The Perfect G String, Sumi-e & Music

Quiet waters, balmy days, dragonflies and monarchs –these are the marks of a beautiful August on the North Shore. It’s the height of summer, and with this comes great art shows and events.

First up is a Sumi-e painting exhibit by award-winning artist Susan Frame, which opens at the Johnson Heritage Post with a reception from 5-7 p.m. on Friday.

Sumi-e is the word for “ink painting” and has a long tradition in Asian art. Frame, who is from Minneapolis, was trained in the traditional techniques of sumi-e and combines this Eastern art form with Western impressions and interpretations. She is also a poet,  published author and teacher, and her artwork is included in museum and corporate collections around the world.

She will be teaching a class in sumi-e painting at the Grand Marais Art Colony Aug. 17-21. For more info, visit www.grandmaraisartcolony.org. The exhibit at the Heritage Post continues continues through Sept. 13.

On Saturday, the Cross River Heritage Center will hold John Schroeder Community Fun Day with a pancake breakfast from 8 -10 am. at the Schroeder Town Hall. Skip Lamb will give a walking tour of Schroeder at 10 a.m. and local artist vendors will be set up outside the Heritage Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At 11 a.m., U.S. Forest Service archaeologist, Lee Johnson, will give a presentation on the dams on Cross River.

For an intriguing event, check out Kah Nee Tah Gallery in Lutsen which will hold an Evening of Painting & Wine from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday.  The session will be led by a professional artist. Fees apply. For more information, call 218-387-2585.

And finally, probably the most intriguing show of the season:  “In Search of the Perfect G String–Solo Show with Cellist Yvonne Caruthers” will be performed at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.

Caruthers played with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. for more than 30 years and has performed on stages all over the world. “In Search of a Perfect G String” is based on her life experiences — from student days at Tanglewood to great concert halls around the world, interspersed, of course, with countless hours in lonely practice rooms, which, she says, gave her time to speculate on (ahem), ‘personal’ items.

“At first I thought I’d assemble my stories into a book,” she says, “but the publishing world has gotten increasingly complicated in the past few years, so I put the project on hold. One day it occurred to me that these stories could come to life onstage, which is, after all, where I spend a good deal of time.”

“In Search of a Perfect G String” debuted at the DC Fringe Festival in 2013 and the Kennedy Center in 2014. Tickets are available at the door and, Caruthers says, the first 15 people to buy tickets on Saturday evening get a free G-String.

Upcoming: 

Aug. 22: Writer’s Salon with Margie Preuss, Drury Lane Books, Aug. 22, 5 p.m.
Aug. 22: The Rev. R.L. Bush & the Revved Sons, North Shore Music Association 30th Anniversary, ACA, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 29: Full Moon Reading with Kate Fitzgerald, Drury Lane Books, 5 p.m.

Sept. 1: Lake Superior Watercolor Society Exhibit, Cross River Heritage Center
Sept. 4: Hand-painted Woodcuts Art Show, Betsy Bowen Studio & Galleries
Sept.  5:  Writer’s Salon with Jim Perlman, Drury Lane Books, 5 p.m.
Sept. 11-18: Plein Air 2015: Grand Marais Art Colony. Exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery opens Sept. 18
Sept. 11-13: 8th annual Radio Waves Music Festival, Sweetheart’s Bluff, Grand Marais
Sept. 17-19: Unplugged XIV, North House Folk School

In other art news, rosemaler Mary Schliep is a new artist at Betsy Bowen’s Studio & Galleries exhibiting her wall plates, ornaments and more.

The Archives & Extras show, which opened last week, continues through Aug. 23 featuring selected works from Betsy Bowen and Stephan Hoglund‘s favorite artists as well as some of Hoglund’s photographs.

Tim Young is the featured artist at the Coho Cafe in Tofte this month.

Letterpress printer, Mary Bruno, is the featured artist in the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Gallery Store in August.

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

The 8th annual Radio Waves Music Festival, Sept. 11-Sept. 13) features more than  30 acts with a lineup for all musical tastes, including rock, classic country, folk, jazz, Americana, alternative country and more.  To see the list of performers, click here.

A preliminary list of musicians performing at Unplugged XIV Sept. 17-19 include Haley Bonar, John Mark Nelson, Charlie Parr, Don Henry and Jon Vezner. Tickets are available at www.northhouse.org.

Timmy Haus will be a guest on WTIP’s The Roadhouse on Friday night. The program airs from 5-7 p.m.

Here’s the music schedule for this weekend:

Thursday, Aug. 13:

• Joe Paulik, Music by the Campfire, Lutsen Resort, 6 p.m.
• Lipbone Redding, Gun Flint Tavern, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 14:

• Portage Band, American Legion, 6 p.m.
• Pete Kavanaugh, Sydney’s Rooftop, 6:30 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Music by the Campfire, Eagle Ridge Resort, 7 p.m.
• Maria Nickolay, Cascade Lodge Pub, 7:30 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Voyageur Brewing co., 8 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Bluefin Grille, 9 p.m.
• The Tree Party, Gun Flint Tavern, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 15:

• Cook County’s Most Wanted, Birch Terrace Patio, 3 p.m.
• Eric Frost & Friends, Voyageur Brewing Co., 3 & 9  p.m.
• J Squared & the Makers, Papa Charlie’s Deck, 6 p.m.
• Don Juan, Sydney’s Rooftop, 6:30 p.m.
• In Search of the Perfect G String, Yvonne Caruthers, Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 7 p.m.
• Joe Paulik, Music by the Campfire, Bluefin Bay, 7 p.m.
• Michael Monroe’s Log Cabin Concert, rural Grand Marais, 7 p.m., reservations, 387-2919
• North Shore Swing Band, Clearwater Lodge Centennial, Gunflint Trail, 7 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Cascade Lodge Pub, 7:30 p.m.
• Tree Party, Gunflint Tavern, 9 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Papa Charlie’s, 9 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 16:

• Yvonne Caruthers, Bach for Breakfast, Sydney’s, 7:30 a.m.
• Yvonne Caruthers, Gunflint Lodge, 6:30 p.m.

We found some great photos this week. Here’s a selection:

First off, here are some unusual wildlife shots.

 

Michael Furtman has posted a number of shots of this juvenile peregrine falcon.

 

Here’s a great blue heron in its element.

 

 

 

Here’s a great shot of a bull moose going about his business by Nace Hagemann.

 

And here are some other beauties we found. Thomas Spence caught this one of the northern lights the other night.

 

Travis Novitsky took this beauty.

 

And here’s a gorgeous example of a photographic technique.

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!