Potpourri Part II

Greetings from the North Shore, where all is quiet on the Western Front, so to speak. Absolutely. People are taking the Stay-At-Home to heart here. In fact, some are joking that if this keeps up, they’ll forget to look both ways when crossing Hwy. 61. Not good news for all the small businesses and artists up here, though. But, resiliency is the name of the game, and people are going virtual, curbside and practicing vigorous social distancing.

Businesses are being really creative, too, as is the county and city administrations, so things are changing by the week, and it’s good to keep up on the latest. For example, Hungry Hippie Tacos, which was closed for awhile, is now going to offer a special menu curbside Thursday through Saturday, and the Grand Marais Liquor Store opened on Wednesday, also offering curbside service.

For that info and more, check out Exploring North Shore by clicking here. The site will include information, phone numbers and emails to contact the businesses and arrange for pick-up.

Cook County has set up a Coronavirus Response Hub at the Cook County Community Center, which is closed to the public, BUT it has launched a web site that provides all kinds of information: latest updates on the virus and the community, how to find food and other necessities, community information, health information, including health care providers, videos and much more. It’s a very flexible site and changes daily. Check it out here.

And WTIP Community Radio at 90.7 FM  always has lots of  great information and interviews during the day.

Facebook and Instagram have also been really important in communicating information, ideas, projects and more over the last few weeks. Add to that — Zoom meetings are being held everywhere.

And since everybody is staying at home, artists are doing some interesting work. Here are a few examples.

Julie Arthur has been dyeing yarn.

Mona Abdel-Rahman made some new dishrags.

Potter Jason Trebs has been busy.

 Tim Young continues to paint.

ISD 166 student Hazel Oberholtzer said she has really appreciated being able to do more art at home. Here’s a piece she did for an assignment by her teacher Mila Horak.

Paula Gustafson has been painting.

Authors have a local champion. too–Gwen Danfelt at Drury Lane Books.

And Betsy Bowen has been uploading “Comfort” drawings to her Facebook page frequently. Here are a few:

 

 

 

Virtual events have also blossomed.

North House Folk School  is organizing “Crafting in Place,” a series of  live videos featuring crafters doing their work or teaching a technique on Facebook or Instagram. That schedule is being constantly updated. So far this week:

• April 2: Live at 7 p.m.: At the Forge with Elizabeth Belz – Instagram
• April 3: How to Sew a Button on with Tasha Miller Griffith – Facebook

The Grand Marais Writer’s Guild has gone virtual too, through Zoom. Writing sessions will be held every Sunday and Tuesday at 2 p.m. via Zoom.

The guild is open to everyone who writes anything. One of the writer’s prompts that will be used in these sessions: “Pick a book, open at random, close your eyes and touch the page, then  open your eyes and use the part of the sentence you touched to start writing.” To connect with this writing opportunity, click on the Zoom link at 2 p.m. on Sunday and Tuesday, and then enter the Meeting ID: 266 766 226 and the Password: 976225.

Printmaker Nan Onkka was scheduled to open an exhibit of her work at the Johnson Heritage Post this month, but that is not possible. So instead, she re-scheduled her exhibit for next year and will hold a virtual exhibit on April 10 on Etsy, Instagram and Facebook.

Stay tuned for details.

And abstract painter Tara Austin, who recently exhibited work at the Johnson Heritage Post, is exhibiting new work at the Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth. The exhibit is virtual on the gallery’s web page.

The title of the show is “Boreal Ornament III.” Click here to see the exhibit.

We invite you to check out your favorite gallery’s Web sites. Many of them are incorporating virtual tours and interviews with artists. And the Downtown Duluth Arts Walk Facebook page has great virtual tours of a number of exhibits in the city. Check it out here.

For those wanting to just paint something, here’s a free coloring page with art by Christi Belcourt, thanks to the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. Click on the image and you can download it to your printer. Make copies for everyone for a fun family project. If you can’t print it, try saving it as a digital file and using a “paint” app or program to paint it digitally. Enjoy! Here it is. It is from Belcourt’s painting “Joy” and was turned into a colouring page by Mariah Meawasige.

Music:

And here are a few (virtual) music selections for the week:

Playing for Change: “Higher Ground”

Here is “Helplessly Hoping,” a song by Crosby, Stills & Nash, performed by Italian students from their homes.

Here’s Cat Stevens performing “Peace Train.”

 

Check out this video of two Mayo Clinic doctors, Elvis Francois and William Robinson, performing John Lennon’s “Imagine. 

 

And for some Blues, here’s Duane Allman and Boz Scaggs, “Loan Me a Dime.”

 Photographs:

 Thomas Spence has posted a compilation of photographs he calls “Stay Connected to the North Shore from Afar.” You can look at them here.

Wildlife shots.

 

 

 

 

Spring has arrived on the North Shore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, this song by John Prine, who has been hospitalized with coronavirus but is in stable condition at last report.

May the week go well for you and your loved ones. Stay safe!

P.S. Email me with ideas/links for next week’s blog– joan.farnam@gmail.com

P.P.S. If you would like to contribute to NorthShore ArtScene, click on the logo below. And thank you!