This week:
Spring! Studio on Croftville Road.
Last week:
The Gales of April by Christian Dalbec.
Greetings from the North Shore where we, like much of the country, have been going through weather extremes. For us, it was 60-mile-per-hour winds, snow, and ice followed by 55-degree sunny days, calm and serene, which is where we are now. Long-term, it looks pretty good. The daffodils in my garden seem to agree, since they’re poking up small bits of green through their winter protection. It is very tempting to say, “Go Spring!” and hope that the Weather Gods agree.
Meanwhile, there is lots to do in the county this week, rain or shine.
First up is Art Night at Joy and Company. The event, which is open to all, offers participants the opportunity to experiment with different art media available in the shop.
Experiment with gel plate monoprinting at Joy and Company from 4-6 pm Thursday, April 13.
This week, participants will try their hand at gel plate monoprinting. The possibilities are endless. Art Night is held Thursday from 4-6 pm. (Free … with a suggested donation.)
This week also marks the end of the ski season on Lutsen Mountains. The event is marked by a great music festival at Papa Charlie’s featuring musicians from all over the region. (See Live Music schedule below.)
The Mountain Meltdown Festival at Papa Charlie’s is April 14-16 this year.
The Big Wu’s 30th Anniversary Concert is on Saturday night. For more information and tickets, click here.
On Saturday, the Grand Marais Playhouse presents “Alice in Wonderland” by Alice Gerstenberg from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass.”
The Grand Marais Playhouse will present Alice in Wonderland in mid-April. Opening night is April 15.
Performances are April 15-16 & 20-23. Thursday thru Saturday performances start at 7 pm and Sunday matinees are at 2 pm. Click here for tickets.
On Sunday, April 16, Cook County Higher Education will host a community conversation with author and educator Diane Wilson about her award-winning book: “The Seed Keeper.” It is a live event, but people can attend via Zoom. The event will be from 6:30-7:30 pm. Free.
Author Diane Wilson will lead a discussion about her book “The Seed Keeper”, at Cook County Higher Education on April 16 at 6:30 pm.
“The Seed Keeper” is a story of reawakening, remembering our original relationship with seeds and, through them, with our ancestors. The story follows three generations (1862-2002) of Dakota women as they struggle to preserve their way of life and their sacrifices to protect what is most important.
In her Author’s Note, Wilson writes that the book was inspired by a story she’d heard while participating in the Dakota Commemorative March, a 150-mile walk to honor the Dakota people who were forcibly removed from Minnesota in 1863 in the aftermath of the US-Dakota War. “The women on that original march had little time to prepare for their removal but knew they would have to find a way to feed their families in whatever place they were being sent, so they sewed seeds into the hems of their skirts and hid more in their pockets.”
To register for the Zoom, click here.
The Second Annual Cook County Earth Day Fair will be at the Cook County Commnunity Center from 11 am to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 22.
The Cook County Earth Day Fair will be at the Community Center from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday, April 22.
This is a stand-out event featuring booths for nonprofits and local businesses, a speaker series, live music, demonstrations, games and activities , food and more. Family-friendly and not-to-be-missed. Free.
Next weekend is Volunteer Weekend at North House Folk School which will be held April 21-22.
Volunteer Weekend at North House Folk School is April 21-22.
Over the weekend, participants will spend two days sprucing up campus for the summer months.
They will meet each morning at 9 am and divide into project teams; there will be projects for all skill levels and abilities—everything from garden clean-up to furniture refinishing and window washing to picnic table construction and more. There will be indoor and outdoor projects, so the weekend will proceed rain-or-shine. The work will wrap up at 4 pm each day. Lunch will be provided on both days.
To celebrate a transformed campus and all the hard work, there will be a wood-fired pizza bake Saturday evening at 5 pm. To find out more and register, click here.
Rachel Rae Klesser will open an exhibit at Joy and Company from 4-6 pm on Earth Day, April 22. The exhibit will feature paintings depicting the mythological stories of the aurora borealis.
Painting by Rachel Rae Klesser. She will have an exhibition at Joy and Company beginning April 22.
The exhibit will continue through April 29.
In Duluth, Kirsten Aune Textiles invites the public to a brick-and-mortar event in observance of Earth Day on April 22 in the Lincoln Park Craft District.
Textile by Kirsten Aune.
The event will be held in her shop at 12 N 21st Ave W. in Duluth, from noon to 4 pm.
At noon Martha Ritter will give a presentation on Sustainable Fashion and at 2 pm, Tone Lanzillo, will present “Journaling in a Climate-Change World.” Throughout the afternoon there will be a Wheatgrass “Pop-Up,” a plastic installation “365 days of my Household Everyday Plastic Nightmare,” and a zero-waste fabric, hands-on crafting table with Martha Ritter. Free. Open to all.
Join the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Graham Studio Artists-in-Residence Allison Healy and Neil Sherman to see what they’ve been working on during their residency. The open house will be from 5:30 – 7 pm on Monday, April 24.
The Grand Marais Art Colony will hold an open studio for two artists in residence, Allison Haley, and Neil Sherman, from 5:30-7 pm on Monday, April 24. They are working in the Graham Studio, which is located in the original Art Colony building at 120 3rd Ave., W.
This is the inaugural year of the Graham Studio Residency, a juried program that grants studio access plus a monthly stipend to two Cook County resident artists for a 9-month period, which began in February 2023.
Exhibits:
A new exhibit by members of the North Shore Artists League opened at the Johnson Heritage Post last weekend. Entitled “Spirit of the Arts,” the exhibit features a wide variety of work in different mediums.
Here are a few of the pieces on exhibit.
Up North Pocketbook by Dee Closen.
Lazy Day by Veronica Weadock.
Old Love by Kathy Fox Weinberg.
The exhibit continues through April 30. The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Saturday and from 1-4 pm Sunday. Open to all. Free.
“Now That Summer Has Ended: An exhibit about winter activities during the Fur Trade Era” is an exhibit on the second floor balcony at the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center, March 15 – Oct. 31.
Manner of Making a Resting Place on a Winter’s Night by George Back, 1820, is one of the paintings in the exhibit.
Learn about the ways people spent their winter at the time of the fur trade – work, survival, and even some leisure activities, during the harsh, dark, northern season. The exhibit also includes a great selection of paintings created during that time, depicting life in the difficult winters.
The exhibit is open during Heritage Center hours, 8:30 pm to 4 pm. Closed Sundays and federal holidays.
“Ojibwe Basketry: From the Tweed’s Permanent Collections” is one of the exhibits currently on view at the Tweed Museum of Art.
A woven black ash porcupine quill basket by Josephine Robinson is one of the baskets on exhibit at the Tweed Museum of Art.
The exhibit features work from a number of Ojibwe artists and will be on display through May.
Three potters from the Duluth Art Institute‘s clay studio are currently exhibiting at the Art Institute. The exhibit is entitled: “Reconnecting Through Clay.”
“Reconnecting Through Clay” is on view at the Duluth Art Institute through May 17.
Robert DeArmond, Karen Keenan, and Ray Shelerud follow the same calling: creating distinctive ceramics for everyday use. Their creativity is nourished by the clay, and the resulting aesthetic quality of their pieces reflects their dedication. They value the daily impact of using handmade goods, of building work that feels good to hold. Keenan explains, “Handmade includes feeling personally connected to the maker.” The exhibit continues through May 17.
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is exhibiting work by the Group of Stephen. The exhibit is entitled “The Embers of Creativity.”
Bay and Algoma by Lauren McKinnon is one of the paintings in the exhibit, “The Embers of Creativity,” by the Group of Stephen at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
The Group of Stephen, as they refer to themselves, is a painting group focused on genres of landscape, wildlife, and still life in oil paints. The group is comprised of several full-time artists, a couple of teachers, a retired doctor/coroner, the owner of an interior design company, a nurse researcher, a botanist/horticulturist, a plumbing business owner, the chair of the psychology department at Lakehead University, and a self-described “retired do-nothing dog walker”. The group has been active for more than a decade, gathering at Confederation College in Thunder Bay to paint. The exhibit continues through April 23.
Opportunities:
The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council is looking for grant reviewers that represent the broad spectrum of arts and creative voices in the region.
The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council is looking for individuals to serve on its grant review panels.
Upcoming Review Panel Dates:
May 5 – Arts Learning Grant Review Panel
May 9 – Rural & Community Art Project Grant Review Panel
May 11 – Art Project Grant Review Panelists
ARAC Reviewers must:
- Live in the Arrowhead region (Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis Counties).
- Have access to the internet, and a computer, and have the ability to interact within the web environment.
- Be willing and able to provide written and oral comments based on their knowledge, not their personal bias.
- Listen attentively to the other reviewers and engage in discussion.
- Maintain confidentiality and acknowledge conflicts of interest. Reviewers will receive a $100 stipend per panel session. All reviews are done via the internet; no need to travel to Duluth. Time commitments vary, depending on the grant program. Expect to spend 5-10 hours preparing for the panel meeting, which usually lasts 2-3 hours.
- For more information and to apply, click here.
FYI:
If you haven’t heard, Sydney’s Frozen Custard and Pizza shop caught on fire on April 10. They weren’t even open for the season, yet.
Sydney’s Frozen Custard and Pizza shop caught on fire on April 10. Photo by Bryan Hansel.
This fire was within days of the anniversary of the big fire in 2020 in downtown Grand Marais. That fire burned down the Crooked Spoon and several gift shops. They still haven’t rebuilt and the empty lots serve as parking lots for food trucks in the summer. Stay tuned as details emerge.
Upcoming:
Singer/songwriter Ann Reed will be in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on April 29.
Ann Reed will be at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts April 29.
The concert begins at 7 pm. Masks are encouraged at this event. General admission tickets are $20. For tickets, click here. They will also be available at the door.
The 31st annual St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour is May 12-14 this year. The tour is nationally recognized as a gathering of exceptional potters offering an exciting array of handmade ceramics.
The 31st annual St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour is May 12-14 this year.
This year we have 73 potters from across the country and England. The pottery is a diverse range from everyday functional to decorative pieces. Eight pottery studios in the valley are hosting the tour this year. To find out more, click here.
The Carpenter Ants will perform at this year’s Radio Waves Music Festival, a production of WTIP Community Radio.
The Carpenter Ants will play a gospel set on Sunday morning at this year’s Radio Waves Music Festival. The festival is from Sept. 8-10. To find out more, click here.
Artists at Work:
Weaver Christine Novotny talks about her work with WTIP’s Barbara Jean Meyers. Photo by Wolfskull Creative. Listen to it here.
Siffy Torkildson’s book, “A Wild Hare: Finding the Life I Imagined,” tells the story of long-lost love, relationships, spirituality and opening one’s heart to a life of dreams.
A Wild Hare: Finding the Life I Imagined by Siffy Torkildson.
The author travels from her home in Las Vegas to rendezvous with a man she hasn’t seen in 25 years, in Munich, Germany. The chance encounter sends Siffy Torkildson on a three year long odyssey around the world, from the Himalayas to the Sahara, and serves as a catalyst to find her true love and live the life she had always imagined. Torkildson is a geographer, cartographer, environmental scientist and intrepid explorer. When not teaching environmental science in distance places like Madagascar, or chasing starry nights and eclipses, you will find Siffy working hard on her next book about the adventurer, Annie Peck, in a small village in Bavaria. A Wild Hare is available on Amazon.
Rachel Rae Klesser has been creating art since she was five and was recently profiled in Northern Wilds.
Raven with Gold and Blue by Rachel Rae Klesser.
To read the article. click here.
Untitled by Andy Ness.
Weaving by Jill Terrill.
Detail from Illuminate the Lock at St. Anthony Falls Lock by Moira Villiard. The lock is located in Minneapolis. To read about Villiard and four other Native artists in Minnesota, click here.
Northbound, ink and watercolor by Bryan Hansel.
Shake It Out! oils on linen by Patricia Canelake.
Online Findings:
Ojibwe artist Jonathan Thunder was recently featured in a video by the PBS American Masters series. To see, click here.
Online Music:
Live Music:
Thursday, Apr. 13:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Friday, Apr. 14:
- Mountain Meltdown, Papa Charlie’s at Lutsen Mountains
- Mark Joseph & Friends, 1 pm
- Southpaws, 2:30 pm
- Floydian Slip, 4 pm
- Big Wu, 9 pm
Saturday, Apr. 15:
- Mountain Meltdown, Papa Charlie’s at Lutsen Mountains
- Eli Bentley of Ginstrings, 1 pm
- Zulu Link, 2:30 pm
- Spruce Roots, 4 pm
- Big Wu, 9 pm
Sunday, Apr. 16:
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm.
Tuesday, Apr. 18:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
Thursday, Apr. 20:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Sunday, Apr. 23:
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm.
Tuesday, Apr. 25:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
Thursday, Apr. 27:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Photographs:
Here’s a selection of photos we found this week. Enjoy!
Wildlife:
Canada Lynx, April 12, 2016 by Thomas Spence.
A buck fawn watches by Sandra Updyke.
The Stare Down by David Johnson.
Kingfisher and Egret. Photographer unknown.
Tiny Common Redpolls in flight by Michael Furtman.
Icescapes:
Coast Guard Station parking lot after the storm by Andy Keith.
60 mph winds push ice-topped waves to fill the pier in Duluth with ice. Photo by Duluth Harbor Cam.
Still icy last week by Bryan Hansel.
Beautyscapes:
The Deuce by Alex Johnson.
The John A. Blatnik Bridge by Tim Mlodozyniec. The bridge was built in 1961 and plans are being made to replace it.
Glen Canyon meets Navaho Mountain by Jessica Barr.
Iron ore ships at the docks on Lake Superior by Layne Kennedy.
Monday. It’s going to be a long one.
Potpourri:
The confidence to grow under 2 feet of snow by Jeremy Lopez.
How did they do that? Photoshopped? AI? Photographer unknown.
Landscapes, Skyscapes & Waterscapes:
Beauty by the wind by Christian Dalbec.
Nor’easter by David Johnson.
The End of a Sun Dog by Trish Francis.
Spring view from Mount Rose by Travis Novitsky.
Good morning by Christian Dalbec.
Moon and sun race toward the horizon during Blue Hour by Dominic Ricci.
Green River Milky Way by Travis Novitsky.
Skim ice in the Harbor by Jamie Rex.
Driving Forces by Christian Dalbec.
Another shot of those March northern lights by Bryan Hansel.
Spring sunset by Dominic Ricci.
Whoomp by Scott Youmans.
Still chasing that dream by Christian Dalbec.
How great this place can be by John Steitz.
Hello from here by Kristofer Bowman.
A sure sign of spring is when commercial fishermen are setting nets by Debbie Benedict.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Did you enjoy reading NorthShore ArtScene this week? If so, please donate to keep this blog active and healthy. Just click on the icon below to donate, or you can mail a check to Joan Farnam, PO Box 1232, Grand Marais, MN 55604. Thank you!
We’d also like to thank the volunteers who helped this week with captions, proofreading, technical issues, and videos. They include Jeremy Lopez, Yvonne Mills, Kari Carter. Thank you all!
The next issue will be out on April 27. See you then!
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