A New Normal

It’s a new normal this week, as the North Shore prepares for visitors over Memorial Day Weekend. But note, it’s not The new normal, as things seem to change daily in this pandemic. For updated lists on restaurants. lodging, and grocery stores, see VisitCookCounty.com . WTIP Community Radio, or Exploring the North Shore.

Here on the North Shore, we are celebrating part of that. The lakes are open, the fish are biting and neighborhood loons are settling in. Black bears seem to be really active this spring — there have been lots of sightings. Early wildflowers are blooming, and the wonderful smells of spring scent the air. So paddlers are making plans to explore the Boundary Waters.

On the shore, Lake Superior is preening. She’s been calm for the last few days, glittering like a blue jewel, lapping gently on our rocky beaches, offering peace to anyone who spends a few moments with her. And you can get take-out from a number of restaurants as you enjoy the blue water, and, more retailers are opening carefully, joining essential businesses to purvey goods to us. We’re all invited to stay safe, which we plan to do.

North House Folk School continues its Crafting in Place series, this week featuring a Zoom webinar on basketry around the world. Basketmaker Jo Campbell Amsler, who is an instructor at North House, will host “Baskets Along the Way,” a look at baskets and basketmakers in Scotland, Spain, Italy, Denmark and more.

. The webinar will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. To register for free, click here.

Also on Thursday night, Gordon Thorne will be presenting a virtual concert for the North Shore Winery starting at 6 p.m. To enjoy, check out the Winery’s Facebook page here.

On Friday, WTIP Community Radio will hold a live conversation with representatives from Visit Cook County about what is open, what to expect this weekend. The conversation will be aired starting at 11:30 a.m.

Also on Friday, Desperate Electric, an electric funk band from Bozeman, Mont., will be virtual on The Roadhouse to talk about their music and play a few songs. The Roadhouse airs from 5-7 p.m., with musical guests appearing about 6:15 p.m. Here’s an example of the band’s music:

And since we’re living in a virtual world, geography doesn’t play a very big part in entertainment right now. So, you can watch a full-stage Broadway performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” on The Shows Must Go On YouTube page. The video is available for 48 hours only, starting at 1 p.m. EDT. Check it out here.

 or here:

And for classical music lovers, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will be live streaming a concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 23.

They will be playing “Violin Concerto” by Ludwig van Beethoven, “Chamber Symphony in F for String and Wind”s by  Dmitri Shostakovich, “The Lark Ascending” by Ralph Vaughan Williams. To see and enjoy click here.

Local Art & Artists

Artists in the community and the region continue to create. Here are some examples of what we’ve found this week.

Jan Attridge has just finished a portrait of Stanley (Pratt).

The Grand Marais Art Colony will be open an exhibit in the windows of its new building, and artists have until May 31 to submit their work, addressing the theme, Changing Habitats. The work should be 4×6 inches in any media and can be mailed to the Grand Marais Art Colony,  PO Box 626 Grand Marais, MN 55604. The deadline is May 31.

Here is one of the pieces watercolorist David Hahn has submitted for the Changing Habitats exhibit.

 Cook County glass artists were making work for an exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post all winter. That exhibit was set to open May 1, but it had to be cancelled. Here’s an example from the collection by Tony Rau, one of the participating artists.

Rau can be reached at tonyrau531@gmail.com 

David Steckelberg has been working in his studio this winter, too. This large wall sculpture is fastened with hand-forged hooks.

Painter Lynn Steiner has been working on a series of paintings, “Back in Time,” depicting  scenes at the Grand Portage National Monument during Rendezvous.

To see more of Steiner’s work, click here.

Betsy Bowen is continuing her Comfort series. Here’s one from this week:

 Sgp Zimmerman of Grand Portage has created a series of etchings for children about life in the days of social distancing. They were created to bring awareness to serve as a reminder to Indigenous families (and everyone) of both CDC safety protocols as well as the importance of holding onto Ojibwe medicines and healing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cultural coloring sheets will be printed by the American Indian Community Housing Organization and distributed to tribes, tribal organizations and families across Minnesota.  The coloring sheets can be viewed and downloaded here.

Art News:

Plein Air Grand Marais will be held this year, but with many changes. The event will be held in September, and artists may participate and compete, even if they can’t or don’t feel comfortable traveling to Grand Marais. The deadline to enter has been extended to June 1. To apply, click here.

According to Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, which organizes the event,  most of the activities can be moved online in some form if necessary. For more information about the process and to keep in contact, click here.

The Thunder Bay Potters Guild announced this week that its June Pottery Fair will be cancelled.

Virtual Selections:

Here’s Amanda Palmer reading Mary Oliver’s poem, “When I Am Among the Trees.”

The National Museum of American History has uploaded a great selection of photographs entitled “Window Views”

To view the whole collection, click here.

Want to watch a movie? Here is a charming film about a family on a camping trip on the Slate Islands in Ontario.

And finally, this tongue-in-cheek ballet danced by the Hong Kong Ballet in honor of its 40th season.

 Photographs:

We found some good photographs this week. Here’s a selection:

First, wildlife:

 

 

The plant kingdom.

 

Landscapes, skyscapes and lakes capes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And this:

Poet, adventurer and Hovland writer Tor Torkildson has been writing a series of poems, “Staying at Home,” as he and his community live through the pandemic. One of his poems has recently been published by the DNR’s Trailblazer Magazine. Here it is, accompanied by a photograph by Travis Novitsky.

 

The Spring Fox

It is spring
And I finally saw her
Crossing the snow patched yard…
Then I heard her digging

With determination
her claws flinging the soil
burnt red fur glistening
as she makes her summer den.

Firstly, I stood silent
admiring her beauty
as did my curious dog.

Then she looked my way.
And our eyes met
transfixed
in a pure and honest moment.

What was she thinking?
Not a single thing mattered
Not even the snow and mud
or the coronavirus
sweeping the land.

And we have the trees and ravens
Lake Superior
offering comfort and sunlit hope
in weary moments.

Out here in the wilds
the moments matter
they heal and comfort
when the soul mourns deeply.

~Tor Torkildson

Thank you for reading NorthShore ArtScene this week. Artists: please send photographs of your work. We’d love to show it off. Email to joan.farnam@gmail.com

And, if you’d like, you can donate to NorthShore ArtScene by clicking on the logo below. .