at North Shore Winery, 2 p.m.
• Stomper’s Retreat, Wunderbar, 4 p.m.
• Open Stage, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 24:

• Erik Koskinen, Singer/Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 8:30 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 26:

• Pete Kavanaugh, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Photographs:

Here are some of the photos we found this week:

First: Wildlife…

 

 

 

And, evidence of wildlife activity…

Plants and trees:

 

Lighthouses:

 

Skyscapes:

 

 

Water:

 

 

 

And last, but not least, Fall begins.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, the second week of September is here, and we can look forward to two stellar events:  Plein Air Grand Marais and North House Folk School‘s Unplugged xvii. Lots to do and see. And, of course, as the photograph above shows, fall colors are starting in the woods, and the weather has been perfect.

Plein Air Grand Marais, co-sponsored by the Johnson Heritage Post and Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, has been on-going for almost a week now and early paintings from the artists’ work are beginning to be emerge.

On Wednesday night, Yellow Bird Fine Art held an opening exhibit for the painters in the Open Class at the gallery’s annex.  Plein air painter Marge Brackin won first place with her painting, “Red Cliff.” The award includes an invitation to participate in the juried competition next year.

All the paintings submitted for the Open Class show will be on exhibit at Yellow Bird Fine Art Gallery through Sunday.

Meanwhile, Plein Air Grand Marais continues. First up is a panel discussion with three of Minnesota’s internationally-acclaimed painters – Jeffrey T. Larson, Mary Petti  and Andy Evansen at the Johnson Heritage Post at noon on Thursday. They will discuss the history and importance of plain air painting. The public is invited.

Then, at 3 p.m. on Thursday, the painters will gather on Artist’s Point for one of the most popular events of the week: The Quick Paint. Painters are given an hour to complete a painting and then display them along the shore. The public is invited to watch as empty canvases are transformed into beauteous renditions of the North Shore and Lake Superior. The event is held from 3-5 p.m.

Afterwards, the painters will gather at the Harbor Picnic Shelter at the Grand Marais Municipal Campground to sing, play music along with OPM’s ad-hoc band “The Plein Errors,” and celebrate the week’s painting achievements.

On Friday, look for the gala opening reception at the Johnson Heritage Post from 6-8 p.m., where more than 300 paintings by 75 plein air painters will be on exhibit through Oct. 7. It will be a fun time as the paintings themselves are extraordinary, and there’s lots of excitement as the awards are announced. Overall awards will be given for 1st-3rd place, as well as Best Historic Place and the Sense of Place Award. There will also be Night Paint awards and Quick Paint Awards as well an award for the winner of the Berney Quick Artist’s Choice competition.

It’s a little early to show what the painters have done, but we did find two great Night Paints. Look for more photos of the paintings next week.

 

Meanwhile, North House Folk School‘s Unplugged xvii, is on-going as well. This very popular event  runs from Sept. 14-16, and features lots of music, craft, and storytelling as well as classes, a Folk Artisan Marketplace and an on-line auction.

The Folk Artisan Marketplace opens on Friday from noon to 7 p.m. and will also be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Look for baskets, felted goods, carved bowls and spoons, jewelry, leather goods, and more.

Artisans this year will include Beth Dow, Carol Dunn, Marybeth Garmoe, Todd Hawkinson, Mike Loeffler, Cathryn Peters, Alex Yerks, Kim Garrett and Rebecca Utecht.

Also on Friday night, North House will host the Birchbark Bash from 5-9 p.m. featuring a live craft performance by Jögge Sundqvist, a multi-course dinner by Scott Graden of the New Scenic Cafe and a live auction. All proceeds go to support the educational mission of North House. Tickets are still available! Call 387-9762 for more info.

There are a wide variety of classes and min-classes offered on Saturday, too, including a chance to join the choir for a performance on Saturday night, learn about the Ukulele with Prudence Johnson as well as a Viking cooking demonstration.

On Saturday night is the Unplugged performance, which begins at 7 p.m. This year’s line-up includes storyteller Kevin Kling and singer/songwriters Marc Anderson, Dan Chouinard,  Bradley Greenwald, Prudence Johnson, Simone Perrin, Claudia Schmidt and Dane Stauffer will perform. This is always a great concert and fills the big tent at North House.

Tickets are still available. Click here for more info and tickets.

There are other activities and events this weekend, too.

On Friday, the Minnesota Zoomobile will be at the Grand Marais Public Library from 4-5 p.m. The Zoomobile includes live animals, storytelling, research techniques and audience participation to create a fun program for all ages. All invited. Free.

On Saturday, the Cook County Market, featuring work by a variety of local artists and artisans, opens in the Senior Center parking lot at 9 a.m. and runs to 1 p.m.

Up the Gunflint Trail, Gunflint Lodge will host a Fall Color Ride from 9:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on trails in the Superior National Forest. Call 388-2294 for reservations.

Also on Saturday, Amy Lucas-Peroceski, who wrote “Arthur Zac’s Amazing Zebras,” will talk about her book at the Grand Marais Public Library at 10:30 a.m.

The second part of the program will feature how to draw a zebra on 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock. Preschoolers will paint with water soluble oil pastels. Adults will further enhance their zebra by adding background to the picture. The event is free and open to the public.

And at 2 p.m.on Saturday, Staci Drouillard will give a presentation at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center on the Gunflint Trail.

Drouillard’s grandfather, Fred Drouillard and grandmother, Lola, had worked at Chik-Wauk Resort in the 1930s and 1940s. Fred was a fishing guide on Saganaga Lake and Lola cooked three meals a day at the resort. Fred and Lola would spend every summer at Chik-Wauk living in the Raven’s Nest cabin. Staci’s father, Francis, started work as a bait and dock helper at Chik-Wauk and by the age of 16, was working as a fishing guide alongside his dad. The presentation is free.

Exhibits:

 Landscape painter Greg Prelicka  is exhibiting his work in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park through October.

In Duluth, the Duluth Art Institute will host an opening reception for two new exhibits from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday. “Land/People” by Amanda Breitbach explores the decline of family farming and the emotional and spiritual issues that underlie the human relationship to land, making larger, universal relationships visible through Breitbach’s, and her family’s own experiences in Montana.

The DAI is also opening an exhibit by Aaron Squadroni entitled “Mesabi Land Portraits.” His work is centered on mining imagery and metalpoint drawing techniques. This particular exhibit focuses on the Hull Rust mine in Hibbing, one of the largest open-pit mines in the world.  Both artists will be at the opening reception. All invited.

In Thunder Bay, Christi Belcourt‘s exhibit: “Uprising: The Power of Mother Earth, A Retrospective with Isaac Murdoch” continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery with a great selection of her work.

Also in Thunder Bay, check out the new art murals by the diE Active Art Collective on Cooke Steet in Waterfront District downtown.

 Also in Thunder Bay, the Baggage Building Arts Center is exhibiting costumes created for the plays they have produced there.

 Upcoming:

 The North Shore Music Association is bringing Pura Fé to the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Sept. 22. Co-founder of the Indigenous women’s a capella trio Ulali and member of the Tuscarora Indian Nation, Pura Fé is recognized for bringing Native contemporary music to the forefront of the mainstream music industry. Her group, Ulali, played the music for Sherman Alexie’s movie, “Smoke Signals.” She will perform at solo concert starting 7:30 p.m. Here’s an example of her music:

And, starting on Sept. 28 and running through Oct. 7, the Fall Studio Tour will be held in Cook County. Featuring work by more than 50 local artists in studios and galleries throughout the county, the tour offers visitors the chance to see new work and talk to the artists who made it.

For many featured artists, these 10 days are the only time they open their studios to the public all year. Access to some of the artists featured on the fall art tour is limited, since they do only a few art shows per year and limited online sales.  “We have had customers fly in from around the country to come to the Studio Tour,” said Dan and Lee Ross, who are sculpture and print artists. This year, Lee Ross will debut her new glass work.

Last year, there were more than 1,350 fall art tour visitors. The art tour also features a variety of demonstrations and talks by the artists. Stay tuned for details. For more info, click here.

Music:

Here’s the music schedule for this week:

Thursday, Sept. 13:

• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, North Shore Winery, 6 p.m.
• Frozen Britches, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 14:

• Kyle Ollah, Voyageur Brewing, 4 p.m.
• Jim & Michele Miller, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.
• Don Juan Trio, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• TBA, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• The Millers, Bluefin,  8 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 15:

• Jim & Michele, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Grandma Ray’s, 7 p.m.
• Ghost Wagon, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Dance Party with DJ Beavstar, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 16:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.
• Ghost Wagon, Wunderbar Brunch, 11 a.m.
• Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 2 p.m.
• Open Stage with Joe Paulik, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• Jim & Michele Miller, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 17:

• Trevor James Americana Rebel, Monday Night Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 8:30 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept, 19:

• Gordon Thorne, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

We found lots of photos this week:

First, a flower:

And a mushroom:

And a sunrise spider web:

We found a few wildlife shots:

 

Here are some sunrises and sunsets.

 

 

 

And a great northern lights shot:

And here is water:

 

And finally, this beauty:

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

 

(Psst: If you enjoy reading NorthShore ArtScene every week, consider making a donation today. And Thank You!)

 

 

 

September is always busy on the North Shore, with music festivals and art events, as well as the beauteous colors of fall that start popping out all over. We are already getting reports of Moose Maples turning red and some maple trees have already started declaring that fall is here.

Meanwhile, we get to enjoy a lot of art and music. This month, look for the WTIP’s Radio Waves Music Festival this weekend and North House Folk School‘s “Unplugged” next weekend. Also, the Grand Marais Plein Air Competition and Exhibit starts on Friday as artists get their canvases and set out to paint the county for a week. Their work will be on exhibit at the Yellow Bird Fine Art Gallery next Wednesday and at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday. At the end of the month, the Fall Studio Tour opens, with art events up and down Cook County through Oct. 7.

Here are some details:

First up is the on-going instructor-in-residence program at North House Folk School, where instructors give demonstrations of their work on Thursday through Sunday and offer a mini-class on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. This week, Jess Hirsch will talk about and demonstrate natural dying of wood.

The public is invited to come watch her work. To register for the min-class, call North House at 387-9762 or drop by. All welcome.

This is the weekend for WTIP’s 11th annual Radio Waves Music Festival, which draws hundreds of people to Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Recreation Park to listen to an incredible variety of music for three days.

Radio Waves  kicks off at 4 p.m. on Friday  with the Cook County Community Swing Band. More than 30 acts are scheduled to perform during the 3-day festival.

This music festival is a great opportunity for the community to get together and celebrate. There is children’s tent, food vendors and campsites available for those who want to spend the entire weekend enjoying the music.

Local bands are always well represented at this music festival and this year is no exception. There are also bands from around the region and the Carpenter Ants, which are coming from West Virginia to play the Saturday night show and the Gospel Hour on Sunday morning.

Here is the complete schedule of music for the weekend, courtesy of WTIP Community Radio.

Friday, Sept. 7:

4:00 – 5:00 pm	North Shore Community Swing Band
5:10 – 5:50 pm	SVEA
6:00 – 6:40 pm	Dlutkowskis
6:50 – 7:40 pm	Brothers in Arms
7:50 – 8:40  pm	Pete K
8:50 – 10:00 pm	Rich Mattson & the Northstars

 Saturday, Sept. 8:

11:00-11:40 am	Jim McGowan
11:50- 12:30 pm	Mysterious Ways
12:40-1:20 pm	Gene and Amy
1:30 – 2:10	Portage
2:20 – 3:00  pm	Aho Family
3:10 – 3:50 pm	Maria Nickolay
4:00-4:40 pm	Axtell
4:50-5:40 pm	Plucked Up String Band
5:50-6:30 pm	Common Ground
6:40-7:30pm	Cook County’s Most Wanted
7:40-8:20 pm	Lake Effect
8:30 pm-10:00pm	Carpenter Ants

 

Sunday, Sept. 9: 

10 to 11:30	Gospel Show with Carpenter Ants
11:40 to 12:20	Jim & Michele Miller
12:30 to 1:10	Casey Aro
1:20 to 2:00	Cherry Dirt
2:10 to 3:00	Sam Miltich and Briand Morrison
3:10 to 3:50	Gillis & Stamps
4:00 to 5:30	SplinterTones

Tickets are $10 per day, $20 for the entire weekend and can be purchased at the door. See you there!

Also this weekend, Grand Marais Plein Air begins. This year, the event is a collaboration between Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and the Johnson Heritage Post. More than  75 plain air painters have registered for the event, and they will be painting throughout the county for the next week. Their work will be exhibited in two galleries this year: Yellow Bird Fine Art Gallery will hold an opening reception from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12, for the plain air painters registered for the Open Class. A gala reception and award event will be held at the Johnson Heritage Post from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14, featuring up to 300 plain air paintings by artists juried into the show. Jeffrey T. Larson is the juror this year.

This year’s Plein Air festival will have a number of new features, including demonstrations, art events for kids, daily paint-outs at locations around the county, and 13 mini workshops taught by well-known plein air artists throughout the region. David Gilsvik starts out the workshop series on Saturday. Other well-known presenters include Neil Sherman, Lisa Stauffer, Michele Combs, Tom McGregor, Kami Mendlik, Matt Kania and more. The cost of a workshop is $50. To find out more, see www.outdoorpaintersofminnesota.org.

There will be a Quick Paint on Artist’s Point again this year. It will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13, and is open to the public. For more information and to see the complete schedule, click here.

Also this weekend, visit the Cook County Market in the Senior Center parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The market features a wide variety of arts and crafts by local residents.

And on Wednesday author and environmentalist Grant Merritt will be at the Grand Marais Public Library at noon to discuss his recently published book, “Iron & Water.”

Exhibits:

The exhibit, “Fragments of the North: Oil Paintings by Reid Thorpe” continues at the Johnson Heritage Post gallery through Sunday.

The Heritage Post id closed on Tuesdays. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays, and from 1-4 p.m. Sundays.

An abstract painting exhibit is currently on view in the studio gallery at Yellow Bird Fine Art.

It’s one of those “by chance,” exhibits… It will be up until Sept. 12, and then up again after Sept. 15 through Sept. 28. Worth checking out.

Betsy Bowen will be exhibiting her work at The Edge Center for the Arts in Big Fork, with a reception set for Friday, Sept. 9 from 5-7 p.m. The exhibit continues through Sept. 29.

 

In Thunder Bay, Christi Belcourt’s exhibit, “Uprising: The Power of Mother Earth” continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. Here are two of her paintings included in the exhibit.

Upcoming:

 Tickets are still available for both North House Folk School‘s music weekend, “Unplugged,”  Sept. 14-15.

There are all kinds of events and courses being held that weekend, too, including the Birch Bark Bash, featuring Rhythm & Slöjd, a one-of-a-kind live craft and music experience by Swedish guest instructor Jögge Sundqvist.  Also included are a multi-course dinner by chef Scott Graden of New Scenic Cafe, beverages by Fulton Beer, North Shore Winery, and Voyageur Brewing, and a live auction of unique craft items and “fund-a-need” opportunities supporting North House’s programming.

On Saturday, Sept. 15, storyteller Kevin Kling, Marc Anderson, Dan Chouinard,  Bradley Greenwald, Prudence Johnson, Simone Perrin, Claudia Schmidt and Dane Stauffer come to the Unplugged stage for a show featuring stories, music, and more.

The Unplugged weekend also includes mini-courses, a speaker series, and the Folk Artisan Marketplace. For more info, click here.

Kudos:

 

Here’s the music schedule in venues in Cook County this week:

Thursday, Sept. 6:

• Jim & Michele Miller, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• Billy Johnson, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, North Shore Winery, 7 p.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 7:

• Tim Fast, Voyageur Brewing, 4 p.m.
• 11th Annual Radio Waves Music Festival, Sweetheart’s Bluff, Rec Park, Grand Marais, starts at 4 p.m. and runs through Sunday.
• Al & Rod, Bluefin Grile, 8 p.m.
• The Dead Pigeons, Wudnderbar, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 8:

• Radio Waves Music Festival, Sweetheart’s Bluff, Rec Park, Grand Marais
•  Sonofmel, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• The Dead Pigeons, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• The Cruisers, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 9:

• Radio Waves Music Festival, Sweetheart’s Bluff, Rec Park, Grand Marais
• Billy Johnson, North Shore Winery, 2 p.m.
• Cookie, Skyport Lodge, 4 p.m.
• Open Stage with Joe Paulik, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• Tony Petersen & Jill Zimmerman, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 12:

• Eric Frost, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

We found some interesting photos this week.

Let’s start with a wildlife shot:

Flowers and mushrooms:

 

 

 

Light shows:

 

Landscapes and skycapes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last, but not least:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the weekend to just kick back and enjoy the official last days of summer on the North Shore, although, as anyone who lives here or visits well knows, there are lots of beautiful days and weeks ahead.

One of the things that artists and everyone else love about the end of August is that tomatoes are definitely ready to be picked in gardens around the county. So are lots of other fresh vegetables.

Take advantage of this and check out the Local Food Market, which is held in the parking lot at the Cook County Community Center on Thursdays from 5-6 p.m., and Saturday, at the Cook County Market in the Senior Center parking lot from 10 a.m. to noon. There’s lots of great variety the year!

And this is Basket Week at North House Folk School. There are lots of classes, demonstrations and talks as well as a Basket Marketplace, where handmade baskets will be for sale.  All events are open to the public.

The Basket Marketplace will be held tonight, Thursday, Aug. 8, in the Blue Building at North House from 6-8 p.m.

 Browse a wide selection of handmade, one-of-a-kind items in this pop-up shop and meet the artisans behind the work.

On Friday, there will a series of presentations about baskets and basketmaking from 9 a.m. to noon at North House. Judy Zugish will talk about the cedar bark baskets at 9 a.m., Tina Fung Holder and John Zasada will give a presentation about baskets of the world at 10 a.m. and Lee Zieke and Lindsay Lee will talk about willow baskets.

In the afternoon, basketmakers will give demonstrations from 1-4 p.m. on the Commons at North House. Basketmakers include Julie Kean: Birch Bark; Paula Sundet Wolf: Wattle Fences; Karen Tembruell: Cordage; Cathryn Peters: Antler Basketry; Dennis Chilcote: Folded Birch Bark Basketry and April Stone: Black Ash Basketry.

And on Saturday, instructor Paul Linden will offer tips and instructions on sharpening simple tools from knives to clippers. It’s a skill-share, and all are invited.

Also at North House, Angela Robins will be demonstrating wood carving from Thursday through Sunday. She will hold a workshop on Saturday at 10 a.m. entitled “Carving a miniature wooden stool.” Call 387-9762 for more info, or just drop by.

The Grand Marais Art Colony will hold two short workshops this weekend: Paint-A-Tile on Friday, Aug. 31 and Making Glass Window Ornaments on Saturday, Sept. 1.

Space is limited in both classes. Call the Art Colony at 387-2737 to register.

On Saturday, the Cook County Market will be held in the parking lot of the Senior Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. featuring a great selection of work by local artisans. All invited.

On Saturday night, Monroe Crossing will be in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m.

The world-class bluegrass entertainers play a blend of classic bluegrass, bluegrass gospel, and heartfelt originals. Tickets are available at the door. To learn more about them and hear their music, click on the link below. Also, listen to the Scenic Route on WTIP on Friday to hear more.

In Duluth, this is the weekend for the monthly Downtown Duluth Arts Walk, a creation of  the Downtown Duluth Arts Collective (DDAC). Together, they represent more than 25 arts businesses/groups, individual artist studios and cultural centers that will be participating in art exhibits, gallery talks, art demonstrations, musical performances and more.

The monthly Arts Walk will be from 5 to 8 p.m. and go on into the late-night downtown scene. All invited. Free.

Marcy Podas, a resident of the Cook County Care Center, has commissioned five paintings by Jeff Niesen to be installed at the newly renovated Cook County Hospital/Care Center. Niesen, a resident of Grand Marais, is Podas’ grandson.

On Tuesday, Sept. 4, a reception to view the paintings and meet the artist will be held at the Cook County Hospital/Care Center from 6:30-8:30 p.m. All invited.

Exhibits:

“Fragments of the North: Oil Paintings” by Reid Thorpe, continues at the Johnson Heritage Post through Sept. 9.

This is a fascinating exhibit. Thorpe’s ability to paint water is truly amazing. The Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Monday, and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, It is closed on Tuesdays.

And this is the last weekend to see North Shore photographs by William Gillis on exhibit in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park. He will take them down on Friday.

In Duluth, the Tweed Museum of Art, on the campus of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, continues its exhibit, “Quiet Simplicity,” with a great selection of paintings from its collection.

In Thunder Bay, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery continues its exhibit, “Uprising: The Power of Mother Earth–Christi Belcourt – A Retrospective with Isaac Murdoch.

The Belcourt exhibit continues at the gallery through Nov. 25.

Upcoming:

The 11th annual Radio Waves Music Festival is next weekend, Sept. 7-9 at Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Rec Park. This highly anticipated fall event brings the community together for three days to enjoy music and more. More than 30 bands will perform, and there will be food, a children’s tent and lots of opportunities to dance.

New bands performing this year include the Kilborn Quartet, the Aho Family, Jim McGowan, Casey Aro, Cherry Dirt and Gillis & Stamps. And, the West Virginia Gospel group, the Carpenter Ants, return, with shows on Saturday night and the Gospel Hour on Sunday morning. Tickets are $10 per day or $20 for the weekend.

Here’s a short video to whet your appetite:

Plein Air Grand Marais begins Sept. 7, with artists from throughout the region converging on Cook County to paint what they see. It’s a really fun time for everyone, and the event culminates with an impressive exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post.

In past years, the Grand Marais Art Colony has organized the event, but this year, the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota will collaborate with the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery to continue the event and expand its scope with workshops, demos and daily activities to engage painters, visitors, and community members . Stay tuned for details and click here for more.

Also, the Yellow Bird Fine Art Gallery will host a separate, open exhibit for up to 35 non-Competition painters, during the Plein Air event. An opening reception will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Stay tuned.

 Opportunities:

North House Folk School has announced that there are openings for the 2019-2020 Artisan Development Program through the Folk School. It is a two-year residency and professional development program for emerging craft artisans working in traditional crafts. For more info about this great opportunity, click here.

Also, there are openings for the 2019 Craft Education Internship program at North House as well. The Craft Education Internship opens the door to the world of traditional craft. Interns experience all the facets of a small non-profit organization in addition to taking coursework in traditional craft, developing their teaching skills, and exploring the role of the folk school in today’s world. Click here to learn more.

And finally, the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council  is currently accepting applications for the Career Development and Technology/Equipment Grants. The deadline for these grants is Sept. 28. Click here for more info about the Career Development Grant.  Click here for info about the Technology/Equipment Grant.

 Music:

Here’s the music for this week:

Thursday, Aug. 30:

• North Country Fair, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Music by the Campfire, Lutsen Resort, 6:30 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, North Shore Winery, 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 31:

• Maria Nickolay, Voyageur Brewing, 4 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Music by the Campfire, Eagle Ridge Resort, 7 p.m.
• The Federales, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Alamode, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Grandma Ray’s, 8 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 1:

• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Birch Terrace, 3 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Music on the Deck, Papa Charlie’s, 6 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Log Cabin Concert, rural Grand Marais, 7 p.m., www.michaelmonroemusic.com
• Briand Morrison, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Monroe Crossing, Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m.
• Mysterious Ways, Grandma Ray’s, 8 p.m.
• The Federales, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• J Squared and the Makers, Papa Charlie’s, 8 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 1:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.
• Cook County Swing Band, Chic-Wauk, Ice Cream Social, 12:30 p.m.
• Woodblind, Music by the Lake, Skyport Lodge, 4 p.m.
• Open Stage with Joe Paulik, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• The Federales, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 2

• The Red Dog Band, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Pete Kavanaugh, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 3:

• Gordon Thorne, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Here are some of the photos we found this week.

First, wildlife:

 

 

Not wildlife, but wild food:

 

And here’s a geat shot of huge raindrops on a spider web.

The northern lights made an appearance this week. It was a little foggy on the North Shore, but our photographers still managed to capture some images.

Here’s another great skyscape:

And a moonscape:

Sunsets and sunrises:

 

 

The beauties of solitude:

And finally, the beauties of fall.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

(P.S. If NorthShore ArtScene has become a mainstay for you, click here to make a donation. And thank you!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots happening on the North Shore this weekend, including a blues/rock band from Chicago, two writer’s events and a great watercolor demonstration by Tara Sweeney, not to mention exhibits and lots of great music.

First up is a live craft demonstration at North House Folk School by Beth Dow, instructor in residence this week. Dow, who is an artist and teacher who lives in Minneapolis, is interested in contemporary applications for traditional crafts. She will be on campus demonstrating leathercraft from Thursday through Sunday and will teach a mini-course ” Sew a Leather Wallet” at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

For more info, and to register for the class, contact North House at 387-9762.

And on Thursday night, the North Shore Music Association will hold a fundraiser at the Wunderbar featuring The Lucky Dutch, one of Chicago’s best blues/rock bands.

The band began as an indie band that performed extensively around Chicago’s bar and festival scene. Since then, the band has toured the country and released two LPs: “Bury the Night” in 2014, and “Cadillac Coffin” in 2016. Lucky Dutch Guitarist Nathan Graham has performed as a guitarist on the Chicago blues scene since age 15, working and touring with musicians such as Buddy Guy, BB King, and Koko Taylor. Other band members include Claire Corriveau (vocals), David Padula (bass) and Ben Dacoba (percussion.)

This should be a fun event. (Note: The Wunderbar has a great dance floor.) Admission is free but donations appreciated. Here’s a video of one of their songs. Just in, they’ll be on WTIP at 4 p.m. today.

On Friday, check out all the live music opportunities in venues in the county. Bands include Easy Riders, Portage, Gene Lafond and Amy Grillo, The Lark and the Loon, Sarah Morris & the Sometimes Guys, Northeast Timberland Band and Shoot from the Hipsters. See the music schedule below for times and places.

Saturday kicks off with the Cook County Market, which is held in the parking lot of the Cook County Senior Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market features a wide variety of local artists and artisans as well as local vegetables, which arrive at the market at 10 a.m.

On Saturday night, author Brenda Child and artist Jonathan Thunder will be featured in a Writer’s Salon at Drury Lane Books at 7 p.m. Child and Thunder have collaborated on a children’s book, “Bowwow Powwow,” and includes a companion retelling in Ojibwe by Gordon Jourdain. Thunder’s vibrant dreamscapes illustrate the work.

At the Writer’s Salon, Child and Thunder will read from the book and discuss the making of the story and the Ojibwe translation process. All invited, Free.

Drury Lane Books continues its focus on children’s books on Sunday with a Full Moon Reading outside by the bonfire. Local authors will read from their own work and/or the work of others starting at 7:30 p.m. All invited.

And on Wednesday, Aug. 29, watercolor artist, Tara Sweeney, will give a watercolor demonstration at the Grand Marais Art Colony at 7 p.m.

Sweeney will demonstrate her award-winning approach to watercolor. Regardless of subject matter or location, she follows watercolor’s strong lead with a split-primary, limited palette and a three-layer, four-value (hold-the-whites!) approach to embrace the aqueous blends and vibrant brushwork of this lively medium. This event is free and open to all; no pre-registration is required.

 Exhibits:

 The Johnson Heritage Post is exhibiting a spectacular exhibit of oil paintings by Reid Thorpe. Entitled “Fragments of the North,” the exhibit features Thorpe’s journey through the beauties of the Northwoods.

Thorpe has exhibited at the Johnson Heritage Post before. He was one of the artists featured in an exhibit of work by graduates of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design that was held at the Heritage Post last year. Thorpe’s exhibit continues through Sept. 9. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Monday, and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Tuesdays. By the way, the Johnson Heritage Post has a new web site. Check it out here.

Photographer William Gillis is the featured artist at Tettegouche State Park this month. His work is on display in the Great Hall.

In Duluth, the Tweed Museum of Art continues its exhibit: “In Solidarity: Revolutionary Women of Print.”

The exhibit continues through Sept. 9. The Tweed is located on the campus of the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Jonathan Thunder’s exhibit continues at the Duluth Art Institute through Aug. 30, when he will give an artist talk about the exhibit at 7 p.m.

In Thunder Bay, Christi Belcourt’s retrospective, “Uprising: The Power of Mother Earth” with Isaac Murdoch, continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. A retrospective exhibition reaches back across an artist’s career to gather work reflective of changing interests and techniques. Below is a relatively early canvas of hers, and comes to the gallery from a private collection.

The Definitely Superior Art Gallery in Thunder Bay is closed through Sept. 10, but the public is invited to walk down Cooke Street in the Waterfront District to view the new art murals by the Die Active Art Collective.

 Upcoming:

 North House Folk School will hold a Basket Marketplace on Thursday, Aug. 30 from 6-8 p.m. The event is part of Basket Week at North House.

Basketmakers who will be exhibiting include: Julie Kean, Paula Sundet Wolf, Karen Tembruell, Cathryn Peters, Dennis Chilcote, April Stone, Tina Fung Holder, Lindsay Lee, Lee Zieke, Jackson Sneve and Judy Zugish. The baskets are crafted in a wide variety of materials, including cedar, birch, black ash and willow. For more info, click here.

A Paint-A-Tile workshop will be held at the Grand Marais Art Colony from 1-2:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31. Participants will learn about ancient Majolica glazes and paint two tiles, which will fired and available for pick-up on Sunday, Sept. 2.

For more information and to register, call the Grand Marais Art Colony at 387-2737.

Duluth will hold the Downtown Arts Walk from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31. The Arts Walk is a creation of the Downtown Duluth Arts Collective and includes art exhibits, gallery talks, demonstrations, performances and more. Stay tuned for details.

The 11th annual Radio Waves Music Festival is set for Sept. 7-9 at Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Grand Marais Rec Park. More than 25 acts are included in this great event, include two performances by the West Virginia gospel group, the Carpenter Ants. The festival also features a Kid’s Tent, and and food vendors.

For more information about the line-up and volunteer opportunities, click here.

Here’s the music schedule for this week:

Thursday, Aug. 23:

• Easy Riders, Wunderbar, 5 p.m.
• Frozen Britches, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Music by the Campfire, Lutsen Resort, 6:30 p.m.
• Lucky Dutch, benefit for the NorthShore Music Association, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Date Night at the North Shore Winery, 7 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 24:

• Easy Riders, Voyageur Brewing, 4 p.m.
• Portage, Grandma Ray’s, 6 p.m.
• Gene Lafond and Amy Grillo, Eagle Ridge Resort, 7 p.m.
• The Lark and the Loon, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Sarah Morris & the Sometimes Guys, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Northeast Timberland Band, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.
• Shoot from the Hipsters, Grandma Ray’s, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 25:

• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Birch Terrace, 3 p.m.
• North Country Fair, Cascade Lodge Restaurant, 6 p.m.
• J Squared and the Makers, Papa Charlie’s, 6 p.m.
• Common Ground, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Easy Riders, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• BlueTones, Grandma Ray’s, 8 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 26:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.
• Bill & Kates Isles, Wunderbar, 11 a.m.
• Plucked Up String Band, Music by the Lake, Skyport Lodge, 4 p.m.

 Monday, Aug. 27:

• Joshua Schmidt – Monday Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s. 8:30 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 28:

• Joe Paulik, Gun Flint Tavern, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 29:

• Joe Paulik, Wunderbar, 11 a.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 29:

• Briand Morrison, Bluefin Bay, 9 p.m.

Here are some of the photos we found this week:

First, a potpourri …

 

 

 

Landscapes …

 

 

 

Sunrises …

 

A beautiful nightscape …

And finally, a lucky visit …

Have a great weekend, everyone!

To help support NorthShore ArtScene, click the link below. And thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s the heart of summer in Grand Marais right now. It’s a perfect temperature, the skies are bluer than blue, Lake Superior is (almost) swimmable, and there’s plenty to do outdoors and in. Here are some ideas.

First up is an opportunity to learn something about bushcraft at North House Folk School with Lindy Lind, the instructor-in-residence this week.

Lind can walk a path in the woods and find all kinds of useful stuff. And, he can make clever things with what he finds as well. He will be doing demonstrations from Thursday to Sunday on the North House campus and will be teaching a short mini-class on Saturday morning. For more info and to register for the class, call 387-9762.

Anybody who writes anything (from novels to emails) are invited to a meeting  of the Grand Marais Writer’s Guild at the Grand Marais Public Library tonight, Thursday, Aug. 16,  from 6-7 p.m.. Led by Grand Marais published writer Rose Arrowsmith-DeCoux, the meeting features discussions about writing, writing prompts and more. Free.

Friday is a good day for art in Grand Marais.

First up is a Paint-A-Tile workshop that will be held in the ceramics studio at the  Grand Marais Art Colony from 1-2:30 p.m. Participants are invited to explore the colorful world of Majolica glazes and try their hand at it.

Each student will be able to pick out and then paint two tiles with their own unique designs. The tiles will be glaze-fired and available for pickup on Sunday, Aug.19. The workshop is open to ages 12 and older. For more info and to register, call the Art Colony at 387-2737. The next Paint-A-Tile workshop is Aug. 31.

Then, on Friday, night, the Johnson Heritage Post will hold an opening reception for “Fragments of the North,” an exhibition of oil paintings by Reid Thorpe.

Reid Thorpe has a studio/gallery in Chaska, and  exhibited with the Minneapolis College of Art & Design Alumni group at the Johnson Heritage Post last year. The opening reception is from 5-7 p.m. on Friday. Refreshments will be served. The exhibit continues through Sept. 9. The Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and Monday, and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday. It is closed on Tuesdays.

For live music, check the schedule below. Also, tune into WTIP’s The Roadhouse on Friday night from 5-7 for a whole program of music. Singer songwriter Peter Mayer will be on the show to talk about his music and play a few songs as will singer/songwriter Jerry Vandiver and fiddle player Lacie Carpenter. Vandiver is playing a number of different venues in the county this weekend. Mayer will be in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Saturday night. (For details, see below.)

Saturday begins with the Cook County Market, which features a variety of artists and artisans displaying their work in the Senior Center parking lot.

The Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is held every Saturday through mid-October.

Lynn Speaker is teaching a fascinating workshop at the Grand Marais Art Colony this weekend, too. Entitled “Looking at Landscape,” the class will examine a number of concepts of landscape art.

How are landscapes perceived and experienced? What role do artists play at the intersection of nature and culture? Speaker will guide students through an investigation of landscape art by looking at a variety of scientific, historical, and cultural perspectives, and students will participate in art-making exercises to illustrate their own experiences with landscape. For more info and to sign up for the class, call 387-2737 or click here.

On Saturday night, the North Shore Music Association brings Peter Mayer to the Arrowhead Center for the Arts for a concert at 7:30 p.m.

Mayer writes songs for a small planet–songs about interconnectedness and the human journey, about the beauty and the mystery of the world. Here’s an example:

Tickets are available at the door or online at www.tix.com.

 Exhibits:

 There are some interesting exhibits in galleries up and down the North Shore. Here’s a selection.

Photographer William Gillis is exhibiting his work in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park this month.

An new exhibit has just opened at the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center at the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO). Entitled “Endangered,” the exhibit features exquisite papercuts of endangered species in the world by Ellen Sandbeck and paintings by  illustrating the history of wild rising and how it is threatened.

 

The “Endangered” exhibit continues at AICHO through the end of August. AICHO is located at 202 W. 2nd St. in Duluth.

The Duluth Art Institute is featuring three exhibits this month, including paintings by Chholing Taha.

CreeFirst Nations artist based in Anoka, who uses Native imagery to express both contemporary issues and indigenous stories. The exhibit continues through Sept. 2.

At the Tweed Museum of Art, the Quiet Simplicity exhibit continues.

The Definitely Superior Art Gallery in Thunder Bay is closed for summer vacation through early September, but the gallery invites the public to check out the beautiful new art murals on Cooke Street created by the Die Active Art Collective.

Christi Belcourt’s exhibit, “Uprising: The Power of Mother Earth, A Retrospective with Isaac Murdoch” continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery this month.

Upcoming:

The North Shore Music Association will hold a fundraiser at the Wunderbar with Lucky Dutch on Thursday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. Lucky Dutch is an American rock band from Illinois, formed in 2008 by guitarist Nathan Graham and singer Claire Corriveau. Graham has performed as a guitarist on the Chicago blues scene since age 15, working and touring with musicians such as Buddy Guy, BB King, and Koko Taylor. Listen to one of their songs by clicking on the link below.

 

 Kudos:

Congratulations to Hovland artist Corrie Steckelberg, who has been selected to be one of the Artists-in-Residence at the Grand Marais Art Colony in March. She joins Dana De Ano and Christine Fomi to work at the Art Colony that month.

Opportunities:

WTIP Community Radio has put out a call for volunteers to help out at the Radio Waves Music Festival at Sweetheart’s Bluff in the Rec Park Sept. 7-9.

Volunteers will get a free ticket for the day they volunteer. Postitions available in the Kid’s Tent, the membership booth and tickets and the information and prizes booth. For more info, call WTIP at 387-1070 or click here.

Window Shopping

And finally, on a personal note: I went to the Twin Cities this week to see this Emmy Award-winning band from Mali. Here’s a YouTube of one of the songs they sang. (Scroll down to read the translation.)

Here’s the music schedule for the week:

Thursday, Aug. 16:

• Pete K, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Grandma Ray’s, 6 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Music by the Campfire, Lutsen Resort, 6:30 p.m.
• Maria Nickolay, North Shore Winery, 7 p.m.
• Jerry Vandiver, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne & the Wildcats, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 17:

• Jerry Vandiver and Lacie Carpenter, Voyageur Brwing, 4 p.m.
• North Shore Community Swing Band, Grandma Ray’s, 7 p.m.
• Pete Kavanaugh, Music by the Campfire, Eagle Ridge Resort, 7 p.m.
• Space Monkey Mafia, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Jim’s Country Laundry, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Grandma Ray’s, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 18:

• Gene Lafond and Amy, Grillo, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Papa Charlie’s deck, 6 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Log Cabin Concert, rural Grand Marais, 7 p.m., reservations at www.michaelmonroemusic.com
• Gordon Thorne, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Peter Mayer, Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m.
• Doug Ott and the Getaways, Wunderbar, 8 p.m.
• Jerry Vandiver and Lacie Carpenter, Grandma Ray’s, 8 p.m.
• Space Monkey Mafia, Gun Flint Tavern, 8 p.m.
• Timmy Haus,Papa Charlie’s,,, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 19:

• Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille, 10 a.m.
• Sky Blue Jazz Trio, Wunderbar, 11 a.m.
• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Skyport Lodge, 4 p.m.
• Open Stage with Joe Paulik, Wunderbar, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Jim & Michele Miller, Gun Flint Tavern, 7 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 20:

• Mary Bue, Monday Night Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 8:30 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 22:

• Jam Session, Gun Flint Tavern,6:30 p.m.
• North Shore Community Band, Wunderbar, 7 p.m.

We found some great photos this week. First, wildlife:

 

 

And we found some neat plant photos.

 

 

And some skyscapes:

 

 

A cityscape:

 

A North Shore landscape:

 

And a beauty scape:

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

 

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