Twin Ports Arts Happenings: Second Half of September

There's some very cool new work @ Art on the Planet, Tower Ave, Superior

Autumn is in the air. We had frost on the roof of our garage a couple days back. In a few weeks the rich glory of the season will be bursting through the trees.

For events tonight and the first half of the month check THIS LINK. What follows are listing for art happenings for the second half of the month.

But first, let's start with Thursday's Earth Rider Fest
Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 13-15.
1617 North 3rd Street
Superior, WI 54880

Three evenings of music under a Big Top Tent, with some of the Twin Ports hottest performers including Teague Alexy, Woodblind, Feeding Leroy, Black River Revue, Ingeborg von Agassiz, Black-Eyed Snakes and more. The event celebrates an inaugural year of achievements including mashing its first batch of Superior Pale Ale in September of 2017. Since that day, Earth Rider was voted Best Brewery at the Gitchee Gummee Brewfest, North Tower Stout won a bronze at the World Beer Cup in the oatmeal stout category, and the readers of Lake Superior Magazine voted to give Earth Rider a Best of the Lake award. Full details here.

Saturday, September 15, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
34th Annual Fall Fest, Chester Bowl 
We used to go to this every year when our kids were young. Great event then and probably even moreso today. "Music, food, crafts, locally grown fresh produce, vendors, and informational booths about local programs. The annual event has grown over the years and will host over 130 vendors, a great line up of music, 8 food vendors, face painting, and activities for children and families. Music Lineup: 10-11:30 a.m., Emily & the 35's, 12-1:30 p.m., Black River Revue, 2-3:30 p.m., Superior Siren (solo show)

Suggested donations of $5 per person or $10 per family will be accepted at the entrance to support Chester winter program scholarships for kids in need who want to participate in winter sports. Rain Date: Sunday, September 16, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Visit the website (blue link above) to get information on Fall Fest's free shuttle service.

Tuesday, September 18, 6-8:30 p.m.
Wine & Weave with Sue Brown, Duluth Fiber Handcrafters Guild Studio at the Depot, 506 Michigan Street
"The looms are warped and ready to weave. Enjoy the fun of weaving without all the prep work…and with a glass of wine. Complete a rag rug place mat and get a taste of what weaving on a floor loom is all about." Cost: $35 ($40 non-members)

Wednesday, September 19, 5-7 p.m.
Resonance: A Celebration of the Art of John Steffl
North Shore Bank is hosting an exhibition of the work of the late John Steffl, whose immense contribution to the local arts has been immeasurable. A true artist he also influenced countless students while teach ceramics at UMD. An active promoter of public art he curated shows at the North Shore Bank for many years. Another hat he wore for a season was as Executive Director of the Duluth Art Institute, for which the balcony gallery there was named in his honor.

Steffl once wrote: “...transubstantiation is transforming pain and fear into a universal resonance... one of the gifts my upbringing left me with was the ability to see beauty and sacredness in the world."
For more details about the show and the venue, check out this Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/255869075065669/

Thursday, September 20, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Chelsea Branley @ Art on the Planet

Third Thursdays in Superior, Art on the Planet & Wine Beginnings, 1413 Tower Avenue, Superior, WI
Art on the Planet and Wine Beginnings, as well as other Superior businesses are offering special events or incentives (sidewalk sales, street performers, special sales or samples during extended hours, etc...) Third Thursday of each month through October! Watch the social media hashtag #thirdthursday for updates!

Saturday, September 22, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
ART on Tap, Bent Paddle's New Taproom, 1832 W. Michigan Street
Join many local talented artists in this relaxed setting as they share their creative talents and ... maybe, have a beer!

Monday, September 24, 7-9:30 p.m.,
Art, Naturally: Karen Savage Blue, Painting under the full moon, Hartley Nature Center, 3001 Woodland Avenue
Karen Savage Blue grew up roaming the fields of Hartley and is excited to share this natural sanctuary with participants of all levels. Paint with an award-winning artist whilst sipping a beverage under the full moon. All supplies and one beverage included. Cost: $40/session

About the Art, Naturally monthly series: Immerse yourself in nature to connect with your creative side. Local artists lead one evening painting, felting, and sketching classes at Hartley Nature Center. All materials and one beverage included. Class tuition includes a non-refundable $5 registration fee. Made possible by Hartley Nature Center, the Duluth Art Institute and Western Bank.

Sunday, September 23-Saturday, September 29, 7-10 p.m.
One Week Live, Beaner's Central Concert Coffeehouse, 324 N. Central Avenue
Another whole week of live bands, including a song writer's competition. Click on the website above for a list of bands, times, and dates. Nightly Admission: $7.
Acts include: David Dondero, Plucked up String Band, Band Called Truman, Rich Mattson and the North Stars, Drew Peterson, Jacob Mahon, and many more.
Visit THIS LINK for full slate of bands and dates.

Friday, September 28, 4-9 p.m.

Downtown Duluth Arts Walk, multiple locations
"The Downtown Duluth Arts Collective presents this night of art and entertainment, featuring 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. 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." Look for the DDAC Flag/logo at participating venues (attached). Email manager @ josephneasegallery.com or call 218-461-8380 for more information. FB Page

September 28, 29, 30, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Lake Superior 20/20 Studio Art Tour 
Larsmont Schoolhouse, Scenic Highway 21 and other locations in Two Harbors.

This weekend was selected because 99 times out of a hundred it is the most beautiful weekend of the year to be traveling about on the Scenic North Shore, one of the most beautiful drives in North America. The open studios is simply icing on the cake. Full details of the art spaces you can visit are here on the Studio Art Tour website.

"The Lake Superior 20/20 Studio Art Tour offers visitors a variety of artistic talent to peruse while enjoying the autumn splendor of Minnesota's North Shore. Glass, ceramics, woodwork, painting, printmaking, jewelry, sculpture, and photography, will be exhibited, demonstrated, and offered for sale on this tour. Many sites are providing hands on activities.The tour is well-marked along Highway 61 and the many adventurous side roads between Two Harbors and Duluth.

"Look for the bright neon green signs and balloons with the tour’s logo. Included in the website above (click blue text to link to site) is a downloadable map, addresses, and contact info for your GPS convenience." [Author Note: Although I enjoyed the last two years of exhibiting at this fair, I am not a vendor this year, however, I will enjoy visiting all of my talented LS 20/20 artist friends as they share their talent during this wonderful 3 day tour.]

We'll see you on the scene.

Name Games

I don't know if everyone has as much fun with naming as I do but coming up with names for my paintings and blog posts is something I take a measure of pleasure from. Every couple who's had children has probably wrestled with the problem of coming to agreement regarding the names we choose with our spouses. We may not have a say in our own names, but we certainly want a voice in what our kids will be called growing up. It's one of the privileges of parenthood, isn't it?

We name our pets and sometimes even name our vehicles. Authors name their stories and books, businesses wrestle with naming new products and owners of race horses must get a thrill out of naming their hoped-for future champions. Maybe we ourselves didn't have a say in it but the places we live all have names, both the cities as well as the roads. Stars and combinations of stars have been named, and even our diseases have names.

Yesterday my September Artforum arrived in the mail and as I was paging through the first hundred pages of advertisements for galleries and shows (this edition has near 400 pages again) I was struck by how fascinating or intriguing many of the shows' titles were. Here's a sliver from that list of advertised shows. You can read it like a poem, or you read it as a series of "idea prompts" for a set of essays.

Eighteen Stations
Fly Away
In the Wake
Bare Shouldered Beauty
A Century of Nudes
Line into Color, Color into Line
Jumping Over My Shadow
through patches of corn, wheat and mud
Extensions Made To Trouble Transformation
Facility of Decline
Woman Power
Blockchain Future States
Small Brass Raffle Drum
Some Terrible Problems
Headspace
This Brutal World
On the Other Side of Tomorrow
Really Good
The Guests All Crowded Into the Dining Room
Sanctuary
The Toast is Burning
Three Cats
Waiting for the Barbarians
After Pasteur
Any Fallow Field
serious candy revisited
Remains to Be Seen
Cathedral of the Pines
Silence of the Music
25 years of collaboration
Gathering Clouds
Honor and Disgrace
New Geometries

I find it interesting how the magazine has become so massive, a reflection of the bloated dollar values for serious work in the art market today. The ads feature galleries from New York, Berlin and Hong Kong to Madrid, London and Istanbul. The art scene is a truly international affair.

Locally, I've enjoyed the variety of names our artists come up with for their events and projects. Here's a another list.

From the Basement
Rust & Flow
Fragments/Memory
Getting Real
Busy Being Born
Underwater Dreaming Bunnies
Saturated Life
Land of Wonder
Collection of Chaos
and
Life & Art Entangled

This isn't the first time I thought about names as a blog theme. In July 2009 I made a list of names I'd attached to many of my paintings.

What have you named lately? Do you like coming up with names, or is it simply a necessary evil? For the record half of our geese are named, but the other half are not. It's a tradition here. We prefer not to name the geese designated for devouring.

Meantime life goes on. It's the name of the game.