Local Art Seen: Mary Plaster's Illuminated Menagerie

On Saturday afternoon Richie Townsend provided the atmosphere (electric guitar, reverb) and Zeitgeist Cafe the refreshments for the opening of Mary Plaster's new show in the Zeitgeist Atrium titled Illuminations.

The entire space is filled with critters and creatures, both winged and four-footed, created using a process akin to the skins stretched around the ribbing of old-time biplanes, each illuminated by lights within. The skins here are translucent, stretchy plastic, like the kind shippers use to wrap pallets from shipping books, boxes and other products.

Do not you attempt to needle her for using yet more plastic that will end up in landfills, because 100 per cent of what you see here is recycled waste. New life created from resurrected materials.

The animals themselves have a story as well. Ms. Plaster, who lives on Stewart Creek on Spirit Mountain, said that every animal displayed has been seen or heard on her property. Bat, bear, owl, lynx, coyotes howling in the distance, and more.

Where to see it: Zeitgeist Atrium, through the end of February.

Richie Townsend (L) with friends.

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Mary Plster (L) with artist Ron Benson

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REMINDER: Duluth Art Institute Member Show Opening Reception is this coming Thursday, February 6. Will we see you there?

PostScript: My comments on last night's Super Bowl will be shared on Medium. Congrats to Andy Reid and the Chiefs.

Don't Miss Tonight's All Soul's Night at the Depot

Toinght is the culmination of a week of events around Halloween, now culminating in the multicultural tradition that has been developing here. It is All Soul's Night at The Depot in Duluth. It's a family event driven by the energy and imagination of Mary Plaster and a crew of dedicated volunteers. You have no doubt seen pictures of previous parades and gatherings.

From 5-9:30 p.m.,you can watch or be part of it. Much like the Rust Belt Steampunk events held here a couple years ago, it's best enjoyed as a participant, though not required. The Depot (for newer residents) is located at 506 W. Michigan Street,

Here's the schedule:
4 p.m. Face painting in the Train Museum's waiting area / Depot basement (this is where I will be!)
5 p.m. Spoken Word
6 p.m. Welcome Ceremony and Funeral March of Rotten Ideas
7:45 p.m. Spin Collective Fire Dancers and local drummers perform at
8 p.m. music and dancing with the Brass Messengers
8:45 p.m. Lesser Planets debut

And here's a link to the Facebook Page where you can learn more.

Music, fire dancers, a welcome ceremony and the Funerl March of Rotten Ideas. I have no idea which rotten ideas will be on parade but the world seems to have an abundance of rotten ideas so there will be plenty to go around...

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Heer are a few other arts related happenings this weekend. I'd share more but I have to run and catch a plane!

Tonight, 6-9 p.m., Evening in Ragtime,
College of St. Scholastica, Tower Music Hall, Room 3625, 1200 Kenwood Avenue.
This is a free concert, open to the public. Afterglow at Sir Benedict's Tavern, 805 E. Superior Street, Duluth.

Saturday, November 5, 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Coppertop Craft and Bake Sale,
United Methodist Church, 230 E. Skyline Parkway, Duluth
Ruth Anderson will have her beautiful jewelry at this event.

Thank you to Esther Piszczek for her diligence in assembling these monthly menus. I will share next week's happening this weekend. I just wanted to get the word out here for tonight's event.

Be well. Do good work. 

Local Art Seen: Art Night Out at the Depot

Friday I shared a little about the Adam Swanson opening at The Duluth Aquarium. Concurrent to this was the Duluth Art Institute's event called Art Night Out. I don't recall having attended last year when this event was inaugurated. Essentially it is a family-fun celebration of creativity of all kinds, including imaginative food vendors like Mrs. Delicious and Izakaya, along with The Rambler food truck.

Woodblind (Veikko and Jason) was on center stage having fun making their ska sound. Kinda cool how they found each other. Now they seem to be popping up everywhere.

The Great Hall at the Depot was crawling with liveliness when I arrived after catching Adam's photos and a few riffs from Mary Bue. In the east end of the room Mary Plaster was doing her thing in a large way, and various tables had been set up for other activities. This event was free for members, and fun for families. Kids were assembling towers using marshmallows and toothpicks in a tinker-toy fashion.

Here are some pictures that tell the story better than I am able.

Besides serving ice cream Mrs. Delicious makes balloon art.

Thank you to Annie, Dana, Tyler and the DAI team.

Twin Ports Scene: Six Days Till Seventh Annual All Souls Night

Shortly after noon Saturday I was able to slip downtown to drop by the All Souls Festival art space in the storefront at 134 W. First Street just west of Pineapple Arts. Mary Plaster and two others were there preparing costumes to make this year's All Souls Night celebration the best yet.

This will be the seventh year the festival has been held, and my guess is that it will be bigger than ever. If you have not been, it's very much an experience best appreciated when you get totally immersed.

The event, billed as an alternative to Halloween, will begin in the Depot's Great Hall. Setting up the space will commence on Friday the 31st.

Though the chimerical celebrations are intended to be fun, there's a serious side as well.  In some ways the imagery and activities parallel Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations, but in this case the aim is to acknowledge the fullness of life by honoring deceased loved ones and reimagining a better future for the living. Hence the name All Souls Night.

In the spirit of the event and its roots, home made costuming is the decor of the day. The organizers do not encourage store-bought masks and costumery unless it is excessively customized and made one's own. There will be an abundance of face painters on hand to get your own "mask" accessorized.

A $10 donation is suggested to support the indoor art displays, spoken word, music, dance and outdoor spectacle makers: musicians, larger-than-life street puppets, stilt walkers and fire ceremony and spinning.

The event itself is slated to run from 3 p.m. till 7 p.m. Sunday. Because our Daylight Savings Time clocks fall back an hour Saturday night, there will be plenty of time for the after dark parading to make its way about the area. You can find the full slate of activities and their times here on the Event page at Facebook.

One of Lake Erie's now extinct pike 

Definitely something you might not expect here in Duluth. But why not?

Local Happenings This Week and Next

“No one's place in this world is guaranteed. Not everyone is going to get a happy ending. But life isn't about how it ends. It's about the moments between. It's about the small things. The way our loved ones laugh. The sight of a butterfly in the sunlight after a year or two in the darkness. The love and support of an old friend. They might not be with us in body, but they are with us in spirit. The feeling of something we'd thought lost to us forever returned in a single, life-changing moment. Yes, that is simple, even though it might be momentous to us as individuals. Because every day, on this planet, people are born and people die and stranger things happen. But I know my place now, and my purpose. And no matter what trial you have to endure to find that out... It's worth it.” 
 ― Jenny Trout, All Souls' Night

I can tell its October because of the ghost and goblin costumes hanging in from the ceiling at Walgreens. It's hard to believe how much money exchanges hands here in the purchase of mass-produced Halloween gear.

In contrast to this, if you want to be part of something steeped in deeper traditions, you'll want to consider being part of the 7th Annual Duluth All Souls Night. The event itself will take place on Sunday, Nov. 2nd, 3-7 p.m at the Depot, but preparations will begin tonight at Pineapple Arts on 1st Street.

Artist Mary Plaster, will open doors at All Souls Festival Arts (ASFA) with materials available for anyone to design a skull mask or face paint and get their own costume ready with the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) theme, or work on a large fish skeleton, or fix existing moose and human skeleton puppets. They will also be working on ofrenda displays. Check it out at 134 West 1st Street. The actual celebration has become a very big community event. You can be a part of it Tuesdays & Thursdays 6 - 8 p.m. or Saturdays 10 - noon and 1 - 3. They will be preparing the Depot Great Hall on Friday, Oct. 31th 10 - noon and Saturday, Nov. 1st, Depot hours. Afterwards you can help clean up on Monday Nov. 3rd 10 - noon.

Spoken Word Open Mic
Beaners is always alive with activity. We recently discovered the jazz night on the last Sunday of every month. FREE. Great sounds.
The third Thursday of each month is a Spoken Word open mic and trivia night hosted by Tina Higgins. This week's featured author and poet is Ellie Shoenfeld, with musician Jamie Ness also sharing the stage.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Beanerscentral, 324 N Central Ave, Duluth, Minnesota 55807

Zeitgeist Arts 5-Year Anniversary and Fundraiser
Next week Zeitgeist turns 5. Seems like they have been here forever. We sometimes take for granted all the richness that has been generously shared with us in the community. Zeitgeist is been in the center of much of that. This is both a celebration and a fundraiser. Check out their Facebook page for a breakdown of the week's events.

"Twin Ports" Episodes 8 & 9
It's only a bridge. Get over it and see the Twin Ports Stage and Wisconsin Public Radio performance of "Twin Ports". Life radio the old fashioned way. At the Belknap Lounge.

And finally...

Agent Smith says "Be there."

Goin' Postal 2014 Fall Art Show
Goin' Postal has become my "sort of" home gallery, but the show will feature as many as 17 artists with a lot of new work. The events have created much chatter among the locals. Join us Friday October 24 from 6:00 p.m on for art and music, along with all the social benefits of being amongst friends. Bring them or make new ones. Details here.

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

Larger Than Life: Artist Mary Plaster

If you've ever seen pictures of large-scale protest rallies or have witnessed the 10:00 p.m. Parade of Nations at Epcot Center, or have experienced the Day of the Dead in Tepotzlan near Cuernavaca, then you've probably seen something akin to the work of Mary Plaster.

Last week I found myself checking things out at Ms. Plaster's art opening at Beaners Central in Duluth. Think big. Here were heads that went floor to ceiling and one large character with arms draped forty feet wide. After we spoke briefly she agreed to this interview.

Ennyman: Is Mary Plaster your real name and are the masks made out of plaster?
Mary Plaster: I married Troy Plaster, so yes, it is my actual name. I have worked with plaster but my masks are of papier-mâché and other recycled materials. One of those funny things in life that just happened…

Enny: When did you first take an interest in being an artist and who (or what) were your early inspirations?
MP: I have always loved art and considered myself an artist. I was mesmerized by and continue to enjoy children’s books and fantasy illustrations for the whimsical use of scale and imagination. I enjoyed theatre that recreated these pages, especially the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company.

Enny: How did you first get involved in making these giant masks?
MP: I first experienced larger-than-life papier-mâché through In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HoBT) in Minneapolis in the late 70s when I was visiting my mother. I lived with my dad in Montana for high school and had never seen anything like it on the street -- must have been a MayDay celebration or something. I was struck by the deep messages from very simple materials.

I decided to attend the Mpls. College of Art & Design and worked at Children’s Theatre Company & School next door in the early 80s. I eventually received Bachelor degrees in both scenic design and studio art. I spent a year in California studying mask and physical theatre. Then I lived in central Mexico several years with a movement theatre artist and apprenticed with a mask maker before returning to the USA to work in several theatres. In the 90s I got jobs in retail display, scenic painting and faux finishing, remarried, and raised my two kids to participate in drama and wear elaborate Halloween costumes.

I got serious again about giant puppets after 9-11-01 when I was looking for a way to use my art talent to help change the world. My giant creations participated in many Midwest and California parades and conferences with social justice and Earth spirituality themes. The most famous was 2007 Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

In 2008 I worked as MayDay staff in Minneapolis and got an ARAC grant to study with Peter Schumann and Bread and Puppet Theatre (the grandfather of giant protest puppetry) in Vermont. Since then I have worked and taught in various seasonal self-employment making giant papier-mâché with both children and adults and I work for commission in scenic/decorative painting as well as these lightweight sculptures.

I also coordinate an annual Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival in the Duluth Depot called, All Souls Night. This year’s event is the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 2nd with a few days preparation to make decorations and transform the space.

Enny: What was your inspiration for the gods exhibit?
MP: Many of my creations and co-creations are of godlike icons/archetypes such as the Elements, Green Man, Gandhi, MLK, Jr., Gaia, Death, etc. In fact, my 2006 Masters thesis show was called, “Dancing with Divinity.”

I was invited to work with the UMD theatre department this spring on the musical of The Odyssey adapted by Professor Tom Isbell. I designed the gods and monsters and was given them to use after the performance to add to my collection, which I share with the community.

Enny: Do you have any advice for young artists just starting out?
MP: It’s an interesting path that pays in ways that aren’t always financial. I am very lucky my spouse has steady employment. If you want money find a skill that is in demand that can feed your family and buy materials.

To see more visit www.maryplaster.com