Dancing to the Blues, Moon Rise Readings

by Joan Farnam on August 23, 2018

Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness by William Hurst.

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.

Beth Dow will be the instructor-in-residence at North House Folk School this weekend. She will teach a mini-class on sewing a leather wallet on Saturday. (Single pocket wallet is pictured, above.)

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.

Lucky Dutch will perform at Wunderbar for a fundraiser for the North Shore Music Association from 7-10 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 23. Admission is free. Donations accepted.

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.

The Cook County Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Senior Center parking lot on Saturday.

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.

Author Brenda Child and artist Jonathan Thunder will be at a Writer’s Salon at Drury Lane Books on Saturday at 7 p.m. They collaborated on the children’s book, “Bowwow Powwow.”

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.

Watercolor by Tara Sweeney. She will give a watercolor demonstration at the Grand Marais Art Colony on Wednesday 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.

“Water Reflection #1″ by Reid Thorpe is at the Johnson Heritage Post.

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.

“Cascade” by William Gillis.

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

“Modern Life Stories: The Liberation of a 1960s Negro Catholic Military Girl,” 1999, by Colette Gaiter, is on exhibit at the Tweed Museum of Art.

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.

duluth art institute jonathan thunder closing talk Aug. 30

Jonathan Thunder is exhibiting his work at the Duluth Art Institute through Aug. 30.

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.

christi belcourt prayer from Uprising: the Power of Mother Earth

“Prayer” by Christi Belcourt.

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.

The Definitely Superior Art Gallery is closed through Sept. 10.

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.

North House Folk School will hold a Basket Marketplace from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 30.

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.

A Paint-A-Tile workshop will be held at the Grand Marais Art Colony on Friday, Aug. 31.

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.