The power of nature in a hurry by Christian Dalbec, March 27, 2024.
Greetings from the North Shore, where winter dropped in for a visit this week. Happiness and delight for snow lovers, but the Highway Patrol reported it dealt with 800+ incidents in Minnesota during the blizzard, according to MPR. Duh.
Jokes aside, it was pretty dangerous out there. Meanwhile, art continues.
Here are a few takes on our winter storm:
Gotta love a fellow crazy by Ann Jorgenson.
12-15 inches of snow. Three months too late, but I’ll take it by Sparky Stensaas.
Winter Curves by Layne Kennedy.
So where do I start? Photo by Mary Lou Sorenson.
Sunshine and Snow Shoveling! by Mary Beams.
In the art world, it’s time to decorate Easter eggs.
This week we can look forward to celebrating Easter by learning how to make Ukrainian-decorated Easter Eggs and attending the opening of a historic exhibit at the Heritage Post featuring art by celebrated Minnesota artist, Birney Quick.
First up is decorating the eggs. The event will be held at Joy and Company from 3:30-5 pm Thursday during Art Night.
Art Night will feature demonstrations on making Ukrainian Easter Egg decorations at Joy and Company.
Participants will be able to watch a demonstration and learn about the techniques used in the historical tradition of Ukrainian Pysanky Easter Egg decoration and try it themselves. Color and decorate your own eggs (bring hard-boiled or raw.) Also, bring in an egg carton to take them home and wear old clothes- it could get a little messy!
Art Night is free with a suggested $5 donation.
Thursday night is Hygge Night at Dappled Fern Fibers from 6-7 pm.
A Hygge Party is held at Dappled Fern Fibers from 6-7 pm on Thursdays this winter.
Participants are invited to bring a fiber project they are working on and make with friends. Free. Also, on Saturday, Dappled Fern Fibers opens its doors for fiber artists to meet and make from 10 am to noon. Open to all.
It’s Trivia Night at Up Yonder this week as well.
The Cook County Historical Society Trivia at Up Yonder is from 6-8 pm. Open to all. Free.
The event is open to all and features a wide range of questions, including questions about Cook County history. It is sponsored by the Cook County Historical Society and is free. Prizes will be awarded.
On Friday, the Johnson Heritage Post will open a new exhibit featuring the artwork of Birney Quick, one of the founders of the Grand Marais Art Colony.
The Birney Quick Legacy Exhibit opens at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday.
The Birney Quick Legacy Exhibit opens at the Johnson Heritage Post with a reception from 5-7 pm on Friday. Quick (1912-1981) produced more than 10,000 works of art in his lifetime, many of which were painted in Cook County. He was a gifted teacher and an expert fisherman and, in many ways, established Cook County as an art destination for artists and art lovers. This exhibit will highlight the many techniques and mediums Quick mastered, from watercolors to charcoals to wood carving. Refreshments will be served. The exhibit continues through April 21.
On Saturday the Poplar Plunge, a fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Firefighters will be held at Poplar Lake from noon to 4 pm.
The Poplar Plunge, a fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, will be held on Saturday.
The event, sponsored by Poplar Haus and White Pine Lodge, will be held from noon to 4 pm. Both lodges are located on Poplar Lake. This exciting event invites participants to take a refreshing (and icy!) dip into beautiful Poplar Lake, located on the Gunflint Trail. But don’t worry, the shivers won’t last long. Following the plunge, participants will be treated to a rejuvenating sauna session at either Poplar Haus or White Pine Lodge, the perfect way to warm up and relax.
Each location will have a hole in the ice for participants to plunge as well as a sauna to use afterwards. Participants who plunge at both locations will earn a free drink and a prize. In addition to the plunge festivities, there will be food and drink specials at both locations throughout the day.
More than just a dip, the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department will be supervising each hole and accepting donations. These dedicated individuals are the backbone of safety on the Gunflint Trail, and the proceeds from the Poplar Plunge will help them continue to provide essential services to the community. To find out more, click here.
Exhibits:
The Tweed Museum of Art has a new exhibit entitled: From Where They Came: Portraits by Katherine Turczan,
Katherine Turczan, Child, Kyiv, Ukraine 1991 is one of the photographs in the new exhibit at the Tweed.
According to the Tweed, “In 1991, Katherine Turczan, in response to her parents’ dementia, set out to photograph their homeland, Ukraine. There, she found a people amid momentous historical change.
“Her arrival in Ukraine coincided with the August Coup in Moscow with its reverberations in other Socialist Republics. The painful transition from communism to capitalism was transforming the country and her own heritage. As with her parents, here too, she found a past becoming ungraspable—a mirror reflected both inward and out. Her photographs depict the faces, postures, and returned glances of her sitters, and appear as meditations on the ways political and personal upheaval resolve themselves through individual lives.
“Using her 8”x10” large format camera, traveling by bus and train, Turczan set out into the streets of cities and villages to discover the country’s citizens. Between 1991 and 2008, she made many trips to Ukraine, searching for the collective experience of a nation undergoing profound change. The result is a body of work in the field, including nuns, and children from Chernobyl sanitariums. In each of her portraits, Ukraine’s struggle is given a human face.
“In light of the Russian Invasion in 2022, and the ongoing war, these photographs take on a new significance. The images offer a glimpse into the private spaces of a people who have experienced continuous political upheaval and conflict, and today struggle to secure their nationhood.”
The exhibit continues through Aug. 10.
The Minneapolis Institute of Art’s newest special exhibition, “The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989,” opened last week. Through photography, sculpture, video, and other media, artists of Korean descent reflect on the tensions that have accompanied South Korea’s recent rise on the global stage. Organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Some/One, 2005 by Do Ho Suh. It’s part of MIA’s collection in this exhibit.
This exhibition features the first generation of artists of Korean descent to experience the new freedoms and rapid changes ushered in by democracy. Born between 1960 and 1986, they came of age in a time of transition, their work filtered through the collective memory of authoritarian rule in South Korea. Here, they reflect on social and political tensions, economic and cultural shifts. In often monumental works, they bring viewers to the border with North Korea, illuminate the ironies of globalization, and suggest what has been gained and lost in South Korea’s ascendance.
Organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this is the first major showing of Korean contemporary art in the United States since 2009. Many of the artists are well-known in South Korea or have an international following; others may be less familiar, especially in American museums. They mold the medium to their message, whether photography or painting, ceramics or video. They honor some traditions and resist others. They bend time and place, addressing the past, present and future to make sense of their complex experiences.
Listen to the free audio guide here.
Two artists who share a mutual reverence for the beauty of nature will be exhibiting together at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery during the month of April.
A new exhibit about the Boundary Waters opens at the Stillwater Gallery April .1.
While their techniques may be different, they share a common desire to capture and convey the beauty of the natural world through their art. The gallery is located at 402 N Main St. in Stillwater.
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery is currently exhibiting works by art students at Lakehead University.
DiCarlo, In My Own World, acrylic, by Emma Viser, is one of the paintings in the Thunder Bay Art Gallery exhibits.
Upcoming:
This month is National Poetry Month and the Grand Marais Public Library will observe it by holding a Poetry Workshop from 6-7:30 pm on Wednesday, April 3 at the library, facilitated by librarian, Ryan Leng.
The Grand Marais Public Library will hold a poetry workshop on April 3.
The first segment of the workshop will feature exercises aimed at developing poems, as well as time to revise and expand drafts. The second segment will include a peer review of those drafts to promote new growth in poetic creativity. In order to participate fully, poets should bring drafts of poems and ideas for new poems. Free. No registration is required. For more details about the workshop, email Ryan at Ryan.Leng@alslib.info
The Winter Market will be held at The Hub from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, April 6.
The third Winter Market of the season will be held at the Hub on April 6.
The Winter Market features a wide variety of work by local artists and artisans. Applications are now being taken. Cost is $10 per artist. To apply, contact Gina at 952-820-5969.
The downhill ski season at Lutsen Mountains officially ends next weekend.
End of the ski season activities will be held at Lutsen Mountains next weekend.
The event will be celebrated at Lutsen Mountains’ Summit Chalet and at Caribou Highlands with music and food. Stay tuned.
And, the weekend after that, April 13, the North Shore Music Association will present award-winning blues, soul, and Americana singer Shemekia Copeland live in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts.
Here’s an example of her work:
Kudos:
Construction of the George Morrison Arbor and Overlook at the entrance to the Rec Park begins. Photograph by Jim Boyd.
A painting by Sam Zimmerman is on the cover of Lake Superior Magazine.
Opportunities:
Boreal Community Media Photo Contest deadline is March 31. To find out more, click here.
Artists at Work:
Autumn Dance, acrylic, by Marti Mullen.
Gary Surber, acrylic, by Jan Attridge.
Anishinaabe miinwaa Ma’iingan,
(Original Man and the Wolf). Digital Illustration by Robert Desjarlait.
Working on paintings for an upcoming exhibition by Charlotte Durie.
Ann Ward trims a tiny bowl in the new pottery studio at Betsy Bowen’s Studio building. She, Bob Tamanaha, and Joan Farnam are working there and call themselves The Northern Lights Pottery Group.
Online Findings:
Here’s a video by Chuck Olsen about the Winter Plein Air artists who painted at YMCA Camp Menogyn recently.
Bryan Hansel writes about books he hasn’t read yet in his latest newsletter.
My collection of books that are lonely with knowledge unconsumed, by Bryan Hansel. Read his blog here.
Online Music:
Live Music:
Thursday, Mar 28:
- Timmy Haus, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 4-6 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
Friday, Mar 29:
- John Gruber, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 4-6 pm
- Pat Eliasen, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Al Oikari and Rod Dockan, Bluefin Grille, 8-10 pm
Saturday, Mar 30:
- Jim Miller, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
- Unity DJ, Up Yonder, 8-11 pm
Sunday, Mar 31:
- Briand Morrison, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 10 – noon
Tuesday, Apr 2:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
- Open Stage, Up Yonder, 6-9 pm
Thursday, Apr 4:
- Billy Johnson, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 4-6 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
- Open Old Time Appalachian Music Jam, Community Center, 7-9:30 pm
Friday, Apr 5:
- Billy Johnson, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 4-6 pm
- Rhoda Anderson-Habedank, Cascade Lodge Restaurant & Pub, 6-8 pm
Saturday, Apr 6:
- “Katieoke” AKA Karaoke hosted by Katie Slanga, Up Yonder, 8-11:59 pm
Sunday, Apr 7:
- Briand Morrison, Moguls Grille & Taproom, 10 – noon
Photographs:
Here is a selection of photographs we found this week:
Wildlife:
Purple Finch by Gail Murton.
Sunrise Pine Marten by David Johnson.
The Red Crossbills have been at our feeders this week by Christine Angelo.
American Kestrel by Jamie Strickland.
A green iguana in Belize by Dave and Amy Freeman.
Sharp-Shinned Hawk by Jamie Strickland.
A Dog’s World:
Snow Puppy by Brigette Binesikwe Nies.
Scout here by Michael Furtman.
Looking Regal Indoors for the Moment by Jim Boyd.
Potpourri:
This! Today! by Richard Gruchalla.
Beach Finds by Beth McClain.
Peep Art courtesy of Teresa Chmelik.
The lake sounds like this too by Nancy Seaton.
Landscapes, Skyscapes, Sunscapes & Waterscapes:
The Calm Before The Storm by Travis Novitsky
Blizzard on Stony Point 1 by Jamie Rabold.
Untitled by Bryan Hansel.
An Old Growth Grandfather by Travis Novitsky.
A Grand Marais Sunset by Chuck Olsen.
Moon Shadow by Tom Healy.
Before the Snow in Grand Marais by Beth McClain.
Death Valley Dunes by Layne Kennedy.
A Boreal beauty by Chuck Olsen.
I want to be like this little cabin by Ron Benson.
Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Easter!
Thank you to everyone who has been supporting NorthShore Artscene with your generous donations. We couldn’t do this without you. If you’d like to make a contribution, click on the icon below. It’s easy, and you can choose the amount that is comfortable for you and donate one time, or make a monthly contribution to support us through the year. Thank you!
P.S. Jeremy Lopez, Yvonne Mills, and Kari Carter are the three people who help make this all possible every week. A donation is a Thank You to them, too.
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