The ever-changing sky by Debbie Lien Benedict.
Greetings from the North Shore, where a summer for growing perfect basil continues, and rain graced the forest.
Lake Superior has been showing off her serenity, too, this week … a healing balm, for sure.
Not that everything has been uneventful. We’ve had a few lightning storms, both in Grand Marais and the Boundary Waters, striking a balance between scary and not scary at all.
Tentacles from Mother Nature by David Johnson.
Boundary Waters thunder storm by John Alexander Kay.
Our second confirmed Covid-19 case in a resident was diagnosed this week, too, and contact tracing has begun. Everyone is advised to be vigilant and comply with masking, social distancing and hand washing. Here is a link for more information about what you should do, the community’s response to the pandemic, shopping, retail establishments and more. Also, check VisitCookCounty, WTIP Community Radio and Exploring the Shore. FYI: VisitCookCounty is providing free masks to the public.
What’s great is that there are lots of places to wear those masks. (Insert a smiley face here.) Many of the shops, galleries and restaurants in downtown Grand Marais are open for business.
North House Folk School is doing a phased re-opening, with demonstrations and a few classes planned. This week, it is hosting jewelry maker Karen Keenan as instructor-in-residence. On Thursday at noon, Keenan will present a demonstration of Swedish traditional hair work jewelry at a Lunch and Learn live craft demonstration on the Folk School’s Facebook page. Click here to watch. And she will be demonstrating on campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Free and open to the public.
Karen Keenan is the instructor in residence at North House Folk School this week. She will be demonstrating Swedish traditional hair work jewelry.
Examples of Swedish traditional hair work jewelry.
Also, the good ship Hjordis is sailing the blue waters again, and is open to household groups. For more information and to sign up, call 387-9762 or online here. And North House is offering sessions of Intro to Wood-fired Baking on Thursday and Friday. Check out the class and other offerings, here.
On Saturday, the Cook County Market is open at The Hub parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring local artists and artisans. Singer/songwriter Boyd “Bump” Blomberg will play from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
And the Maker’s Market, located next to the Beaver House, is open from Thursday through Sunday, also featuring local artisans as well as a food tent.
And not to forget–the Gunflint Trail’s Biggest Blueberry Contest is on and continues through early August.
Blueberries ripen in stages. Photograph by Dennis Chick.
Galleries:
The Johnson Heritage Post has opened for the season, too, with Covid-19 protocols in place, including a mask requirement. The art gallery is featuring archival and poster prints by George Morrison and Marcia Casey Cushmore. Thunder Bay watercolor painter Evelyn Konrad is the featured Artist of the Month, so there’s lots to see.
Painting by Evelyn Konrad, the featured Artist of the Month at the Johnson Heritage Post.
The Heritage Post is open on Fridays from 1-4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Masks required. Free.
Sivertson Gallery is featuring Liz Sivertson’s new paintings of musicians in Cook County.
Tina Hegg Raway, Thomas Stamps and Erik Hahn in the band “Evening Stars” by Liz Sivertson.
In Duluth, the Joseph Nease Gallery is opening a new exhibit Friday, featuring the work of James Woodfill. Woodfill’s exhibition, entitled “CODE PRACTICE: Certain Objects and Certain Systems,” will be mostly virtual, with the exception of exhibiting a kinetic piece and a projection of the artist’s brand new digital animations at the gallery.
James Woodfill opens a mostly virtual exhibit at the Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth on Friday.
To find out more about the exhibit and connect virtually, click here.
The Duluth Art Institute in the Depot in Duluth opened July 1, with Covid-19 protocols in place. The Institute has three exhibits on view: Kari Halker-Saathoff’s “Odysseus & Penelope: the Long Journey,” Emily Stokes “Reveal” and Sue Rauschenfels: Sisterhood.
“The Unseen Universe of the Human Heart,” , low-fire red clay, by Kari Halker Saathoff, is one of the pieces on exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute.
Artist Opportunities:
Cook County Public Health is looking for a local artist to design a T-shirt for our community volunteers that have worked through the MN Responds system during the pandemic. The unique design will signify the value of the volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact Andrea Orest for more information at 218-877-8262 or andrea@sawtoothmountainclinic.org
The Grand Marais Art Colony has put out a call to artists of all ages to take apart their new catalog and make it into new art. The beautiful catalog, which is mostly obsolete because classes and workshops had to be cancelled because of Covid-19, can be “Upcycled” into an art piece by being taken apart and put together again.
The deadline to use the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s largely obsolete catalog to make new art by taking them apart and putting them back together again in a new way is July 30.
The catalogs can be found at the Grand Marais Art Colony on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and at the Lake Superior Trading Post. In Duluth, at DLH Clothing, and, in the Twin Cities, at Dogwood Coffee Northeast.
There are some rules of what can and cannot be done to make the piece. Click here to learn more.
Nancy Haarmeyer has responded to the challenge of “Upcycled” and will submit this piece.
“Upcycled” collage by Nancy Haarmeyer.
The deadline to submit a finished piece is July 30. The exhibit will be in the window at the Art Colony’s new building at 17 W. Hwy. 61. from Aug. 3-31. For more info, click here.
Of Community Interest:
The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department has produced a parody “Hunky Firefighters” 2021 calendar as a fundraiser to make up for the fact it had to cancel its two main fundraising events this summer due to the pandemic. The volunteer fire department is facing a $25,000 or more budget shortfall. To start to make up for it, the fundraising committee put together a parody calendar featuring the firefighters and EMTs in various “hunky” poses. Dennis Chick was the photographer and Teresa Marrone did the layout.
The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department has produced a “hunky firemen” parody calendar as a fundraiser to offset loses from having to cancel fundraising events this summer. The calendar can be found at local venues as well as Etsy. See link below.
The calendar will be available at local shops and can also be purchased at Etsy. Click here to learn more.
Yes, the Minnesota State Fair has been cancelled this year, but the food must go on, so Fair officials have organized a “Food Parade” that will run through the fairgrounds next month, allowing visitors to buy beloved foods while staying socially distanced in their cars.
The Minnesota State Fair has organized a socially distanced Food Parade,
Sixteen vendors will be featured in the parade. These include Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar, Mouth Trap Cheese Curds, Tom Thumb Donuts, and other favorites. (Click here for a full list of vendors, menus and prices).
The parade is scheduled to run in three multiday stretches, starting Aug. 20. The exact dates are Aug. 20-23, Aug. 27-30, and Sept. 3-7. Tickets must be purchased online. They run $20 per vehicle and are limited. Tickets go on sale July 31. Along with the fair foods, the 1.5-mile parade route will also feature entertainment, trivia contests and activities. Parade-goers should expect a “multi-hour experience.”
Minnesota Reads: The Grand Marais Public Library calls on Cook County to join a statewide community read and book discussion of “A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota.” In the book, 16 writers explore what it is like to live as a Native person or person of color in Minnesota.
This year’s selection for Minnesota Reads is “A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota.”
Virtual book discussions are in the works for August and September, but now is the time to start reading. Both downloadable and physical copies of the book are available through the library. Everyone is welcome to participate. Click here for more information.
Artists at Work:
Our local artists and artisans continue to work. Here are some great examples.
From Betsy Bowen’s Comfort series. Comfort: Rock Skipping.
A few of the tiles from Melissa Wickwire‘s latest tile project. See more on her Web site at https://wickwireclayworks.com
It’s all about rocks and water, at least for now. Painting by Paula Gustafson.
“Dry Personalities,” colored pencil by Scott Krohn.
When it rains, dye with indigo. Photo by Betsy Bowen.
Mushrooming knife by John Jacobson.
Abstract collage painting in process by Maxine Linehan.
Sculptures by John Books.
Recently completed rugs by Julie Arthur.
Fused glass pendant by Terry Lord-Lewis.
Virtual music:
Live Music:
Thursday, July 23:
- Joe Paulik, Music on the beach, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
- Gordon Thorne & Friends, Date Night at the Winery, North Shore Winery, 7 p.m. Reservations at https://www.exploretock.com/northshorewinery or call (218) 481-9280.
Saturday, July 25:
- Bump Blomberg, Cook County Market, The Hub parking lot, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Jim McGowan, Music on the Beach, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 26:
- Boyd “Bump” Blomberg, Weekend Wine Down, North Shore Winery, 3-6 p.m., Free, Reservations, click here or call (218) 481-9280.
Photographs:
Thank you! to all the photographers who are posting their work on Facebook. We couldn’t be sharing these great photographs without that effort.
This week, let’s start with
Flowerscapes:
Prairie Lilies by Hella Bucheim.
Phototropism: Sunflower by Bohdan Tkaczk.
Poppies by Kristofer Bowman.
Consider lilies from our flower garden by Don Davison.
The grays by Kristofer Bowman.
Cometscapes:
Comet NEOWISE over Devil Track Lake.
Midnight blue, the Big Dipper and NEOWISE by Steve Ortmann.
NEOWISE by moonlight by Travis Novitsky.
NEOWISE by Heidi Kirsch Novak.
Landscapes, skyscapes and waterscapes:
Manitou, framed by Christian Dalbec.
Cloquet River Sunrise by Jan Swart.
Good morning from here by Kristofer Bowman.
Nature’s Mosaic by Jill Christenson.
At Stoney Point by Jesse Nord.
I love my early mornings by Sarah Jorgenson.
Waiting for the hatch by Shawn Perich.
After 1 inch of rain, the cabin creek is singing by Betty Hamstad.
Summer light by Mike Lufholm.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Be safe! And consider making an online donation to NorthShore ArtScene today. Thank you.
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