Friday Night Art Crawl and Other Arts Activities This Weekend

Years ago when the internet was young, I discovered it was a great resource for humor and began looking for some jokes on various topics. I remember finding websites with 20 pages of German jokes and other kinds of ethnic humor. When the Lawyer Jokes pages appeared, one site alone at 108 pages of not so kind barbs.

I mention this because there seems to be a shortage of artist humor out there. Nevertheless, let's start with this and then highlight things to do here through the weekend.

An artist asked the gallery owner if there had been much interest in his paintings on exhibit there. "I have good news and bad news," the owner replied. "The good news is that a gentleman inquired about your work and wondered if it would appreciate in value after your death. When I told him it would, he bought all 15 of your paintings." 

"That's wonderful," the artist exclaimed. "What's the bad news?" 

"The guy was your doctor."

The Twin Ports Second Friday Art Crawl continues tomorrow evening. Here are a handful of recommended events to take in on Friday, August 14. Tomorrow night you can find yet another round of impressive exhibitions, openings and happenings.  See if you can hit the following four.

Blue Lapis Photography at The Red Herring, 5-8pm.
"Casual and fun, the way I see art, as life," ~William C. Hurst
DJ Path Annu and DJ BIONIC providing music. El Oasis del Norte providing food (free authentic Mexican street food taco with the purchase of beverage to the first 50 people) at Red Herring Lounge. Sounds like a good first stop for the evening.

Three Women~Three Artists~Three Friends
Art Opening with Joy Kops, Rachel Weiznegger, and Wendy Savage
5:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the American Indian Community Housing Organization, 202 W 2nd St, Duluth, Minnesota 55802

New Exhibit at Pierce & Piszczek Fine Pianos 
6-8:30 p.m. 405 E. Superior Street
New art exhibit this month AND be sure to check out Esther Piszczek's ongoing "tangled" piano project. (Recommended.)

Hold Tight //A Feminist Dinner// Reception 
7-11:00 p.m.   Yessica Buenrostro is a ceramicist who lives and works in Minneapolis, MN. She received her BFA in Studio Arts at the University of Minnesota, Class of 2014. Plus, work by Emily Mohrbacher.

Check out the progress at Pierce & Piszczek Pianos

This Week's Art Festival

Bayfront Park Art Fair 
Saturday, August 15, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Bayfront Park Sunday August 16, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. "Bayfront Park Art Fair" is a free, two-day fine art festival showcasing over 180 gallery quality artists and entertainers from all across the United States." (Note: The event is advertised as free, but the city has charged $5 in the past to park there.)

Art in Public Spaces for August 

Red Mug, Chelsey Miller 

Pizza Luce, "Illusion" by Esther Piszczek 

Beaner's Central, Choice Unlimited  

Studio 15, Nicole Richardson & Mauro All

Pierce & Piszczek Fine Pianos 

Red Herring, Bill Hearst  

Amity Coffee, Aaron Kloss

Benchmark Tattoo, Michael Wiltse
Full Tarot card deck painted on hand-scraped parchment.

Zeitgeist Arts Café and Atrium, Always a quality show no matter the artist.


Special thanks to Esther Piszczek for assembling much of the information that appears on these monthly forecasts. If you've seen her Zentangle designs and would like to learn how to do it yourself, sign up for her September classses on Zentangle (R) Pattern Drawing: An Introduction. Classes on Mondays, Sept 21-October 12, 5:30-8 p.m., Ordean East Middle School, register online in early September through Duluth Community Education

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

Local Art Seen: Janet Billig at Studio 15

The other day I mentioned that there were seven opening receptions for artists in the Twin Ports slated for Friday July 10, the night of the Second Friday Art Crawl that is becoming a tradition here. To any who made the effort the new work in these various locations will be richly rewarding to take in if you get a chance this month. Highlights included seeing some new work by Carla Hamilton at Benchmark Tattoo, a more complete collection of paintings by Jonathan Thunder in the Abstractscapes show with Samantha Pranger at Washington Studios, Sarah Brokke's exhibition at Red Herring and the big surprise that I seem to have chattered all evening about, Janet Billig's cabinet at Studio 15. The Brokke's show was amazing came as no surprise, nor the Zentangle Piano that Esther Piszczek is tediously embellishing. These and other photos will be shared over the next several days as time permits.

Billig is a naturalist who paints on canvas or driftwood. Her themes are inspired by nature and her skills honed. After taking in the various paintings that filled the gallery space it was pointed out that the cabinet there was all her work. The story goes that as her children were growing she would decorate this cabinet which she had in their kitchen. The three cabinet doors portray scenes from Duluth history. On the right is Park Point at the turn of the last century with some amusement park rides at the end. The second panel features an image from Seven Bridges Road. The third shows a boathouse where there were dances in the old days on the St. Louis River out near the Oliver Bridge.

Janet Billig's Kitchen Cabinet

A Triptych of Cabinet Doors

All the images here are from Billig's opening. Over the next few days I will share photos from 8 other openings that took place these past few days. Since to my knowledge none of these events were featured in the Duluth News Tribune, I think there should be more discussion about how to get the word out to our wider public regarding these arts-related events. There are stories being told that more people would enjoy if they knew about them. If you follow the local arts scene I strongly encourage you to make an effort, go out of your way if you have to, to visit Studio 15 to see what Lydia Walker has been doing with this space and to enjoy this very impressive piece by Janet Billig.

Detail, left panel

Left Panel, Near Oliver Bridge

Cabinet detail

Meantime, art is happening all around you. Take it in and get inspired.

Stars Coming Into Alignment for July 10 Second Friday Art Crawl

Micaella Penning

The old saying is that if summer falls on a weekend everyone here goes waterskiing. Fortunately the myth is wrong on two counts. Summers last a bit longer than a weekend, and generally the real activity on the lake that consumes many of us is sailing.

Summer 2015 has provided ample opportunity for nights out and this coming Friday will be a good one for getting out to catch a number of visual arts openings. There are plenty of other dates to mark on your calendars as well, but let's start with the Second Friday Art Crawl.

Sclavi's Italian Restaurant is hosting an opening for Vince Larson, Melanie Sternberg and Jill Berquist from 4-8 p.m. Sclavi's is located at 1106 Tower Avenue in Superior and if you can't make the opening, you should take a lunch their soon and check out the art.

If you begin your evening here you can then saunter over to the North End Arts Gallery for an opening reception for the new regional watercolor/poetry exhibit featuring vintage watercolors by Brule summer resident Julia Marshall. The reception there is from 5-7 p.m. The exhibit is titled Watercolors: North Coast WI and will run thru to the first week in September. The gallery is on the second floor of what is popularly becoming known as the Red Mug Corner at the corner of Broadway and Hammond.

Sponsored by the Superior Council for the Arts (SCFTA)the gallery is open Thursdays thru Saturdays from noon to 6 pm

On the Duluth side of the bridge you will want to make five stops if you can.

Pierce & Piszczek Fine Pianos will welcome you from 6-8:30 p.m.  If you haven't seen Esther Piszczek's Zentangle-inspired piano, then you'll assuredly want to make this a stop. I can't help but see it as a museum piece somewhere someday. They are located at 405 E. Superior Street. If you make this your last stop of the evening you can stop by and say "Hi" before heading over to Movies in the Park: The Mighty Ducks, 9 pm, at Leif Erikson Park.

Washington Gallery is back in the action with a show titled Abstractscapes, an exhibition of landscape photography and acrylic paintings by Duluth-based artists Samantha Pranger and Jonathan Thunder. Though the two artists have dramatically different styles, they share a deep connection with the natural world. The opening reception there will be from 7-10 pm with a closing on Friday, July 31 from 7 to 10 pm at Washington Gallery.

Pranger has spent the last two years building up a body of work that represents a fresh take on the ordinary. “This show is more about what the viewer brings to each piece than my take on the work. I wanted to break away somewhat from my past work and try to bring people into my world- to allow them a glimpse of the world through my eyes.”

Thunder, whose work I saw in a group show earlier this year, describes his work as, “like entries in a scrapbook. They're conceptual snapshots of events, characters, epiphanies and dreams that shape my life.” His paintings explore personal themes of identity, life transitions, internal conflict and self-transformation. A strong theme focuses on the ability of the self to break away from “what it has been programmed to do.”

Abstractscapes is viewable Fridays July 17th and 24th from 4 to 9 pm; Saturdays and Sundays from July 11th to 26th from noon to 6 pm as well as by appointment. Washington Gallery is located in the former Washington Junior High School at 315 North Lake Avenue in Duluth.

Janet Billig

Studio 15, Janet Billig, Friday, July 10, 7 p.m.
15 3rd Avenue W.

Janet Billig paints natural scenes of the North-shore of Lake Superior, on anything from traditional canvas to drift wood to furniture. She utilizes things like the natural knots in the wood, making them part of her images. She researches historic Duluth, bringing aspects of that into her work. It is not your typical nature scene so come check it out.

For some reason I thought I'd read or heard that The Red Herring is hosting a reception for a Sarah Brokke show that will be hanging there this month. I will probably find the details tomorrow, but even this isn't the case you can't go wrong making a stop there on the way to your next destination.

Benchmark Tattoo is hosting a show called Kandy with an opening reception Friday eve from 6-9 p.m. featuring work by Carla Hamilton and fellow artist Cully Williams. Benchmark is located at 1831 E. 8th Street, kitty corner from At Sarah's Table.

Other July Art Exhibits and Happenings

Beaner's Central is showing Francis O'Connell, Jr. this month.
324 N. Central Avenue

Pizza Luce is featuring Adam Swanson
11 East Superior Street

Red Mug is showing Superior High School Seniors' Collaborative Art Show
916 Hammond Avenue, Superior

Zeitgeist: Café has Alberta Marana's work on its walls with Micaella Penning's first public show in the Atrium. 222 E. Superior Street

The current MN Comics show featuring Paneled Pages from the Northland will remain in the Morrison Gallery at the Duluth Art Institute till August 27. There will be two gallery talks of note in August to look forward to on August 4 (Kate Vo Thi) and August 21 (David Beard and Tim Broman). And a visit to the Tweed is a must at least once this summer to see the Chee retrospective.

You may put Thursday August 6 on your calendar for an Art Reception at Pizza Luce featuring pieces by Esther Piszczek. I still remember checking out her first show at Amazing Grace and being impressed by her energy.

Her newest art collaboration appears in the Zenith City News with her talented friend Brenna Jordan of Calligraphy by Brenna. Fine Lines!

Piszczek is also teaching a Zentangle (R) Pattern Drawing for Youth (ages 8-14), Friday, July 24, 12-4 p.m. at the Ordean East Middle School, 2900 E. 4th Street.

Speaking of youth art, Pineapple arts is offering Kids Art Sessions on Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 4 p.m. throughout the summer ($5 per child per session). Here are the times and themes:
July 8 (today): Air Dry Clay Techniques
July 15: Tie Dye Shirts
July 22: Nature Drawing-Outside Weather Permitting
July 29: Watercolor-Outside if possible
August 5: Wood Sculpture w/Tape & Glue
August 12: Acrylic Painting
August 19: Painting Tote Bags

Maybe you know of a July event that should be shared. Feel free to mention it in the comments. There's a lot going on... let's let people know.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Embrace it.

This Week's Second Friday Art Crawl including Tonight's Events

Although I missed it, I fully expect that last night opening at the Red Mug Coffeehouse was fun. Suzanne Johnson, the proprietor, always does a stellar job at these events. Last night was kickoff for a collaborative show of smaller pictures and paintings and works which will be on display till the end of May.

I have around ten small works in this show, along with a host of local artists including Sterling Rathsack, Erik Pearson, Adam Kloss, Larry Turbes, Esther Piszczek, Stephen Ljubovic, Ellen Sandbeck, Karin Kraemer, Karen Savage-Blue, Adam McCauley, Lynn Anderson, Laura Kirwin, Chris Monroe, Kenneth Marunowski. If you can make it for lunch the soup's always on and always good, as are the sandwiches, wraps and other fixin's. They also have free wi-fi so it's a nice place to simply sip coffee and get out of the office.

Here's a quick rundown of happenings, with special thanks to Esther Piszczek.

Tonight at Pizza Luce from 7-9 p.m. there's a very special opening that might surprise you.

Also tonight at the Sacred Heart Music Center, 201 W. 4th Street 7-9 PM, Thursday, 5/7
Life House Variety Show: A Night Of Song, and Poetry, Hip Hop, R&B, Soul, and Rock by area youth; $3.00 At The Door, or One Nonperishable Food Item

2nd Friday Art Crawl

This is the second weekend of the month, so you might as well amp up for the Art Crawl Friday evening.

On Friday night you can start at Pierce & Piszczek Fine Pianos, 405 E. Superior Street 6-8:30 pm. For those who missed April's event, come on out and see a little Northwoods mixed with patterns among the pianos, one of which is a little more artsy than the rest.

That is, unless you start at the Book Launch Party for Eddy Gilmore's Emancipation of a Buried Man at Amity Coffee, 4429 E. Superior Street (Lakeside) 6:30 PM  Recently reviewed by Naomi Yeager in the Budgeteer News, I interviewed Gilmore here earlier in May.

Benchmark Tattoo, 1831 E. Eighth Street
Dan Hansen's work was placed at Benchmark Tattoo in April but is still exhibiting through the end of May. It is worth the trip up the hill to see it! Stop in at Sara's Table kitty-corner across the street while you're in the neighborhood.

Beaner's Central, 324 N. Central Avenue New Artist Reception, tonight at 6 pm: Christine Valento's Elementary Student Showcase from Laura MacArthur with music by Duluth Jazz Band Mangolith at 7 pm

The Nordic Center, 23 N. Lake Avenue 7-9 PM
Patterns & Mermaid Tales: Artwork by Kirsten Aune, Alison Aune and Joellyn Rock
It almost feels like The Nordic Center is Alison Aune's home away from home.

Red Herring Lounge, 208 E. 1st Street
Artist Reception: New Paintings by Brent Kusterman

Sacred Heart Music Center, 201 W. 4th Street 7-9 PM, Thursday, 5/7
Life House Variety Show: A Night Of Song, and Poetry, Hip Hop, R&B, Soul, and Rock by area youth; $3.00 At The Door, or One Nonperishable Food Item

Studio 15 at 15 3rd Avenue W.
At 6 p.m. there's an Emily Hayes Artist Reception with music by Brothers Burn Mountain and DJ Nola. Kudos to Lydia Walker for what she's added this past year to the Duluth art scene.

* * * *

As for later this month, we're one week away from a major retrospective of world-renowned Duluth watercolorist Cheng-Khee Chee on May 14 at the Tweed Museum of Art, UMD.

Later in the month is our annual Duluth Dylan Fest with a week's worth of events culminating in the May 23 Acoustic Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan at the Sacred Heart Music Center, 201 W. 4th Street. Tickets and information

Hopefully all this is accurate. Most of it is. Isn't it exciting that we live in a region that has so much happening that one person can't keep track of it all. The Duluth News Tribune doesn't, the Reader doesn't, the Transistor doesn't, nor does social media... but we're all doing the best we can.

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

Local Art Happenings As We Enter the New Year

In a few hours 2014 will come to a close. For many of us it's been a year of both achievements and disappointments, a year of satisfactions and sorrows. And a year rich in beauty. After a lingering look back, we turn the page and turn our faces to what lies ahead. I sincerely hope that for each of you 2015 will be a very special year in a way that deepens some aspect of your life in a profound way.

* * * *

Pink Aspens by Kenneth Marunowski

Here in the Twin Ports the art scene is bursting out of the gate like a flash-bang. There will be some exciting openings over the next ten days. If you can make any that will be good. If you can make all, that will be great.

Esther Piszczek's Visions at Benchmark Tattoo.
The opening will be this Friday, January 2 from 6-9 p.m.
Benchmark Tattoo, is located at 1831 E. 8th Street.  Her Zentangle-inspired art will be on display through the end of the month. And if you're interested in doing Zentangle creations, she teaches classes. You can find her on Facebook or email at episzczek@gmail.com

Kenneth Marunowski will be sharing new work for the month of January in the Zeitgeist Atrium.
The opening for Ken's show is Monday, January 5th at 7pm, which will include free food from the Zeitgeist Arts Cafe and half-price whiskey.

Marunowski is originally from Ohio, having received his Bachelor degree at Kent State. His plein air painting and drawing is stellar. Having also studied French he spent his junior year abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France at the Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing. (I'm jealous.) You can read more about the artist and this event here.

Ineke Grounds is the featured artist for January at the Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior. The opening is slated for Thursday January 8. The show spotlights new work and is titled Bloom. The Red Mug always assembles wonderful receptions, and the time is just right for the after-work crowd, 5 - 7 p.m. I hope to see your there.

Second Friday Art Crawl
There are at least three places in Downtown Duluth where a art-fan can walk, talk and gawk on January 9.

The PRØVE Collective has announced the theme of their January event as Vestiges. In addition to being a release party for issue IV of their PRØOF Magazine, there will be an art exhibition featuring work pertaining to the impact of new media on old media. In addition to featuring art & writing by Jeremiah Moriarty, Sharon Rogers, Susanna Gaunt, Sheila Packa, Robert Adams, Hanna Newman, Devon O’Shaughnessy, Kevin Ealain, Darren Houser, Deanna Erickson, Andy Mattern, Samuel Orosz, Ed Newman, and em westerlund, featured artist and writer Brian Beatty will be reading from his work along with other select writers. 7 - 11 p.m.

If you like the early part of the evening for art before getting dinner and taking in a show, you can begin a few blocks east at Pierce & Piszczek Fine Pianos, 405 E. Superior Street. This is a joint art exhibit with nature photographer Ladona Tornabene, Ph.D. and Esther Piszczek. The artwork is displayed in a setting of beautiful, new YAMAHA and vintage pianos. Light refreshments will be served.

For your libations after these two shows, head over to The Red Herring on first street and check out the work of Patricia Canelake. It's always full of life.

* * * *
One final item of note: Today in 1869 French artist Henri Matisse was born.

During the year ahead... let ideas challenge you and beauty wash over you. Have a truly great 2015.

This Weekend in the Twin Ports and Nearby -- Art, Authors and More

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. 
~John F. Kennedy

The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web.
~Pablo Picasso

This week's Sotheby's auction generated over $158 million in revenue, and happened to be items from one person's collection that was being sold. Of special interest were two pieces by Mark Rothko that together fetched more than $75 million. The most expensive of these was painted in 1970, the year I marched off to college. This piece went for almost $40 million.

This Friday another Second Friday Art Crawl is happening here in the Twin Ports, though with a somewhat different circuit this time. But first... one of the major arts events of 2014, the 60th Arrowhead Regional Biennial, and it will be an exceptional show to take in. Some truly great work, even though it is affordable.

THURSDAY EVENTS

DAI 60th Arrowhead Regional Biennial Reception
The 60th Arrowhead Regional Biennial, started in 1919, drawing talent from across the Upper Midwest. Juried this year by Diane Mullin, senior curator at the Weisman Art Museum, the exhibit will feature 26 works with awards announced at the opening. A special companion exhibition, From the Collection, will open the same night at North Shore Bank of Commerce (NSBC), with a free shuttle running between venues. NSBC has long been a vital partner for the Biennial, both underwriting the exhibitions and collecting work. The bank celebrates this milestone year with an exhibition featuring 57 works by 46 artists collected from past Biennials, offering a unique opportunity to explore the Biennial’s history of excellence. The catalog will be unveiled at both locations. John Steffl, who assembled this collection, may have left his name off the marquis but his fingerprints are all over what has taken place at the NSBC and much of the good work we have enjoyed over the years.

Also opening at the DAI will be "Drawing at the Horizon," featuring work from George Morrison, and "Meaning of Home," by Jo Wood. Morrison's exhibition will explore his process, featuring drawings, notebooks, and source material for his masterpieces. Jo Wood's bead and fiber landscapes celebrate her connection to Nature. She has exhibited throughout the United States and is in the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul) and the Mayo Clinics (Rochester).

This is a must see exhibition, even if you can't make it to the opening reception Thursday.

* * * *

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will be performed Thursday through Saturday at Teatro Zuccone.

And there will be another Tim Bouvine Book Signing Thursday as well from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Bookstore at Fitgers.

* * * *

FRIDAY EVENTS

Phantom Galleries Welcomes Broc Allen
A good place to begin your Friday evening art crawl in the Twin Ports will be in the New York Building at 1410 Tower Avenue in Superior. The opening reception for this new show featuring work by Broc Allen and Michael Smith will include an artist talk. Time: 5-7 p.m.

Plys with Purpose is this month's theme @ the PROVE Gallery in Duluth. No word yet on whether there's an opening at Washington Gallery, but you'll still have more to see if you make it to Trepanier Hall for the Leah H. Yellowbird ~ Art Show. More details here.

Then, hop in your car to the top of the hill for Lenore Lampi's 2-Day Holiday Sale. Lenore Lampi does awesome ceramics work.

Now if you happen to be in Minneapolis and are looking to see some art there, Erik Pearson is putting on a Do the Dow Open Studio event. Just sayin'.

As we get closer to the holidays, there will be plenty more opportunities to BUY LOCAL.

Meantime, hope I see you there.

Top Right: "Looking Up" by Ed Newman