Waterfalls And The Creative Spirit

It might be fun to greet St. Patrick’s Day with photographs of a green countryside, but it’s not likely we’ll see that on the North Shore in March.  Instead, we get to hear the song of spring as waterfalls across the region open up, releasing tons of water over steep cliffs to waiting pools below.

The Ides of March also signals an awakening in the creative community, too.

In Two Harbors, Anderson’s Greenhouse hosts a show from 5-9 p.m. tonight, March 17, entitled “Our Town: Show and Sale” featuring work by local artists and artisans, including one of the North Shore’s favorite painters, David Gilsvik.  Gilsvik said much of his work will be  paintings he has done of Two Harbors, so it should be an interesting show.

Other local artists and artisans who will be exhibiting as well include Michelle Ronning (jewelry), Christian Dalbec (photography), Helen Hartley (driftwood art), Jan Ringer (baskets) and  Terry Millikan (Oaxaca-inspired folk dolls). Clover Valley Farms will have their handmade vinegars. Mosquito Portage Paddles will exhibit as well. All invited.

In Grand Marais, we get to enjoy “Dinner with Friends,” this weekend. “Dinner with Friends” is a play by Donald Margulies staring Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux, Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux, Jackson Nickolay and Hannah Nickolay.

We haven’t been to the rehearsals, but we’re betting this will be a fun production. The two couples portrayed in the play also happen to be personal friends off-stage. They’re also experienced actors, and, there’s a perk. Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux is the mayor of Grand Marais.

A production of the Grand Marais Playhouse, “Dinner with Friends” will be performed at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts this weekend only — at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, so be sure you include it in your busy schedule this weekend. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or at www.tix.com. Note: The play contains adult content and language.

On the other side of the spectrum is a kid’s movie, which will be screened at the Grand Marais Public Library at 6 p.m. Friday. “Monsters Inc” is a computer-animated fantasy film released by Walt Disney. The screening is free and is sponsored by the North Shore Minnesota Home Schooling Group. The public is welcome.

Two artists-in-residence have been working on their art at the Grand Marais Art Colony this week and will be presenters and instructors on Saturday.

Printmaker Beth Dorsey will hold a printmaking workshop at the Art Colony from 9 a.m. to noon. The workshop is free, but participants are asked to preregister, since space is limited. Dorsey will teach the Pochoir printmaking technique, a simple, stencil process that allows for spontaneity, is low tech and accessible. Participants will make several prints, and Dorsey will show and discuss the work she produced during her residency here.

Installation artist, Walter Early, has been working in the Founders Hall all week and will exhibit his finished sculptures and give an Artist Talk detailing his influences, past work, processes, and themes. Early is fascinated by winter on the North Shore and has been working with the shapes and forms of ice during his residency here. His talk will be at 1 p.m. and is free. The public is invited.

For more art, check out the on-going exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post this weekend. Entitled “Sense of Wonder: Expressing This Place,” the show features work in a number of different media crafted by artists and students living on the North Shore. The Heritage Post is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. It continues through March 27.

And on Sunday, the Borealis Chorale & Orchestra, a regional community chorale and orchestra of more than 60 Cook County residents under the direction of Bill Beckstrand, will present a Palm Sunday concert at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church at 7 p.m.

The concert, which is presented in partnership with the North Shore Music Association, will feature feature “Requiem” by contemporary English composer John Rutter. In addition there will be a harp solo by Janelle Lemire, a G. F. Handel “celebration-of-arrival” piece for orchestra, an early American Shaker hymn, and jazz/blues arrangements of the season’s songs. The concert is free, and free will offerings are accepted. These concerts are always popular, so get there early to get a good seat.

In Thunder Bay, the “Art to the Streets” youth exhibit is now up in the Thunder Bay Art Gallery through April 3.

The artwork in this exhibit celebrates the creativity, voices, and stories of hundreds of local children and youth who live in under-represented neighborhoods of Thunder Bay. The artwork was developed through the Community Arts and Education Project, an award-winning program in Thunder Bay. To learn more about the program, click here.

Upcoming

Improv Comedy will meet community planning and health in a special event at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23. Entitled “What the Health? How do we plan for community vitality?” the program features a free dinner and improv comedy by The Theatre of Public Policy and local guests, Jay Arrowsmith Decoux, Grand Marais mayor; David Demmer, Cook County Planning & Zoning and Dr. Paul Terrill, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. The free dinner will be catered by the Pie Place. Reserve your spot by contacting Hartley (Hartley@sawtoothmountainclinic.org or 218-387-2330 x163). If you will have children needing childcare during the event, please include that information in your RSVP.

The Mid-Winter Art Quickie, an exhibit of local potters, will open with a reception at Betsy Bowen’s Studio from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, March 25. The exhibit continues through Saturday, March 26. Potters include Maggie Anderson, Elaine Dean, Kari Carter, Joan Farnam, Beth Fery, Bob LaMettry, Clair Nelezny, Natalie Sobanja, Bob Tomanaha, Melissa Wickwire and Ann Ward. Betsy Bowen will also have new prints and cards.

Kah-Nee-Tah Gallery in Lutsen is now taking reservations for an Oil Pastel Painting and Wine Class with Katharine Skibbe of Edina April 2.  The class is $35 and includes instruction, supplies and food & wine. For reservations, call 218-387-2585 or email danielle@kahneetah.com

The Duluth Art Institute opens “Diverse Connections: The St. Louis River,” a photo essay by Ivy Vaino, from 5-7 p.m. April 4. Stay tuned for details.

In other art news, “North Shore: Natural History of Minnesota’s Superior Coast” by Chel Anderson and Adelheid Fischer has been nominated for a Minnesota Book Award.

David Johnson has new images at Sivertson Gallery.

The popular Grand Marais photographer now has his own area in the gallery featuring his images. Which of David Johnson‘s photographs is your favorite? Email Abby Tofte at abby@sivertson.com . Don’t remember exactly what that photograph was? Click here to see his collection.

Great Gifts of Lutsen has pottery by a new gallery artist, Ellie Faller, a Native American potter from Duluth. The shop also has dreamcatchers by Jayne Richards.

WTIP Community Radio has put a call out for musicians to play in the Radio Waves Music Festival Sept. 9-11. The application deadline is April 22. Click here for the online application.

There’s lots of music this weekend, too, including the Dulutsen North of North Music Festival at Papa Charlie’s and Irish music at Cascade Lodge Pub. Here’s the schedule:

Thursday, March 17:

• James Moors, Moguls Grille, 3:30 p.m.
• Frozen Britches Irish Music, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Jaggedcase, Popar River Pub, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Gun Flint Tavern, 6:30 p.m.
• Michael Monroe, Bluefin Grille, 8 p.m.
• Fever Dream & Ingeborg von Gassiz,  DuLutsen North of North Music & Ski Festival, Papa Charlie’s, 8:30 p.m.

Friday, March 18:

• Pete Kavanaugh, Moguls Grille, 3:30 p.m.
• Jim McGowan, Voyageur Brewing Co., 4 p.m.
• The HiBs Irish Music Weekend, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Bluefin Grille, 8 p.m.
• The Spruce Roots, Gun Flint Tavern, 8:30 p.m.
• Black-Eyed Snakes, Mary Bue and the Holy Bones, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 19:

• Boomchuck,  DuLuthsen North of North Music, Papa Charlie’s, 3:30 p.m.
• The HiBs Irish Music Weekend, Cascade Lodge Pub, 6 p.m.
• Gordon Thorne, Lutsen Resort, 7 p.m.
• The Spruce Roots, Gun Flint Tavern, 8:30 p.m.
• Actual Wolf, DuLutsen North of North Music, Papa Charlie’s, 9:30 p.m.
• Hobo Nephews with Ryan Young, DuLutsen North of North Music, Papa Charlie’s, 11 p.m.

Sunday, March 20:

• Black River Revue, DuLutsen North of North Music, Papa Charlie’s, 3:30 p.m.
• Samuel Black and Betty Braunstein, classical music, Bluefin Grille, 6 p.m.
• Timmy Haus, Gun Flint Tavern, 6:30 p.m.
• Rutter Requiem and Handel Messiah Spring Concert, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 7 p.m.

Monday, March 21:

• Briand Morrison, Moguls, 6 p.m.
• Boyd Blomberg, Bluefin Grille, 8 p.m.
• Alan Sparhawk, Songwriter Series, Papa Charlie’s, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, March 22:

• Fred Anderson, jazz guitar, Poplar River Pub, 6 p.m.
• Open Mic Night, Papa Charlie’s, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, March 23:

• Feeding LeRoy, Spotlight North, Papa Charlie’s, 8 p.m.

We found so many great photographs this week. Here’s a selection.

First up, birds.

 

 

 

 

 

The waterfalls all along the North Shore are opening up. Here’s one on the Beaver River, taken March 16.

 

And Gooseberry has opened up.

 

Meanwhile, we had a blizzard.

And stormy seas.

 

Winter is still around, no doubt about that.

 

 

The season is changing, though. Check out these kites flown in Grand Marais over the weekend, when it was 50 degrees.

And photographers were capturing beauty everywhere.

 

And finally, this beauty.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!