A Prime Time For The Eyes & The Ears

Greetings from the North Shore, where we are all looking forward to art-filled days ahead. The Art Along the Lake Fall Studio Tour in Cook County begins on Friday and runs daily through Oct. 4.

And in Lake County, the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour will be held Friday through Sunday.

Add to that the 2026 Grand Marais Plein Air exhibit that opened at the Johnson Heritage Post on Friday, and you have a recipe for an inspiring art-filled weekend.

Add to that the fact that fall colors have arrived, and it’s probably fair to say this weekend will be prime time for the eyes.

Oops! It will be a fantastic time for the ears, too. Unplugged is this weekend at North House Folk School with Dave Simonett, headliner for Trampled by Turtles, performing in an outdoor, free concert on Friday night.

Add to that the hands-on activities and classes over the weekend at North House, as well as food experiences, and then there’s a poetry event at Drury Lane Books … truth be told, it’s a weekend to enjoy all your senses.

To make art yourself, consider going to Joy and Company on Thursday. The Art Counter Project, which is open to the public, is held weekly from 3-4:30 pm.

Art projects vary each week, but some instruction is provided, as well as supplies. It is free, but a $5 donation is appreciated.

This is also the day to find locally grown produce, artisan breads, jams and jellies, and cut flowers at the Grand Marais Farmer’s Market.

The market is held from 4:30-6 pm in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center.

Friday opens with the Art Along the Lake Fall Studio Tour at 10 am. More than 30 studios and galleries are participating this year, from Schroeder to Grand Portage. Many of the studios are featurng guest artists as well.

Here is a tiny snapshot of what you’ll find during the Fall Studio Tour.

This is just a tiny representation of artists participating in the Fall Studio Tour. The studios and galleries are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily. To find out more and see all the artists participating, click here.

Also on Friday, the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour starts in Lake County, with participating artists showing paintings, poetry, baskets, glass, fiber arts, and more.

 To find out more about the tour, participating artists, and maps, click here. The tour ends at 5 pm Sunday.

Friday is also the first day of Unplugged, the fall celebration at North House Folk School.

This two-day festival features two free concerts: Dave Simonett on Friday at 7 pm and the Roe Family Singers for a family concert on Saturday at 10 am.

But that’s only a part of what will be offered during this two-day celebration: classes, presentations, and hands-on craft activities for families, an online auction, and more on the schedule. To find out more, click here. 

On Saturday, the Cook County Market opens in the parking lot of The Hub at 10 am.

 

This market exhibits a variety of work by local artists and artisans, including paintings, rock lamps, pottery, glass, baskets, hand-dyed fabrics, balms and lotions, and more. Open to all. Tom Knutson will play live music.

On Saturday evening, Drury Lane Books will host the League of Minnesota Poets.

Five poets will share their work at the event. Attendees will hear from local and regional poets published in this year’s Agates anthology, including Ryan Leng, Sarah Royer-Stoll, Brittany N. Jaekel, Morey Nellis, and Shelby D. Johnson. Guest poets will have the spotlight for the evening, but if there is time afterwards, the circle will be opened to the usual open-mic-style poetry share for all to participate.

AGATES is the poetry journal published annually by the League of MN Poets and features members’ original works. The book is a perfect-bound, 90-page collection of poems beautifully designed and edited by members.

The public is invited. The reading starts at 6 pm.

On Sunday, a Full Moon Sound Bath will be held in the Log Building at the Cook County Community Center at 7 pm.

The public is invited to experience the therapeutic effects of a relaxing sound bath. Freewill donations are accepted. All welcome.

On Wednesday, the Grand Marais Public Library will present Sand Painting & Rangoli with COMPAS artist Shakuntala Maheshwari.

Designed for ages 10 and up, this workshop is two hours long. Registration is required. Space is limited due to the hands-on instruction.

The public is invited to discover rich Indian culture, history, and traditions through sand painting and rangoli. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn about rangoli designs: temporary floor art created to bring good luck and happiness to homes throughout India. Inspired by these intricate designs, create your own mandala-like piece with chalk, sand, or rice flour in this interactive workshop. Your stylized rangoli can be displayed temporarily or transferred to paper to bring home as a keepsake.

Pre-registration is required. Contact the library at 218-387-1140.

Exhibits:

The 2026 Grand Marais Plein Air Competition exhibit opened Friday with a standing-room-only crowd at the Johnson Heritage Post. In all, more than 240 paintings are on display in the show, with many others on reserve.

The plein air painters spent a week painting in the county and participating in special events like the Birney Quick Paint on Artist Point. Lisa Stauffer was the juror this year. The event was organized by the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota.

The exhibit continues through Nov. 1.

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

The Grand Marais Art Colony has opened a new exhibit at Studio 21. The multi-media exhibit by John Hitchcock  is entitled “What is America? Land Fragments.”

Land Fragments talks about the complex relationship among the Indigenous body, colonial policies, and the physical land around us. The exhibition features abstract representations, visual language, and vibrant colors that reference Hitchcock’s kaku’s (Comanche grandmother’s) beadwork and growing up in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma on Comanche Tribal lands next to the U.S. field artillery.

The exhibit continues through Oct. 17. Studio 21 is open from 10 am to 5 pm Thursday through Saturday. Free.

Studio 21 is also exhibiting art by painter Sue Rauschenfels and tapestry weaver Emily Wick as part of its Arrowhead Rising series. This series features work by artists in the Arrowhead Region.

The exhibit continues through Oct. 3.

 Ish Meets a Mermaid, a video by Jonathan Thunder, is on view at the Duluth Art Institute.

Ish Meets a Mermaid is a short film based on a reimagined Ojibwe story, directed by Jonathan Thunder, produced by Vera Bianchini, co-written by Tashia Hart, with cinematography by Jeff Saunders. This exhibition reveals the artistry of the cast and crew who brought Ish Meets a Mermaid to life.

As viewers enter the exhibition, they are guided through the journey of the film’s creation with behind-the-scenes moments from production, original props, storyboards, costumes, and stories shared by the cast and crew, finishing with an in-gallery viewing of the film itself. By expanding our view outward from the finished product, the exhibition reveals the many layers of artistry, collaboration, vision, and labor required to produce a project like Ish Meets a Mermaid. This exhibition encourages the viewer to follow their curiosity about the process of filmmaking and recognize the invisible creative work that goes into an art form as accessible as film.

Ish Meets a Mermaid is on view at the Duluth Art Institute.

Kudos: 

 Betsy Bowen will receive the Kerlan Award next month.

The Kerlan Award is given in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children’s literature and in appreciation for generous donations of unique resources to the Kerlan Collection. It is given by the University of Minnesota‘s Kerlan Collection, a special library focusing on children’s literature.

To register to attend the ceremony, click here.

Artists at Work:

Online Findings: 

The National Gallery of Art is exhibiting a series of works by American artists over the last 250 years.

To see the online exhibits, click here.

Online Music:

Photography:

Here’s a selection from what we found this week:

Wildlife:

Potpourri:

Landscapes, Waterscapes, & Leafscapes:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Please consider contributing to NorthShore ArtScene this week to help support it. Thank you!

 

 

Here’s a big thank you to Jeremy Lopez for the Live Music Schedule and tech support, and to Yvonne Mills for proofreading this week. And a special thank you to Visit Cook County for its great Events Calendar.