Day One of the Park Point Art Fair was a Treasure--Local Art Seen

Painting by Claudia M. Faith

The hot summer sun sizzled on the streets of Duluth and in the surrounding countryside here, causing many people to consider moving North. (Just kidding.) It was great weather for Friday evening's art crawl and the Park Point Art Fair yesterday. Thunderstorms blitzed the region during the night, and today's weather will be anyone's guess. Nevertheless, should the storm clouds lift a bit you'll find 120 artists eager to make you feel at home should you get out to the Point here in Duluth. What follows are some of the things we saw and heard there yesterday.

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Brian Wagner

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Claudia M. Faith

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Richard Gruchella/Carin Rosetti

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Ray Shellerud

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Ashlet Hise

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Ray Shelerud

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Blue skies and sunshine, music and 120 artists.

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Ashley Hise

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Richard Gruchalla/Carin Rosetti

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Stone Lithograph on Tissue, Brian Wagner

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Handfcrafted bandanas at Dock 5.

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Sandra Haff is Steppin' Out

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Jason and Veikko (Woodblind) were over by the food trucks...

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...and the Jug Band tucked in behind Karin Kraemer's pottery booth.

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

Matt Oman's Species of Art, Revisited and a Pair of Arts-Related Reminders

Last week I was notified that Matt Oman has added some new work and re-arranged the gallery space in his garage. I first wrote about Matt after visiting in 2012 at which time he stated, “I don’t think I mentioned that my biggest/favorite/most complex piece of artwork is my house.”

Oman graduated from UMD as a history major, but it was his love of beauty that attracted him to the arts. His works are generally small compositions of mixed media, collage or other compositions. Conceptual artists work in ideas or words. Oman's pieces each have a story, a concept, a revelation.

The words Species of Art is imprinted just inside the door of his garage, which has become a moniker of sorts for this garage cum gallery. Many of the pieces have no identifying titles or comments, but others include words, which sometimes offer keys for unlocking other meanings. Here are some of the words that appear on the various pieces:

Section 1: The Cultural
Pool of Water
The Smallest Blue Dot
Eating/Impenetrable
Science/What are the Chances?/Understanding the Universe
Intelligence Tested
Destroy All Monsters and Goddess
The Female Gaze
Lord Gallery
Romantic Realist
The Story of Human Language. Creation Myths
Bat Cave

If you were to visit, you would find many pieces that are simply thought provoking, and others that reveal a humorous wit. 

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EVENTS OF NOTE
THIS WEEKEND

49th Annual Park Point Art Fair

http://www.parkpointartfair.org/

Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

1st Anniversary
Downtown Duluth Arts Walk

Details Here

Related Links

2012 story about Matt Oman's Series of Art

2018 story about Matt Oman's Species of Art

Summer is here. Enjoy the sunshine!

Local Art Scene: Upcoming Arts Events for the Last Week in June

Piece from STRATA show at the DAI

Grandma's Marathon has always been more than a marathon. It marks the beginning of the busy Twin Ports Summer Scene. For decades it was a reminder that next weekend is the Park Point Art Fair. Now it is also a reminder that Rhubarb Fest is coming, also.

Here are some noteworthy events for your Art Happenings calendar.

Tuesday, June 25, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Creative Crosswalk Painting with Moira Villiard
Moira & team of volunteers will be painting crosswalks near the Myers-Wilkins Elementary School, 8th Avenue E. & 10th Street
"The Hillside streets will become safer and more colorful this summer when local artist, Moira Villiard, in partnership with Zeitgeist and local residents. The will produce four creative crosswalks at currently dangerous intersections. The crosswalks and intersections will be painted to attract more attention to crosswalks and the people using them, promoting pedestrian and bicycle safety by slowing traffic in the residential area, while also highlighting neighborhood culture and identity through public art. Zeitgeist will lead community engagement efforts to allow residents to influence the design of the murals that they will be walking, biking, and driving through daily. Neighbors are encouraged to come out to help paint the design." For more information, contact Shawna Mullen, Zeitgeist Active Transportation Coordinator. 218-929-1908.; Shawna@Zeitgeistarts.com

Friday, June 28, 5-8 p.m.
Downtown Duluth Arts Walk 
Between 20 and 30 arts spaces will be open again, continuing the "Last Friday of Each Month" art event. Duluth Fine Pianos, 331 W. Superior Street (next to Starbucks!) will be hosting jazz musicians  Ryan Frane on piano, Matt Mobley on bass, and Sam Miltich on guitar from 6-8 p.m.
Esther Piszczek's framed work on paper, glass, mirrors, and clay decorates the walls of Duluth Fine Pianos. Come out to hear some music, see the art, or just say hi to all the good people there. Duluth Fine Pianos is participating in the Downtown Duluth Arts Collective's night of art and entertainment, featuring Downtown Duluth art galleries, eateries, bars and performance venues. Email manager@josephneasegallery.com or call 218-461-8380 for more information. Downtown Duluth Arts Walk Google Map [NOTE: I will attend the DDAW 5-6:30 p.m.]

Saturday, June 29, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Chum Rhubarb Festival, London Road at 11th Avenue E.
"Chum’s 15th annual Rhubarb Festival promises lots of rhubarb — including hundreds of pies, muffins and crisps, as well as rhubarb brats and burritos. There will also be live music, games, crafts, auctions and stage shows." You can check out my Rhubarb Fest photos from last summer here.

Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, June 30, 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
Sue Brown Chapin Watercolors Gallery on 4th Grand Opening, 47 4th Street, Cloquet Stop by to see Sue Brown Chapin's new space and register to win a framed original. Following the opening, Gallery on 4th will be open Thursday afternoons, 1-6 p.m., and by appointment.
Directions: Presbyterian Church Building, upper level, door to right of main door, look for sign.

Cross this bridge to Park Point Art Fair. Watercolor by Sue Rauschenfels

Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, June 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Park Point Art Fair
Park Point Public Beach House, 5000 Minnesota Avenue
"The annual Park Point Art Fair will feature the juried fine art and crafts of more than 120 artists from the upper Midwest and beyond. In addition to the outdoor gallery, there will be a food court, demonstration areas, a stage with live music and more — all at the Park Point Recreation Area.
Located at the foot of the recreation area’s Beach House and ball fields, the event is accessible by bus and bike, as well as the nearby airstrip and public boat launch. With artist tents lining a paved path that extends through the park, the show allows people with physical disabilities the chance to fully experience the event."

Sunday, June 30, 5 p.m.
Beer & Hymns, at Sir Benedict's Tavern, 805 E. Superior Street
"A gathering for beer drinking and hymn singing on the last Sunday of every month."

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The Ceramicists: More Cool Shots from the Park Point Art Fair

The dictionary defines ceramics as "pots and other articles made from clay hardened by heat." Making things out of clay is something so simple a child can do it, yet even after a lifetime the master ceramicists are learning new things about firing techniques, glazes and the possibilities of the medium. Like writing, playing an instrument, or drawing, it's something everyone can enjoy. But mastery is something wholly other.

Making pottery goes back to ancient times. It must have been interesting when the first clay bowls were actually placed in a fire and hardened. Shards of broken bowls and pots are among the items most often found in archaeological digs. More than 2500 years ago the prophet Isaiah wrote "Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." And Jeremiah expressed similar sentiments after being instructed by the Lord to go down to the potter's house.

I like the look of Gail Rosenquist's pieces.

In 1981, when Susie and I were living in Mexico, we worked at an orphanage that was walking distance from a small pottery business, two or three people working on wheels making bowls, among other things. There was also a brick making business, of a much larger scale, in the direction of town. Both processes involve taking raw material out of the ground, shaping it and baking it.

All this to say that we saw some wonderful ceramics at the Park Point Art Fair this past weekend. Here are a few pieces I especially liked.

The familiar designs of Husby Pottery.

Richard & Rosetti Gruchalla (here, top right and below)
were awards Best of Show this year.

The ubquitous Karin Kraemer

Related Links
Tate Rich Talks About Ceramics and Community Art
Making Bowls at the North Pole

Upcoming Art Events This Week
Adam Swanson's Science Art will be showing at Karin Kraemer's Duluth Pottery, 5-9 p.m. Tomorrow
Friday evening from 4 till late is the Duluth Art Walk.
And let's not forget the Free Range Film Festival in Wrenshall

Meantime art goes on all around you. Do it in Duluth.

Perfect Weather and Much To See Again at the Park Point Art Fair

This weekend was the 48th Annual Park Point Art Fair. I would love to photos from the early years if you have them. I can't imagine that all the artists back then had pop-up tents, though I could be wrong. I doubt many had devices for accepting and processing credit cards. Few, if any, had business cards and none, you can be sure, had a sign-up sheet collecting email addresses so they could stay in touch with you after the show.

As has been the custom in recent years, it is a juried fine arts show, though also am arts and crafts commercial center of sorts. That is, it costs money to maintain a presence here and the aim by day's end is to sell products. In other words, it's work, and when all is said and done the hope is to end up on the positive side of the ledger.

The setting couldn't be more beautiful, at at the end of Park Point Recreation Area near the Beach House. The sand dune serves as a windbreaker, from cold breezes off the lake; the sun warms bodies as well as hearts. Saturday was a hot one, but yesterday was perfect. Considering that it can sometimes rain on the outdoor shows, the weather could not have been nicer.

The woodcut prints by Stanley Leonard were remarkable.

An assortment of food trucks take advantage of the occasion each year to service the 120 artists and their friends as well as the estimated 10,000 visitors who meander through. There were picnic tables arranged near a makeshift stage where musicians performed throughout the two days. We watched Jason and Veikko of WoodBlind for a bit. They were accompanied by the Monkey Man. Always fun to listen to.

The variety of works generally fell into the following categoories: ceramics, two-dimensional work (includes painting, collage, various print media suitable as wall art), fiber, glass, jewelry, photography, sculpture, mixed media and wood. The majority of artists represented are from the region, as in Minnesota and Wisconsin, though sculptor Alex Zaves did claim to hail from Santa Barbara, California. (Beautiful part of the world here, eh, Alex?)

Anyways, here are some photos from our art fair walkabout yesterday. I'm saving my ceramics photos for tomorrow. There were so many things to see and share.

Jim Dee's paintings were designed to put you in a meditative frame of mind.

There was ample photography.

And plenty of jewelry to select from... for yourself or that special someone.

These mirrors were quite striking.

Looking for a unique mandala?

If you've never been, then mark you calendars. It's always the weekend after Grandma's Marathon.

Related Links
Stanley Leonard Studio
Jim Dee Art
This coming weekend is the Friday Art Crawl (Joseph Nease Gallery, Ryan Tischer Photography, Duluth Art Institute and more). But it is also the annual Free Range Film Festival at The Barn in Wrenshall. Yet another weekend in which you wish you could clone yourself.

Meantime art goes on all around you. Engage it!