December Twin Ports Art Happenings

Here's my guarantee: If you can't find some original Christmas gift ideas by attending some of the events in this list, then I'll eat my drawing of a hat.

OK, so if you're from out of town and can't be there, I get that. Your second best plan will be to check out some of the local arts and craft events in your own home town. Creative people are everywhere to be found and I'm sure you will see something you haven't seen before, that will bring a smile to someone's face.

Here's a list of happenings for December, most of it courtesy Esther Piszczek.

The Red Herring Lounge
December 4, 6-9 p.m.; 208 E. 1st Street;
Group Opening: Ryan Lemahieu, watercolor/pen & ink, Chris Monahan, monoprints, Esther Piszczek, Zentangle (R) Inspired Art, Friday,  Art will hang Dec. 4-Jan. 5.
Listen to Where's Art with Annie Dugan, Duluth Art Institute Executive & Artistic Director, on KUMD, here!

Art Noel ~ A Merry Holiday Mixer
Friday 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Art on the Plaza
126 Belknap Street in Superior, in the Plaza

Lake Superior College Student Art Exhibition
Monday, December 7, 5-7 p.m.
Opening Reception Lake Superior College, 2101 Trinity Road, Exhibit Details: Monday, 12/7, 12-9 p.m.; Tuesday, 12/8, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.; Wednesday, 12/9, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Over 100 works on display for 3 days only! Including ceramics (by Esther P and her talented fellow students), jewelry, metal arts, sculpture, design, drawing, painting, photography.

Pierce & Piszczek Fine Pianos
Friday, December 11, 6-8:30 p.m.
405 E. Superior Street Featuring Esther's Zentangle (R) Inspired Art and UMD Professor Ladona Tornabene's, Ph.D., nature photography amid many beautiful pianos.

More Art Receptions (organized by date)

Red Mug
Thursday, December 3, 5-7 p.m.
Chris Monroe, author, illustrator, cartoonist
916 Hammond Avenue, Superior

Beaner's Central

Thursday, December 3, 6-9 p.m.
Elliot Silberman, portrait artist
324 N. Central Avenue
At the opening Elliot plans to do a number of demonstrations. His approach to portrait drawing is both educational and fun to watch. The exhibition features a cross-section of the public as seen through his eyes, from New York, Florida, Arizona, and the Midwest.

Pizza Luce
Kristina Wheatman, Eclectic Collection Art Show
Opening, Thursday, December 3, 7-9 p.m.
Art will hang Dec. 3-Jan 5
11 East Superior Street

PROVE Collective
Plys With Purpose 
Closing reception, December 5, 6-10 p.m.
In-Person bidding ends 9 p.m.
21 North Lake Avenue

Zeitgeist
222 E. Superior Street
Café: paintings of the late Mark Arvilla, on display through January 2016.
Atrium: Amber Burns, Northern Force, Monday, December 7, 7-9 p.m.

Benchmark Tattoo
Apprentices Jeremy Souders & Kyle James, tattoo flash paintings, Counterculture, 1831 E. Eighth Street

Studio 15
Group show featuring holiday gifts from local artists including Todd Olson’s origami, Dawn Clemons’s fiber arts, Nina Holtz’s ceramics, Janet Billig’s paintings, and jewelry by artists Richard Rosvale and Joe Thoennes.
15 N. 3rd Avenue W.
New holiday hours: Mon-Wed: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thu. 1-5 p.m.; Fri-Sat: 1-4 p.m.

Art Fairs, Gingerbread, and Opera!

The Magic Flute
Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, 7:30 p.m.
Weber Music Hall, UMD, 1151 University Drive; General Admission tickets: Adults $10, Seniors $8, UMD Faculty/Staff/Student $5, Student $5, UMD student $3
Alice Pierce, Director of Opera Studio, UMD

Get it Local Gift Fair
Saturday, December 5, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Peace Church, 1111 N. 11th Av. E, Duluth
For artisans and non-profit organizations within the municipal boundaries of Duluth and Superior only. Organized by Wendy Grethen, WendyUpNorth.com.

Duluth Fiber Handcrafters Guild Fiber Fair and Sale
10 a.m.-3 p.m., The Great Hall, Depot, 506 W. Michigan Street

Pepperkakebyen, Gingerbread City
Open Saturdays and Sundays, 1-5 p.m. November 21-December 13
Nordic Center, 21 Lake Avenue
If you've never seen this, it's a must see. Over 150 gingerbread houses. Donations appreciated.
Organized by Dr. Alison Aune, Art Education Professor at UMD. (Thank you to Annie Dugan for her wonderful Art podcast, which contributed to this update, see KUMD link above!)

Handel's Messiah
Two performances hosted by Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra

Cool Yule Holiday Show
Washington Galleries and Studios. December 12.
315 N Lake Ave, Duluth, Minnesota 55806

Classes
Zentangle (R) and Wine  (Apparently not a children's drawing class.)
Wednesday, December 9, 6-8:30 p.m. Master Framing Gallery, 1431 London Road, $35; $10 for supplies; lead by certified Zentangle (R) teacher Esther Piszczek.

Around the Corner (Courtesy E.P.)

Contemplative Meditation Meets Zentangle (R) Always wanted to meditate, but can't sit still? Or, are you a long-time meditator looking for a new approach to entering a quiet, centered space? Join us for a six-hour retreat where meditation melds with art. Various meditation techniques will help us enter a quiet, centered space to create beautiful, intricate line patterns 'one stroke at a time' using the Zentangle (R) method of pattern drawing. No previous drawing experience is necessary.

Saturday, January 30, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., McCabe Renewal Center, 2125 Abbotsford Avenue, Duluth Suggested Donation: $70 (included supplies to take home) Bringyour own lunch. Snacks and beverages will be provided. Facilitators: Episcopal Priest Cindy Peterson-Wlosinski and certified Zentangle teacher Esther Piszczek To Register: Call the McCabe Renewal Center, 218-724-5266 or email McCabeCenter@msn.com Artist Profile!

Woman Today, December Issue, Page 24, Pam Rouleau, Replicating Life in Miniature by Esther Piszczek

Meantime, art goes on all around you.  See you tonight.

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Note: Image at the top of the page is titled Blue Van Gogh by Ed Newman and is available as a limited edition reproduction. 

Tate Rich Talks About Ceramics and Community Art

Next week is another big week for the Northland arts scene. On October 8-10 there will be the three day CREATIVE FLOW ~ CREATIVE ONENESS Fine Arts Festival at Minnesota Community College Ruttgers Bay Lake Lodge in Deerwood, MN (between Aitkin and Brainerd.) The event will feature art making, labyrinth exercises, lectures on building community around creativity, and workshops  with Tate Rich, artist and instructor at Cochise College in Douglas, AZ and Doug Padilla, a self-taught visionary artist of Norwegian/Mexican/cowboy roots living in the wilds of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Then on Thursday and Friday here in the Twin Ports, there will be the two-night Gallery Progressive featuring as many as twenty galleries and dozens of artists. Much more will be said, but you can start by visiting the Twin Ports Gallery Progressive Facebook Page.

Doug Padilla and Tate Rich will be at LSC this coming week.

Overlapping both events, on October 10 and 11, Tate Rich will also be here in Duluth at Lake Superior College conducting demonstrations and having an Open Pit Firing Wednesday evening from 5 - 9. Pit Firing is a ceramic finishing technique. Thursday Oct. 11 11:30-1:50 Rich will conduct ceramic demonstrations at the school's ceramics room in LSC's Art Building.

Earlier this week I made contact with Tate to learn more about his work in ceramics.

EN: Briefly, where did you grow up and what life lessons have you carried with you from that experience?

TR: I grew up in Saint Cloud, MN. Often we had fires every night to stay warm. From that ancient tradition of sitting around a fire [I experienced] the basics of humanism, to gather, eat, sing, tell stories, and give thanks. I still really enjoy fire, and work in clay so I can be close to it. The one event that I spend most of my time organizing is the Pit-fire event. This event is celebration of the arts around a monstrous fire. Over 1000 clay objects are vitrified under the bonfire.

EN: Currently you are an instructor at Cochise College. How did this life direction come about?

TR: Cochise College is in Southern AZ outside of a artistic mountain border town called Bisbee. Do some research about the funk and magic of this place. Fate brought me to this little college in the desert. I firmly believe this is where I am supposed to be. I was teaching as an adjunct faculty member at 4 colleges and universities in SoCal for for 7 years before I accepted this job at Cochise College. Working adjunct is hard work because one has to teach double or triple loads to make the same money as a full-timer, but without any benefits. I was teaching at Goldenwest college in Huntington beach, Saddleback college in Mission Viejo, Citrus College is Glendora, and Cal State University in Fullerton. I was literally running a majority of all 4 programs and was burnt out. I decided to apply for a full time position and by law, any full time position has to be advetised. That semester there were 3 colleges hiring around the U.S. I applied here and was offered a position, I accepteed, then was offered a follow up intereview at another college but declined as I already accepted this position at Cochise.

EN: What is it about doing community art that gets you jazzed?

TR: Its advocacy for creativity. Recently I just finished a large-scale sculpture with the welding department and the Friends of the Warren Ballpark. It's a huge 24 foot sculpture of 3 bats leaning on each other. It was in the local paper last week. We need more art in the community. I am the chair of the Bisbee Arts Commission, through the city of Bisbee. We do many community activities and our mission is to support the arts and artists in our town.

EN: How did you become interested in and involved with making things in clay?

TR: Clay is an amazing material and was turned on to it at a young age. In high school and college I had some great instructors that help guide me in this material. Perhaps, this is why I teach also… Anyhow, clay is complex and takes much patience. I often find my self working/meditating with clay for many of hours in the studio without realizing time. I can easily pass 8 hours with working with the process. I am also very interested in fire and this is an important part of working with clay.

EN: How did you come to be giving demonstrations and speaking at Lake Superior College?

Tanya saw a presentation of mine at this last year's NCECA conference in Seattle. I presented a documentary of the Pit-fire festival that I put on in SoAZ. She then asked if I would be willing to present and demonstrate at Creative Flow. I am honored and excited to be a part of this upcoming conference. It will be a great opportunity to connect with my home state of Minnesota and to collaborate with some wonderful people. I hope to bring some positive energy to the event.


You can learn more about pit firing by watching these videos:
2009 Cochise College Pit-Fire Documentary
2010 Cochise College Pit-Fire Documentary