Listening to Lichen & A Storm Festival

by Joan Farnam on November 7, 2018

The Lake Superior Storm Festival, the “Listening to Lichen” exhibit, and an opportunity to paint a bowl for Empty Bowls is on tap for this weekend. Later in the week, an artist talk at the Grand Marais Art Colony, an exhibit of sturgeon drawings and a panel discussion on the iconic fish of Lake Superior are scheduled. Here are the details.

The Lake Superior Storm Festival, an annual festival that honors the power and beauty of the Big Lake, kicks off with a winter storm showcase on Friday evening at Ben Franklin, Stone Wilderness Supply and Chelsea’s Aprons at 6:30 p.m. Then at 7 p.m., WTIP Community Radio will air a special Small Change Trivia show with tricky questions about Lake Superior and its storms.

David Johnson took this awesome storm photo earlier this year. The Lake Superior Storm Festival honors the power of Lake Superior.

Then on Saturday, the Wave Dash will be held on the beach at Lutsen Resort. (Hopefully, the waves won’t be quite like the one pictured above), and participants will be rewarded with the chance to warm up by a bonfire on the beach. Then, Liz Minor of the Great Lakes Observatory will speak about storms and Lake Superior at 3 p.m. at the resort.

At 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jim Shinners, an expert on shipwrecks in Lake Superior, will give a presentation at the Johnson Heritage Post with Stephen Daniel on Lake Superior Storms & Shipwrecks. These are fascinating stories. Here’s a recording of Shinners recounting the story of a shipwreck just off 5-Mile rock in 1953. Shinner will also host 10 a Lakeside Poem and Remembrance Ceremony on Artist Point at 10 a.m. on Sunday. All invited.

And just to remind you of an artist’s take on Lake Superior, here’s a wave tile by Melissa Wickwire that is at the Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery in Lutsen.

Wave tile by Melissa Wickwire.

The Johnson Heritage Post opens a new art exhibit this weekend, too. Entitled “Listening to Lichen & Sculptural Weaving: Elise Kylo and Patricia Bielke,” the exhibit features a fantastic collection of felted pieces by Kyllo and basket sculptures by Bielke.

Felted painting by Elise Kyllo in her exhibit “Listening to Lichen.”

Sculptural basket weaving by Patricia Bielke, also in the Johnson Heritage Post show.

This is the first time that Kylo has exhibited her body of work at the Heritage Post, and her exhibit includes felted pieces, paintings and poems. She is also featuring an interactive table where people can try needle felting and add their own lichens to a landscape. There are also photos explaining the felting process and a hunt-and-seek table for kids and adults to explore. The opening reception is from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9. The exhibit continues through Dec. 2.

On Saturday, the Grand Marais Art Colony will host Paint-A-Bowl for Empty Bowls in the Founders Hall starting at 11 a.m.

Susan Bragstad painted this bowl for Empty Bowls a few years ago. The public isn invited to try their hand at the Paint-A-Bowl event on Saturday.

Participants will have a chance to paint a bowl with lively colors, which will then be fired and donated to the Empty Bowls Fundraiser, which will be held at St. John’s Catholic Church on Nov. 15. The Paint-A-Bowl event starts at 11 a.m. and continues until all 30 bowls are painted. Come early! A $5 donation is requested to cover materials cost. All welcome. You can register at 387-2737 or just show up.

On Thursday, Nov. 15, there will be two seatings for the Empty Bowls Fundraiser, which raises money to help the hungry in Cook County. The seatings will be from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. and from 5-7 p.m. The event features soups and breads, a great variety of handmade bowls, as well as a silent auction and bake sale. The soups are donated by local restaurants.

A few of the bowls that will be at the Empty Bowls Fundraiser Nov. 15.

Funds from last year’s Empty Bowls event were distributed to the Cook County Food Shelf, Birch Grove Community Center’s WE Connect, Cook County Youth Agency Coalition, Cook County Public Health and Human Services, local schools, Snacks and Packs, and the Violence Prevention Center to help nourish those in need.

There’s still time to sign up to volunteer, donate baked goods and/or become a sponsor. For more info, click here.

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, pastel artist Linda Ricklefs Baudry will give an artist talk at the Grand Marais Art Colony from noon to 1 p.m.

“Passing II” (detail) by Linda Baudry. The artist will give an Artist Talk at the Grand Marais Art Colony from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 14.

She will share about her artistic journey and how she draws inspiration from both the internal and external worlds. Free. Open to all.

Exhibits:

Black Gold, a Great Lakes Conservation Exhibit, has opened in the Founder’s Hall at the Grand Marais Art Colony.

Black Gold, an exhibit of prints of the lake sturgeon, has opened in the Founders Hall of the Grand Marais Art Colony.

Black Gold, an exhibit of prints of the lake sturgeon by a variety of artists, has opened in the Founders Hall of the Grand Marais Art Colony. A panel discussion about the Lake Sturgeon will be held at the Art Colony at 7 p.m. Nov. 16.

The juried exhibit focuses on the sturgeon, Lake Superior’s iconic fish, which have become scarce since the 1900s due to stressors, including overfishing and polluted waters. Today, thanks to the Clean Water Act and rigorous reintroduction projects involving habitat restoration and stocking, lake sturgeon are faring much better. A panel discussion about the exhibit and the lake sturgeon’s future will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, at the Art Colony. Stay tuned for details.

Painter/illustrator Keith Morris and photographer Jim Ringquist are exhibiting their work in the hallways of the North Shore Hospital and Care Center.

Painting by Keith Morris, one of his many works now on exhibit at the North Shore Hospital and Care Center.

An exhibit of photographs by Elizabeth Blair continues in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park.

Bog birch and cedar 5 by Elizabeth Blair.

Blair’s exhibit showcases her macro photos taken in small pools in a cedar forest. The exhibit continues through November.

Two new exhibits have opened at the Duluth Art Institute, including new work by Patrick Luber and Darren Houser.

"Hanged Man at the Veil of Paroketh," by Darren Houser is one of the pieces in the exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute.

“Hanged Man at the Veil of Paroketh,” adigital print and lithograph by Darren Houser, is one of the pieces in the new exhibist at the Duluth Art Institute.

Jonathan Thunder’s animated installation at the Tweed Museum of Art continues.

One of the tableaus in Jonathon Thunder’s installation at the Tweed Museum of Art.

Check out this short video clip to see what it looks like in motion.

In Thunder Bay, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery‘s Christi Belcourt retrospective, “The Power of Mother Earth” continues through Nov. 25. Here’s her take on the lake sturgeon.

“What the sturgeon told me,” by Christi Belcourt.

It is said the sturgeon wait until the frogs sing before they spawn. Belcourt observes that river pollution has damaged sturgeon habitat and that we must do all we can to protect the waters and restore balance for all creatures in these natural places.

Upcoming:

North House Folk School’s Winterer’s Gathering is next week, Nov. 16-18, featuring winter-centric coursework, a winter tent camp, gear swap, dancing, film festival, speakers, and more. This is a classic event to welcome the season of snow. To find out all the details, click here.

One of the highlights of the event is the Arctic Film Festival held throughout the weekend. Here’s a trailer from one of the featured films: “Virginia, Minnesota,” which was partly filmed in Grand Marais. Check out the trailer below:

VIRGINIA MINNESOTA – Trailer from Daniel Stine on Vimeo.

The film will be screened at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov, 17 in the Blue Building at North House.

Holiday Sales:

There are lots of holiday sales scheduled for the season. Here’s a list with dates. Stay tuned for details.

North Country Craft Bazaar, Schroeder Town Hall, Nov. 17
Hovland Holiday Arts Festival, Hovland Town Hall, Saturday, Nov. 24.
Craft Showcase, Voyageur Brewing, Sunday, Nov. 25. Individual artist showcases set for Wednesdays.
Northwoods Fiber Guild Holiday Open House & Sale, Grand Marais Art Colony, Saturday, Dec. 1.
Art Underground Holiday Sale, Betsy Bowen Gallery & Studios, Dec. 1, with Sneak Peak Nov. 30.
Community Art Showcase, Cook County Community Center, Dec. 1.

Check here over the next few weeks for lots more details.

Kudos:

Co-Directors at the Grand Marais Art Colony named: The Grand Marais Art Colony announced this week that Lyla Brown has been named the Executive Director of the organization, joining Artistic Director Ruth Pszwaro in co-directing the mission and direction of the Art Colony.

Lyla Brown has been named the executive director of the Grand Marais Art Colony.

Lyla Brown has been named the Art Colony’s executive director.

Ruth Pzswaro has been named the Artistic Director of the Art Colony.

Brown comes to Cook County from Kent County, Maryland. Her experience has focused on a variety of issue areas, such as housing, civic engagement, land conservation, youth development and human services through her leadership roles in nonprofits and international development over the past 20 years.

Pszwaro, who was the Program Director at the Art Colony, has already taken on her new role of Artistic Director. She has also served as Interim Executive Director since July. She is entering her fifth year of stewarding the Art Colony mission. Together, the co-directors will manage operations, guide the board of directors, and lead strategic planning. While Pszwaro will focus on programmatic development and artistic direction, Brown will oversee communications and external relations, including fundraising and grant writing.

Brown will join Pszwaro at the Art Colony Nov. 16.

In other news, The Big Lake, founded by Abby Tofte, was just named the Best Gift Shop in Minnesota in a Reader’s Choice survey for Lake Time Magazine.

Abbey Tofte’s shop, The Big Lake, was chosen as the Best Gift Shop in Minnesota in the Lake Time Magazine’s recent reader survey.

Betsy Bowen was recently featured in an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune entitled “Witnessing the Natural World Fuels Grand Marais Artist’s Work.”