Wait For It

Gunflint Trail Moose With Overcast Skies, oil, by Rachael Rae Klesser is one of the works at the Hovland Arts Guild Spring Show at the Johnson Heritage Post. (See below for details.)

Greetings from the North Shore, where the 2025 art season is beginning with fascinating exhibits opening everywhere. I don’t know about you, but I am so grateful for the artists in our midst. They make a big difference in the world. Thank you all.

The last week in April is pretty quiet on the North Shore with a few notable exceptions, and art-making continues.

First up is Art Night at Joy and Company where the public is invited to the shop every week to experiment and play with a variety of different mediums.

It is Art Night at Joy and Company on Thursday.

This week, it’s Teacher’s Choice, with Magic Markers on tap for art-making.

Art Night is held from 3:30-5 pm at the shop and is free, with a suggested $5 donation. Open to the public.

On Friday The AngryTrout Cafe will host a book launch and book signing for its new cookbook illustrated by Corrie Steckelberg at 5 pm.

Angry Trout Café Cookbook release is at 5 pm  on Friday.

The cookbook features a great selection of its signature recipes, including  old favorites and new ones, with delightful and provocative illustrations by Steckelberg.

Corrie Steckelberg with the new edition of the Angry Trout Cookbook, which she illustrated. The book launch and signing is on May 2 at 5 pm.

The cookbook will be available for purchase at the restaurant as well as at select local retailers. The public is invited to the book launch. Refreshments will be served.

Also on Friday, May 2, North House Folk School will hold a wood-fired Community Pizza Bake and games on the Commons starting at 5:30 pm.

Make pizza at North House on Friday.

North House will provide pizza dough, sauce and cheese (GF & DF options available). Participants are invited to bring their own beverages, as well as a favorite pizza topping or two to share.

This event is free and open to all ages.

North House will be holding a number of Community Pizza Bakes this summer and has put out a call for volunteers to help this season. It is always fun, and the perk, of course, is tasty, homemade pizza.

North House is looking for pizza potluck volunteers.

To find out more and to volunteer, click here.

Also on Friday, painter Linnaea Borealis Rose will be at Tettegouche State Park for an opening reception.

The opening reception for paintings by Linnaea Borealis Rose will be May 2.

The exhibit continues through the month of May.

On Saturday, Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis will play in the Barrel Room at the North Shore Winery  from 3:30 to 5:30 pm.

Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis play at the Winery onSaturday.

The popular duo are Musicians-in-Residence this spring at the Winery. The performances are free and open to the public.

On Saturday night, the band Summoning Circle will perform at the Hovland Town Hall, starting at 8 pm.

While the members of the group are from all over, the band claims two hometowns: Santa Cruz, Calif. and Derry, Ireland. The founding band members include Jack Kelly, Joe Doucette, and Liv LaFluv. They are joined on this trip by a duo, Sean Hoffman and Ellen Coplin, known as Bobcat Opossum, who will be doing an opening set. Together, they will undoubtedly have a very full sound, and the walls of the Hovland town hall will reverberate intensely with their wild vocals, droning instruments, and stomping rhythms.

Here’s a video of one of their songs.

Exhibits:

The Hovland Arts Guild Spring Show opened at the Johnson Heritage Post last week. The exhibit, which features a wide variety of work for more than 15 artists who are part of the guild, continues through May 23.

Here are just a few examples of what you will see:

Teal Ovals in Their Natural Environment, paper collage, by Maxine Linehan.

Trees, photograph, by Meadow Carr.

Fly, collage, by Jill Terrill.

Scenes from Life, fiber, by Robin Penner.

Fiber work, paintings, photographs, collage, leatherwork, prints, glass and more are featured at this eclectic show.

The Heritage Post is open from 10 am to 4 pm Thursday through Saturday and from 1-4 pm on Sunday. Free and open to all.

Lizzard’s Gallery and Framing in Duluth opened a new exhibit of local and regional painters last week.

Embodiment, an exhibit at Lizzard’s Gallery and Framing, has opened.

Embodiment is a group show that centers on the narratives of the human form. New figurative works by Sara Brokke, Patricia Canelake, Alexa Carson, Adu Gindy, Melanie Lieb, Scott Murphy, Wendy Rouse, Natalie Salminen-Rude, and a special painting by the late Lee Englund.

Run Rabbit Run, acrylic, by Adu Gindy, is one of the paintings in the Embodiment exhibit at Lizzard’s Gallery.

The exhibit will continue through June. Highly recommended.

The 2025 Member Show at the Duluth Art Institute opens May 5. Stay tuned.

Painter and muralist Adam Swanson will have an Open Studio Sale on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm as part of the North Carlton County Roundabout Art Tour.

Adam Swanson will hold a studio tour this weekend.

The North Carleton County Roundabout Art Tour is this Saturday.

Swanson’s address is 3315 Ditchbank Rd.,  Cloquet. For more information, email Swanson here.

Upcoming:

The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council will host two events to present the 2025 Arts Awards this year –at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet on May 9 and at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais on May 30.

The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council will host two award ceremonies this year. To learn more, click here.

 On May 9 at the tribal college, Karen Savage-Blue will receive the George Morrison Artist Award for significant contributions to art in the 7-county ARAC region, and Giizh (Sarah) Agaton Howes will receive the Award for Transformational Art.

On May 30, Joan Farnam will receive the Maddie Simmons Arts Advocate Award for her blog, NorthShore ArtScene, at the Heritage Post.

To learn more about the awards and the artists and to RSVP, click here. 

 Also on May 9, the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour begins. It is held from May 9-11 at seven pottery studios in the area.

St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour is May 9-11.

Mark Abrahamson, left, was the Cook County Citizen of the Year in 2024. Lions Club president Pete Kavanaugh presented the award to Mark at Fisherman’s Picnic last year. To read more, click here. 

Practicing deep observation by drawing with both hands simultaneously often leads to unexpected and evocative imagery by Julie Deters.

Continuing with greyhound musings by Marty Harris.

Veins of the Earth, oil on copper panel, by Kathy Fox Weinberg.

Howling, oil, by Scott Murphy, is one of the paintings in the Embodiment exhibit at Lizzard’s Gallery.

The Great Drive, pastel and/or colored pencil, gouache and watercolor over graphite by Clarence A. Gagnon.

Cheng-Khee Chee, internationally acclaimed watercolorist, died on April 10.

A day of Rest by Mary Beams.

Composition examples by Aurora Sage.

Another Tatanka crept up, acrylic, by Karen Savage-Blue.

Online Findings:

Frida Kahlo’s exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, “Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds,” has opened.

The Frame (El Marco), 1938, oil, by Frida Kahlo, is one of the works on exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Unveiling Frida Kahlo’s work for the first time in the Art Institute galleries, this exhibition focuses on the celebrated Mexican artist’s first and only trip to Europe and her brief yet pivotal encounter with Mary Reynolds, an American avant-garde bookbinder who stood at the center of a rich Parisian artistic community.

Drawing upon the extensive Mary Reynolds Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and extraordinary Kahlo loans from public and private collections in the US, Mexico, and Europe, the presentation sheds light on this little-known chapter of 20th-century art history, recounting the legacies of Kahlo and Reynolds—both artists themselves and partners of artists—as they navigated Surrealism, identity, and cross-cultural exchange on the eve of World War II. See more here.

For Sparky Stensaas fans, here’s the latest:

Online Music:

• Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm

Saturday, May 10:

• Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm

Photographs: 

Here’s a selection of photographs we found this week:

Wildlife:

Northern Shovelers by David Johnson.

No passing zone, Yellowstone Lamar Valley, by Lee Ross.

Male Hooded Merganser by Bill Marchell.

Pelican Race by Roxanne Distad.

Spring arrival by Michael Furtman.

A response to our dog by Jennifer Roy.

An inquisitive look from a curious marten, by Thomas Spence.

Pelican-ing is now a Duluth verb by Karen Sunderman.

A courtship flight of Redhead Ducks is low over a stand of phragmites that are bowing to the wind by Bill Marchell.

Potpourri: 

Walking the steps up to the High Falls, Grand Portage National Monument. Photo by Dee Miller.

Ann Ward captures Cascade Cascading into Lake Superior by Joan Farnam.

Navigating through ice on Lake Superior. The boat was the first sail boat to pass through the Sioux locks this season. Photo courtesy of Lonnie Dupre.

27 inches, guys. But it goes fast when it goes. We’ll get there, by Ben Seaton on Hungry Jack Lake.

Forest Fashion by Mother Earth Outfitters by Maryl Skinner.

The onion, lily, iris, hollyhock, and I made it! by Nathan Slettedahl.

Northern lights right above the house. Armstrong Lake, Ely by Paul Pluskwik.

Sunrise and the coffee pot by Richard Ketring.

Waterscapes, Skyscapes & Landscapes

Good morning from Grand Marais by David Johnson.

Devils Kettle Trail nominated for Best Trails in the US contest.

Morning commute by Ann Jorgenson.

Simple pleasures where the lake and sky meet by David Welch.

Crescent Moon by Ken Harmon.

Gooseberry Falls by Roxanne Distad.

Grand Marais by Terry Backlund.

Superior National Forest by Chuck Olsen.

Rainbow at the High Falls by Kristina Mattson.

Sunrise over Grand Marais by David Johnson.

 Have a great weekend, everyone!

P.S. The stock market was mixed this week. Let’s take advantage of that and make a contribution to ArtScene this week. That might help.

Also, 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.