Gin-clear waters, by Layne Kennedy. He writes: This last Friday in Grand Marais, Minnesota, Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes in North America, was like glass. Very rare for this big pond to lay down like this. With it’s gin clear waters and brilliant colors, it felt like we were in the Caribbean at times.
Greetings from the North Shore where pristine waters beckon and a balmy summer continues. We are all grateful for that.
Changes continue to happen in the community, though, as the coronavirus plays out on the landscape. 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 in play for everyone, and VisitCookCounty is offering free masks at the Information Center. Free hand sanitizer is also available there. VisitCounty County has also designed a T-shirt with the logo, One Moose Apart, as a fundraiser for the Cook County Coronavirus Relief Fund.
VisitCookCounty has designed a T-shirt as a fundraiser for the Cook County Coronavirus Relief Fund. You can order one here.
To order a T-shirt, click here.
In general community news, here’s a heads-up: This is the last weekend to participate in the Gunflint Trail’s Biggest Blueberry Contest. Participants are invited to bring their biggest blueberry to be weighed at a number of different venues on the Trail. Cash prizes, including $100 for First Place, will be awarded. And yes, the blueberries aren’t exactly prolific this year, but they can be found. Check out what Nancy Seaton picked the other day.
What I picked today by Nancy Seaton, Hungry Jack Outfitters.
Here’s a link to where you can have your biggest blueberry weighed and more info about the contest.
And not to be obnoxious or anything, but here’s a reminder: Aug. 11 is Primary Day in Minnesota.
Aug. 11 is Primary Day in Minnesota.
Meanwhile, there are some interesting things going on this weekend. some virtual, some live.
First, North House Folk School. Master basketmaker Emily Derke is the Instructor in Residence at North House Folk School this week. Derke, who makes beautiful baskets, is a a Resident Artisan at North House. She will present a Lunch & Learn about willow basketry at noon on Thursday, Aug. 6, on the North House Facebook page.
Emily Derke will host a Lunch & Learn presentation on willow basketry on the North House Folk School’s Facebook page at noon on Thursday. She will also be demonstrating p. North House from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday on campus.
And the Grand Marais Art Colony will feature mixed-media artist Bevie LaBrie as the takeover artist on its Instagram page Thursday and Friday. Bevie taught at the Art Colony for several years. She explores the intersection of nature and human experience through an intuitive process that uses reclaimed materials and mixed media.
Found Fragments, mixed-media on wood panels by Bevie LaBrie. She will be takeover artist on the Art Colony’s Instagram page on Friday and Saturday. Click here to see.
Also on Thursday at 7 p.m., Bill Hansen will give a presentation about being a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda before he was evacuated due to the Coronavirus pandemic. He has great stories to tell and photographs to share about his experiences in the East African country.
Bill Hansen has his first lesson on the kyiyilili today from Wamakubo Godfrey in Busabulo Village, Mbale District, Uganda.
Cook County Higher Education is sponsoring the online event. Registration is required to listen to his presentation, “Uganda: My Peace Corps Story.” Click here to register or call 218-387-3411. Email: office@mycche.org
WTIP’s The Roadhouse is setting up the back deck as a mobile music studio these days, and inviting musicians to play “live” for the program, which is aired from 5-7 p.m. on Fridays.
Last week, Nashville singer/songwriter Jerry Vandiver & Friends (including Caitlin Evanson and Jay Gustafson) played a few sets and talked about their music on The Roadhouse.
Singer/songwriter Jerry Vandiver (guitar and vocals), Catlin Evanson (fiddle and vocals) and Jay Gustafson (harmonica) played on the back deck of WTIP Community Radio for The Roadhouse.
You can listen to their performance here. (Note: Vandiver makes a point of canoeing in the Boundary Waters every year, and he came again for his adventure this year.)
This week, tune into The Roadhouse from 5-7 p.m. Kenna Rose will be playing on the back deck.
Live Art:
There’s a great selection of new painted trash barrels around town this week, thanks to a grant from the Cook County Chamber of Commerce’s Great Place Project and a collaboration between the City of Grand Marais, the Creative Economy Collaborative and the Grand Marais Art Colony.
Earlier this year, the City of Grand Marais, in response to requests by downtown business owners, decided to increase the number of trash barrels to account for more people gathering outdoors this summer.
The Creative Economy Collaborative, as the arts advisory council to the City of Grand Marais, put out a Call for Artists for applications. Artists were invited to propose original artwork for the 8 new trash barrels donated to the city by Sawtooth Mountain Maple Syrup Company in Lutsen.
The two artists chosen were Sam Zimmerman, a Duluth-based painter and muralist who is a member of the Grand Portage Band, and Ole Sorensen, a Grand Marais-based abstract artist who just recently graduated from Perpich Arts High School. Zimmerman painted six barrels, Sorenson, two.
Ole Sorenson, left, and Sam Zimmerman stand beside the trash barrels they painted that will be set up around the City of Grand Marais, thanks to a grant from the Great Lakes Project.Sorenson painted the abstract design, Zimmerman painted Lake Superior fish and included Ojibwe names.
A new exhibit has gone up in the windows of the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s new building at 17 W. Highway 61. Entitled “Upcycled,” the exhibit features collages by artists crafted from the Art Colony’s summer catalog, which was rendered largely obsolete by the pandemic.
Maryl Skinner came up with this idea for her piece:a photograph of a dress she made from the catalogs. She calls it the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Fashion Summer Catalog.
Here’s another piece in the exhibit:
Jean Jordon of St. Paul calls this piece Covid Sanity?
The window exhibition continues through Aug. 31.
The Johnson Heritage Post is open for the season and is featuring an exhibit of works by George Morrison and Marcia Cushmore. The framed and archival and poster prints are available for purchase.
One of George Morrison prints currently on view at the Johnson Heritage Post.
The Heritage Post is open from 1-4 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Covid protocols are in place.
In a few days, head up to the children’s playground at the Cook County Community Center to see the large mural crafted by youngsters in the Y Camp this week. Artist Sam Zimmerman designed the mural and then showed the children how to paint it, instructing them in a number of Ojibwe values and concepts as well.
Young artists at work. Children from the Y Camp paint fish on the mural that will be installed at the playground at the Cook County Community Center.
The mural was a collaborative effort between the YMCA, the Grand Marais Art Colony and the Cook County Community Center.
Virtual Art:
Grand Marais has a grand tradition of plein air painting, started by Birney Quick and his art students from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, who trekked up here every summer to paint what they saw. Eventually, it led to the creation of the Grand Marais Art Colony, which is the oldest Art Colony in the state.
Berney Quick and student on the harbor in Grand Marais 1948. Photograph courtesy of the Cook County Historical Society.
That plein air tradition has continued and grown through the years, eventually developing into a Plein Air Competition, drawing artists from all over the region to paint what they see in Cook County for a week, culminating in a great show at the Johnson Heritage Post. This year, though, Grand Marais Plein Air 202o is going virtual, and instead of fanning out all over the county in early September, participating artists are encouraged to “Paint in Place” in their home communities from June 1 – Sept. 18. This means the artwork is coming in early, and a new website has been developed to highlight all of the new work. The site includes an online store which opens Friday, bios and examples of work by the artists, a history of Plein Air in Grand Marais and much more. The Online Store opens at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7. Check out the new website and the store here.
Local Artists At Work:
Tom McCann has been in the Quetico.
Postcards from the True Country by Tom McCann.
Layne Kennedy was in town recently. Here are a few images he captured.
North Superior Fishery is supplying freeh-caught Lake Superior fish to venues around town. The fishermen include, (from left) Tyler Smith, Zack Smith and Eric Brisson. Photograph by Layne Kennedy,
St. Francis Xavier Church. Photograph by Layne Kennedy.
Fran Koscielak is knitting socks.
Fran Koscielak is knitting socks. She can be reached at koscielak@boreal.org
Jan Attridge has been painting portraits. This one: a deeply loved member of our community who passed away recently: Bob Pratt.
Bob Pratt by Jan Attridge.
Ron Piercy is painting.
New work. By Ron Piercy.
Felter Elise Kyllo is still in love with lichen.
Pixie Cup Spore Cocktail by Elise Kyllo, felted wool.
Betsy Bowen has a new set of Comfort Cards.
Betsy Bowen’s Summer Comfort Cards. They are available at the Betsy Bowen Gallery, 301 1st Ave. W.
Lee Ross is exhibiting her reconstructed collages at the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis.
“Counterbalance,” reconstructed collage by Lee Ross. Ross is currently showing her work at the Summer Invitational at the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis. The virtual exhibit can be seen at here.
Opporuntities:
The Minnesota State Arts Board is now accepting applications for FY 2021 Creative Support grant programs for individuals and organizations. To find out more, click here.
Live Music:
Thursday, Aug. 6:
- Joe Paulik, Music on the Beach, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
- Gordon Thorne & Friends, Date Night at the Winery, Make reservations at https://www.exploretock.com/northshorewinery or call at (218) 481-9280.
Saturday, Aug. 8:
- Tim Fast, Music on the Beach, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 9:
- Black River Revue, Weekend Wine Down, North Shore Winery, 3 p.m., Make reservations at https://www.exploretock.com/northshorewinery or call at (218) 481-9280.
- Music by the Lake, DJ Beavstar, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 p.m.
Virtual Music:
This is really a potpourri.
Photographs:
We found lots of photographs this week. Here’s a selection:
First, wildlife:
Geese by Kristofer Bowman.
Betty Hamstead found this 3-toed tree toad dehydrated in her yard. Rehydrated and happy, the toad spent some time being friendly.
Red Fox in the Boundary Waters by Paul Sundberg.
Looks like the milkweed plants mom gave me are really working. Photograph by Kim Knutson.
Horned Owl looking all grown up by Edward Lee.
Flowers and plants:
What is lovely in my garden today by Mona Abdel-Rahman.
A mushroom place by Kristofer Bowman.
Promises by Lin Salisbury.
Fireweed and bee by Thomas Spence.
Fritillary and white flowers by Hella Bucheim.
Landscapes, waterscapes and skyscapes:
Night skies in the dark skies of the Lake Superior National Forest by Thomas Spence.
A grandfather by Kathy Vanderwall.
Split Rock Lighthouse’s 100th anniversary by Nathan Klok.
Blueberry-lime washed house and a Marybeth Garmoe Broom by Elise Kyllo.
BWCAW Sunset by Paul Sundberg.
The full Sturgeon Moon by Donald Jay Olson.
BWCAW by Paul Sundberg.
Gulls, Grand Marais by Layne Kennedy.
Looking out from the torge on top of the Sleeping Giant in Thunder Bay, Ontario by Juan Anderson.
And finally, this beauty:
“Erin Altemus and her boy in the b-dub” by Matt Schmidt.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Stay safe.
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