Having It Both Ways–Winter & Spring

We get two things this week: that special silence you only hear when it snows and the roar of waterfalls signaling spring has arrived. Happiness.

But Covid continues. Here in Cook County, we had a surge last week, but no new cases over the last few days, and more than 50 percent of our residents have been vaccinated at least once. Ever hopeful.  For more information about rules, recommendations, vaccinations and what is open when, click here. 

And our online lives continue.

North Carolina potter, Kyle Carpenter, is the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Instagram Takeover Artist this week.  He will be posting on the Art Colony’s Instagram page on Thursday and Friday. Look for photos, discussions and perhaps a video or two over this period.

For the last 18 years, Carpenter has focused on salt-glazed pottery and has recently started working with earthenware. He exhibits his work in galleries and museums across the United States and is a juried member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. He will also be part of this year’s online St Croix Valley Pottery Tour in May. Kyle will be teaching a ceramics class at the Art Colony  July 19 – 23.

Also on Thursday, North House Folk School will host a free online film screening and discussion of the documentary: A Spoon Carver from Outou Village Mr. Kaoru Atarashi with Jarrod Dahl.

After the the 20-minute film, Dahl will lead a short online discussion about the film and share photos of spoon carving tools and a few spoons he brought back from his travels to Japan in 2018 and 2019. To register, click here.

On Friday, North House will host an online Lunch & Learn with Daniel Lundberg. He is a Swedish woodworker who likes to turn on the pole lathe and make shrink pots and other things.

Lindberg worked a fair deal with building preservation on old log homes in the north of Sweden and carries that over into his process and objects. He likes to work with big sharp axes, bold hewn surfaces and takes every chance he gets to use his precious chainsaw. He’ll share his recent work and discuss his current project to shine a light on what a slöjdare or craftsman actually is and does in this day and age. To register for the free online event, click here.

Also on Friday, Joy & Co will host an opening for an exhibit of work by painter Rae Klesser entitled “Feathers, Furs and Foliage.” 

The opening reception at Joy & Co. at 4 p.m. on Friday and will feature refreshments by Rebel Girls and light music. All welcome.

Also on Friday, WTIP Community Radio’s  ‘Tip Jar’ Minifest, continues. The ‘Tip Jar is a virtual online concert series set up this year to support musicians during the pandemic, thanks to generous donors. This month, musicians include Son of Mel, Kevin Buck and Sam Miltich. Here’s a great video about Sam.

The ‘Tip Jar airs from 4-7 p.m. on WTIP, 90.7 FM.  To donate to the ‘Tip Jar Fund, click here.

 Exhibits:

 This is the final week to see Reflecting Light Into Darkness: An Exhibit by the Spirit of the Wilderness and ISD 166 at the Johnson Heritage Post. The show features a wide variety of artwork by local artists and community members, including art students at ISD 166. Many of the works speak to reflecting light into darkness in this difficult time. It’s a good show. Here are a few examples:

The Heritage Post is open on Thursdays 1 – 4 p.m.; Fridays & Saturdays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Covid Protocols in place. All welcome. Free.

Also of interest, Lutsen sculptor Greg Mueller is exhibiting work in the windows of Studio 17, the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s new building on Hwy. 61. The exhibit is entitled No Vacancy. It will be up through the end of the month and can be viewed from the sidewalk.

The Duluth Art Institute in Duluth is currently closed, but their exhibits can be viewed online, including videos of the work. Here’s a virtual tour of “Harrison Halker Heinks – Visual Voice of Autism.”

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery in Thunder Bay, Ontario is also closed due to Covid-19, but it, too, has posted photos of works on exhibit online. One exhibit, Dakobinaawaswaan (Baby in a Cradleboard) gathers more than 100 cradleboards representing Indigenous communities from across North America.

In the language of Aninishaabeg peoples, “dakobinaawaswaan” describes a baby being wrapped and placed in a cradleboard, or tikinagaan. This exhibition showcases the strong legacy and beauty of traditional baby carriers —including miniatures, toy cradles and baskets— of the many Indigenous communities across Turtle Island. To see more of the exhibits, click here.

Opportunities:

 Applications for the Grand Marais Arts Festival are open through April 12.

 Also, the Art Colony is offering a great selection of virtual online adult classes including drawing, painting in pastel, and two pottery classes. To view, click here.

The Art Colony has also develop an online winter watercolor lessons for kids featuring artist Nan Onkka. She leads the students through three lessons painting a variety of watercolors.

 Online Art:

“Surrounded by Spirits,” an exhibit by Izumi Kato ate Perrotin in New York City, dispatches us to long-forgotten realms of childhood, when the world was full of benign, sinister, weird, and mysterious beings. To view more of this work and read about it, click here.

Artists At Work:

Corrie Steckelberg/Wulfhelm has been working on a new exhibit this winter entitled “Once and Future.” “Once and Future” is a non permanent public art piece  funded with a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. It consists of three life-sized Caribou sculptures that have a rebar frame and are fleshed out using dirt and seeds quilted between layers of upcycled burlap (from local coffee roasters Fika Coffee).

The sculptures will be placed in green spaces (Harbor Park, the Library lawn, and the Rec Park) around Grand Marais. As the weather gets warmer and things start to grow the plants will burst through the burlap skin of the Caribou and make them into growing changing sculptures. They will be installed late May to June and will be up for one year. 

Another local artist, Elise Kyllo, has been felting vests this winter.

Here’s the finished vest a few weeks later.

 A number of local artists have been participating in the 100-day Project, creating every day for 100 days. Here are a few examples of what they’ve been doing.

Ruth Pzwaro:

Here are a few pages from Maxene Linehan’s 100-day Project notebook:

 Martin DeWitt:

Susan Gecas:

Musa Abdel-rahman:

Layne Kennedy:

A Story to Read:

What happens when we talk to animals? Lauren Markham wrote about this for Harper’s Magazine. The story is called “The Crow Whisperer.” Fascinating. Read it here.

Videos:

For Judy Dench fans:

The blockbuster movie, “Lawrence of Arabia,” originally released in 1962, was recently featured on Netflix. Here’s the trailer. So fun to watch.

 Online Music:

&

Live Music:

Thursday, March 25:

• Gordon Thorne, Date Night at the Winery, North Shore Winery, 6-8 p.m. Reservations at https://www.exploretock.com/northshorewinery or call 218) 481-9280.

Friday, March 26:

• Son of Mel, Kevin Buck and Sam Miltich,  Virtual, WTIP Community Radio, 90.7 FM, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 31

• Singer/songwriter Series, Dave Simonett, Papa Charlie’s, 8 p.m. Sold Out.

Photographs:

We found a great variety of photographs this week.

Let’s start with wildlife and a series of photographs that Paul Sundberg took of his favorite marten, Chaser, who appeared on his roof one day after being absent for a while.

A potpourri of wildlife:

Here’s one…apparently horses like tea.

And this popped up in my feed the other day.

 Comboscapes:

A calmer Lake Superior.

Landscapes, Skyscapes and Waterscapes:

 

Northern Lights were spectacular again this week;

And finally, this beauty.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and stay safe!

If you have enjoyed NorthShore ArtScene this week, consider making a donation today. It’s easy … just click on the link below. And Thank You!