Middle Falls in April, Gooseberry Falls State Park by John Heino.
Greetings from the North Shore, where we are inspired by the coming of Spring. Not only are waterfalls singing their spring songs, but so are the birds and fishermen.
Tom turkeys showing off for the ladies by Roxanne Distad.
“I go because it irons out the wrinkles in my soul” — Sigurd Olson. Sunrise fishing in morning mist, Granite River, Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by Layne Kennedy.
And art-making continues.
This week, participants in Art Night, the mini-workshop held at Joy and Company, will experiment with water-soluble graphite.
Explore graphite and ink at Art Night this week. Photo courtesy of Joy and Company.
Joy and Company explains the process this way:
“Water-soluble graphite is a relatively new addition to the world of drawing materials. This material allows artists to work with both dry and wet techniques, creating a wash effect when activated with a wet brush. Once dry, layers of graphite wash can be drawn over. We will also have some Inktense pencils available if you would like to add a little color. Inktense is a much more versatile, vibrant, and vivid color than other watercolor pencils. You can use water to soften and blend, but once the color dries, it’s permanent on the paper.”
Art Night is from 3:30-5 pm at the shop. Open to all. Free, with a suggested $5 donation.
It’s Trivia Night with WTIP on Thursday at Up Yonder.
It’s Trivia Night at Up Yonder on Thursday starting at 6 pm.
The event is held from 6-8 pm and is free. The public is invited.
It’s movie night at the Community Center on Friday, the last in the winter series, Films on Fridays. The old-time film, The Third Man, released in 1949, starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard, will be screened. Here’s a musical note: the soundtrack for the film is The Third Man Theme, composed for the film and played on a zither throughout the film.
Here’s the trailer:
The movie will start at 6 pm. Free.
On Saturday Kids Plus will host an Easter Egg Hunt at the Sledding Hill at the Grand Marais Recreation Park starting at 10 am.
The Kids Plus Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday.
Advisory: Be there at 10 am. The eggs disappear fast. Free and open to all.
Also on Saturday, Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis will be the Spring Music Residents at the North Shore Winery.
Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis will play at the Winery on Saturday.
The duo will take over the winery’s Barrel Room each Saturday from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. Free. The public is invited.
Exhibits:
The exhibit Gentle Hikes of Minnesota’s North Shore continues at the Johnson Heritage Post.
Gentle Hikes continues at the Heritage Post.
The exhibit was created by Ladona Tornabene, an associate professor of Health Education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. This exhibit explores the rich beauty of hiking trails along the North Shore and the intersection of health and art, and is supported by The Imagine Fund, University of Minnesota.
The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Thursday through Saturday and from 1-4 pm Sunday. Free and open to all.
NorthShore photographer Hayes Scriven is exhibiting work in the Great Hall at Tettegouche State Park.
Hollow Rock by Hayes Scriven. He is exhibiting at Tettegouche this month.
The exhibit continues through the end of April. Open to all. Free.
Painter Jennifer Horn is showing a collection of her contemporary works at the Cedar Coffee Company in Two Harbors.
Purple Echo, acrylic, by Jennifer Horn.
The exhibit continues through the end of this month.
In Duluth, Emily Markgraf’s Senior Exhibition opened at the Tweed Museum of Art.
A new exhibit has opened at the Tweed Museum of Art.
The exhibit continues through April 26.
The Duluth Art Institute is exhibiting Seasons of Change, featuring the work of students in Susan Maguire’s Digital Photography course at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Brule River, by Elijah Molina. It is one of the images on view at the Duluth Art Institute.
Students in the UWS Spring 2025 Gallery Practices course partnered with students in the Fall 2024 Photography 2 class to create an exhibition exploring transience. Acting as curators, the Gallery Practices students collaborated with their peers in the advanced photography course to shape this collection. The works chosen reflect on the cycles of growth, decay, and renewal that define our lived experience on Earth and aim to capture the ephemeral, preserving moments before they fade into the next phase of flux.
The exhibit continues through April 18.
Kudos:
WTIP North Shore Community Radio has received 9 first-place awards and one Award of Merit in the small-market media category at the 2025 Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association Eric Sevareid Awards in Minneapolis on April 12.
WTIP wins 10 awards.
To read all about it, click here.
Chuck Olsen wins the Eric Severeid Award for Video Journalism. See it below:
George Morrison to have an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
When the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens “The Magical City: George Morrison’s New York” on July 17, it will mark the first solo exhibition of Morrison’s work at the Met, seen by many as a milestone for both the artist and the state’s art history. This will be the first time many will learn Morrison’s New York story.
George Morrison to have a show at the Met.
The Minnesota Museum of American Art will send the oil painting “Untitled (Cap d’Antibes),” 1953, to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the exhibition “The Magical City: George Morrison’s New York.” Courtesy of the Minnesota Museum of American Art.
Upcoming:
Lutsong Productions (producers of the annual Lutsong Music Festival) will hold a Songwriter’s Retreat at Cascade Lodge & Restaurant April 24-27.
The Lutsongs Songwriter Retreat is April 24-27.
Veteran instructors Steve Seskin and Mary Bragg will help songwriters say what they want to say, and guide them to a deeper understanding of what makes a great song.
Registration is open. To register and find out more, click here.
The Hovland Art Guild Spring Art Show, featuring the work of 19 artists from the community of Hovland, opens at the Johnson Heritage Post on April 25.
Hovland Art Guild Spring Art Show opens April 25. Painting by Gina Adams.
The show will offer a cornucopia of styles and media, including painting, fiber, glass, pottery and more. The opening reception is from 5-7 pm on April 25. Stay tuned.
Corrie Steckelberg illustrates the new Angry Trout Cafe Cookbook
Corrie Steckelberg has just finished illustrating a new cookbook for the Angry Trout Cafe. The book launch is on May 2.
Corrie Steckelberg with the new edition of the Angry Trout Cookbook, which she illustrated. The book launch is on May 2.
The Angry Trout Cafe is known regionally for being a pioneer of sustainable culinary business practices, exquisite, locally-sourced cuisine, and commitment to supporting local artisans. The restaurant offers a menu that highlights fresh, locally sourced ingredients with a focus on Lake Superior fish.
A peek inside. Illustration by Corrie Steckelberg.
Steckelberg is an acclaimed multi-media artist from Hovland and is currently working on completing her BFA at the University of Minnesota. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and publications and is celebrated for its unique blend of humor and pathos. The artist’s full CV and past artworks are available to see online at Corrrrie.com .
Artists At Work:
Betsy Bowen’s 2026 calendar is in the works. This is the painting for April 2026.
Two fish houses. Wood carving by Alton Olsen. Alton Olsen was the grandson of Hans Engelsen. Hans Engelsen and his twin brother-in-laws, John and Andrew Tofte, together, founded Tofte in 1893. Photo and info courtesy of Terry Backlund.
Trying to get out of the well by Kim Dayton.
Carol Anderson Morgen and Nancy Backlund created this quilt for a Care Partners fundraiser. Tickets go on sale May 20. For more info, click here:
A messy day by Mary Beams.
Spring is en route, acrylic, by Aaron Kloss. jpg
Woodland Manga- Mooningwane Ikwezen Yellow Flicker Girl by Robert Desjarlait.
Not quite organic by Ron Benson.
YWCA Gender Joy Art Show in May. Painting by Patricia Canelake.
Feral Botanica II- Light Arises Among the Petals, oil, by Kathy Fox Weinberg.
The Kiss, 1907-08, by Constantin Brâncuși.
For spring, acrylic, by Sue Rauschenfels.
My first Sabe in acrylic, by Sam Zimmerman.
Online Findings:
Ivy Vainio (Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe direct descendant) was awarded an Artist Equity Grant in 2024 by the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, to produce a Native American Art/Artist-focused podcast.
The podcast titled “First Light: Carl Gawboy, Wendy Savage & the Ojibwe Art Expo” is a three-part series diving into the Anishinaabeg art scene past and present with two respected Ojibwe artists, Wendy Savage (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) and Carl Gawboy (Bois Forte Ojibwe).
Wendy Savage, a multi-media artist, has been named the 2025 Artist of the Year by the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council.
Painter Carl Gawboy is recognized for his work about Anishinaabe and Northern Minnesota history.
Slipping Away into the West, ca. 1990s. acrylic, by Carl Gawboy.
The series is an insightful and inspiring project that will live on as an important slice of Annishinaabeg art history and commentary. Highly recommended.
And here’s the latest Sparky Stensaas birding video if you’re a fan.
Online Music:
Live Music:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
Friday, April 18:
- DJ Unity, Up Yonder, 8-11:59 pm
Saturday, April 19:
- Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Southpaws, Up Yonder, 8-11:59 pm
Sunday, April 20:
- Boyd ‘Bump’ Blomberg, North Shore Winery, 3-5 pm
- Eric Frost, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
- Open Stage hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 6-8 pm
- Community Singing, North House Folk School, 6:30-8 pm
Thursday, April 24:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
Friday, April 25:
- Medicine River, Up Yonder, 7-11 pm
Saturday, April 26:
- Charlie Parr with JT Bates, Up Yonder, 8 pm
Sunday, April 27:
- Bump Blomberg, North Shore Winery, 3-5 pm
Photographs:
Here is a selection of photographs we found this week:
Wildlife:
Female Common Merganser enjoying what looks like a Sculpin, small bottom-dwelling fish, by David Johnson.
Spring in the Black Hills by Layne Kennedy.
Woodcock by Michael Furtman.
Great Grey Owl among the willow bud by Roxanne Distad.
Deer browsing the back roads by Paul Pluskwik.
A favorite photo of the Northern Harrier by Michael Furtman.
Big Lake abundance. Grateful and happy by Mike Wiggins, Jr.
Broad-billed Hummingbird by John Heino.
Pair of Gannets, Cape St. Mary’s, Newfoundland by John Gregor.
Duck dispute by Bill Mrchel.
Almost Wildscapes
Chicken interview. Photo by Kirsten Wisniewski.
Meet little Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, George, Newman, Frank, Estelle, Mr. Peterman, Banea, and Joe Davolla! by Tom Kasper.
Peoplescapes:
Harry At His Childhood Home, Copper Canyon, Navajo Nation by John Gregor.
Night light, downtown Mpls by Layne Kennedy.
Photos from Derelict 15, a contemporary fashion show sponsored by the Definitely Superior Art Gallery in Thunder Bay. To see more photos, click here:
Potpourri:
Some of my hair was included in this nest by Sam Zimmerman.
Swimmers after 12 inches of snow. Sculpture by Paul Granlund. It is in front of the Johnson Heritage Post.
Swimmers, bronze, without snow by Paul Granlund.
I don’t think I should have downloaded Chat GPT!! Bwa ha ha by Jamie Rabold.
Relaxing at the cabin by Jodie Wenzel.
Photo by Inspiration Quotes Page courtesy of Nancy Dumas.
Landscapes, Skyscapes, Waterscapes:
Aurora over Lake Superior by Ken Harmon.
Lonnie Dupre and Pascale Marceau sail off on their way to Greenland.
Island, Lake Superior by John Gregor.
Coming to shore after a 7.5-mile kayak trek from Terrace Bay, Ontario to Slate Islands Provincial Park in Lake Superior by Layne Kennedy.
Spring by Mike Wiggins, Jr.
First moorings by Terry Backlund.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Ha! Nobody sent me music ideas. I’d love to include some. Email me at Joan.Farnam@gmail.com.
Also, it would be great if you decide to support NorthShore ArtScene with a donation this week. Your Contribution really makes a difference. Just click on the icon below, and thank you!
Thank you to Jeremy Lopez (Live Music schedule, tech advice, music suggestions), Yvonne Mills (proofreading and music suggestions), and Kari Carter (caption corrections) for helping put ArtScene together. And a big thank you to Visit Cook County for its outstanding Events Calendar.
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