Rocky Mountain High: Nevada Bob in a Colorado Hospital

Over the past few years octogenarian Robert "Nevada Bob" Gordon has made 7 trips to Nashville to record covers and original songs in that inimitable Country style. During one of his trips his path crossed with "America's Photographer" Gary Firstenberg, whose images grace the sleeves Nevada Bob's music is housed in, plus the cover photos for his memoir 50 Years with the Wrong Woman.

During these past two years the two have also shared a couple of extended road trips, visiting points of interest while passing through 47 of the 48 continental United States together. 

While homeward bound last week, Nevada Bob checked in to a hospital in Denver. His heart had an irregular heartbeat and the early diagnosis was congestive heart failure. It seemed he would be back on the road after a weekend of observation, but is still there "on hold" till his oxygen levels stabilize.

Here are a few Colorado snapshots, courtesy Gary Firstenberg.

What I remember from numerous business trips to Denver is that there is a lot of wonderful public art, especially sculptures. From first to last, my visits to Colorado were all good. 

Here's Nevada Bob getting ready to order Beef Wellington, 

au gratin potatoes, lima beans and Baked Alaska. 

His smiles are quite subtle, but he sounded cheerful on the phone. 

Leave a comment for Bob and I will pass it along for you. Or

contact me some other way. He's looking forward to getting home

but would enjoy hearing from you.

Related Links

Come Along and Ride Nevada Bob Gordon's Long Train to Nowhere

Nevada Bob Gordon Is On the Road Again

Gary Firstenberg's Turning Negatives Into Positives

Nevada Bob In Nashville Recording His Sixth Album

 

The Hoot n Holler Creation Station at Bent Paddle Mondays

I've been hearing a lot this year about Jakob Mahon and his New Salty Dogs' ongoing command of the stage at Bent Paddle on Monday nights. Two weeks ago I finally made it, returninng again this past Monday. With the advent of nice weather Bent Paddle opened its outdoor and turned the adjacent space into a Happening. 

In addition to the music and dancing, there were booths around the stage occupied by vendors and other creative spirits. One of these tents, manned by Kat Ford and Ayana Greene, has been dubbed the Hoot 'n Holler Creation Station. Essentially Ford and Greene created a collaborative "live art" space, for both children and adults to contribute some of their own creative expressions onto large canvases.

Last night I finally caught up with Kat Ford to learn a little more about their Creation Station and the role of art in her life and career.

"Ever since I was a kid I've been curious about live painting," Ford said. When she was vending at the Salty Dog shows on Monday nights, she says, "I was taken aback by the energy." This prompted her to seek out a second venue so that now you can see her work at The Rathskellar on Tuesdays. In adition she has also painted live in various other places. 

When I asked what happens to the paintings they have been producing at their Bent Paddle Creation Station, she indicated that all the paintings will be on sale Next Monday the 21st at Bent Paddle. Since the art was a group production, she and Ayana did not feel right keeping the money for themselves. "All the paintings will be on sale the 21st as a fund raiser for Valley Youth Center," Ford explained. "In the meantime, they've been a blessing in our living room. When we look at them we reminisce on the stories that go with them."

Though she'd dreamed of painting since childhood, she applied for college seeking a high caliber art school. As it turns out she was accepted by her dream school but even with scholarships the cost of college in L.A. was out of reach. 

"I did some classes at UMD when I was in high school," she said, adding that "my other passion is taking care of people. So I applied to nursing school instead... and just graduated in May." She's excited about her nursing career and plans to coninue making art on the side 

I asked if she has a personal philosophy about creativity and Ford replied "Yes" in a thoughtful sort of way. "Creativity is a gift that can be very healing but it can also be very obsessive. It is easy to corrupt your creativity when you attach money to it. (For this reason) I keep some of my creativity in a personal space that is private." 

When asked about the biggest challenges when it comes to creating public art, she said, "Keeping the creative batteries full. Sometimes the pressure of doing public art leaves you running on fumes." 

On the practical said, when doing live painting with children and groups, it involves paying attention. The canvases are an imagination playground, but some children are shy about making marks on the painting. For the most part, however, many people just love rolling up their sleeves. "Public art is magical and motivational," Ford said.

To see more of Kathryne Ford's art, visit the Rathskellar. To see Kat in action, visit the Rathskellar on Tuesday evenings. Monday the 21st will be the last night for their Creation Station at Bent Paddle.

You can see more of her work on Instagram @Blend_the_Sunshine. She'll also be at a couple shows this fall... to be announced.

A few tools of the trade.

Billie Holiday's Artistic Reverberations in Baltimore's Public Spaces

Cities benefit from public art in a variety of ways. Public art can generate a measure of civic pride.It also has social benefits, giving residents a sense of place. Certainly this has been happening in Duluth as it has in other places. Public art can lift our spirits and it can also cause us to think. (I'm thinking here of the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial). According to a study at USC it can even improve academic achievement. Many cities use public art is a means of honoring significant luminaries who had once lived there or were born there. 

"America's Photographer" Gary Firstenberg sent these photos from the neighborhood in Baltimore where Billie Holiday was raised.

Other luminaries from Charm City include Eubie Blake, Can Calloway, Frank Zappa, Babe Ruth, Thurgood Marshall, H.L. Mencken and many more.

Related Links

The Lynchings in Duluth by Michael Fedo

Strange Fruit

Lady Day

Ten Great Jazz Performances

Artists Take to the Streets... To Make Snow Sculptures. Plus a Link to Art in February

For the first time in a long time I read Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll this past week. A couple days later my Reason magazine featured a story about mushrooms, with an extensive variety of colorful illustrations of Shrooms on the cover. And so it was that as I was driving through Duluth's Lincoln Park District I couldn't help but stop when I saw a couple people working on this snow sculpture featuring a giant mushroom. I thus felt compelled to park my car and grab a photo

Before I reached the giant shroom sculpture I ran into Karin Kraemer of Duluth Pottery, whose pottery business is a couple doors West of the sculpture. Karin was excited about the sculpture -- "Isn't it great!!?" -- and said there were some others being created in the neighborhood. She thus escorted me to the sculpture and introduced me to the artist. Ha! It was Jessica Turtle, so covered up in winter garb that I would not have recognized her to save my life. She smiled broadly as we already know each other. (I purchased one of her paintings about 10 years ago and wrote about her.) 

At this point I should mention that it was below zero out there and with the wind chill at least 20 below. That just shows you how dedicated our local artists can be.

A second sculpture was being worked on across the street down on the corner by the small park at 20th Avenue West. They were completing a seated bear as you can see here.

I have long been an advocate for public art, thrilled by the number of murals that have been produced to decorate our walls and buildings.

I was then told of a third sculpture being produced over at Ursa Minor, 2415 West Superior Street. Naturally I had to check it out. It turns out that the artists were a father and son from just North of Madison, Wisconsin. Steve Lentz and his son Austin were also busy scraping and shaping when I got there. They happened to have a small fire burning, which seems a pretty nice asset on such a chilly day.

Before

After

Tools of the Trade

* * * 

Here's one more with Jessica Turtle. 

* * *

Esther Piszczek has updated her Twin Ports Art Blog with activities for February. Things have not yet opened up as in the days of Pre-Covid, but as you can see from the snow sculptures it hasn't stopped our local artists from making art. The listing begins with a call for submissions for the annual Lake Superior Writers competition. You can find everything else here at Art In February.

The Duluth Art Institute located in the Depot will be closed till April 1. Likewise the Tweed will remain closed till spring, due to the governor's restrictions. Frankly, I don't understand why art museums have to be closed. They are underutilized. With the exception of art openings you can usually see every exhibit without getting within 50 feet of a human being.  

The DAI has virtual viewing available, which you will find at their website duluthartinstitute.org.

* * * 

In closing, here in the Northland we have snow sculptures. Below is a photo of a sand sculpture, contributed once again by Gary Firstenberg. Yes, it is Super Bowl weekend, so this is Tom Brady and a giant football that says 2021. After a career with the New England Patriots he is in Tampa Bay leading the Buccaneers. 

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

Community Mural Underway in the Lincoln Park District

North Shore Scenic Highway 61 (Gary Firstenberg photo)

A number of years ago I took a tour of St. Petersburg with an eye to taking in all the murals that decorate the walls of the city's Warehouse District. It was inspiring, and even though I felt it a little unfair that their muralists can paint year-'round, I felt proud of how much public art there is here in the Twin Ports, with more being added annually.

This month I saw a mural underway in Two Harbors that passersby will take delight in soon. Did you know that 4 million cars a year pass through Two Harbors heading up the North Shore to our various park or further on to Thunder Bay and back? I also learned there's going to be a new mural added to the Historic Duluth Armory sometime soon.

My aim here is to showcase the new mural being painted on a wall of the community resource center in the West End. The project design and execution is being spearheaded by lead artists Moira Villiard of the Fond du Lac tribe and Red Cliff artist Michelle DeFoe. Besides adding still more brilliance to the ever evolving Lincoln Park District, the mural itself is has a great story to go with it.

In addition to utilizing Anishinaabe symbolism to provide insight into some of the city's Indigenous history, a portion of the mural will incorporate designs submitted online to Villiard by youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lincoln Park Resource Center, 2024 West 3rd Street

According to Villiard and DeFoe the dragonflies were largely designed by youth and are a symbol of resilience and transformation, and serve as a relevant reminder of our need today to grow and transform our lives in ways that allow us to live fully. Through cultural imagery, including a hand holding asemaa and references to wild rice, the mural also serves as a reminder that even in uncertain times, we shouldn't forget the stories of the land we reside on and the people who were the first stewards of Turtle Island.

Several youth groups have also participated in the early painting stages of the mural, including a youth group from the Steve O’Neil apartment building. Social distancing has been important throughout.

Dragonflies (detail)

This project was funded in part through an Art Project grant by the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council and through a grant program awarded by the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation in partnership with the McKnight Foundation to the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) arts program (the “Art in the Present Moment” initiative).

Related Links
St. Petersburg's Warehouse Arts District: Inspiration and Lessons for the Twin Ports

Sprucing Up the Neighborhood with Tom Napoli

While driving past Ganucci's recently I noticed Tom Napoli as at it again, either adding to the murals on the outside walls or brightening. Not only has restaurant itself been a great addition to the neighborhood--primo Italian fare--but the murals which have been spreading across its exterior have added zest, like good Italian seasoning.

I first met Napoli while he was painting the long horizontal mural on the West side of the Earth Rider brewery last year.

It was also Tom Napoli who created the delightful "bookshelf" store front for Bob & Angel Dobrow's Zenith Bookstore just down the block, across from the new West Theater. While there I learned that Napoli was the artist who brought to life the story of the Tortoise and the Hare on the East side of Tortoise and Hare Footwear (40th Avenue West & Grand) which you can see on Tom's website here.

What follows are a handful of images to show you the versatility and flavor of this artist's work.

Detail, far right end of Tortoise and Hare Footware.

As I've said before, it is wonderful to see all the public art. 

Thank you, Tom, for your contributions to our community.