A Delicious Summer

Hello from the North Shore, where we are experiencing a delicious summer. The weather has just about been perfect for days on end, including a few pauses for badly needed rain.

And yes, Covid still stalks the land, causing stress for everybody, but we seem to be adapting pretty well up here. Caution: Thoughtfulness is always good.

Changes continue to happen in the community, though. To find information about businesses, lodging, dining opportunities and protocols, as well as the latest news about Covid-19 in Cook County, click here. 

Social distancing and wearing masks are still advised for everyone, and VisitCookCounty is offering free masks at the Information Center.

Thursday kicks off with a virtual Lunch and Learn on North House Folk School’s Facebook page featuring this week’s artist-in-residence, Todd Hawkinson.

To view the live Lunch and Learn at noon on Thursday, click here. He will be demonstrating lost wax casting and jewelry making at this session, and on campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

On Thursday night, North House instructor, Ken Koscik will present a free webinar on cedar-strip canoe building.

Koscik will talk about and demonstrate the process, as well as discuss how he got started making these beautiful things. Registration is required. To register, click here.

Also on Thursday, Bill Hansen will give a guest lecture on the History and Stories of Sawbill via a life Zoom Webinar through Cook County Higher Education.

The presentation is from 7-8:30 p.m. Register here or here. Free.

Also in North House news, the good ship The Hjordis is sailing again following Minnesota DNR guidelines. Each sail is limited to a single group or household.

 To find out more and book, click here.

On Friday, the Gunflint Trail Biggest Blueberry contest begins! Everyone is invited to come up the Trail to their favorite blueberry patch to see what they can find.  (And definitely eat a few.)

 The contest continues through Aug. 9. Cash prizes.  Click here to find out more and where to have your blueberry weighed.

Also, the North Shore Water Festival, featuring demonstrations and activities will be held on the harbor all day Friday.

And here’s some good news! The Johnson Heritage Post is re-opening this week with an exhibition of work by George Morrison and Marcia Cushmore. 

The show features archival prints and posters from both artists. The Gallery is open  from 1-4 p.m Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Covid-19 protocols are in place: Visitors are required to wear a mask, use the provided hand sanitizer upon entry and social distancing while in the Gallery.

On Saturday, look for local craft markets in downtown Grand Marais, including the Cook County Market, held in the Hub’s parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Maker’s Market, which is held in the alley next to the Beaver House, and also features a food truck. The Maker’s Market is open Thursday through Sunday.

And on Sunday, Duluth’s Charlie Parr will perform at the North Shore Winery from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Here’s what the press release said about this popular musician:

“An easily confused and very shy individual, Charlie Parr has been traveling around singing his songs ever since leaving Austin Minnesota in the 1980’s in search of Spider John Koerner, whom he found about 100 miles north at the Viking Bar one Sunday night. The experience changed his life, made him more or less unemployable, and brings us to now: 13 recordings, 250 shows a year or more, 200,000 miles on a well broke in Kia, and a nasty fear of heights. Resonator fueled folk songs from Duluth Minnesota.”

Make reservations here or call  (218) 481-9280.

Art News:

 The City of Grand Marais has announced the artists selected to complete the City’s public art project to design and apply original artwork on additional trash receptacles in the downtown corridor, They are Sam Zimmerman and Ole Sorenson.

Zimmerman is a Duluth-based Ojibwe (Grand Portage Band) painter.

Ole Sorenson is a Grand Marais-based abstract artist who recently graduated from Perpich Arts High School.

 And the flower boxes in front of the Hungry Hippie Tacos  and the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Building 17, have been painted by kids from the YMCA’s summer camp. The designs are by Tim Young.

Artists At Work:

 Cook County artists continue to work through these unusual times. Here are some examples:

Potter Maggie Anderson has been in her studio.

Nan Onkka has been making new prints.

Bob Tamanaha has been doing the 100-day Project.

Jeff Morgan has been working in his studio.

Mary McDonald has been weaving.

We just had to include this.

Hana Crosby of Crosby Bakery has been doing extraordinary cakes. Check this one out — it is a cake for a wedding in Lutsen.

Betsy Bowen continues her Comfort series.

Christi Belcourt posted this on Facebook this week:

The Grand Marais Art Colony has opened its studios for artists.

Lee and Dan Ross are preparing work for the Summer Invitational Show at the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis July 25- Sept. 5. The show will be online or by appointment. Lee has made a series of reconstruction collages for the exhibit with the titles Anya, Counterbalance, Undercurrents and Precarious. The prints are “my take on the precarious nature of life at this moment in time,” Lee writes. Here’s “Undercurrents.”

 Art Potpourri:

 Here’s an article to read:

Artists helped lift America out of the Great Depression. Could that happen again? As unemployment soars, the WPA’s emphasis on artists shows a path toward recovery. Read it here.

Here’s a great little film about Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman meeting and talking to Swedes in America. It was produced in 1943.

And here’s a great interview by Will Moore on WTIP’s The Roadhouse with Mary Bue, who has just come out with a new album, The World is Your Lover.

You can listen to it here.

 Live Music:

Thursday, July 16:

• Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 7-9 p.m., click here for reservations or call (218) 481-9280

Saturday, July 18:

• Music on the Beach with Gordon Thorne, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m

Sunday, July 19:

• Weekend Wine Down with Charlie Parr, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30  p.m. For reservations, click here or call (218) 481-9280.
• The McCullough Brothers, Skyport Lodge, Devil Track Lake, 4-7 p.m. Outdoor seating, free. no reservations required. Food available.

Photographs:

Here’s what we found this week:

Wildlife:

 

 

 

 

A flower:

Landscapes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May your week go well. Stay safe!

(If you’ve enjoyed NorthShore ArtScene this week, consider making a donation today. It’s easy. Just click on the link below.And artists! Send us images of your work.)