Under Lake Superior by Chuck Olsen.
Greetings from the North Shore, where we continue to celebrate summer. For some, Lake Superior has warmed enough for swimming, and others are taking photos underwater, revealing a compelling view of the Big Lake with air bubbles hanging like chandeliers just below the surface.
Summer also means an incredible variety of live music, the Summer Theater Festival, Pickup Truck Opera, and the first-ever Stand-Up Comedy show. Read on. This is a long one.
First up, Art Night at Joy and Company. This week, participants will be exploring DecoArt Wax Effects Acrylic Paint. The paint is a waxy, ready-to-use acrylic designed to recreate the sheer, luminous, lovely qualities of traditional beeswax encaustic techniques.
Art night at Joy and Company will explore the use of DecoArt Wax Effects Acrylic Paint. The workshop is held from 4-6 pm Thursday.
In the process, participants will experiment with layering, painting, and collage. The workshop is free, with a suggested donation, and is held from 4-6 pm. All invited.
Also on Thursday, the Grand Marais Art Colony will hold a Pop-up Exhibit, “Mobiles: Sculpting with Line and Volume” at Studio 21 from 4:30-5:30 pm.
A pop-up exhibit of mobiles will be held at Studio 21 from 4:30-5:30 pm Thursday.
The works were created by students in a sculptural workshop earlier this season. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
And not to forget, the weekly Grand Marais Farmer’s Market will be held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm Thursday.
The Grand Marais Farmer’s Market features a wide variety of locally grown vegetables, wood-fired artisan bread, fresh flowers, and more. It is held at the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm Thursdays.
The market features locally-grown produce, artisan bread, maple syrup, baked goods, and more. SNAP is accepted.
The big news this week is the launching of the Grand Marais Playhouse Summer Theater Festival, which is featuring two plays this year: “SHOUT: The Mod Musical” and the comedy, “Four Old Broads.” The festival will run in repertory (alternative performances) through Aug. 15 at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts.
The festival opens with “SHOUT! The Mod Musical” at 7 pm Thursday. It should be quite a show.
SHOUT! The Mod Musical opens at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Thursday at 7 pm.
With its irresistible blend of hip-swiveling hits, eye-popping fashions and outrageous dance moves, SHOUT! The Mod Musical takes audiences back to the music, style, and freedom of the 1960s. Created by Phillip George and David Lowenstein, SHOUT! features terrific new arrangements of such classic tunes as “To Sir with Love,” “Downtown,” “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Goldfinger.”
There’s a new generation of performers, too. The cast includes Hannah Miller, The Orange Girl; Amelia Roth, The Blue Girl; Lilli Carlson, The Red Girl; Aurora Schelmeske, The Yellow Girl and Greta Roth, The Green Girl. It should be a great show.
On Friday, the Summer Theater Festival will present “Four Old Broads,” a comedy about residents in Magnolia Place, a Senior Assisted Living Community in Petula, GA in the 1990s.
“Four Old Broads” is one of the plays to be performed in repertory during the Summer Theater Festival.
The cast includes Beth Faraone, Laura Popkes, Theresa Luther-Dolan, Gary Latz, and Jane Gellner. It’s a wonderful, zany play with lots of plot twists.
To find out more, see the performance schedule and buy tickets, click here.
Thursday is also the day the Biggest Blueberry Contest starts on the Gunflint Trail.
The Biggest Blueberry Contest starts on Thursday and runs through Aug 13.
To enter, head up the Gunflint Trail and go hunting for wild blueberries. Pick the largest one you find and head to an official weigh station to have it entered into the contest. Blueberries will be measured by weight and must be picked fresh and not store-bought.
The prizes are great this year:
- 1st Place – $300, a $15 gift certificate to Loon’s Nest Coffee, two admission passes to Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center and a 6.5-by-8.1-inch Blueberries print by Gunflint Trail artist Nancy Seaton.
- 2nd Place – $150, a $15 gift certificate to Loon’s Nest Coffee, two admission passes to Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center, and a 6.5-by-8.1-inch Blueberries print by Gunflint Trail artist Nancy Seaton.
- 3rd Place – $75, a $15 gift certificate to Loon’s Nest Coffee, two admission passes to Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center and a 6.5-by-8.1-inch Blueberries print by Gunflint Trail artist Nancy Seaton.
To find out more, including the weigh station locations, click here.
Saturday starts out with the opening of the Cook County Market at 10 am in the parking lot of The Hub (Cook County Senior Center.)
The Cook County Market is held in the parking lot of the Senior Center (The Hub) from 10 am to 2 pm Saturdays, featuring all local artisans and artists.
Look for pottery, jewelry, paintings, woodworking, homemade balms, weaving, glass pieces, and more. The market closes at 2 pm. All invited.
At 10:30 am on Saturday, it’s all about bubbles. Join Geoff Akins for a live performance at the Grand Marais Public Library of Bubble Wonders, an uplifting show, full of surprises, using bubbles to encourage participants to follow their dreams.
Geoff Akins will perform with bubbles at the library on Saturday at 10:30 am.
Akins combines incredible bubble wizardry with whimsical words of wisdom and will leave the audience feeling like anything truly is possible. This family-friendly program is free.
Then, at noon on Saturday, the Grand Marais Garden Club will present the Garden Treasures Flower Show at the Cook County Community Center from noon to 4 pm.
The Grand Marais Garden Club will present its annual flower show at the Community Center on Saturday starting at noon.
This year’s theme is Garden Treasures. The show features: beautiful flower arrangements of locally-grown flowers, a plant exchange, and light snacks All are welcome. Free.
Also on Saturday, the Harbor History Walking Tour starts at 1 pm in front of the Cook County Historical Society, which organizes the event.
A picture from the past. The Easton docks in Grand Marais. Photo courtesy of the Cook County Historical Society. Historic Walking Tours of the harbor are held weekly at 1 pm Saturdays.
Participants walk a short distance along the harbor to the Coast Guard Station with a tour guide. The tour lasts about 45 minutes. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Please note, tours are weather permitting.
On Saturday evening, the Clearwater Historic Lodge invites the public to the 97th Annual Lodge Celebration, from 6 – 9 pm. The event will feature music and dancing courtesy of the North Shore Swing Band.
The North Shore Swing Band will perform at Clearwater Historic Lodge on Saturday from 6-9 pm.
The event will also feature Clearwater Treats (pie slices, cookies, monster bars, & brownies) which will be served with lemonade, coffee, and water. Beer and wine will be available for purchase (cash preferred.) Everyone is invited.
Split Rock Lighthouse has two events scheduled for Saturday: Painter Sam Zimmerman, who is the exhibitor of the month, will be on-site from noon to 4 pm, and photographer and naturalist Stan Tekiela will be on-site at 3 pm for a book signing.
“Loon,” by Sam Zimmerman. He will be at Split Rock Lighthouse on Saturday.
The public is invited to meet the two artists.
Then, on Saturday night, Pat DeGeest Comedy and Twin Ports Comedy will present Stand-Up Comedy in the Log Building at the Community Center.
The Stand-Up Comedy show will be at the Log Building at the Community Center at 8 pm Saturday.
This is the first time Pat DeGeest has brought his show to Grand Marias. It will feature award-winning comedians and lots of laughs. Tickets are $15 at the door. All invited.
On Sunday, author Tim Cochrane will talk about his latest book, “Making the Carry; The Lives of John and Tchi-Ki-Wis Linklater” at Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center on the Gunflint Trail at 2 pm.
Tim Cochrane will talk about his latest book, Making the Carry at Chik-Wauk on Sunday at 2 pm.
Cochrane will talk about the connections of the Linklaters with other Anishinaabe people living along the border lakes. The Linklaters lived on Basswood Lake for most of their adult lives.
The presentation is open to all. Free.
On Tuesday, Duluth painter and muralist Adam Swanson will give an Artist Talk at Studio 21 at 5 pm.
Painting by Adam Swanson. He will give an Artist Talk at Studio 21 on Tuesday, July 25, at 5 pm.
Swanson will talk about his work, his path to becoming a full-time painter, and how he keeps his creativity thriving.
Swanson’s invented landscapes invite viewers to consider the tension between the human and natural worlds. He is a member of the Twin Ports Art Science Collaborative and his work, which often blends science and art, has been influenced by researchers and activists from the Lake Superior watershed and the SPRUCE climate change project in the Chippewa National Forest. Open to all. Free.
And next Friday and Saturday, July 28-29, the Grand Marais Music Collaborative will once again host the Stars of the North Music Festival in Harbor Park.
The Star of the North Music Festival will be in Harbor Park July 28-29. Click here to see the lineup.
This annual fundraising concert will feature many cornerstone local musicians as well as some special guests. Click here to see the lineup.
Exhibits:
“Paintings from Life,” a retrospective of work by Lee Englund, is currently on view at the Johnson Heritage Post.
“Forest Interior” by Lee Englund is one of the paintings on view at the Johnson Heritage Post Gallery.
Englund taught art in Duluth for years and was a plein air painter who loved coming up to the North Shore and painting its beauty. The exhibit continues through July 26.
The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesday through Sunday. It is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Free and open to all.
Air— Openness, an exhibit with works by four regional artists, continues at Studio 21 through Aug. 26.
The Air-Openness Exhibition continues at Studio 21 featuring a variety of work by regional artists.
Studio 21 is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm.
The Duluth Art Institute is featuring a number of exhibits this summer including “Shed Self” by ceramic artist Matthew O’Reilly.
Matthew O’Reilly is exhibiting his sculptural works at the Duluth Art Institute.
O’Reilly embraces satire to generate conversation about the human condition, including the notion of inner growth and change. O’Reilly constantly reinvents himself—and his work—in response to his surroundings, circumstances, community, and life. The exhibit continues through mid-September.
Patricia Canelake recently opened an exhibit at the Prove Collective in Duluth entitled “Untethered.”
Close-ups of some of the Patricia Canelake pieces at the Prøve Collective.
The exhibit continues through mid-August.
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is exhibiting a selection of sculptural objects from its Permanent Collection made of wood, stone, metal, and bone.
Man from the Bear Totem, works by Ahmoo Angeconeb are on view at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
The presentation was inspired by two wood and copper sculptures called Man From the Bear Totem and Man from the Bear Totem in a Box (1993) by the artist and printmaker Ahmoo Angeconeb (1955 – 2017).
Upcoming:
The Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth will open an exhibit of work by Sara Pajunen. The exhibit will feature her recent sound and film work about the region.
Rust – Aerial image from the northern Minnesota Iron Range by Sara Pajunen.
Pajunen is a composer-improviser and an audiovisual artist based in Minnesota. Trained as a violinist and employing locally-responsive media ranging from field recordings to drone imagery, her work is motivated by interactions between her ancestral roots, American cultural histories, and connection to our environments through sound.
The Pickup Truck Opera is coming back to Cook County, this time with their rendition of Romeo and Juliet.
The Pickup Truck Opera will present its version of Romeo & Juliet Aug 24-26 in Cook County.
This well-crafted adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to the modern world will delight, astound and amuse audiences. Performances will be held on the Gunflint Trail, Hovland, and Grand Marais Aug. 24-26. Stay tuned for details.
Artists at Work:
Olga Tsarkova works on a painting in her Orvieto, Italy studio.
Pushing Through, oil, by Neil Sherman.
Ginny Sims is currently exhibiting at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis.
Julie Deters finishes a drawing of the mystery man for an online class with Jonathan Aller of Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Essentia Medical Center features works by a number of local artists. Pictured is a painting by Carolyn Sue Olson.
Seeks to be Admired, a new woodcut block print by Nick Wroblewski.
Dragonfly Burn Ring, Lutsong Music Festival by Greg Mueller.
Mueller explains his work this way:
Lutsong Music Fest asked me to perform a cast metal demonstration to support the Festival, so I designed and fabricated a Dragonfly Burn Ring….to honor entomology’s “calvary” that swoops into the North Shore each summer to save us from black flies and mosquitos. I ignited the Burn Ring by pouring molten metal into the base. Symbolically, many cultures honor the Dragonfly as a sign of creativity, transformation, and self-actualization. (Note: Mueller cut the Dragonfly out of plywood and wrapped it in twine and paper to burn.)
Online findings:
Apparently Magpies and Crows Are Using “Anti-Bird Spikes” to Make Their Nests
Nest built from anti-bird spikes. Image courtesy of Denisea. Read the story here.
Bill Lane is Biking the Great Divide
Bill Lane and a friend are biking the Great Divide, Follow along here.
Online Music:
Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” was the Song of the Summer in 2013. What is the song this year? Maybe there isn’t one. Here’s the video, and then listen to interviews about how the song came about, making the video, etc.
>
Live Music:
Thursday, July 20:
- Dan Nelson Trio, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
- North Shore Swing Band, Up Yonder on 61, 7-9 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Friday, July 21:
- Pat Eliasen, Birch Terrace, 6-8 pm
- Fred Anderson and Ben Obinger, Bluefin Grille, 8-10 pm
Saturday, July 22:
- MYsterious WAYs, Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
- Joe Paulik, Pat Flack, and Friends, Gunflint Tavern, 6-9 pm
- North Shore Swing Band, Clearwater Lodge, 7-9 pm
- 8 months winter, Up Yonder, 9-11:59 pm
Sunday, July 23:
- Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
- Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
- Michele Miller, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
- Martha Marnocha, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Timmy Haus, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 4-6 pm
- Shane Martin, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Monday, July 24:
- Fred Anderson & Ben Obinger with Will Moore & Bob LaMettry, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
Tuesday, July 25:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 5:30-7:30 pm
Wednesday, July 26:
- Jim McGowan, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 4-6 pm
Thursday, July 27:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 7-9 pm
Friday, July 28:
- Jim McGowan, Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
- Stars of the North Music Festival, Downtown Grand Marais at Bear Tree Park
- Adam Kirsch, 12-1 pm
- Roxann Berglund, 1-2 pm
- Briand Morrison, 2-3 pm
- Fred Anderson Band, 3-4 pm
- Oversize Load, 4:30-6 pm
- Brothers in Arms, 6-7:30 pm
- The Splints, 7:30 – 9 pm
- Jim McGowan, Birch Terrace, 5-8 pm
- Joe Paulik, Pat Flack, and Friends, Gunflint Tavern, 6-9 pm
Saturday, July 29:
- Stars of the North Music Festival, Downtown Grand Marais at Bear Tree Park
- Michelle Miller, 11-12 pm
- Michael Monroe, 12-1 pm
- Superior Siren, 1:15-2:30 pm
- The April Fools, 2:30-3:30 pm
- Rich Mattson and the North Stars, 4-5 pm
- Zulu Link, 5:30-6:30 pm
- Andre AKA the Jamaican, 6:45-7 pm
- The Evening Stars with special guests and area students from the GMMC student program, 7:30-9 pm
- Jim McGowen, Senior Center Parking Lot, 10 am
- 4 Shore, Birch Terrace, 4-8 pm
- Joe Paulik, Pat Flack, and Friends, Gunflint Tavern, 6-9 pm
Sunday, July 30:
- Briand Morrison, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 10-12 pm
- Joe Paulik, Raven’s Nest at Gunflint Tavern, 1-4 pm
- Maija Lindaas, Harbor Park, 1:30-3 pm
- Martha Marnocha, Harbor Park, 3-4:30 pm
- Side string band (featuring members of Black River Revue, Feeding Leroy, Sugar on the Roof, Tin Can Gin), North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Timmy Haus, Mogul’s Grille & Tap Room, 4-6 pm
- Scot Jasmin, Skyport Lodge, 4-7 pm
- Open Mic Hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 5-8 pm
Photographs:
Thanks to all the photographers who made the images we found this week.
Wildlife:
A good place to sleep by National Archaeology.
Gunflint Moose by Chuck Olsen.
Field sparrow eggs in creeping thyme by Maryl Skinner.
Red Fox: A Moment of Zen by Thomas Spence.
Lunch by Dennis Chick.
Young buck by Paul Pluskwik.
My little friend by Bryan Hansel.
Male loons face off. Photo by Dennis Chick.
The essence of life on Earth. Photographer unknown.
A bobcat on the Gunflint Trail by Kim Nelson.
Potpourri:
Mike and Rory by Tom Healy.
A lovely find today by Mary Lou Williams.
The Scheming Club by Tina Hegg Raway.
A summer swim by Alan Netland.
An amazing Thomsonite, courtesy of the Cordes family, on view at the Johnson Heritage Post.
The Council Ring, Horseshoe Mound, Galena, Ill. Photo by Brayn Hansel. To read morea about it, click here.
Flowerscapes:
Iris by Staci Lola Drouillard.
Awe-gazing at a local garden by Karen Sunderman.
Dragonfly with morning dew waiting for the sun to dry off by David Johnson.
Pink and White Showy Lady Slipper by Paul Sundberg.
Thursday flowers by Roxanne Distad.
Blue Flag by Paul Sundberg.
First! by Jim Boyd.
Pink beauty by Kristofer Bowman.
Landscapes, Skyscapes, Rockscapes, Waterscapes:
Fog in the harbor by Cheri Toftey.
Sunrise on the North Shore by the Tischer Gallery.
Lake Superior under the stars by Hayes Scriven.
Found the Original Mount Rushmore in Pareidolia Rocks by Mike Wiggins, Jr.
Sunrise over Lake Superior by Ken Harmon.
A foggy day on Lake Superior by Mike Wiggins, Jr.
Cascade III by Andy Keith.
A Dandy of a Sunrise~ — in Two Harbors by Roxanne Distad.
And finally, this beauty:
Grand Marais in Summer – Artist Point, drone shot by Matthew Baxley. (2022)
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Note: First Thing – Thank You to everyone who has been supporting NorthShore ArtScene with their gifts and donations! We are so grateful for your support.
We can only add that if you haven’t donated yet, today is a good day to show your support for ArtScene and the entire North Shore Arts Community.
Become a sustaining member or make a single gift today, whatever feels comfortable for you. We are so grateful for your support. Click below to donate. And Thank You!
Also, a big Thank You! goes out to Jeremy Lopez, proofreading and technical support; Yvonne Mills, proofreading, and Kari Carter, photo caption corrections.
{ 0 comments… add one }