Snow, Shadow Puppets & the 100-Day Project

Christmas is next Friday, and it looks like we’ll have a white one on the North Shore this year after all. Yay! People have been reporting 7 inches or more, which is exciting for snow lovers. Moose don’t seem to mind it either. (Note: They’re on the Gunflint Trail eating the salt, so drive that route carefully.)

Meanwhile, this week there are all kinds of cool things to do.

First up is the Third Thursday Community Conversations at the Grand Marais Art Colony on Thursday at noon.

This month, Cathy Benda will lead a discussion about the 100-day Project, a way for artists to explore their creativity by committing to a daily practice for 100 days.

Benda, who lives on a bluff above Lake Superior in Houghton, Mich., has completed eight 100-day projects since 2008. In one project, she decided to explore color and shape on wooden blocks. She had three rules: work daily; create 100 wooden blocks decorated with paint and paper while keeping notes on the process; display the work as the project went along.

And yes, it’s hard to keep it up at times, she writes, but the idea is not to produce great art, or music, or literature.

“It’s about cultivating habit and exercising your right brain,” she writes. “It’s about unearthing dormant or unrealized creativity by committing to a daily practice everyday for 100 days. It can erase the fear of failure and allow the creative process to evolve.” All are invited to come join in the conversation and are welcome to bring a bag lunch.

Also on Thursday, the Plucked Up String Band (Amanda Hand, Will Moore, Bill Hansen, Kieran Scannell, Matt Neishem and Elliot Noyce) play at the Voyageur Brewing Co. at 4 p.m.

And, new to the Cook County music scene, Minneapolis singer/songwriter Reina Del Cid with her band will play at the Gun Flint Tavern on Friday and Saturday night.

The Winter Solstice is on Monday, Dec. 21, and it’s celebrated in style by the Good Harbor Hill Players, who put on a Winter Solstice Shadow Puppet Show at North House Folk School every year at 6 p.m. followed by a bonfire and a potluck.

It’s always a lot of fun with an imaginative story and quirky shadow puppets, live music and a bonfire at the end to throw in your “gloomies.”

The title of the puppet show this year is “Gnome for the Holidays.”  Everyone is welcome to help the Good Harbor Hill Players create the show. Work sessions will be from 6-9 p.m. in the Red Building at North House through Saturday with the dress rehearsal on Sunday at 6 p.m.

The performance on Monday is outdoors, so dress warmly. A potluck is available in the Blue Building at North House after the show. All invited.

“The Marvelous Imagination of Katie Adams” by Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux is now available as a paperback, audiobook and e-book. To find out more, click here.

Upcoming

Cellist Yvonne Caruthers will teach a six-week class, “Exploring Classical Music” on Tuesdays, Jan. 5 though Feb. 9, from 6:30-8 p.m. The class will be taught at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. For more info and to register, call Cook County Community Education at 387-2000, ext. 616. The class is $50 for adults, $25 for students.

The Grand Marais Public Library will hold  a winter film series, “Friday Night Reels” in the library from 6-8 p.m. on Fridays from  Jan. 8 through March 18. The first film to be screened will be “Marie’s Story.” Stay tuned for details.

Here is some of the art you can see this weekend:

Here’s the music schedule for this weekend.

Thursday, Dec. 17:

• Plucked Up String Band, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4:30 p.m.
• Briand Morrison, Poplar River Pub, 6 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 18:

• Maria Nickolay, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4 p.m.
• Reina Del Cid, Gun Flint Tavern, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 19:

• James Moors, Papa Charlie’s, 3:15 p.m.
• Pushing Chain, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4 p.m.
• Eric Frost, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• Reina Del Cid, Gun Flint Tavern, 8:30 p.m.
• The Honeydogs, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 20:

• The Wrong Omar, Gun Flint Tavern, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 22:

• Jon Kallberg, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 24:

• Briand Morrison & Roxann Berglund, Moguls Grille & Tap Room, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 25:

• Briand Morrison & Roxann Berglund, Moguls Grille & Tap Room, 7 p.m.

Many of our great local photographers have calendars and/or prints that they offer through their Web sites. Bryan Hansel also teaches a number of workshops. Check them out here: David Johnson, Nace Hagemann, Bryan Hansel,  Travis Novitsky, Paul Sundberg, Thomas Spence.

Here are some of the photos we found this week:

One of the themes: It’s all about snow.

 

 

 

 

 

Before the snows came the wind and the waves.

 

 

 

Before that, it felt like fall was still around.

And Lake Superior was beautiful.

But winter has arrived:

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!