Gooseberry is roaring—photo by Emma Deaner.
Greetings from the North Shore, where the rivers are beginning to break up and release winter snows. And a robin was calling in Grand Marais yesterday, so spring is definitely on the way.
On the other hand, our winter visitors will be departing soon, heading north for cooler climes.
Taking a nap by Roxanne Distad. Soon the Snowy owls will be heading north.
When the seasons change, there’s a pause for us, too, as we gather ourselves for the beginning of the summer season. Translation: It will be pretty quiet in Cook County for the next few weeks, but artists will still be hard at work.
And there’s more art to be made.
First up is Art Night at Joy and Company, a series of free mini-classes that are held weekly at the shop. This week, it’s all about pouring acrylic paints and making something beautiful.
A Paint Pour at Art Night this week.
In the acrylic pouring world, there are so many techniques. This week, participants will try the flip cup technique, where colors are put in one cup and the cup is flipped onto the canvas. Participants will slowly lift the cup and watch the paint flow out. This technique is a good way to see how different colors interact.
Joy and Company will have some tiny canvases available, and you can also purchase extra if you like. They will be set up with multiple workspaces to cover many small canvases. Try silicone mediums to see interesting cell formations and changes in the paint patterns.
The event is free, with a suggested $5 donation. The public is invited.
Surfside Ballroom in Tofte will offer another art-making opportunity on Thursday with its Sip and Paint event.
A Sip and Paint event will be held at Surfside Ballroom on Thursday.
Participants will sip a selection of wine as they learn how to paint Lake Superior. Instruction and all supplies provided. For more info and to register, click here. Tickets are $40.
On Thursday night, the North Shore Swing Band will play at Up Yonder from 7-9 pm.
The North Shore Swing Band will play at Up Yonder on Thursday.
This is a great opportunity to listen to an accomplished band play fun and danceable music. Free and open to all.
On Friday, the Winter Music Series continues at the North Shore Winery with Apres-Ski music from 3:30-5:30 pm. This week, Chuck Corliss, Winery founder and regular accompanying voice for any musician playing in their barrel room, will be joining Scott Schuller, tasting room staff member, and local music promoter, to piece together a gig of music they both enjoy.
Below, Chuck plays with another friend at a folk festival a few years ago.
The event is free and open to all. It will be held in the Barrel Room at the winery.
The film series, Films on Fridays, featuring old-time films, continues at the Community Center. This week, “Roman Holiday,” 1953, a light-hearted comedy featuring Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, and Eddie Albert will be screened Here’s the trailer:
The film starts at 6 pm. Free.
There’s lots of music in Cook County this weekend, so check Live Music below.
If you are going to be in Thunder Bay, Definitely Superior, or Def Sup, a contemporary cooperative art gallery there, will be holding its annual fashion show on Saturday, entitled “Derelicte 15: A Fashion Odyssey.”
Def Sup’s Derelicte 15 will be this weekend in Thunder Bay.
This is a big annual event for Def Sup featuring 32 Acts of Wearable Art, Fashion, Music, Drag & Performance from 8 am to 2 pm at the Black Pirates Pub in Thunder Bay. Admission is $20 (CAN) at the door. For more info, click here.
On Wednesday, the second in the three-part series, Spirituality and the Arts, will be held at the First Congregational Church starting at 5:30 pm.
Spirituality and the Arts, panel discussions featuring local writers will be held at the First Congregational UCC.
Each evening will include a soup supper at 5:30 pm followed by a panel of local artists who will explore how art is tied to spirituality and how spirituality is connected to their art. The Rev. Enno K. Limvere will serve as the moderator.
The panel on Wednesday will include writers/poets Jennifer Shoals, Ryan Lang, and Stephen Janasie.
The event is free and open to all.
Exhibits:
This is the last weekend to see Winter Plein Air 2025 at the Johnson Heritage Post.
Mouse Island, watercolor, by Susan Hayden is one of the paintings in the show.
Winter Plein Air, oil, by Margie Helstrom. The works are on view at the Johnson Heritage Post.
This is an interesting exhibit featuring the paintings produced by several artists during the Winter Plein Air residency at YMCA Camp Menogyn, sponsored by the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota. The exhibit continues through March 23. Free.
Tettegouche State Park is exhibiting mounted wood sculptures by Rick Love this month.
Tree, wood, by Rick Love, is one of the pieces on view at Tettegouche.
Rick Love is a Saint Paul-based artist who has exhibited nationally and internationally. He works across a wide range of mediums and materials, but for this exhibition at the Tettegouche Visitor Center, he focuses on wood as a means of celebrating trees, woodlands, and forests “not just as sources of beauty and inspiration, but as powerful models of sustainability. The titles of the works: The New Moon, The Sun, High Falls, Lake Superior, and The Tree serve as both a description of the show and an expression of its essence.”
The exhibit continues through the end of the month. Free. The public is invited.
The Vault, an exhibition of student works, continues at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
The Vault, an exhibition of student work inspired by the collections at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, continues through March 30.
The Vault is an exhibition organized by the Thunder Bay Art Gallery and Grade 11 students from Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School in Thunder Bay. Over the course of several weeks, the students participated in a collaborative project called DFC: Into the Vault, Indigenous Youth Curatorial and Collections Program, a series of group visits to the Gallery to explore the collection “vault” and select a work by an artist in the permanent collection as part of a public exhibition.
The exhibit continues through March 30.
Opportunities:
North House Folk School is now accepting applications for the 2025-27 Artisan Development Program.
Applications for the Artisan Development Program at North House are open.
The program nurtures the growth of the next generation of traditional craft artisans and offers:
- A budget for professional development and mentorship
- Practice teaching
- A living stipend
- Studio space
- Regional, national, and international connections to institutions and artisans
The deadline to apply is March 31. For more information, click here.
The Duluth Art Institute is accepting applications for two exhibits; The 65th Arrowhead Regional Biennial and the Annual Member Show 2025.
Call for art for the Arrowhead Regional Biennial. Click here for more info:
Upcoming:
A concert featuring the Decomposers, an emerging Duluth duo of singer-songwriter Erin Paulson and synth soundscape artist Kenneth Gregory Bressler will be held in the Log Cabin at the Community Center on Saturday, March 29. Basalta with Britt Malec, Hannah Miller, and Liv Sulerud wil also perform as will Adam Kirsch.
A musical feast set for the Log Cabin on March 29.
The concert starts at 7 pm. All ages are welcome. $10-15 donation goes to the artists. Stay tuned.
Joy and Company will host “Smash it,” a creative way to express and create art in these times. It will be held behind the shop from 5:30-7:30 pm on April 1. Open to all.
A Smash Party is set for April 1 at Joy and Company.
“Join us in breaking and making,” says Jill Terrill, owner of the shop. “It’s time to rage and rebuild.” Free.
Artists at Work:
Untitled by Buddy Skiiner. Artwork made at Joy and Company.
The New Day, fused glass panel, by Nancy Seaton.
Plein air sketching today by Charlotte Durie.
Mural, downtown Grand Marais, by Mila Horak and community members.
Online Music:
From Dennis Chick:
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From ArtScene:
From Cory Quirk: Basalta will perform at the Log Cabin on March 29.
Live Music:
Thursday, March 20:
- Pete Kavanaugh, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 5:30-8 pm
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
- North Shore Swing Band, Up Yonder, 7-9 pm
Friday, March 21:
- Chuck Corliss and Scott Schuler, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- Michele Miller and Co., Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, Bluefin Grille, 7-9 pm
- Medicine River, Up Yonder, 7-9 pm
- Joe Paulik, Gunflint Tavern Raven’s Nest, 8-10 pm
- Timmy Haus, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 8:30-11 pm
Saturday, March 22:
- Bump Blomberg, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 3-5:30 pm
- Pete Kavanaugh, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
- Bump Blomberg, Gunflint Tavern Raven’s Nest, 8-10 pm
- Southpaws, Up Yonder, 8-11:59 pm
- Timmy Haus, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 8:30-11 pm
Sunday, March 23:
- Boyd ‘Bump’ Blomberg, North Shore Winery, 3-5 pm
- Après Ski DJs, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 3-5:30 pm
- Gordon Thorne, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 5:30-8 pm
- Jim Elverhoy and John Cron, Bluefin Grille, 7-9 pm
Tuesday, March 25:
- Bump Blomberg and Friends, North Shore Winery, 4:30-6:30 pm
- Barbara Jean, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 5:30-8 pm
- Open Stage hosted by Pete K, Up Yonder, 6-8 pm
- Community Sing, North House Folk School, 6:30-8 pm
Thursday, March 27:
- Gordon Thorne, North Shore Winery, 6-8 pm
Friday, March 28:
- Barbara Jean and Mike Lewis, North Shore Winery, 3:30-5:30 pm
- John Gruber, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
- Bump Blomberg, Bluefin Grille, 7-9 pm
- Joe Pauluk, Gunflint Tavern Raven’s Nest, 8-10 pm
- Timmy Haus, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 8:30-11 pm
- Billy Manzik, Up Yonder, 7-10 pm
Saturday, March 29:
- Pete Kavanaugh, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 3-5:30 pm
- Andrew D. Huber, Cascade Restaurant and Pub, 6-8 pm
- Erick’s Karoke, Up Yonder, 9-11:59 pm
- Bump Blomberg, Gunflint Tavern Raven’s Nest, 8-10 pm
- The Hoolies, Grand Portage Lodge & Casino, 8-11 pm
- Timmy Haus, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 8:30-11 pm
Sunday, March 30:
- Bump Blomberg, North Shore Winery, 3-5 pm
- Après Ski DJs, Lofty Gondola Bar at Lutsen Mountains, 3-5:30 pm
Photographs:
Here’s a selection of photographs we found this week:
Wildlife:
A couple of Canadians and a couple of Americans getting along by Ann Klefstad.
Up close with a Canada Lynx by David Johnson.
This Great Gray Owl insists it’s at a secret hideout but Minnesotans aren’t fooled by Lavin Mansukhani.
Cross Fox by Christian Dalbec.
A perfect landing by David Johnson.
Out for a morning stroll by David Johnson.
Great Gray by Gary Arands.
The birds are returning. Little male American Goldfinch still in non-breeding plumage by Lori Sparkly Franklin.
Early spring visitors to the Grand Marais Harbor by Sierra Parsons.
Potpourri
Standing out in the crowd, Day of the Dead in Oaxaca Mexico by John Gregor.
Took a day off from grind & news to play with friends. Here’s to JOY in tumultuous times- Happy 46th Birthday Kristin Elizabeth! Photo by Alisa Berns.
Watching me do our taxes by Don Davison.
Pulpwood rafting out of Schroeder from the Cook County Historical Society. Archives courtesy of Dan Helmerson.
Poplar Plunge. Photo courtesy of the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Dept. Swimmer unidentified.
A sign of the time by Mike Wiggins, Jr.
Moonscapes:
The Blood Moon by Dennis Chick.
Moon halo in the morning by David Johnson.
Blood Moon Progress by Dennis Chick.
Lunar eclipse with a cosmic perspective by Chuck Olsen.
The Blood Moon Eclipse by Nicholas Narog.
Full Moon by Chuck Olsen.
About last night- Wow. by Pete Souza.
Landscapes, Skyscapes, Waterscapes:
What do you see? by Travis Novitsky.
At Sugarloaf Cove by Chuck Olsen.
Wave Makers by Andy Keith.
Just after sunrise by Bryan Hansel.
The Flute Reed flowing into Lake Superior by Lin Salisbury.
Beam Me Up by Christian Dalbec.
Keep On Keeping On by Bryan Hansel.
Up the Trail courtesy of Pixabay.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Note: Truth be told, I am so happy that I can create this art experience for you every week. It is truly an honor. If you would like to contribute, please 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). And a big thank you to Visit Cook County for its outstanding Events Calendar.