Greetings from the North Shore, where water is the topic this week — it rained! The wind also went a little crazy with gusts up to 50 mph on the shore.
We’re good today, though, and we’re looking forward to finding out what has been waiting for these first rains to pop up and say, Hello Spring!
We’re also beginning to anticipate the summer season and artists are definitely in their studios this month. (See Artists at Work, below.)
Meanwhile, art-making continues in town, too.
This week, participants in Art Night will experiment with folding paper or origami at Joy and Company.
With so much paper in the shop’s collection, the options for origami possibilities are endless. Joy and Company will hold a few tutorials during the sessions to help participants create beautiful paper folds. Thursday activities and art demonstrations are from 3:30-5 pm. Art Night is free, with a suggested $5 donation. Note: Art Night demos will be paused at the end of the month and resume again in the fall. The last session will be Thursday, April 26.
This Thursday night is also Third Thursday Jazz at Up Yonder with the North Shore Swing Band.
The band plays a great selection of jazz standards and danceable music. Open to all. Free.
Saturday is the Earth Day Fair, which will be held at ISD 166 this year. It is hosted by the Cook County Local Energy Project and features an Electric Vehicle Meet Up, a Speaker Series, interactive stations, games, activities, local food, goods, and more.
This family-friendly event has something for everyone. Play games and activities with family and friends! Learn about e-bikes, hybrid and electric vehicles. Tune in to the great lineup of presentations for the Speaker Series. Indulge in delicious local food from Crosby Bakery, Shook, and the Crooked Spoon. Stroll along the varsity gym to check out all of the Earth Day Fair Exhibitors.
The speakers include everyone from the Soil and Water Conservation District to the buffalo herd manager at Grand Portage, to name a few. To find out more about the Speaker Series and the event, click here. The Earth Day Fair is free. Open to all.
Potter Brett Monahan, who is the ceramics studio manager at the Grand Marais Art Colony, will give pottery-throwing demonstrations from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday in the ceramics studio.
He will throw tall pots, large platters and bowls, bottles, and jugs, to name a few. Tickets are $25. Free to current students, cohort, and punch card members. Tickets can be purchased here. Open to all.
Later on Saturday, the Grand Marais Film Society will screen two films at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts.
The 4 pm screening is a family film about the robot apocalypse – that promises a lot of laughs, adventure, and a dysfunctional family trying their best to save the world. Thanks to Carol Winter and Kirk Dornfeld for their support!
The 7 pm screening is hosted in partnership with the Cook County Pride Committee. The film won Best Picture and Best Actor in 2016 and is an intimate portrait of a young man’s life in three chapters. This film is sponsored by the Angry Trout Cafe.
The public is invited. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased online or at the door.
Also on Saturday, in Minneapolis, Hovland artists Lee and Dan Ross open an exhibit at the Groveland Gallery.
The title of the show is “Breakwall,” and the artists explore the experience of walking on the breakwall in the GrandMarais Harbor, noting human and natural forces and the history that shaped the place.
The opening reception is from 2-5 pm on April 20. The exhibit continues through May 25. The gallery is located at 25 Groveland Terrace in Minneapolis.
There will be an art opening and reception at North Shore Health from 4-6 pm on Monday featuring work by local artists exhibiting new work at the facility.
The exhibits in the lobby of the hospital as well as in the corridors feature a wide variety of artwork including photographs, paintings, prints, fiber art, and glass. The artists include Gary Arrands, Marie Zhuikov, Scott Murphy, Amy Lukas, Joe Gunderson, Carol Morgen, Ladona Tornabene, Jason Yahoos, Annette Cozzi, Terry Lewis, and Todd Ford. Artwork in the space also includes works from the North Shore Health collection, including an early painting by Hazel Belvo.
The public is invited to the reception.
In Duluth, cartoonist Maelo Cruz is opening an exhibit in the atrium at the Zeitgeist Cafe with a reception from 4-6 pm on Tuesday, April 23.
The exhibit continues through mid-May.
Exhibits:
The Birney Quick Legacy Exhibit continues at the Johnson Heritage Post through Sunday, April 21.
The exhibit features oil and watercolor paintings as well as drawings and prints. Some items are for sale.
The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1-4 pm Sundays. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Free.
The Tweed Museum of Art is exhibiting “Then and Now: Ojibway Basketry.”
The Fond du Lac Reservation community has been fortunate to have the insight to sponsor unique art projects for the community. Community is built through art projects and traditional art forms which are kept alive. This exchange of ideas and skills contributes to a thriving creative community. The traditional art forms continue to be passed down to the next generations.
The exhibit includes several other items. To read more, click here.
Also in Duluth, Lizzard’s Gallery in Duluth is exhibiting works from the Lake Superior Watercolor Society.
Lizzard’s Gallery is located at 11 W. Superior St. in Duluth.
In Thunder Bay, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery is featuring two student exhibits by art students at Lakehead University.
The exhibits include a juried exhibit and an honors student exhibit. It continues through April 28.
Artists at Work:
Online Findings:
Q & A with Sterling Elliott
2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant-winner Sterling Elliott has already appeared as a soloist with some of the world’s greatest: the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony and the Dallas Symphony, to name just a few. A recipient of the 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence and a cellist who is in demand as both a soloist and pedagogue, Elliott is only 24 years old—and this month, he makes his debut with us at Orchestra Hall. To read the interview, click here.
The Movement to Remove Renoir from Museums
Cook County resident Aliya Marxen serves up delicious meals and deep dives into food history with her publication, “Table for One.”
Online Music:
Live Music:
Thursday, Apr 18:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
- North Shore Swing Band, Up Yonder, 7-9 pm
- Open Old Time Appalachian Music Jam, Community Center, 7-9:30 pm
Saturday, Apr 20:
- Unity DJ, Up Yonder, 8-11 pm
Tuesday, Apr 23:
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
- Open Stage, Up Yonder, 6-9 pm
Thursday, Apr 25:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
Saturday, Apr 27:
- Zulu Link, Up Yonder, 7-11 pm
Photographs:
Here’s a selection of photographs we found this week:
Wildlife:
The world’s oldest loon pair returns to the Seney, Mich. Wildlife Refuge
Potpourri:
Landscapes, Waterscapes, Wavescapes and Sunscapes:
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Hope you enjoyed ArtScene this week.
It was fun to put together, for sure. If you’d like to donate to this effort to keep you informed, entertained, and, sometimes amused, you can contribute by clicking on the icon below.
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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Hi, Wonderful photos and art work as always. However, the butterfly photographed by Chuck Olsen is a Compton’s Tortoiseshell not a Green Comma.
Please donate to this wonderful resource! It’s my favorite email to get and keeps me up on all the fab activities on the north shore and beyond. If you are getting attention because your work is promoted here – consider it an advertising expense. And share it widely! Thank you Joan and crew for all the hard work you do!!!