The Wonders of Winter

by Joan Farnam on March 3, 2022

Sunrise on Lake Superior by Bryan Hansel.

Greetings from the North Shore where we are celebrating sunny days, glittering ice sheets and bountiful snow this week. In short, March came in like a lamb and we’re happy about that.

There’s sadness, too, this week. Internationally renowned Ojibwe artist Jim Denomie died peacefully on Tuesday at his home, his family at his side. Denomie was an extraordinary man and touched many through his art, his kindness, his humanity and his sense of humor. Click here to read an obituary by the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Jim Denomie in his studio in Shafer, Minn., on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. The painting on the left is from his Standing Rock series. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press.

The Johnson Heritage Post featured an exhibit of Denomie’s work in the early 2000s.

Pow wow singers, by Jim Denomie.

His paintings have been exhibited throughout the U.S, Canada and Europe.

To read about how people have been influenced and touched by the artist, click here. To listen to an interview with Staci Drouillard that was recorded on WTIP Community Radio, click here.

Jim Denomie often used rabbits in his work. Here's an early painting. Photo courtesy Staci Drouillard.

Jim Denomie often painted rabbits in his work. Here’s an early painting. Photo courtesy Staci Drouillard.

Here is an interview with Denomie about his painting, “Non-Negotiable.” The artist was given an opportunity to peruse the Native American collection at the Science Museum of Minnesota and create a painting about it. “Non-Negotiable” is the result.

Non-Negotiable from SMM Exhibits on Vimeo.

This is often a quiet month on the North Shore, too, as many take advantage of that fact and head south. But there’s still lots to do and see.

In the winter recreation category, check out all the opportunities here. To see the snow reports for trails throughout Cook County, click here.

The Grand Marais Art Colony continues its Instagram Takeover series this winter. This week, painter Ann Solyst will do a one-day Instagram Takeover on the Grand Marais Art Colony’s Instagram page on Thursday, March 3.

Ann Solyst in the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Instagram Takeover artist on Thursday. Click here to see.

The artist works in hard pastel on paper, drawing both real and imagined animals in a naturalistic style with a balance between believability and whimsy. She will be teaching Drawing with Pastel: Hummingbird at the Art Colony, May 20 – 21. To see her Instagram posts, click here.

On Friday, one of the highlights of the winter exhibition season opens at the Johnson Heritage Post — Winter Plein Air.

Organized by the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, the exhibit features work by plein air painters who spend a week at Camp Menogyn painting outdoors in all weather and temperatures.. It’s a great experience for the painters and the public benefits because we can see their work.

Winter in the Woods by Matt Kania. Kania is one of the painters who will be exhibiting at the Winter Plein Air show, which opens at the Johnson Heritage Post with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Friday.

The exhibit opens at the Heritage Post with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Friday and continues through the end of March.

The Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Monday, and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday. It is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Free. Open to all.

Felter Elise Kyllo is the Artist of the Month at the Heritage Post as well. Look for beautiful, quirky and amusing felted objects crafted by this talented artisan.

Elise Kyllo is the Artist of the Month at the Johnson Heritage Post this month. Pictured are her felted checker boards.

The Duluth Art Institute has a number of on-going exhibits, including “Don’t Like Mondays,” Beth Livensperger’s large-scale collages depict women navigating the banal yet psychologically-charged space of office interiors.

Your Mother Doesn’t Work Here, collage, by Beth Livensperger, one of her large-scale collage currently on view at the Duluth Art Institute.

Here’s an interview the Livensperger about her work.

Wood Week is next on the schedule at North House Folk School. The event, which will be held March 14-21 will feature classes, demonstrations, webinars and a Carvers Conference to round out the week.

Wood carver Mary May is the featured presenter during Wood Week at North House Folk School.

To find out more about Wood Week and register for classes, click here.

A little further afield. the Duluth Folk School will be holding a series of classes on Pysanky, or or the craft of decorating Ukranian Easter eggs in April to help raise funds to donate to Médecins Sans Frontières / MSF and the International Rescue Committee as they work in war-torn Ukraine.

North House Folk School will hold special sessions to make Pysanky, as a fundraiser to help Ukraine. To find out more, click here.

Artists at Work:

Moments In Motion-Earth Wind & Water.mov from Layne Kennedy on Vimeo.

Tiny deck art with a node to NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, fused glass, by Nancy Seaton.

Tiny desk art with a node to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, fused glass, by Nancy Seaton.

Light Shines in the Darkness by Deborah Birkeland.

Bryan Hansel‘s latest photography blog is entitled Using Warm and Cook Colors in Photography. To read, click here.

Using warm and cool colors in photography by Bryan Hansel.

Sunrise by Tom McCann.

Cathy Quinn’s Welcoming Hands in Febuary.

A recent watercolor by Holly Johnson Beaster.

Online Findings:

Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary created an installation about the Tlingit creation story, Raven and the Box of Daylight. Above is one of the rooms in the installation.

Here’s a video about it.