Big Art Night on Both Sides of the Bridge This Friday

Here are a few items of note for the Twin Ports. Everything from functional art to fine art...

8th Annual Love Your Local Artist

On Friday evening the Superior Public Library is hosting its eighth annual Love Your Local Artist fundraiser featuring live music, sweet & savory treats, wine, a silent auction, Adopt-a-Book sale, and (of course!) tons of local art and the artists who created it. This is their first LYLA event since the massive renovation that took place this past year. If you've not been to the library, this will be an excellent reason to get over there to see the new layout and design. The West-facing entrance and spacious interior are very appealing.

This year LYLA will also feature the murals of Tony Yaworski which were recently donated to the library. These murals will be temporarily displayed at the library during their restoration--check them out at Love Your Local Artist. If you love libraries and you love art, you'll want to make a little time to check in and check it out.

Time: 5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
Website: http://www.superiorlibrary.org

Downtown Duluth Arts Walk

On the Minnesota side of the bridge, the last Friday of each month is devoted to a Downtown Duluth Arts Walk, presented by The Downtown Duluth Arts Collective.

Downtown Duluth art galleries, eateries, bars and performance venues. The Downtown Arts Walk is a multi-location, walkable, year-round event held on the final Friday of each month. The event runs from 5 to 9 p.m., but it does not begin at a specific location, and while some venues are open from 5 to 9, various venues are open at different times.

Posters and flags bearing the logo are up at each location. The Downtown Duluth Arts Collective is a group of colleagues representing more than 25 arts businesses and groups, individual artist studios and cultural centers. I will do my best to dial in the weather for maximum enjoyment as you TGIF and kick of your weekend..

122 Conversations
Anne Labovitz @ the Tweed
From September 25 through January 6 the Tweed Museum of Art at UMD is hosting 122 Conversations: Person to Person, Art Beyond Borders, a new project by Anne Labovitz. The opening reception will be Thursday, October 25 from 6-8:30 p.m. A Gallery Talk will be Saturday, November 10. Both events are free and open to the public, but you don't need to wait till then to make your way to the Tweed. Because school is in session I've found that weekend afternoons are the easiest time to visit. For gallery hours visit http://www.d.umn.edu/tma/

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LOOKING AHEAD

GOIN' POSTAL FALL ART & MUSIC SHOW
Seven Venues, Nine Bands, 77 Artists

(EdNote: We don't have a precise count on the artists
but whatever the number, you will not be disappointed.)

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

Twin Ports Arts Scene: DPAC's Creative Watershed Plus Love Your Local Artist and the DAI Membership Meeting

With the holidays behind us, Twin Ports arts scene is wriggling free and on the run. At the top of the list is this announcement from the Duluth Public Arts Commission. On January 19 there's an event scheduled in the Mayor's Reception Room the DPAC is rolling out the Creative Watershed: Duluth Arts + Culture Plan. The event will run from 5 - 7 p.m. with a short program at 6:00 p.m.

The Mayor’s Reception Room is Room 405 at the City Hall, 411 W 1st St., Duluth. Yes, the public is invited, which means you.

If you join us, there will be textile art by Kirsten Aune, music by The Sound of Strings Trio, and refreshments by Zenith Bread Project. The aim is a celebration of the release of Creative Watershed: Duluth Arts + Culture Plan.

Here's additional info from the memo announcing this event:

The Duluth Public Arts Commission (DPAC) contracted consultants Forecast Public Art and Creative Community Builders of St. Paul and Minneapolis to facilitate the project. which included gathering feedback and direction from approximately 80 regional stakeholders over an 18-month process.

One of the plan’s early recommendations was to relocate DPAC within the corporate City’s organizational structure. DPAC is happy to report that the Commission's new home is with the Business and Economic Development Department. Jason Hale is the staff point person, and Gary Anderson is DPAC’s City Council representative.

Surrounded by local art, music and artisan food, the short program will highlight some of the major features and recommendations of Creative Watershed, a document that has been endorsed by the Duluth City Council and that is intended to guide the future vision and collaborative efforts of DPAC its public and private partners.

The plan identifies 5 major goals, along with detailed recommendations for each:
1. Cultivate Our Talents: Arts Development and a Creative ‘Maker’ Economy
2. Activate and Connect Our Neighborhoods and Downtown: Creative Placemaking and Public Art
3. Amplify Our Message: Audience Development and Tourism
4. Capitalize Our Strengths: Infrastructure for the Creative Sector
5. Make It Happen: The Role of City Government -- Expand scope, partnerships, and resources for the City’s Arts Commission to implement goals in this plan.

Creative Watershed: Duluth Arts + Culture Plan can be accessed at:
www.duluthmn.gov/boards-commissions/duluth-public-arts-commission/

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Love Your Local Artist

The Superior Public Library is again hosting a Valentine-themed fund raising event. The call to artists has gone out and can be shouted far and wide. Here's the word:

A big Heart by Anne Labovitz

Greetings from Superior Public Library! Superior Public Library's 7TH ANNUAL LOVE YOUR LOCAL ARTIST fundraising event hosted by the Friends of the Library will be held FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2017 from 5:30 P.M. TO 8 P.M. We are once again inviting local artists to sign up to offer their work for sale at the event. As in previous years, we will be having our silent auction and Adopt-a-Book sale. All proceeds from the registration fees and silent auction will be used for library materials and services. Last year we welcomed more than 400 attendees--our highest attendance to date--and we anticipate even better attendance this year. Here are the details of Love Your Local Artist 2017:

REGISTRATION FEE: This year, the cost for a table will be $25. We will also offer the smaller study centers (the three-sided cubicles) for $20. We have a limited number of tables and sign-up will be first-come, first-serve, so make sure to reserve yours soon. DUE TO LIMITED SPACE, WE ARE UNABLE TO OFFER MORE THAN ONE TABLE PER ARTIST. In order to accommodate as many artists as possible, we use every single table we have in the library for this event. Table sizes vary, but none are shorter than 6 feet in length. If you would prefer a larger table (we have a limited number of 8 foot tables), please let me know when you register and we will do our best to make it happen.

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DAI Membership Meeting

Last year the DAI combined its business meeting with the Member Show artist reception. There were a few logistical issues I think, so this year the DAI annual membership meeting will take place a week before the annual membership show, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 18, at the DAI Lincoln Center (2229 W 2nd Street). Will it be "business as usual" or something more. If you're a member, come find out.

Here are some additional details from the DAI crew:

Minneapolis-based artist and writer Andy Sturdevant will be the featured speaker. Sturdevant’s artwork has been exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Flaten Art Museum at St. Olaf College, as well as in museums, galleries and spaces in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle and elsewhere. Sturdevant has also written about art, history and culture for a variety of publications and websites, including a weekly column on the Twin Cities’ neighborhoods, art, history and architecture for MinnPost. His first book, Potluck Supper with Meeting to Follow, was published by Coffee House Press in 2013. In honor of his book the DAI welcomes attendees to bring their own hot dish to pass. The DAI staff and Board of Directors will also present the FY16 annual report, as well as sketch out the year ahead.

The following week will be the much anticipated opening reception for the membership exhibition. The annual membership show at the Duluth Art Institute celebrates the artists and artwork being made in this region. Widely recognized as the biggest ‘show & tell’ event of the Duluth visual arts calendar, the 2017 Annual Membership Exhibition will open with a reception on Thursday, January 26 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Union Depot (506 West Michigan St). The large display typically boasts anywhere between 150 to 200 artworks. During the reception, everyone in attendance is invited to cast a vote on a write-in ballot for a favorite work, with ballots counted that evening. The People’s Choice award is announced at the end of the night, and works remain on view through February 24. (I'd encourage you to vote for my painting of a youth, but there are so many really great artists in this town you may as well do what you typically do; follow your own heart.)

Both of these events are sponsored by US Bank, another strong supporter of the arts locally. Thank you.

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

Local Art Scene: February Twin Ports Arts Happenings

We're only five days into the month and three art openings are already behind us. Monday Zeitgeist Cafe hosted Carolyn Olson's opening reception. Wednesday you may have enjoyed Nissa Wick and and Eric Archer's opening at The Red Mug. If you missed it the two paired up to do an interesting blend of photography and painting, pairs of the same images in two different media. Last night, if you weren't there, you missed Dale Lucas's opening at Beaners.

"Have You Seen My Marbles" by Eris Vafias

Tomorrow night Studio 15 (15 N. 3rd Avenue W.) is hosting Eris Vafias' Collection of Chaos. The opening reception is slated for 6:30 - 9:00 p.m with special guest musicians: WWP Acoustic Trio (Willie Waldman: Trumpet, Mark Joseph: Guitar, and Jim Britt: Percussion.) This collection of work created by Eris Vafias will include paintings, photography and assemblage/conceptual art.

Next week there's plenty more in store with no serious snow in the forecast. Thursday is the opening reception for two new exhibitions at the Duluth Art Institute, 5-7 p.m. Shawna Gilmore's "Land of Wonder" will be on display in the John Steffl Gallery from February 4 - April 2. Gilmore describes her work as "exploring edges of wonder and reality... These surreal scenes convey other worlds where I can escape to process experiences, observations or obsessions."  Then, in the Morrison Gallery you will find a photographic exhibit by Tweed Museum director Ken Bloom titled Public Domain who in his adventurous youth bought a one-way ticket to Japan to begin three years of cultural immersion, capturing something of a vision along the way with his one luxury, a Leica camera.

Friday the 12th is once again the annual Love Your Local Artist event at the Superior Library. Not often do we get to drink wine in the library. In years past we have seen as many as 30 artists' work while enjoying a string quartet accompaniment. It's a great way to experience a variety of work and especially gives an opportunity for emerging artists to show and share. A good opportunity to purchase last minute Valentine gifts, too, in the event you've been neglectful.

Here are some additional upcoming arts events and happenings gleaned from Esther Piszczek's column in the Budgeteer.

The Red Herring Lounge, Robert Dewitt Adams, new paintings and collage, "In Site: Twin Ports labor History", Friday, February 12, 5-8 p.m.; 208 E. 1st Street; Robert Dewitt Adams: A Multi-Media Artist on The Playlist.

Shawna Gilmore's paintings on display in the John Steffl Gallery at the DAI

Duluth Art Institute's Design Duluth Series, a year-long series that explores Design in Duluth: Gimajii American Indian Center, "How is Duluth Home?", Thursday, February 18, 5:30 p.m.; 202 W. 2nd Street Featuring: Gimajii Artists.

Twin Ports Student Art Show Holden Fine Arts Center, Kruk Gallery, University of Wisconsin. February 1-25; Open Monday thru Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closing Ceremony: February 25.

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

Pizza Luce, Employee Art Exhibit; 11 East Superior Street.

Zeitgeist, 222 E. Superior Street Café: An exhibition of paintings by Carolyn Olson continues through March 2016.

Atrium: Sue Rauschenfels' nature watercolor paintings on display through end February 2016.

Recommended: Stay current on Twin Ports arts and Zentangle artist Esther Piszczek at her Facebook page here and the Twin Ports Arts Align page.

Wordless Wednesday: Love Your Local Artist and an extra: Little Timmy Gets Eaten By A Peanut Butter and Chocolate Oreo Cookie

Local Art Seen: River Maria Urke, Esther Piszczek and the Superior Library Show

This month's featured artist at Beaners is River Maria Urke of Stillwater. In addition to her art River, a Duluth native, shared poetry and live music to make for a fully satisfying event.

I'd run into her here outside the popular coffeehouse earlier this winter thinking she was in town to visit her mom and family. Turns out she was doing double duty, stopping in to see Jason to make arrangements for the show.

River had several books of her poetry available for sale including the one I purchased titled Stumbled and Standing, subtitled From Diagnosis to Acceptance: A Woman's Journey with Multiple Sclerosis.

Her transparency, along with the manner in which she takes a simple image to a new dimension, impresses me. One of her poems shared Thursday was title Boxes of Blood. The title alone takes your imagination down a path. It turns out to be an insight about the little boxes you have to check on many forms indicating your race. The end of the poem reveals her playfulness in spirit while sinking home her point.

Her poem Final Diagnosis begins this way...

They said it was this
then they said it was that
but no, not that they said.

I was a mystery,
seven years long.
Too long for me.

That opening stanza says so much, reaches across to so many of us who have struggled with health issues in our families, desiring certainty but learning that doctors are only guessing as well.

The art at Beaners is displayed alongside some of her verses. If you grab a coffee or bite to eat there this month, take a few minutes to read between the lines.

Friday the Red Mug had its opening reception for artist Esther Piszczek. Her work has been appearing in a number of places locally since her relatively recent arrival in the Twin Ports.

Piszczek, a former attorney from the East Coast, is sharing her art in a variety of forms. In addition to simply framing wall art, she has created playing cards, T-Shirts, and even puzzles made with her Zentangle-inspired designs.

This week I learned that the space that formerly housed the Art in the Alley art store is being renovated as a bar to be called Tapas. The space will be opening sometime in late April or early May. I was able to get a sneak peak and another large mural by artist Erik Pearson fills one inside wall, transforming it into a very special space.

The Superior Public Library's 4th annual Love Your Local Artist event was once again vibrant and well-attended. Thank you to everyone involved in bringing local artists into the library where they can share their creativity with a wider public.

Pictured here in sequence: scarves by Daniell LaPort, a display by Andy Booker, Jr., two examples of needle art by Angela Haworth, jewelry by Kate Senn and another intriguing piece by Patricia Lenz.

Love Your Local Artists.... Four Twin Ports Arts Events Worth Checking Out

Zentangle-inspired work by Esther Piszczek

"Art is the signature of civilizations." ~Beverly Sills

Here are four Twin Ports visual arts events to note as we move closer to the weekend....

"Roots of Expression" by River
6:00 Reception, 7:00 Poetry Reading at Beaners Central
I met poet River Urke last summer at a poetry reading downtown. A Duluth native who currently lives in Stillwater, she's returning to share her first solo art show, Roots of Expression. I should have known something was up when I ran into her in front of Beaners last fall. Kudos to Jason Wussow for all the great events he hosts, making Beaners one of the most popular venues in the Northland.

A multimedia artist, River will share a collection of art from paintings to photography blended with poetic imagery from her upcoming book, Spirit Songs, the story of a woman’s journey of self-discovery on a trail of forgotten roots. After the readings from River and Rocky Makes Room, there will be live music from Lyz Jaakola and the Smokin Chimooks. Free

Esther Piszczek's 'Reflections'
5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Friday at the Red Mug
Start your weekend right.  Stop to take in Esther Piszczek's opening at The Red Mug in Superior'as former Board of Trade Building. If you're coming over from Duluth, it's right on the way to the next event listed here. Though the Red Mug will be showing her Zentangle-inspired art for the entire month of February, you might as well stop by and meet the artist in person. Opening starts at 5:00.

Love Your Local Artist

5:30 - 8:00 Friday at the Superior Library
Valentine-themed art shows are running rampant again as The Friends of the Superior Public Library hosts its fourth annual Love Your Local Artist event from 5:30-8 p.m. Friday at the Superior Public Library.

I've attended every one and can tell you this is a very special event. Last year there were almost 30 artists with work displayed, near double the first year of this event. A string quartet has been on had playing chamber music the past three years and the atmosphere is lively. It's free and everyone is invited.

8th Annual Love at the Snoodle
Saturday evening, the Snoodle Gallery is hosting its very last annual art exhibition at their current location near the Lake Superior Zoo. The theme: Blast Off. By June 2014 Tonya Borgeson hopes to be fully moved. The state of Minnesota is purchasing the Snoodle property, an exciting time for the studio with a lot of changes planned for its future. So this year's Love at the Snoodle is an all out blow out. As in the past they will be exhibiting over 25 artists, including at least one piece by yours truly titled "Play With Matches and You Get Burned." There will  performances, music and light refreshments. The artist reception is Feb. 8th from 5:00-9:00 pm.in the studio and gallery, with the Exhibit running for the duration of February. All in the spirit of LOVE.

Here's the activities menu:
5:00 celebration/ Art Exhibition reception starts
5:30-6:30 music in studio by Aurora Baer
6:30 Spin Collective - Fire spinners performance
6:45 High Pony Dance Project - Dance performance
7:15 Bionic Wow- Puppet Show
7:30-9:00 music in studio by Sonja Bjordal, Big Country and Dean Harris Wolfson


Reminder: Tweevenings is tonight at the Tweed.  Ann Klefstad will share how visuality both within and beyond the Western influence links daily life, spiritual life, and natural sciences, including math. Klefstad is a deep well of insight on all things art. She will present and discuss works by artists Dennis White, John Sims, and Frank Big Bear, as well as a carved spoon from the Rawlings Nelson Collection of American Indian Art. The talk begins at 6:30.


HOT OFF THE PRESS
My first volume of short stories, Unremembered Histories, is now available at Amazon.com. Reader feedback has been very positive, with the exception of my mom who said the stories were "Weird." Well, it's not the first time a mother failed to understand her son. 

Intersecting Collaborations: Friday Happenings in the Twin Ports

Gary Reed's "A Cross To Bare" at Superior Lib.

Friday evening, the 8th, was an exciting evening for the arts here in the Twin Ports. In what is becoming an established tradition now, the second Friday of each month is a coordinated gallery opening amongst the three visual arts spaces PROVE Collective, Ochre Ghost and Washington Galleries. And for the third consecutive year Superior Public Library hosted its Love Your Local Artist event which this year attracted the art and handiwork of 37 local and regional artisans.

As in year's past sweet sounds from a string chamber quartet swam through the air like a gentle breeze. Superior's Friends of the Library generously supplied an assortment of cookies, fruit, crackers and cheeses, and some wondrous fudge, amongst other things.  And there was was wine.

Something I have found interesting is how many people in Duluth seem to be unaware of what is happening on the Superior side of the bridge, as if it were a foreign country. It is only five minutes away by bridge (maybe seven) and Duluthians are missing out on some very special places over there. And yet, when I asked various attendees at the Superior event if they were going to cross over to Duluth for the art shows there, most did not plan to do so for various reasons. I really do like the slogan I heard from a Superior artist last year: "It's just a bridge. Get over it." It goes both ways.

By the time I departed Superior more than 150 people had already come in, and more were coming. But I was off to the Washington Gallery where Ryan Tischer's Bound to the Light II was being presented. The new photography by Tischer is large and quite impressive. Some, like Earth's Womb, are 38"x 50" and one image titled Golden Narrows is an imposing 38"x 85". With the exception of his "Last Glimpse" all the photos were presented on gallery wrapped canvas.

Next stop was Emily Wendland's Transcendental Terrain accompanied by the musical expressions of Marc Gartman's Fever Dream. Gartman opened for Low at Mitchell Auditorium this past month. This mix of music and art has a lot going for it. The PRØVE has been doing this some in its second year, and it has worked well in other venues from The Red Mug to Washington where Andrew Floberg's work was specially enhanced by the seasoning of sound.

Wendland is clearly a talented young artist doing some original work. In addition to mixed media drawings and paintings there were a few pieces with three-dimensional objects assembled in a form of terrain. I inquired about the shapes and she said she was fascinated by spores. I found her art invigorating and it made me wish to see and hear more.

Heading down the alley we quickly arrived at the PRØVE for its Bitters show, which would also play host to a poetry reading at 8:30. Bitters, curated by poet Kathleen Roberts who joined the collective last summer, focused on the dark side of Valentine's Day. Thematically, some of the work was challenging.

The six poets who shared were the highlight for me, a rich dessert after numerous courses of deliciousness. Roberts opened the first set of four poets with a piece titled, "For My Boyfriend After His One Night Stand." Her poems were personal and visceral, setting the table for what would follow, a mix of pointed vexation, caustic humor and unpalatable heartbreak.

Amy Lynn, who teaches writing at UMD and recently celebrated her first year in the Twin Ports with a poetry reading at Beaners, followed. Lynn's literary skills have been well honed. She read at least four poems: Fruition, Adultery, Conflagration and The Revisionist. With vivid imagery she mastered the room.

It was impressive to see the packed gallery so attentive and responsive to these poets. The next two presenters were from the poetry slam school, not just reading their work but elevating it to theater.

Seth Feralin of St. Paul began by stating, "I live in desperate search for self." His delivery was polished as he performed poems like "Clayton" and "Misogyny in Rap Music" which was a powerful indictment of rap scenes toleration and promotion of abuse and hatred of women. There were many rich lines and a lot of amens would have been shouted had this been a Pentecostal church instead of a poetry reading. (O.K., some of the imagery would not be used in a pulpit.)

Paris Kelvakis raised the energy level with poems like "The Pimp's Paradox" and stories about pigs and betrayal. He called his last piece about the Portuguese Man-O-War the most important poem he's ever written, its theme being the necessary interconnectedness we all share.

After a short intermission, Kat M and Louis Mundt finished the night. Kat, whom readers of the Reader recently anointed Best Actress in the Twin Ports, was in top form with her delivery of a pointed piece titled "I Get You." Lines like "You are a volunteer who caught me unconcerned," and "I will take you for granted; it will be effortless" plunged deep as cold steel into warm flesh. Louis Mundt drew the performance to a close. 

Based on the caliber of talent represented, it would not surprise me to learn that someone in this room would be a future poet laureate somewhere.

Five Shows and More Than 65 Artists

I don't mean to gush, but last night's art events and gallery hop were truly over the top. You would think Northlanders would have the good sense to stay home when it's five below with a wind chill of minus twenty or more. But no, we're a hearty breed up here and the art community doesn't have to obey the same rules as farmers who must wait for the growing season to sow their seeds. There was a riot of color and sound and imagination on display at the five events I attended, and I'll try to briefly to do a little summing up here this morning.

First stop, "Love Your Local Artist" at the Superior Library. Nora Fie has to be commended for this new event that is likely to become an annual phenomenon. Last year there were fourteen artists involved and on this year's second anniversary, there were 28 artists displaying their works around the atrium from 5:30-7:30 p.m. What a beautiful setting and a fabulous turnout. The Friends of the Library pulled out all the stops. Artists included veteran artists like Patricia Lenz, Jeredt Runions, and Tonya Sell, along with new faces like Colin Wiita and Olivia Master. Every kind of medium seemed represented except maybe film.

But there was film at The PRØVE, next stop on an evening of gallery hopping that some may have taken well into the night. The "Tiny Art" exhibited, curated by Richard Hansen, did not fail to excite. Every kind of creativity was on display, including multimedia and technodazzle. Jacob Swanson had three pieces that caused a lot of interaction. Two were booked with an eyepiece and earphones. Had it not been so noisy you would have been able to hear sound as you peered into these volumes. Inside the books were films from Donald Duck WWII war propaganda designed to get Americans behind the war effort. Swanson's third piece was an old-style camera which, when you looked into the lens, had a blinking eye looking at you. Quite cleverly done.

The gallery was absolutely crawling with visitors for several hours, but the much anticipated show was worth investigating in detail. Coleman Miller's somewhat eccentric spinning and quivering gizmos grabbed a lot of attention as you came through the door, but there were the standard presentations as well, small art in small frames, or fat frames with tiny dimensions, measured in inches not feet. In fact, everything was to be shippable in a 12"x 12" box. It was a surprisingly vast assemblage of works that the gallery team installed in a relatively short time. I was there the evening before and nothing had been hung yet.

We rushed uphill two blocks into a bone-chilling headwind to the Washington Galleries to catch the end of the Bound to the Light exhibit by landscape photographer Ryan Tischer. His photos are printed on canvas, stretched and framed, and look stunning. From here it was back to The PRØVE, with a new crowd and new faces to meet and greet.

Ochre Ghost is two blocks east through the alley and upon arrival it was fun to see the space was awash with color and buzzing with still more art-walkers. Robert DeWitt Adams' "Cold War Toys" exhibit was even more engaging than I anticipated. Kudos to Jessica again for finding so many hidden treasures to showcase here these past two years.

From here we took the car for the last stop on the hop, the Diarama rama at Sacred Heart up on Positively Fourth Street. I have never been to this event, which is held every two years, so I felt obligated to check in. And if the crowds everywhere else were a lot, this place was seething. Music, and a degree of inventiveness like you wouldn't believe. I will share some of what I saw here next week on Wordless Wednesday. Suffice it to say that if you have never been to the Diarama rama you are missing something special.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Open your eyes....