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Getting There

Grand Marais Harbor walk by David Welch.

Grand Marais Harbor walk by David Welch.

Greetings from Grand Marais, where spring continues to bound ahead, (above) even though small setbacks, like a little snow early this week and overnight temps in the teens and below, beg to differ. (below)

Late March snow by Kristofer Bowman.

Late March snow by Kristofer Bowman.

But artists are expressing spring and a new exhibit opens at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday. Entitled “Voices of Spring,” this multi-media exhibit features amazing work by six North Shore artists: Kathy Fox Weinberg, Maggie Anderson, Maxene Linehan, Mary Matthews, Marti Mullen and Lee Ross.

A new exhibit, "Voices of Spring," opens at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday, with an Artist Tour at 2 p.m. Saturday.

A new exhibit, “Voices of Spring,” opens at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday, with an Artist Tour at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Paintings, oils and acrylics, ceramics, mono prints, contemporary quilts and paper collages are featured in this exhibit, and the artists will lead an art tour at the gallery at 2 p.m. Saturday.  Covid protocols are in place at the Heritage Post, including masking, hand sanitation and social distancing. The exhibit continues through April 25. Gallery hours are Thursdays, 1-4 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Also this week, the Grand Marais Art Colony is featuring artist Karina Cutler-Lake as its Instagram Takeover Artist of the week.

Karina Cutler Lake is the Grand Marais Art Colony's Instagram Takeover Artist this week. She will be posting on the Art Colony's Instagram page on Thursday and Friday.

Karina Cutler-Lake is the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Instagram Takeover Artist this week. She will be posting on the Art Colony’s Instagram page on Thursday and Friday.

Karina is professor of art at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where she has taught graphic design since 2004. Her research and creative interests include mapping, typography, visual record-keeping, interpreting sense of place, and relentlessly looking things up.

Midwestern Life, creative map by Karina Cutler Lake.

Midwestern Life, creative map by Karina Cutler-Lake.

She will be teaching a class at the Grand Marais Art Colony June.  To find out more, click here.

Wood Month has concluded at North House Folk School, but the virtual programs are still available online, including a webinar with axe-maker Julia Kalthoff.

All North House Folk Schools Wood Month virtual presentations are available online, including a Lunch c & Learn webinar with Julia Kalthoff of Kalthoff Axes.

All North House Folk Schools Wood Month virtual presentations are available online, including a Lunch c & Learn webinar with Julia Kalthoff of Kalthoff Axes.

To see all the presentations, click here.

Also, in North House news, the 2021 Wooden Boat Show is on! It will be held June 3-25 and will be both on campus, in0-person June 18-20 and online June 3-25. The Boat Show on-campus events will be held in alignment with the current recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health, including social distancing and masking. All visitors to campus will need to adhere with these guidelines. Stay tuned.

Exhibits:

The Duluth Art Institute has a number of on-going exhibits, including a series by painter Adam Swanson.

Detail of painting by Adam Swanson.

Detail of painting “Weight,”  by Adam Swanson, currently on exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute.. To view the virtual gallery, click here.

Artists at Work

Work in progress by Neil Sherman. Oil. Sherman says he often puts a frame around a painting that's about 2/3 completed. "It gives the painting a bit of confidence and give me an indication of the direction the work is moving," he writes.

Work in progress by Neil Sherman. Oil. Sherman says he often puts a frame around a painting that’s about 2/3 completed. “It gives the painting a bit of confidence and gives me an indication of the direction the work is moving,” he writes.

 

One of Maxene Linehan's multi-media pieces in the new exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post. This one is titled Chat, Calder, Miro.

One of Maxene Linehan’s multi-media pieces in the new exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post. This one is titled Chat, Calder, Miro.

 

Back to Work. David Gilsvik posted this in-process photo this week.

Back to Work. David Gilsvik posted this in-process photo this week.

 

Photographer Bryan Hansel continues his photography videos with this one, entitled “Shoot the Full Worm Moon.”

 

"Close to the Canadian Border" by Paul Gustafson.

“Close to the Canadian Border” by Paula Gustafson.

Blue Wind by Ron Piercy.

Blue Wind by Ron Piercy.

Online Findings:

The entire Louvre Museum of Art exhibits are online. Check them out here.

The entire collection of The Louvre Museum of Art has gone online, including this image of the Mona Lisa. See the collections here.

The entire collection of The Louvre Museum of Art has gone online, including this image of the Mona Lisa. See the collections here.

Albert Gyorgy Romanian artist Melancholy

Melancholy by Albert Gyorgy, a Romanian artist.

Betty Busby, a textile artist based in New Mexico, uses quilting to explore scientific themes.  Her large and often spectacularly detailed pieces represent biological processes, including cell division and the growth of plants and other organisms.

Betty Busby, a textile artist based in New Mexico, uses quilting to explore scientific themes. Her large and often spectacularly detailed pieces represent biological processes, including cell division and the growth of plants and other organisms.

A huge ancient mosaic was found in Turkey and has been restored. In this photograph, workers are restoring part of it, which has been moved around by earthquakes. To read the complete article, click here.

A huge ancient mosaic was found in Turkey and has been restored. In this photograph, workers are restoring part of the mosaic, which has been moved around by earthquakes creating folds in the floor.  To read the complete article, click here.

Here’s a story about Dhaka muslin, an ancient fabric no one makes anymore.

Nearly 200 years ago, Dhaka muslin was the most valuable fabric on the planet. Then it was lost altogether. How did this happen? And can we bring it back? Read more here.

Nearly 200 years ago, Dhaka muslin was the most valuable fabric on the planet. Then it was lost altogether. How did this happen? And can we bring it back? Read more here.

Here are a series of stories by journalist Paul Salopek, who has been walking around the world, tracing the ancient path of human migration, and reporting his findings to National Geographic. He is currently stuck in Myanmar because of Covid restrictions.

The title of his journey: Out of Eden Walk: A Journey Through Time.

Walking the World. Paul Salopek explores ancient ruins in Saudi Arabia on his journey to walk the world. Photo by John Stanmeyer.

Walking the World. Paul Salopek explores ancient ruins in Saudi Arabia on his journey to walk the world. Photo by John Stanmeyer. To read his latest posts, click here.

This is National Poetry Month. Here are the 10 top sites for reading.

A Chance to Play:

Bryan Hansel discovered this site, which has gone viral. You can wedge the Suez cargo ship, Ever Given, wherever you want. Here’s his take:

Stuck in the Grand Marais Harbor, by Bryan Hansel.

Stuck in the Grand Marais Harbor, by Bryan Hansel.

To play with this image andput the Ever Given anywhere you want, click here.

Here’s an Easter gift for Jay Andersen

Happy Easter, Jay!!

Happy Easter, Jay!! (Photographer unknown.)

Online Music:

Here are some great SoundCloud sounds:

Swoon, by Franci La Flow. Click here to listen.

Swoon, by Franci La Flow. Click here to listen.

 

The link to Drum Sex is below, in the caption of the image and below it.

Here's a cut from Brent Lewis' album, Drum Sex. Click here to listen.

Here’s a cut from Brent Lewis’ album, Drum Sex. Click here to listen.

Here’s the link to listen to this cut from the album, Drum Sex

For contrast: A little Bach:

And a song from the Sahara:

Live Music:

Thursday, March 25:

Photographs:

 Here are a series of photos by Ryan Penessi. He was shooting the falls at Cross River, when he noticed three deer on the ice above the falls. He writes:

“The mother attempted to get to the other side,  took a few steps and slipped in the swiftly moving current. Each time the doe tried to rise out of the river, a torrent of water kept pushing it downstream. Before I realized what was happening, the doe disappeared under the ice and down the side of the waterfall. I thought to myself, “that is it, that doe is a goner”. A long 10-15 seconds later she emerged at the bottom of the falls, clambering for an ice shelf. Miraculously the doe made it onto the bank, spent of energy. To my amazement, the young male began to cross shortly after watching its mother go over the falls. The same scene began to materialize again…The yearling was swept close to the edge of the waterfall when it made a desperate leap for the bank. Panting and sputtering it managed to beach itself and crawl up the other side. Then the last deer in line. Maybe it thought better of what it had just witnessed because the third deer turned around and retreated up the original bank and into the woods.”

Here are a few images he captured. To see the full sequence, click here.

The doe falls in the Cross River above the falls.

The doe falls in the Cross River above the falls. Photos by Ryan Penessi.

Getting swept away.

Getting swept away.

Doe swept downstream.

Doe swept downstream.

Struggling to get out on the ice shelf.

Struggling to get out on the ice shelf.

Success!

Success!

Here are some other wildlife photographs we found this week:

'tis a wild neighborhood we live in by Cathy Quinn.

‘Tis a wild neighborhood we live in by Cathy Quinn.

 

Home schooling by Ignacio Lanus.

Home schooling by Ignacio Lanus.

Wood ducks have arrived in the Twin Cities by Gary Jake.

Wood ducks have arrived in the Twin Cities by Gary Jake.

Two eaglets have hatched in the DNR's Bald Eagle nest near St. Paul. Photo by Pat Burke.

Two eaglets have hatched in the DNR’s Bald Eagle nest near St. Paul. Photo by Pat Burke.

The Redheads arrive by Michael Furtman.

The Redheads arrive by Michael Furtman.

Early spring moose by Katie Mumm.

Early spring moose by Katie Mumm.

The wolf. Photographer unknown.

The wolf. Photographer unknown.

Treasure in the snow by Janice Latz.

Treasure in the snow by Janice Latz.

Spring:

Pussy willows by Mark Tessier.

Pussy willows by Mark Tessier.

Bejeweled by Maryl Skinner.

Bejeweled by Maryl Skinner.

 

Early spring by Gustav Klimt.

Early spring by Gustav Klimt.

A Rockscape:

Turkish agate by Meneskse Basturk.

Turkish agate by Meneskse Basturk.

Landscapes, Skyscapes, Waterscapes:

March Worm Moon by Paul Sundberg.

March Worm Moon by Paul Sundberg.

Spider web by Mark Tessier.

Spider web by Mark Tessier.

Superior near Terrace Bay, Ontario.

Superior near Terrace Bay, Ontario.

Grand Marais sunrise by Paul Sundberg.

Grand Marais sunrise by Paul Sundberg.

Wash, wash over basalt by Bryan Hansel.

Wash, wash over basalt by Bryan Hansel.

The Superior Surf Squad enjoying the full moon by Dominic Ricci.

The Superior Surf Squad enjoying the full moon by Dominic Ricci.

Winter sunrise by Scott Youmans.

Winter sunrise by Scott Youmans.

Milky Way by Ben Cooper.

Milky Way by Ben Cooper.

A Welcome to Spring

Germanic iris by Ernesto Murguía.

Germanic iris by Ernesto Murguía.

Happy Easter, everyone! Stay safe!

BTW: NorthShore ArtScene is a volunteer effort. If you would like to donate to show your support, click on the link below. It’s easy. And Thank You!




{ 1 comment… add one }

  • Russ April 2, 2021, 10:07 pm

    Joan, Thank you so much for your endless beautiful blogs. So much great music links, local events, photos etc…….
    Such a pleasure to look forward to.

    Thank you,
    Russ Viton

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