Celebrate Beauty This Weekend

Crazy Wonderful Fall Colors on the North Shore this year by Nicholas Narog.

Greetings from the North Shore, where this weekend is shaping up to be one that is unforgettable. Fantastic art studios and galleries are open with new work by more than 40 local and regional artists during the Art Along the Lake Fall Studio Tour, and fall colors are at their peak, making for a truly remarkable time for everyone.

There are maps for everything. Visit Cook County has brochures for the best places to see fall colors as well as brochures for the studio tour.

The Art Along the Lake Fall Studio Tour brochure includes maps and images of the art on display at studios around the county. The tour closes on Sunday, Oct. 4. Click here for maps and more information.

Here is just a tiny taste of art you will find:

The Kiyi, oil, by Neil Sherman.

Ceramic cups by Megan Jorgenson.

Elise Kyllo loves making felted critters and other stuff.

Wood-turned utensils by Craig Thompson.

Ever imagine that carrots can play soccer? Illustration by Nancy Carlson.

White Pine Cabin, bead painting, by Jo Wood.

It’s a beautiful day to drive up the Gunflint Trail by Nancy Seaton..

This is just a snippet of what you will see on this tour. The studios and galleries are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily through Sunday. Click here to learn more.

And driving around the county to visit the studios will be spectacular, too. Here are a few images we found.

Fall color combo by Sandra Updyke.

Intense colors this year by Staci Lola.

Caribou Lake at dawn by David Johnson.

In the Superior National Forest by Jan Swart.

See “Photographs” below for more.

There’s lots to do in the county this weekend, too.

Jewelers Billy & Barry will be in the Back Yard at Joy and Company through Sunday. They will be there from 10 am through 5 pm, closing early on Sunday.

Jewelers Barry and Billy will be at Joy and Company this week.

These out-going rockhounds have brought lots of interesting stones to the shop. Visitors can pick out and design their very own pendant or ring and meet some of the most solid guys around the Northland.

Also on Thursday, Joy and Company will hold its weekly Art Counter Project from 3-4:30 pm in the shop. Projects vary each week.

Make art at Joy and Company on Thursdays from 3-4:30 pm.

Instruction and supplies are provided. The event is free and open to all, but a $5 donation is appreciated.

Also on Thursday afternoon, the Grand Marais Farmer’s Market will be held in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center from 4:30-6 pm.

Cauliflower season is here at Creaking Tree Farm. They will be at the Grand Marais Farmer’s Market on Thursday.

Look for locally grown vegetables, artisan breads, baked goods, fresh-cut flowers, and more. Open to all.

On Friday, the Boundary Waters Wildfire Relief Fundraiser will be held at the Raven’s Nest at the Gunflint Tavern starting at 4 pm with giveaways.

The Boundary Waters Wildfire Relief Fundraiser will be held at the Raven’s Nest on Friday.

The band Salty Dog will play at 7 pm. $1 from each featured cocktail made with Watchpost Whiskey will be donated to the fundraiser. The public is invited. Help support our local wildfire crews.

Saturday opens with the Cook County Market, which is held in the parking lot of The Hub from 10 am to 2 pm.

Bob Lamond crafts rock lamps. His work can be found at the Cook County Market on Saturdays through MEA weekend, Oct. 17.

This arts and crafts market features work by local artists and includes paintings, pottery, glass, baskets, candles, clothing, and more. Boyd “Bump” Blomberg will play. Open to all.

Photographer Craig Blacklock will give a presentation at Sugarloaf Cove and Nature Center from 1:30-3 pm on Saturday.

Craig Blacklock will be at Sugarloaf Cove on Saturday.

Blacklock is a nationally acclaimed photographer who has published several spectacular books on Lake Superior. Free and open to all.

Also on  Saturday, the 4th annual Storytelling from the Back Roads of Cook County will be held at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts from 2-4 pm.

This is a collaborative event hosted by the Historical Alliance of Cook County featuring speakers from each participating organization, who will share stories of local lore and history from the back roads of the region. The member organizations include Cook County Historical Society, Gunflint Trail Historical Society, Schroeder Historical Society, and Tofte Historical Society.

There will be storytelling at the ACA on Saturday.

The Historical Alliance of Cook County was formed in 2023 to collaboratively share the history of the land, its people, cultures, and their interactions over time – bringing understanding to how the cultural heritage shapes, inspires, and informs Cook County.

The event is free and open to all.

Up Yonder will hold its annual car show on Saturday, too.

The Third Annual Car Show will be at Up Yonder on Saturday.

The show will feature a variety of cars and runs from 10 am to 3 pm. Open to all.

On Monday, Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center will hold Porch Talks, a weekly event focused on the northwoods.

Monday Porch Talks are held at Chik-Wauk at 1 pm.

Topics vary each week. The talks run from 1- 2 pm. Free.

North House Folk School will hold Basket Week Oct. 6-13.

Basket Week starts next Tuesday at North House.

The public is invited to join a gathering of basket-makers, both advanced and aspiring, for a week of exploring this ancient craft. Basketry embodies the soul of traditional craft: simple tools, natural materials, and skilled hands result in purposeful, beautiful items. Birch bark, spruce root, willow, black ash – the northern forest has been generous to basketmakers. Through coursework, free evening gatherings, and Basket Gathering Day, we’ll explore a variety of basketry techniques and forms that have arisen in many cultural contexts.

For more information and to sign up for classes, click here.

Also on Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Violence Prevention Center will hold an Ice Cream Social and Open House/Ribbon Cutting.

The Violence Prevention Center will hold an Open House in its renovated space, 21 W. 2nd St., on Tuesday from 5- 7 pm. 

Join the Chamber to celebrate the Violence Prevention Center’s freshly renovated offices. Tour the new space funded by the Cook County/Grand Marais Joint EDA grant and enjoy free ice cream generously donated by Superior Creamery. Open to all.

Exhibits:

The 2026 Grand Marais Plein Air Competition exhibit continues at the Johnson Heritage Post.

Paintings by David Becker, one of the artists exhibiting in the Plein Air exhibit. He received an Exceptional Merit ribbon for a watercolor he did of the alley behind North House. Photo by Maggie Anderson.

This is an exceptional show, featuring work by 60 plein air local and regional artists who created work for a week in Cook County. Each artist is exhibiting four paintings, so visitors will see 240 paintings in all, capturing the beauty of the water and woods.  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.

There are a number of exhibits at Studio 21 as well.

In the main gallery, you will find the multi-media exhibit by John Hitchcock entitled “What is America? Land Fragments.”

Piecing Together the Strength of Our Surroundings. Screen print, lithography, wool and silk ribbons by John Hitchcock.

It’s a powerful exhibit that speaks to indigenous history and its place in America.

The smaller window gallery features work by painter Sue Rauschenfels and tapestry weaver Emily Wick.

Minnesota, A Field Report, tapestry, by Emily Wick.

The artists are part of the Arrowhead Rising series at Studio 21, featuring a month-long exhibit of work by artists who live in the Arrowhead. The exhibit closes the third week of October. 

Also on view is Muse, an exhibit of 12-inch by 12-inch pieces created by Grand Marais Art Colony members.

The Muse exhibit has opened at the Grand Marais Art Colony‘s Studio 21.

Studio 21 closes the third week of October. It is open from 10 am to 5 pm Thursday through Saturday. Free.

In Duluth, Lizzard’s Art Gallery has opened a new exhibit entitled “Phylum. Forma. Pictura: The Order of Being.”

Lizzard’s Gallery has opened a new exhibit for fall.

The exhibit features work from the gallery’s artists and continues through the first of November.

Siiviis Gallery  in Duluth is currently exhibiting works by its artists entitled “Animal Instincts.”

Cello Bear, oil, by Scott Murphy, is part of the Animal Instincts show currently on view at Siiviis in Duluth.

The exhibit continues through the end of the month.

Upcoming:

The North Shore Music Association has announced that the band, Bizhiki, will be in concert at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Saturday, Oct. 10. The full-band performance combines contemporary Ojibwe music, storytelling, film, and immersive sound. The residency will also include a community-based program in Grand Portage and a full day at Cook County Schools on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, reaching more than 450 elementary, middle, and high school students.

Bizhiki will be in concert at the ACA on Oct. 10.

Last year, the concert sold out. For tickets, click here and stay tuned.

The 8th annual Apple Festival will be held in Grand Marais on Oct. 9-10.

The 8th annual Apple Festival will be held Oct. 9-10.

Look for presentations, apple picking, apple tasting, and a pie-baking contest. Stay tuned.

A Call for Artists has gone out for the fall exhibit organized by the Spirit of the Wilderness Church that will open at the Johnson Heritage Post on Nov. 6.

The Spirit of the Wilderness Community Art Show has put out a Call for Artists.

The theme of this year’s show is “Winter Sabbath,” and it invites artists of every age to participate.

According to a recent press release, “Winter in the North is a time of survival: physically, mentally, and spiritually. How do we as artists deal with winter? By hibernating like bears? By ice fishing and sliding on the snow like otters? By moving south like loons? What helps us to not only survive, but thrive, in winter?”

“How do we rest, recover, and restore?”

 Artists at Work:

Autumn sunshine. Stained glass by Juliet Forrest.

Wilson’s Warbler. Ink on watercolor paper by Ralph Keating.

This is the Stolen Neighbors Quilt. Each of the 11,000 squares represents a person taken by ICE in Minnesota. Photo by David Conway.

Madeline Island Beach by Richard Abraham.

Mary Thompson is a guest artist at North House Folk School for Basket Week.

Cockerels roosting, linocut, watercolor, by Andrew Haslen.

Untitled, oil, by Mark Daehlin is on view at Betsy Bowen’s Studio Gallery.

Checking out the kiln by Lee Ross.

Online Findings:

Photographs: 

Here is a selection of photographs we found this week:

Wildlife:

Four reasons I don’t have any money by Chris Artist.

About an hour ago by Heidi Pinkerton.

Definitely growing up by Julie Deters.

The face that says, “Choose your next move wisely” by Heidi Pinkerton.

You’re nuts by Paul Ostrum.

In the Superior National Forest by Chuck Olsen.

Dinner by Larry Waddell.

That looks edible by Chris Artist.

Wolf by Paul Sundberg.

It’s all in the details. Spruce Grouse by Paul Sundberg.

Forest King by Paul Sundberg.

Sandhill Cranes in the Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge by Rebecca Whitney-Smith.

 Potpourri:

Last flower at the top of a Mullein by Jeremy Lopez.

Spotted this little guy getting some shade from a friend this morning at Jay Cooke State Park near Duluth. Photographer unknown.

A Fall offering by Danna MacKenzie.

Asters at the top of Hollow Rock Road by Beth Drost.

Tamarack turning smoky gold by Sam Cook.

With Diane Knutson by Layne Kennedy.

Ready for winter by Michael Furtman.

All kinds of canoes by Layne Kennedy.

A Fall gift by Jill Lavro Beim.

Even carrots need a hug from time to time by Tom Kasper.

Fall offerings by Jim Boyd.

A beautiful sunrise and a sweet old Willys Jeep Station Wagon by Thomas Spence.

 Leafscapes, Landscapes, Waterscapes & Cloudscapes:

Morning commute by Andy Keith.

Full Harvest Moon by Chuck Olsen.

Fall leaf transformation by Keith Christenson.

Fall on the Range by Paul Pluskwik.

Autumn Sedge Meadow by Paul Ostrum.

That Special Moment by Nathan Slettedahl.

Time to be on the water by David Johnson.

Beauty in the sky by Layne Kennedy.

The red pine and the maples by Ken Harmon.

Fall colors everywhere by Helen Mongan-Rallis.

The hush before sunrise by Paul Sundberg.

And then there’s Fall by Ilena Hansel.

A moment of calm by Bryan Hansel.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Did you enjoy NorthShore ArtScene this week? Please consider making a contribution today. Your support really makes a difference.

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.