Local Artists Make Roundabout Art Tour A Happening

Toledo, Spain by Ken Hanson

Last night Cloquet/Carlton had an opening reception for what they called The Roundabout Art Tour. Eight locations collaborated to assemble this three hour tour of art venues. I dropped by three locations and am impressed, as always, by the variety as well as the discovery of new artists. You can read more about the who, what and where here on Facebook. These photos here were taken in the hour before dark last night.

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The Pine Knot was my first stop with a display curated by Ann Markuson who gave a nod to Annie Dugan for her assistance in making this a great art space as well as work space. It fabulous stone walls gives it a historical feel, embellished by lots of art. For this occasion they had a series of paintings by Ken Hanson that had an almost Escher-esque vibe. There was also a large canvas that was transformed into a Pollinator Paint-by-Number community project. This was something new to me and a very clever idea. 

In other parts of the tour there was pottery, photography, crafts, portrait paintings and more. Here's some of what I saw.

Avignon, France

Rome, Italy

Adam Swanson? Very nice.

"Taj Mahal" -- Bill Wise watercolor
(See more at williamwiseart.com)

Chairs and more... down on the corner, on display 24/7

Kris Nelson's Theater seats for Psycho.

In the pop-up space on the corner.

Artist Margie Helstrom adds color to the Pollinator Paint-by-Number.
I added a few details to the body of the bee.

Kudos to everyone involved who made this event happen. 
Special shout-out to all art teachers and Kris Nelson.

Ars longa, vita brevis. 

Don't let your creative urges whither on the vine.

Call for Art and Auditions at the County Seat Theater

Yes, there are a lot of events that have been scuttled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Something that has not been stopped in its tracks is the County Seat Theater in Cloquet, with its ongoing support for the arts. 

This afternoon I received a Call for Art from Kris Nelson, whose advocacy for local artists as well as the theater has been noteworthy and commendable. The 2021 Season for the theater is just around the corner, and in keeping with tradition there will be art shows accompanying the five shows being produced. No, they will not be live (initially). Instead they will be viewed "On Demand" or via Livestreaming. 

To stay current with events at the Encore Performing Arts Center & Gallery, home of the County Seat Theater Company, become a follower here on Facebook.

 

2021 Schedule at a Glance

Auditions: January 3

February 12-14 & 18-21, 2021

Do Not Go Gentle

One-act Drama By Suzan Zeder.

Lillian Boedecker Barron is 84 years old, vibrant, funny, wise, and recently deceased! During her lifetime, Lillian shared a special, long-distance bond with her granddaughter, Kelly, and suffered an estrangement from her son Windsor, a Colonel in the Air Force. After her death, Lillian discovers that she cannot “move on” until the rifts are somehow mended. Windsor and Kelly come from overseas to settle Lillian's affairs and are aghast to discover that the walls of her house have been painted with wild, sometimes humorous, sometimes horrific murals and drawings. As they unravel secrets of the paintings, the two make astonishing discoveries about themselves and a special relationship between Lillian and a neighborhood child. This powerful, poignant play explores the wonder of words and the transformative power of art as it offers humor and hope to anyone who is, or has ever been, a grandparent, parent, or a child.

April 9-11 & 15-18, 2021

Almost Maine

Romantic Comedy By John Cariani

Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. And it’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesn’t exist. One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.

May 28-30 & June 3-6, 2021

Finishing School

Comedy By Elaine Liner.

This comedy about life’s second act finds older gents Al and Wizzer meeting on a park bench every morning to read and mock newspaper obits. Their daily rituals—shooting the bull about sports, women loved and lost and the many annoyances of aging—are suddenly shaken up by the appearance of a friendly young woman and her flirty mom. Wizzer pep-talks lonely widower Al to convince him to break out of his self-imposed “quantum of solace” and maybe find love again, while also dealing with his own fear of ending up in the memory care unit at their assisted living facility. Punctuated with true-to-life moments familiar to anyone with an aging parent or spouse, the play takes an upbeat attitude toward life after 60, 70 and beyond.

You can't drink all day if you don't
start at breakfast.

September 24-26 & 30-Oct. 3, 2021

Beer for Breakfast

Comedy By Sean Grennan

A group of middle-aged buddies reunite for a "guys' weekend" in a snowed-in cabin to eat chili, drink beer, and relive the good old days. Despite divorce, unemployment, and a stroke, spirits are high until Jessie, the wife of absent friend Adrian, shows up in his place. An epic battle of wits and stamina ensues: will the men win their right to an all-out guy fest, or will woman be crowned the stronger sex after all?

December 3-5 & 8-12, 2021

A Doublewide, Texas Christmas

Comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope & Jamie Wooten

In this outrageously funny comedy, it’s Christmas-time in the newest—and tiniest—town in Texas. And it’s beginning to look a lot like trouble in Doublewide. Not only are the trailer park residents dealing with the stress of the holiday season, but they’ve just discovered that Doublewide is being double-crossed by the County. With their official incorporation papers in jeopardy, this band of eccentric Texans throw themselves into taking on the “Big Guys.” Determined to bolster their legitimacy, they first set their sights on the County-wide “Battle of The Mangers” competition. 

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County Seat Theater Company

Performing at the Encore! Performing Arts Center & Gallery

2035 Hwy 33 South (on Frontage Rd.), Cloquet, MN 55720

www.countyseattheater.com

218-878-0071

Local Art Seen: Encore Performing Arts Center & Gallery in Cloquet--Almost Wordless Wednesday

"The First Ladt of Comedy" by Susan Krochalk. This is what my family's TV set
looked like in the 50s. And who didn't love Lucy?

Last Thursday's art crawl in Cloquet and Carlton was fun. First stop was the Pine Knot where Native artist Karen Savage Blue's paintings are on display. From there I scampered to the Encore Performing Arts Center, home to the County Seat Theater Company, located East on 33 just off the circle, to see the new collection of works gathered for the end of September show, Hilda's Yard, curated by Kris Nelson. The paintings on this page are just a foretaste of what you'll if you make it to one of the shows.

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Kris Nelson's chairs are always fun to see and share.

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"Li'l Finlanders" by Rebecca Koepke

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"Iris Garden" by the popular Sue Brown Chapin

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"Wilder" . Adam Swanson is almost always represented at the Encore.

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"Woodland Cottage" by Edna Blanchard

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"60's Nightlife" by Sue Pavlatos. A definite Edward Hopper feel here. 

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Detail from another Kris Nelson chair. Definitely 1950's.

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Same chair. Full Monte.

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Final stop was the Magnolia Cafe in Carlton. where the photography of New Englander Ryan Pennesi was on display. Pennesi is now part of the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center and working towards an M.A. in Biology. You should check out his nature photography via the link below.

Related Links

2019 Season Schedule for the Encore Performing Arts Center
https://www.countyseattheater.com/2019-season/
Ryan Pennesi Photography
https://www.ryanpennesi.com/

Local Art Seen: Kris Nelson Opening Reception @ the Pine Knot in Cloquet

Kris Nelson, a now retired K-12 art teach, painted her first chair in 1996. Her aim was to have a bedroom chair to match a quilt she'd recently made. Then suddenly something clicked and painting chairs--as an artist, not an interior decorator--became a way of life. Her goal is to finish 1000 chairs by her 100th birthday, and if I'm not mistaken she's about half-way there.

Thursday evening I stopped in at the Cloquet Pine Knot offices (122 Avenue C) for an opening reception featuring Kris Nelson's exhibition, "Cherish," which will be on display through June. Every chair has a story.

After acquiring an art degree at the U of Minnesota, Nelson became a career art teacher, beginning in Robbinsdale and Forest Lake schools before coming north to teach at Carlton and then 21 years at Wrenshall. She's also been a force in the local theater, orchestrating the art shows that accompany plays at the Encore Theater in Cloquet.

Here are some of the chairs you should try to see in person if able:

"Cut Zinnias"

"Chairshed Dolls"

"Oldenburg Chair"

"Spirit Tree"

"Potato Chip Chair"

"Wheels" -- (Note the Hot Wheels)

Related Links
Encore Theater Art Gallery
Chairs make the canvas. (Ann Markusen story in the Pine not)
Here are still more Chairs By Kris. 

Art goes on all around you. Get into it.

Cloquet Art Crawl: Opening Receptions for Kris Nelson and Adam Swanson

Thursday evening... Two Cloquet Artist Receptions you should be aware of.

From 4-6 pm. Kris Nelson will be at the Pine Knot offices at 122 Avenue C.

If you're not familiar with Cloquet it is easy to find in that section

down by the river. Use your GPS or Google Maps. 

Next head over to Magnolia Cafe in Carlton where Adam Swanson 

is the featured artist. 

Learn more about Kris Nelson's work here. 

Follow Adam Swanson's career at https://www.adamswanson.com

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Friday May 17, come enjoy an evening with Alan Sparhawk at Sacred Heart

as an appetizer for the upcoming Duluth Dylan Fest. 

Good music for a good cause.

ALAN SPARHAWK

MUSIC RESOURCE CENTER BENEFIT CONCERT

MAY 17

TICKETS HERE

FULL DULUTH DYLAN FEST SCHEDULE HERE

http://bobdylanway.com/pdfs/DuluthDylanFest2019Line-up.pdf

Meantime, if you see me say hello...

Local Art Seen: Chairs By Kris -- Art You Can "Chair-ish"

"Not Made In China"

The photo is of herself wehn she was four. This is a painting.

Ad man James Webb Young, in his book A Technique for Producing Ideas, defines an idea as "a new combination of old elements." This is the heart of what Kris Nelson has done. The elements are art and chairs. The skill with which she executes the art is what makes the concept a certifiably cool one.

Variety is the spice of life.

Her mother was Catholic, her father atheist. Kris says she never heard them fight.
This "Love Seat" is for couples who face different directions.
They can still see eye to eye and talk face to face.

As Rod Stewart once sang, "Every Picture Tells A Story." In the same manner every chair has a story, and yesterday I had the privilege of getting a tour of her home studio and the collection she has there.

A retired art teacher, Kris Nelson has been dealt hand long on imagination. You can see it in the wide variety of themes and in the titles of her pieces.

It was in 2004 that she began producing chairs with social or political statements. Here chair depicting the variety of ways states carry out the death penalty is quite powerful. Her "Loch Mess Monster" which was made with discarded litter she found on her morning walks, is a statement about how we take care of our planet.

This "Boozer" chair features a win bottle "half in the bag"
among other symbols of excess.

"Death of a Marriage" is a statement about divorce.
(Kris is happily re-married 20 years to a pilot.)

Titled "Family Ties" the seat being her fathers interwoven ties. 

Her aim is to paint a thousand chairs before she retires to that great art studio in the sky. The photos here depict the variety of directions her imagination has run.

Add caption

"Loch Mess Monster"

"Bless Me, Father, For I Have Sinned" includes her prayer book and a Nun.

The artist at work. No ordinary art, not an "ordinary" easel.

Her home and studio on Big Lake is itself a course of inspiration. Kris says there are at least a half dozen other artists on the lake or in the vicinity, including Karen Savage Blue.

A roomful of chairs, each patiently waiting in the wings.

Related Links
More Chairs By Kris: The Magic of Imagination
https://pioneerproductions.blogspot.com/2018/01/more-chairs-by-kris-magic-of-imagination.html
Kris Nelson's Website: Chairs By Kris

Visions of Duluth Art Show at Zeitgeist: Opening Reception Features Tom O'Keefe, a Selfie Wall and More Bob Dylan

"Chairishing Young Bob" by Kris Nelson

Tom O'Keefe (center) & Friends lifting spirits at 2017 Dylan Fest.

Let's just say it like this: Duluth Dylan Fest is off to a great start and we've only just begun. Tonight there's an Art Show Opening Reception at the Zeitgeist Atrium from 5-7 p.m. and we have several special features to go with it. For starters, it's Tom O'Keefe's birthday, so I'm personally inviting you to come say "Happy Birthday" to Tom as a way of saying "Thank You" for all the generous music he has shared with us in the Twin Ports these past many years. Tom O'Keefe and Friends will be creating ambience for us throughout the reception, which will also include libations and finger food courtesy Zeitgeist Cafe. The theme this year is Visions of Duluth, synthesizing many of the Northland influences that helped shape the character we know as Bob Dylan.

"Forever Young" by Daniel Botkin
based on Norman Rockwell's
famous triple self-portrait.

The artists on tap have produced a range of really fun images again. Time does not permit me from detailing everything, but I would like to point out a few especially fun paintings that you owe it to yourself to see. Daniel Botkin of Chicago has once again outdone himself, producing four pieces based on classic and historical American paintings, Dylanized. These include Christina's World, Washington Crossing the Delaware, American Gothic, and Norman Rockwell's hilarious painting of himself doing a self-portrait. Mr. Botkin has suitably altered each to feature Bob Dylan in the "title role."  Do not miss these.

I commend our Aussie co-curator Susan Laing for her having become inspired to take up painting and expand her creative horizons here. Her painting of the late John Bushey, founder/host of KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited radio hour is noteworthy.

Other artists include Timothy J. Beaulier, Sue Rauschenfels, Margie Hellstrom, Kim Buskala, Tanya Beyer, Jim Hall, Kris Nelson, Susan Krochalk, Susi Watson and Ed Newman.

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Co-Curator Susan Laing in front of her tribute to John Bushey.

"When the Ship Comes In: Dylan Crosses His Delaware." 

Timothy Beaulier's "East on 8th Street"

Kris Nelson's "Chairishing Young Bob" at the top of the page is one of literally hundreds of chairs painted by the former art teacher, and one of many unique submissions that have made the Dylan Fest Art Shows so much fun. But in the Spirit of the Times, we've also added this year a...

SELFIE WALL

We've also assembled a Selfie Wall which we encourage you to use. When you take your Selfie, be sure to post it on your favorite social media sites with this year's art show hashtag #DDF2018. The Selfie Wall will be in place all week, so if you can't make it to our reception, stop by another time for lunch, supper or a look at our show... and share your Selfie.

And why not you?

MAKE YOUR MARK 
for a Chance to Win
We're also giving away one piece of original art at tonight's event. We screen printed a half dozen Double Dylans and everyone who joins us is invited to write their favorite Dylan song, Dylan lyric or Dylan album on the piece, after which you can put your name in the hat for a chance to win. At the end of the night there will be a drawing. If you put contact info on your submission, then you needn't be present to win. On the other hand, if you stay you'll likely be glad you did. The music is free, the energy uplifting. Will you join us?

AND FINALLY...
Do not miss Shakespeare's in the Alley, the exhibit in the Depot's Great Hall by the artist Skye. This fabulous display features 44 panels of Dylan lyrics which took ten years to complete. Read Christa Lawler's DNT story "Tangled Up In Lyrics." and my interview with Skye in January.
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RELATED LINKS
More about Kris Nelson's Chairs
Schedule for the rest of the week.
A Shout Out to our Sponsors

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