Still More Area Art Happenings

Next Wednesday, November 16, there will be an Artist Reception at the Lake Avenue Café in the De Witt Seitz Building, Canal Park here in Duluth. From 5-7 p.m., accompanied by the Procrastinator’s Jug Band, Karin Kraemer’s Ceramic Wall Tiles will take center stage for the duration of November.

Kraemer’s work on exhibit at the Cafe will be comprised of classic tiles, looser hand tossed tiles, with paintings, and hand-built boxes, like terra cotta architectural building elements. All are terra cotta clay, with Maiolica hand-painted glaze. When I look at the work it is reminiscent of ceramic pieces I saw at a pottery studio just outside Guanajuato, Mexico in the 1980’s.

Kraemer has been contributing to the arts scene in the Twin Ports for more than two decades. “I’ve been a potter and tile maker for 25 years,” says Kraemer. She has an MFA in ceramics from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and a BFA in Glass from St. Cloud State University. “I teach in various settings, like the Duluth Art Institute, Lake Superior College, UWS, the Grand Marais Art Colony, and elsewhere. I make custom tiles for folks' homes and other projects. I began in hot glass, and migrated to clay. The circle of growing the garden, cooking, and making the pots (that the) food is served in make a full circle for me.”

Many of her mentors are well-known potters in our area: Bob Briscoe, Bob Husby, Dick Cooter, Warren McKenzie, Linda Arbuckle, Jan Siverson and more....

“I love doing clay, because it is a part of our daily life. You don’t need a lot more of artistic content than that it holds our food! It's the best calling card for the world of art....beauty, food, everyday actions, appreciated.”

Tonight, Tonight
Several much anticipated events are occurring this evening in Duluth. At the Duluth Art Institute new work by Martin DeWitt will be on display in an exhibit titled “Homecoming.” The opening from 5-7 p.m. will be concurrent with an exciting Ochre Ghost exhibit in the John Steffl Gallery upstairs. Chester Creek Café is donating wine and appetizers as the Thirsty Pagan Brewing generously supplies the beer.

‘Ochre Ghost: Ab Initio’ will undoubtedly be a most unusual display, possibly breathtaking, possibly preposterous and most assuredly memorable. Jessica Liszewki, co-founder of the Ochre Ghost Gallery a year ago, stated, “Our main goal in doing this is to show the broader Duluth community kind of what we have been up to.”

According to a New-Tribune story, the exhibit will have four components.
• The temporary house structure, which provides the framework for the rest of the show.
• Video by Sean Elmquist and Nick Sunsdahl that will be projected on inner walls, sometimes distorted into corners and laid over pastel graphic designs sketched into the surface. Five projectors will play video on about a 25-minute loop.
• A mash-up of found sound, mixed by Gustaf Ekstrand.
• A large-scale fiber piece that required skinning more than 200 pounds of stuffed animals purchased from Goodwill. The fur has been stitched together to create a coat for a 15-foot worm-like creature that is about 3 feet high at its thickest point. It will look as though it is being pulled through the house and up into the vacuum.

The Ochre Ghost’s primary claim to fame has been its ability to find and share under-represented artists with the local community. Here’s a way to learn more about tonight’s event.

Once you’ve had an eyeful at the DAI, head on up to The Stagecoach, the Twin Ports’ newest art venue at 15 Third Avenue West. This is the new gallery I made reference to on Monday when writing about the Surfacing exhibit at Pizza Luce. The open house will be from 7:00-9:00 p.m., with music and amenities. For sure I plan on attending both events. And maybe I’ll see you there, too.

As always, click images to enlarge.