A Visit with Native Artist Sam Zimmerman: More Than Meets the Eye

Sam Zimmerman has come home to the Northland, a Grand Portage Native who spent two decades in New York serving in the education field. His passion for working with children with disabilities evolved into his being responsible for the special ed programs in the 255 schools of New York City. Along with this responsibility for 130,000 kids came a measure of influence.

His achievements led to his taking on an even greater role for the State of New York, but the pressures, the rat race hours, and politics pushed him to find a way to get back in touch with his roots.

A 40th birthday in the Yukon's Torment Valley proved to be the turning point. Immersion in the natural beauty, and being confronted by the power of Native art and totems resurrected this desire to return to his Midwest homeland and his artistic visions. "I needed to find that balance" that was missing in his life.

Zimmerman is a gregarious man, easy to share time with.  He left for the East Coast in 1996 and never stopped moving for 23 years. "It's amazing the lessons we learn," he said regarding his transition from student to education to the political arena. Of this journey he said, "The only thing I miss is teaching at the college level."

While in Alaska he said he felt like he was home. And it felt especially good to not be on call, which had become a way of life with his level of responsibility.

I visited with Zimmerman this weekend in his home in the East Hillside. The apartment is full of art. His studio is a relatively small space, but just as I have a cramped little office here with laptop and books, he has a corner "office" that serves as a studio, with ample light from windows on two of the four sides.

Some of his earlier work hangs in his studio.

When I probed regarding the latter years of his experience--the political part--he said, "I learned that I'm not a politician. I don't have an agenda." He just wanted to help kids, families and schools. "I did not feel these were the priority of my department."

"The biggest enemy is misinformation," he explained. "Who's crafting the narrative?"

Now that he's here in Duluth he's been painting again, passionately producing work that has been getting noticed, which can be found at AICHO. And he's involved with children here as well. "It's the first time I've been involved with Native children."

What stimulates him most, though, is the "energy of creation." And not just his own painting, but that which others do as well. His walls are decorated with numerous paintings by others whose impressive works he's collected over the years. A whole blog post could be written about these alone.

Here are some marvelous works he's collected from friends over the years.

This artist paints on book covers. Fascinating works.

A Native Princess painted by another friend.

Sam's Grandfather's photo, in a birchbark canoe from his high school days in Grand Portage.
Strong connections remain between Zimmerman, his roots and his family.

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Sam Zimmerman's paintings, giclee reproductions, prints, and other various merchandise with his paintings featured (CPL Imaging) can be found at Indigenous First Art & Gift Shop at Trepanier Hall, 202 West 2nd Street, Duluth. His Alaskan-inspired paintings are available at Lizzard's Gallery downtown..

Related Links
Local Art Seen: Sam Zimmerman at AICHO
Trepanier Hall Being Renamed to Honor Dr. Robert Powless at AICHO Fifth Anniversary

Local Art Seen: The Studio of Ingeborg Von Agassi & The Rooster Tail

On Monday I shared some of what I saw at Washington Studios Open House over the weekend.

One of the studio spaces I ducked into was that of Emma Rustan and Christopher Dunn (Rooster Tail Ink). I can still recall my first meeting with the couple five years ago, and their growth as artists has continued.

Emma Rustan as Ingeborg Von Agassiz has also developed as a musician, releasing her first solo CD -- O Giver Of Dreams -- earlier this year.

If you've never dropped in to see what the Washington Studios artists are doing, you owe it to yourself to include it in your next Downtown Arts Crawl.

This "find" in Emma' studio space only served to seal the deal
as regards my own personal fandom for what they're doing.

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

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Frank Holmes Studio Tour

Imagine what it would have been like to spend an afternoon in the studio of Pablo Picasso, Dali or Matisse. Now think about this. When my peers and I were in art school at college in the early 70s, many of the 1950's artists whom we'd adopted as new heroes were actually still painting, still producing, still active in their studios. Warhol, Larry Rivers, Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Rauschenberg -- these guys were going for another two and three decades after I finished school. What would have happened had I tracked them down and asked to see what they were up to?

Well, yesterday I had an opportunity to visit the studio (or studios) of a pair of artists who I consider equal to any of these masterful artists. The only difference is in name recognition. Today and the next few weeks I plan to share photos from my visit to the studio/home of Frank Holmes and Jill Mackie, lifelong artists whose work has inspired many and hangs in the four corners of the world... or at least, the globe's farthest reaches.

I have written about each before, and will begin with Frank, a painting instructor I met while in Ohio University before he won the Prix de Rome in 1973. (Links at the bottom of the blog post.)

A chief source of inspiration for Holmes.

Detail from Big Date. (see link below)

In the Studio, Frank & Jill

NEXT WEEK: A Jill Mackie Studio Tour

RELATED LINKS
Frank Holmes' "Big Date"
A Most Unusual Portrait: The Sarcophagus by Frank B. Holmes
The Ohio Theater Project

In addition to his own ongoing explorations, Frank Holmes continues to produce commission work for clients around the world.

Local Art Seen: The Studio of Adam McCauley

Saturday afternoon I took advantage of the opportunity to visit the studio of Adam McCauley in the basement of his Lakeside home. As someone recently noted, he's incredibly prolific. He currently has a show featuring 42 pieces on display in Grand Rapids. I was there to pick up three pieces for next Friday's group show at Goin' Postal 8th Annual Fall Art Show featuring 15 to 18 local artists.

I've always enjoyed McCauley's explorations, so it was invigorating to have this opportunity to see more of his work, and the workspace it's created in. Married and the the father of a young son who plays soccer, he's worked in the restaurant trade for many years and also plays in a fairly edgy punk band. The twin passions of art and music not uncommon in artists or musicians.

As we entered the house he pointed out a Bill Morgan piece that he owns. I immediately had a better understanding of at least one of his influences. I checked  out a couple pieces that hung in the living room and then we descended to the basement, to his workspace. from there we climbed to the third floor attic space that has been finished off, providing storage for more work beneath its steeply pitched wings.

Designs both subtle and bold, textured and sparse, on canvases small and expansive, experiments and explorations that don't always work, while others producing marvelous effects. I suppose there are some who do not know how to appreciate non-representational and abstract designs. I find them intriguing, sometimes compelling, and nearly always interesting.

Here are some of the images I was able to capture this weekend. At least three of McCauley's pieces will be in our show Friday evening at Goin' Postal, 816 Tower Avenue, Superior.

Fodder for future designs.

I'm curious how many other artists are tucked away 

inside that network of Lakeside homes. 

Will we see you Friday?