Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art: Renaissance Vibe in a Northland Kind of Way

I have been following the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art since it was a gleam in its founder's eyes. Jeffrey T. Larson was an accomplished painter in the style of the Old Masters, but how well would he execute his vision for the school he aimed to build? After graduating several rounds of students from his 3-year program, it's apparent that he not only knows how to teach, but also knows how to manage a bustling young art school. Together with his son Brock the Larsons invested their assets, time and energy into fulfilling this dream.

This weekend the doors were open for their annual Teacher/Student Art Exhibition. As in every past year, the work these young people are producing is impressive. This year I found it all the more so because of my recent trip to Italy. Here are a few photos I took at the opening reception.

It's sometimes hard to take photos of drawing with glass in the frames.
In this case I enjoyed adding the reflection as an element.

The GLAFA is located in a former Catholic church building. The architecture assists in creating a suitable ambiance for art-making.

Related Links

Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art:
https://www.greatlakesacademyoffineart.com/

A Visit with Brock Larson, Co-Founder of GLAFA

Local Art Seen: The Studio of Ingeborg Von Agassi & The Rooster Tail

On Monday I shared some of what I saw at Washington Studios Open House over the weekend.

One of the studio spaces I ducked into was that of Emma Rustan and Christopher Dunn (Rooster Tail Ink). I can still recall my first meeting with the couple five years ago, and their growth as artists has continued.

Emma Rustan as Ingeborg Von Agassiz has also developed as a musician, releasing her first solo CD -- O Giver Of Dreams -- earlier this year.

If you've never dropped in to see what the Washington Studios artists are doing, you owe it to yourself to include it in your next Downtown Arts Crawl.

This "find" in Emma' studio space only served to seal the deal
as regards my own personal fandom for what they're doing.

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Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.

Eric Dubnicka: "Learning My True Art Work"

Monday I had an opportunity to visit the home and studio of Eric Dubnicka, local artist and former curator at the Tweed Museum of Art. The conservation swept over a wide swath of topics from work-life balance to the current state of the Duluth arts scene.

Dubnicka is the kind of artist who subscribes to the idealist maxim, "If I only had five dollars left I would buy art supplies before food."

He made observations about . some of the changes taking place as the local art scene undergoes a generational shift. He himself has been greatly appreciating the older (75+) makers who have been singularly dedicated to their craft like Jerry Ott and Pat Joyelle. At another point he also expressed concern about artist's tendency to play it safe and the resultant loss of spontaneity. Other topics included concerns about patronage (or lack of) for the arts and the financial challenges artists face.

A question we also explored was the matter of permanence. Institutions and collectors look for art that will last because it is an investment. This devalues temporary art and pop-up shows that are intentionally temporary yet beautiful, Dubnicka's two-hour pop-up show on the Summer Solstice being an example of this stripe.

The conversation wove in and out amongst many other themes. To retrieve them you will have to find that fly on the wall and see if she/he had a tape recorder.

What follows are a variety of images from my two-hour visit. You will note a several recurring themes including fascinations with symmetry and textture. The layered wire work has become his latest exploration.

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On the beach... front page of the DNT.

Am looking forward to my next studio tour. 

What have you been working on these days?

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.

Local Art Scene: JNG's Sweep Is a Survey of Contemporary Painting

"Nanabazhoo with Butterflies"

One of the cool features of the new Joseph Nease Gallery (JNG) here in Duluth is the ability to reconfigure the gallery space by rolling some of the walls into new locations. The opening reception for Sweep presents the advantage of this feature, enabling the viewer's line of sight to take in compositions from angles that reveal other relationships and contrasts.

The JNG has 29 paintings on display from more than 20 artists representing a wide range of styles.  Some of the artists will be familiar to local gallery hoppers -- Leah Yellowbird, Kirsten Aune, Adam McCauley -- and others less so, such as Marcus Cain, another artist with Joe Nease/Kansas City connections. There is a lot to see here, some of which has obtained national recognition.

I found a number of pieces to be exceptionally striking and worthy of more than just a passing glimpse. One of these is Rabbett Strickland's "Nanabazhoo with Butterflies."

A much larger, more complex painting from this Native artist has been on display at the Tweed in recent years. This beautifully painted piece is an excellent example of the mystical power of Strickland's sensitive work.

Detail from "Nanabazhoo with Butterflies."

Marcus Cain, who came to town for the opening, has four pieces on display here as a result of a previous relationship with the Neases in Kansas City. Cain's approach to painting (right) focuses more on process as opposed to image reproduction. Rather than using brushes he makes his painting using the marking-making tools ceramic artists use. He calls it meditative mark-making, but if you get up close and engage the pieces, they have a tendency to cause eyes to un-focus because there is no object or point of reference for the eyes.

Whereas one is initially drawn to the pieces by their colors and the 3-D impression of corrugation and depth, it's possible to soon experience the kind of headache one gets from overmuch exposure to those Magic Eye pictures which encourage you to allow eye-focus to relax.  

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One of my favorite artists in the region has to be Leah Yellowbird. Her "Rolling in the Deep" grabs you in part due to the Escheresque underwater fish pattern in the background, almost like a wallpaper pattern. Her acrylic paintings tediously reproduce the sensation of Native American bead-work on canvas. The vibrant colors, lively compositions and unexpected sterling silver attachment on this piece all conspire to produce a magical image that defies easy categorization.

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"Rolling in the Deep" (detail) -- Leah Yellowbird

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Here are some additional pieces you will see if you're able to go.

Adam McCauley's "Nosun"

"Reddy"-- one of three gummy candies painted by Kay Kurt.

For more information on the Joseph Nease Gallery, 

including its hours, visit josephneasegallery.com/

Local Art Scene: November Happenings Leave Us With Many Hard Choices

The Twin Ports arts scene is bustling, so much so that one would be hard-pressed to really see everything. Many events overlap and until we are able to clone ourselves we will have to make choices between this and that, and between that and the other.

Without fanfare, here is the list Esther Piszczek assembled and sent my way. I added a few items and hope that whatever I miss will get mentioned in a blog post here later before it happens. You can see that we have dates and locations, and where available a brief description of what you'll find there.

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Saturday, November 4, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Coppertop Craft and Bake Sale, United Methodist Church, 230 E. Skyline Parkway "Featuring: Over 60 talented, local Crafters, Bakery & Gourmet Foods, Used Book Sale, Nam Lee’s famous Egg Rolls, , Paul’s Homemade Scones, 9 a.m., Warm Cinnamon Rolls served; 11 a.m., Sloppy Joe Lunch

Saturday, November 4, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Holy Rosary Craft Show, Holy Rosary School, 2802 E. 4th Street This is the first year back for this fantastic fair featuring over 50 craft and art vendors. It was so popular in the past, there was a line to get in at 9 a.m.
Note: 4th Street is under construction. You can access the school via N. Hawthorne Street off of Superior Street or Wallace Avenue.

Saturday, November 4, 3-10 p.m., 10th Duluth All Soul's Night, Historic Union Depot, 506 W. Michigan Street "Fire spinning, Spectacle arts, Ceremony, Street Theater, Dancing, Music, Poetry, Face Painting, Costumes, Art displays, ALL celebrating our lost loved ones and dreaming a new world! Suggested $10 free-will donation per person, please give more if you have it to show appreciation for career artists. No one turned away for lack of funds. This is a full evening, attend all or part!

DASN Schedule:
3:00 p.m.: Duluth All Soul's Night Face-Painting Angels: Come get your face painted for this artistic celebration of life and death; underground in the Train Museum until 6 p.m.

4:00 p.m.: DAI Steffl Gallery: Community Exhibit Opening, "The Art of Grief", Multicultural displays in the Great Hall honoring world traditions, individuals and social causes. 5:00 p.m.: Underground Theatre: Poetry; Spoken Word artists with poet laureate, Ellie Schoenfeld, MC Sheila Packa, Tina Marie Higgins, Rocky Makes Room, Julie Gard, Michelle Mathees, and musician, Jim Hall. 6:00 p.m.: Great Hall: Indoor Ceremony: Lyz Jaakola, singer, song leader; Jillian Forte & friends welcome ceremony; Temple Rose Tribal American Style Dance; Alex Loch, Aerialist

7:00 p.m.: Train Museum: Funeral March for Rotten Ideas; Open Flame Theatre; Minneapolis Barebones, and Magic Smelt puppets/stilt walkers; Brass Messengers street band

7:30 p.m.: Outdoor Pavilion Ceremony (if it's dry): Community spiral dance for transformation w/ Terrence Smith; Burning of Rotten Ideas; Spin Collective fire dancing and drumming; Renan Cruz Guatemalan Kite Burning Closing

8:00-10 p.m.: Great Hall: Music & Dancing: 8:00 p.m.: The Brass Messengers; 8:30 p.m.: Crune (witch pop, adult themes) with Matthew Ryan Surline and Walken Schweigert

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund and the State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment. This event was founded by artist Mary Plaster.

Saturday, November 4, 7:30 p.m.. Author/poet Bao Phi will give a live reading at The PROVE Gallery,

Saturday, November 4, 8-9:30 p.m., Zenith City Cabaret: An evening of musical theater entertainment in support of Dementia Friendly Duluth, Zeitgeist Arts Café Atrium, 222 E. Superior Street, Admission is free, Donations accepted. "Featuring: Ali Littrell Finstrom, Andy Kust, Shad Olsen, John Pierce, Louisa Scorich, Adam Sippola, as well as a group of young theater artists.

About Dementia Friendly Duluth: Our goal is to make the community more aware, informed, sensitive and supportive of people experiencing and caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of Dementia. Our objective is to improve awareness of the resources and organizations available to support people with dementia and their families and increase knowledge of dementia across the community. We are excited to utilize this cabaret performance as a catalyst to highlight the positive link between music and dementia care. For people with dementia, music can be a highly effective tool to treat symptoms of dementia."

Friday, November 10 and Saturday Nov. 11, 6:30 - 10 p.m.  Cookin' @ the O, The Carlton Room at Oldenburg House. Pippi, Glenn and friends. The Carlton Room is a performance space with a nightclub atmosphere in a historic house and timeless setting. To learn more, read my story in the Reader, Oldenburg House Emerging as a Northland Hot Sport.

Saturday, November 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Get Great Stuff Local Art and Gift Fair, Duluth Congregational Church, 3833 E. Superior St. This fair is put on by Wendy Grethen of WendyUpNorth and features an array of art gifts and crafts from talented local artists.

Saturday, November 11, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Nice Girls of the North 2nd Saturday Marketplace, Lakeside Lester Park Community Center (former Lakeside Library), 106 N. 54th Ave. East "Free coffee, cookies, and a friendly atmosphere await while you browse a collection of handcrafted clothing and bags, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, photography, personal care products, baby items and much more. One central checkout, most major credit cards accepted."

Saturday, November 11, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Gingerbread Decorating Workshop with Patrick the Gingerbread Man, Norway Hall (above the Nordic Center), Sons of Norway Duluth - Nortun Lodge 1-016, 21 N. Lake Avenue Pre-registration required. Register with Lynne Erickson 218-724-5393 or lericks5@operamail.com, this is a kid and adult friendly free event.

Festival of Trees, Edmund Fitzgerald Exhibit Hall and the Lake Superior Ballroom at the DECC
Saturday, November 11, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Admission: $6
Saturday, November 12, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Admission: $4
Both Days: 12 years and under get in FREE! $1 off admission price with a non-perishable food item donation. In the past, this show, put on by the Duluth Junior League, has featured over 170 crafters and vendors.

Monday, November 13, 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Resist & Protect: A Show of Visual Art & Poetry, Zeitgeist Atrium Gallery, 222 East Superior St. "A gathering to seek solace, challenge, and muster hope in these uncertain times. Resist & Protect is a show of visual art and poetry exploring things we need to resist or protect with reflection upon current leadership and events since the 2016 election. Artworks and poetry will be on display and there will be a reading of selected poems during the November 13 opening reception. Artwork will be on display throughout November. This event is free and open to the public."

Wednesday, November 15, 6:30-9:00 p.m., Zentangle (R) & Wine with Esther Piszczek, CZT, Master Framing Gallery, 1431 London Road. Come experience the fun and relaxation of drawing simple, repetitive line patterns with pen and ink and pencil shading. No previous drawing experience necessary. Class Cost: $35; Supplies: $10 (or use supplies provided without additional cost). RSVP to episzczek@gmail.com. Seats are limited.

Thursday, November 16, 5-8 p.m. Tischer Photographic Gallery Grand Opening celebration. The Tischers will give tours of their new printing and framing studio and offer complimentary refreshments. Ryan and his wife Aimee have participated in the Greater Downtown Council's Pop-up Storefront Program the past two holiday seasons. This year they are taking the plunge and opening the permanent location at 5 West Superior Street in the emerging Arts District.

Friday, November 17, 7-10 p.m., Plys with Purpose, PROVE Gallery, 21 N. Lake Ave. "Plys With Purpose is Prøve Gallery’s fourth exhibition and silent auction of 30 crafted skateboard decks by local, national, and international artists all sharing one purpose, building skateboard parks in our communities. Proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to the Gary New Duluth Development Alliance for their ongoing efforts to build a public, state-of-the-art skateboard park in Gary New Duluth."

Shawna Gilmore's work will one day be collectible.

Saturday, November 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., ART on Tap—Small Business Saturday, Fitger’s Barrel Room, 600 E. Superior St. Join a small, but talented number of artists as they showcase their work in the Fitger's Barrel Room (across from the Brew House on the 1st level) on Small Business Saturday. Organized by Sally Cavallaro Designs. NOTE: I will be there with my Zentangle (R) inspired art and would love to see you!

Saturday, November 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., HoliDAI Pottery and Craft Sale, Duluth Art Institute at Lincoln Park, 2229 W. 2nd Street Artists at the Duluth Art Institute ceramics studio are an eclectic bunch that range from college students to artists in their 70s. This is an opportunity to shop local, support area artisans and find unique hostess gifts, Secret Santa presents and one-of-a-kind items.

Saturday, November 25, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Market Day, 15 N. 3rd Avenue W.
Filled with work from local artists and makers, Market Day is a wonderful place to find practical, artistic holiday gifts. Drop by on Small Business Saturday to make and take holiday cards, honey facial scrub, bath bombs, candles and create your own eye shadow palette. You can also sample/buy fresh baked goodies and Perennial Coffee, featuring locally roasted beans. Throughout the day, there will be drawings and giveaways for soap, lotion, makeup, coffee and bath bombs.

Mondays, November 27-December 18, 6:30-9 p.m., Advanced Zentangle (R) Pattern Drawing with Esther Piszczek, CZT, Peace Church, 1111 N. 11th Avenue E.
This class is open to any student who has taken my introductory Zentangle Pattern Drawing class. This class replaces Zentangle II and III. If you have already taken ZT II or ZT III with me, do not fear, this class will be a brand new experience.
Cost: $75 (includes tiles); Minimum: 5 students; Maximum: 12 students. RSVP by Monday, November 20: episzczek@gmail.com

October 29-November 29, The Works of Alexa Carson, The Vineyard Church Gallery, 1533 W. Arrowhead Road
Alexa Carson paints wildlife native to Minnesota. She will show her work at Festival of Trees on Nov. 11 & 12. Her work is also available at Lizzard's Gallery and Waters of Superior.

October 2017-March 2018: Window to the West Art Display, 2001 West Superior Street
"Photographer Nik Nerburn and painter Brad Tollefson are creating a collaborative art exhibit on the streets of West Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, titled “Window to the West.” A selection of Tollefson’s paintings and Nerburn’s photographs will be on display in the storefront windows of 2001 West Superior Street for six months, through a partnership between the Duluth Art Institute and the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which owns the Seaway Hotel building."

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Places to find Esther Piszczek's art in the Twin Ports:
Art on the Planet, 1413 Tower Avenue, Superior
Duluth Fine Pianos, 405 E. Superior Street, Duluth
Master Framing Gallery, 1431 London Road, Duluth
Zenith City News, E.P. Designs, a regular Zentangle (R) inspired art feature in this newspaper, which can be found at various public locations around the Twin Ports and online.

You can also find some of my work at the following locations:
Goin' Postal, 816 Tower Avenue, Superior
Art on the Planet (same address as above)
The Break Room in Duluth, kitty-korner from St. Mary's Hospital (a.k.a. Essentia)

Don't forget all the fine exhibits at the Tweed Museum of Art on the campus of UMD. Kathy McTavish's "Chance" is there to be experienced through next Spring.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.

Local Art Seen: Checking In with Twin Ports Painter Brent Kustermann

Brent Kustermann's current show at the Duluth Art Institute is titled From the Basement. His paintings defy easy definition. He works in a variety of mediums that include found objects in addition to paints and pigment on canvas. Kustermann considers it to be the duty of an artist to bring a unique perspective to the world, a process “never fully mastered.” I became aware of his paintings through a number of exhibition in 2014.

EN: You state that the duty of the artist is to bring a unique perspective to the world one lives in. What is your "unique perspective"?

Brent Kustermann: I feel that the world of art is positioned within the individual. For me, it is highly personalized and internalized. It is a deeply subconscious endeavor relying on intuition as a guide to produce the picture. Within the realm of art the individual is increasingly demystifying their own mythology only for a deeper wonder toward creation. The evolution of thought and integration of the psyche allow for the perpetual discovery of self and creation while attempting to thwart the ego. This is what makes my art unique.

EN: What prompted you to pursue a career as an artist?

BK: Art has always been a large part of my life. I have often questioned whether or not I chose to be a painter or if it chose me. There have been attempts to put aside the notion of painting throughout my life and this has proved futile. The desire to make paintings becomes a nagging necessity and the only way to quell that desire is to give into it fully and get into the studio and work. With regard to making art a career it seemed evident that I really could not have hundreds of paintings lying around the house. In the past few years if have also taken myself and my work more serious. I have decided to focus on bigger venues to exhibit including quality galleries, art institutes, and the like.

EN: Tell us about your process of making paintings and how do you know when a piece is finshed?

BK: The process of creating paintings for me involves a fairly abstract idea that I mull over for awhile. Sometimes I will sketch and continue to let the ideas take some form that I can attack. For example, in ‘Lung/Lago’, I was thinking about the great lake we live next to and I was thinking of how we as a human race take these things for granted. That moved onto the idea of fish and how they are being fed our pollutants. That moved into the idea about the US Army dumping those mystery barrels into the lake. So, before I digress too much, I will have a bunch of semi¬abstract ideas and then start working and reworking sometimes covering a composition completely looking for the feeling and aesthetic quality that will satisfy those abstract ideas. And, I am not looking for ready made ‘pretty’ pictures. I am attempting to capture the essence of the abstract and the painting is complete when it decides to be complete.

EN: Who have been your biggest influences?

BK: My influences are many. The German Expressionist and Viennese Actionist have a heavy emotion that I truly appreciate for its raw and emotional force. The Abstract Expressionist have a heavy influence on me. The ability to really let the power of self¬expression loose is what is so seductive about that school along with a desire to obtain the sublime. And then there is Picasso’s ability to create massive movements and then just as easily leave them behind for the next.

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From the Basement will be on display at the DAI through November 6 in the galleries on the 4th floor of the Depot.

TONIGHT there will be an artist talk at 5:30 featuring the three artists currently on display -- Brent Kustermann, Adam McAuley and David Asher Everett. The talk will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Engage it.