Catalyst Documentary Features Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art Founder Jeffrey Larson

Great Lakes Academy--Main hall.

The Catalyst Content Festival is approaching fast, now under three weeks away. In addition to meetings, training workshops and networking, a central feature of events of this type is the screening of films, or in this case, films and podcasts, scripts and pitches. Everything from drama series, short film, documentary and comedy will be showcased.

As I looked through the offerings I noticed there's a short documentary about Jeffrey T. Larson, the artist who with his son co-founded the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art. (GLAFA) The school has now entered its fourth year and its students have been producing phenomenal work. (Here is link to their third Student/Instructor Exhibition last spring.)

Painting by Larson

The short film is titled, simply Jeffrey T. Larson. You can watch the trailer here.

I believe I first met Jeffrey Larson when he gave a talk at the Tweed Museum of Art the summer before the GLAFA was opened. In retrospect it seemed clearly designed to raise awareness that something big was emerging on the West Hillside here in Duluth. At the end of their first year they held an open house weekend in which their first year students were showcased. This practice has continued each spring.

Detail from larger piece.

Detail from painting "Heidi"

In similar fashion, artist Jeffrey T. Larson has reproduced a passion for painting in his son Brock and together they have undertaken an enterprise that goes far beyond making art. After much deliberation they have undertaken to start a world-class art school here in the Twin Ports on Duluth's West Central Hillside.

The photos on the page feature Larson's painting, the school and students at work. Between the GLAFA, the Homegrown Music Festival, Duluth Dylan Fest, DuSu Film Festival, Grandma's Marathon, Blues Fest, and now the Catalyst Content Festival--not to mention the exceptional beauty of our lake and region--we've got some seriously great foundations being laid to make Duluth a premiere cultural center of sorts.

Thank you to all of the artists and people who have worked to make these things possible. We, the community, are the beneficiaries. How cool is that?

Larson is fascinated with objects....

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Detail

...and Light, and People.

Related Links
Megan McGarvey and Katie Lindow Discuss Outsourced, Their Documentary Film About a Decision at UWS
The Changing Face of Post-Production for Movie Makers
Catalyst Content Documentary Selections
Catalyst Festival Home Page
Jeffrey T Larson Documentary Trailer 

Local Arts Scene: Ellen Sandbeck On the Cutting Edge, Lake Superior Academy of Art Exhibition and More Duluth Dylan Fest

I hope you've had a rewarding week. If you've been attending our Duluth Dylan Fest events I am certain you have. As we enter the weekend there are some art events you may wish to be aware of. 


ANNUAL STUDENT/INSTRUCTOR EXHIBITION at the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art

Brock Larson, oil on canvas.

Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art invites you to attend our first Annual Student/Instructor Exhibition. We will be showcasing our students first year curriculum and also lead you through what an atelier style of classical art training looks like. We will have many examples of their work as well as that of our instructors (Jeffrey T. Larson and Brock Larson) on display here at the Academy. We are also excited to be able to show the progress with the renovation that has been made on our building (the old St. Peter's Church)
May 26th, 5pm - 9pm
May 27th, 1pm - 8pm
May 28th, 1pm - 5pm

Be sure to read Christa Lawler's story from yesterday's DNT, Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art wraps year one of operation with student-instructors exhibition.



ELLEN SANDBECK ART OPENING - ON THE CUTTING EDGE

Another great event at the AICHO's Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center is opening tonight. Here's the press announcement I received, but I will preface by saying her work is exceptional in its detail and exquisite vividness. Needless to say, she can also pack a punch.

Papercut artist Ellen Sandbeck will be exhibiting her latest, politically-charged body of work in the newly renamed Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center at Gimaajii Mino Bimaadizimin, alongside 3 other completed series of work. The exhibit will open with a reception on Friday, May 26 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The exhibit itself will be on display through June 7th. Music will be performed by Mina Kaiser and refreshments will be served.

On top of her newest body of work that features imagery exploring the strength of women in modern social movements, Sandbeck’s exhibit will also include her series Valentines for Grownups, pretty papercut patterns made up of animals mating (insects, reptiles, ocean invertebrates, etc.). The second included body of work will be her Odd Duck cards, illustrations paired with limericks by Mina Kaiser, which are expressions of her experience in transitioning from male to female; they are meant to help encourage/validate people who are going through experiences that are generally not covered by Hallmark Cards.

The final series included in the exhibit will be a selection of images from her A Buddha A Day project, executed over the course of a year, during which Sandbeck did 365 papercuts of Gautama Buddha. Proceeds from the sale of the Buddha art will go directly to a charity of the buyer’s choice at the event.

Ellen Sandbeck has written and illustrated four books about non-toxic housekeeping and gardening, all published by major New York publishers. She has written, illustrated, and self-published a book of non-toxic gardening and housekeeping, and a book about vermicomposting.


ROOTS & ECHOES: IMAGES AND INFLUENCES IN DYLAN'S NORTH COUNTRY.

Australia's Susan Laing, a week long visitor to the Northland for Dylan Fest this year, has observed that our Northland's influence on Dylan's life and music is most apparent and quite striking. We almost take our region's features for granted, much like the proverbial inability to see the forest for the trees. This reality has become repeatedly apparent in various ways, most especially during the panel discussion Wednesday at our Poets of the Northland event.

One of the poets who would have shared with us Wednesday would have been the former teacher Phil Fitzpatrick, except that he was at Harvard making a presentation there to former classmates at a 50th anniversary class reunion, a presentation that "exceeded fondest hopes." Tomorrow's presentation will include slides and music and is a family-friendly event.

Karpeles Manuscript Museum
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

If you've never been to Karpeles, this presentation would be a great excuse to visit. 

There is a fabulous exhibit of Dylan originals on display.

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Tonight at Clyde Iron Works the Duluth Dylan Fesr continues with the annual Singer/Songwriter Contest. This event begins at 7:00 p.m. with four local celebrity judges and singer-songwriters from as far away as Chicago. Each performer will share a favorite Dylan song and then a composition of their own. For many people this is a highlight of the week.

EdNote: It's not too late to check out the Dylan-themed art at the Zeitgeist Atrium. That show will come down this weekend.

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

Goings On About Town: Three Special Twin Ports Art Openings This Week

Photo courtesy Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art

This is just a heads up for three visual arts events coming up that you won't want to miss. If you've been following along here you already know Duluth Dylan Fest kicks off tonight with Robby Vee at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum. Every time I mention Karpeles people ask, "Where's Karpeles?" When I say, "It across the street from the entrance to St. Luke's Hospital Emergency Room, just above the parking lot for the Gitch."

"Oh, yeah," they invariably say. "I've been meaning to go sometime."

Well, today might be a good time to check it out. Bill Pagel has donated more of his Dylan collection for public viewing, and it will be there through June. If you've bought tickets for Robby Vee's Rock N Roll Caravan tonight, then go early so you can see all these pieces of history, though actually the museum will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. If I have my facts correct, the show is again titled Einstein Disguised as Robin Hood, though I have been told this will not be an identical replay of last year's exhibit. I will keep you posted.

As for Art Happenings, here are four to mark on your calendars.

Dylan-Themed Art Show Opening Reception 

In the past our Dylan-inspired art shows have been across the bridge at the Red Mug Coffeehouse. This year, we're in the heart of Downtown Duluth at the Zeitgeist Atrium, one block west of Carmody's where our annual Dylan Trivia takes place. The Monday reception at Zeitgeist is free and will run from 5-7 p.m. We have new work by Daniel Botkin of Chicago, and a couple great pieces based on an original work by Kristi Abbott, an artist from Down Under who now resides in St. Paul. Other contributors include Sue Rauschenfels, Becky Perfetti, Adan Swanson, Tim Beaulier and a blogger who signs his work with an e.

Monday, May 22, 5-7 p.m.

On the Cutting Edge
Papercut Art Exhibit by Ellen Sandbeck

Anyone who has seen Ellen Sandbeck's papercut art is an instant fan. I have been following her career since the early days when she was doing illustrations for Dover Books. Her Buddha-A-Day Series was a remarkable achievement and only showed the first inklings of what she was capable of.

The Opening Reception for On the Cutting Edge will be this coming Friday at the AICHO/Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center, 212 W. 2nd Street in Duluth. If you have never been to this facility I strongly encourage you to make this your first visit. It won't be your last. 

There will also be entertainment, with music and limericks by Mina Kaiser. Sounds like fun to me. There is a suggested $10 donation to support AICHO's ongoing arts and cultural programming.

This event is Friday from 5-7 p.m. This would be a great way to begin a very special Friday evening of art and music. If you attend On the Cutting Edge, then move westward to the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art exhibition, you can still get over to Clyde Iron Works for the Duluth Dylan Fest Singer/Songwriter Contest. If that's too much for one evening, the Great Lakes open house is all weekend.

Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art
Annual Student/Instructor Exhibition

This is something I have been especially looking forward to. The Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art is inviting the public to attend their first Annual Student/Instructor Exhibition. According to their Facebook page, "We will be showcasing our students first year curriculum and also lead you through what an atelier style of classical art training looks like. We will have many examples of their work as well as that of our instructors (Jeffrey T. Larson and Brock Larson) on display here at the Academy. We are also excited to be able to show the progress with the renovation that has been made on our building (the old St. Peter's Church)."

May 26th, 5pm - 9pm
May 27th, 1pm - 8pm
May 28th, 1pm - 5pm

SINEW at the Tweed

"Sinew: Female Native Artists of the Twin Cities," will be opening at the Tweed Museum of Art June 1st, 2017, 6-8 PM. Mark your calendars. Come celebrate and honor this amazing group of women artists. Details Here.

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DULUTH DYLAN FEST IS UNDERWAY. Check out the full schedule of events at BobDylanWay.com.

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