Not To Complain Or Anything

by Joan Farnam on April 7, 2022

Snow, Again, photography courtesy of WTIP Community Radio.

Snow (Again!) Photo courtesy of WTIP Community Radio.

Greetings from the North Shore, where we were “gifted” lots more snow on higher ground this week, although it rained closer to the lake. Obviously, spring is unrolling on its own timetable this year. Where the snow has melted in town, the grass is just beginning to turn green, so we know that spring is on its way. But tell that to those who live a couple of hundred feet above Lake Superior or on the Gunflint Trail, and they will just roll their eyes. It snowed up to 18 inches, trees were downed and electricity was out for hours. Recovery will take a while.

Up to 18 inches of wet snow, Golden Eagle Lodge, Gunflint Trail.

Waiting for spring by Kim Nelson.

In front of Trail Center. Photograph by Sarah Hamilton.

Meanwhile, we continue on.

On Thursday, printmaker Jun Lee will do a one-day Instagram Takeover for the Grand Marais Art Colony. Lee is a Washington DC-based printmaker who works largely in large format woodcuts utilizing animals as metaphors to convey competition in our daily lives. She will be teaching a class at the Art Colony in June.

Lee_Jun_Woodcut_ Lines and Shadows_Bio Image

Woodcut printmaker Jun Lee will be the Grand Marais Instagram Takeover Artist on Thursday. To see what she posts, click here.

Lines and Shadows--Whisper and Wait by Jun Lee.

Whisper and Wait, woodcut, by Jun Lee.

The North Shore Artists League opened its 3rd annual show at the Johnson Heritage Post last weekend, with a well-attended reception on Friday. The exhibit features works by 34 member artists in a wide variety of media. Weaving. glass, painting, leatherwork, pottery, sculptures, and more are featured in this dynamic show, which continues through April 24

Here are a few examples of what you’ll see:

Between the Breathes III by Greg Mueller.

Winter Twilight by Marty Mullen.

Woven rug by Julie Arthur.

Waiting, kiln-formed glass by Sharon Frykman.

This Saturday, April 9, the gallery will host Meet the Artists Day with a number of member artists at the gallery throughout the day to talk about their art in the show. Here’s the schedule:

10 a.m.-2 p.m. | Artists Maggie Anderson, Mary Bebie and Robin Penner
11 a.m. | Presentation “The Art of Dress in the Early 18th Century” by Robin Penner
1-2 p.m. | Readings and discussion with author Jennifer Shoals
2-4 p.m. | Artists Lee Ross, Nancy Hemstad Seaton and Joan Farnam

The event is free and all are invited. The exhibit continues through April 24. The Johnson Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Monday and from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Also on Saturday, artists-in-residence at the Grand Marais Art Colony, Michelle Miles and Kris Musto, will hold the final session of their community event, “Keep Going,” as they show how they have transformed what the community told them last week about their Covid experiences into art.

Michelle Miles and Kris Musto are artists in residence at the Grand Marais Art Colony. On Saturday, the public is invited to come to Founders Hall and write a few words about what happened to them over the last two years. The artists will use these words to create new works.

Michelle Miles and Kris Musto are artists in residence at the Grand Marais Art Colony. This Saturday, April 9, he public is invited to come to Founders Hall and see how the artists transformed what the public told them a week about their Covied experiences into art. Open to all from 1-2 p.m.

“Keep Going” is open to all at the Founders Hall from 1-2 p.m. on Saturday.

And finally, this weekend is Mountain Meltdown Weekend at Lutsen Mountains.

Saturday and Sunday is Mountain Meltdownj at Lutsen Mountains. The final weekend at the ski resort event features great spring skiing, 10 bands and more.

This is the last weekend of the ski season, and the weekend features 10 bands, a beer garden, and a live outdoor stage, weather permitting.

Exhibits:

There are a number of exhibits at the Duluth Art Institute, including one entitled Emerging Photographers, featuring works by UMD student photographers.

"Shortage," digital photograph by Chloe Limberg, is one of the photographs in the exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute. To take a virtual tour, click here.

“Shortage,” a digital photograph by Chloe Limberg, is one of the photographs in the exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute. To take a virtual tour, click here.

To take a virtual tour of the exhibit, click here.

The Tweed Museum of Art on the campus of the University of Minnesota Duluth is also featuring a number of exhibits, including this mural by Jonathan Thunder entitled “My Grandma, Your Grandma.”

Jonathan Thunder in front of his mural, My Grandmother, Your Grandmother.

Jonathan Thunder in front of his mural, My Grandma, Your Grandma

The mural is in the Main Gallery at the Tweed and will be on view through May 14.

Painter Karen Savage-Blue has artwork on a billboard at Central Entrance in Duluth entitled Birchbark Women.

Birchbark Women by Karen Savage-Blue can be seen on a billboard at Central Entrance in Duluth. Prints of the word can be ordered here.

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is exhibiting work by honor students at Lakehead University.

Double Consciousness by Canille Vernier is on view at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.

Opportunities:

The Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery announced a Call to Artists for a variety of exhibition events and opportunities. including “Artist of the Month,” and exhibitions in 2023. Artists may apply for as many of the opportunities for which they qualify. Artists of all experience levels are invited to apply. More information can be found here.

The Grand Marais Playhouse will hold auditions for the next three upcoming plays over the next few weeks. Casts and crews are needed to make the 50th celebration a success. No experience is necessary.

April 11 at 3:30 p.m., Auditions for We Will Rock You, Open to ages 11-18.
April 18 at 6:30 p.m., auditions for Rotterdam by Jon Britain.
April 25 at 6:30 p.m., auditions for Little Shop of Horrors

For more information, visit www.grandmaraisplayhouse.com

Online Findings: