Local Art Seen: Artist Susan Krochalk Celebrates 50th with 50-Piece Art Show at the County Seat Theater

Yesterday I snuck down to the County Seat Theater in Cloquet to see what Susan Krochalk had on display there. Naturally I wanted to see the George Harrison-inspired guitar that I wrote about recently.

Krochalk's a little like me in one respect. She paints in a variety of styles and any surface is fair game for being painted on. And for her 50th birthday she decided to put some of this on display.

The show can be seen for one week only. The reception is tonight, a belated birthday party, and you are invited. If you've not yet been to the County Seat Theater (a.k.a. Encore Performing Arts Center), you ought to go sometime. You'll find the gallery tucked into an intimate space and you'll enjoy the variety of painting tucked in there.

Kris Nelson has been curating this area of the theater where patrons of the theater hang out before the shows and during intermissions. Their current show is Sorry, Wrong Chimney, which sounds like a holiday themed comedy to me. Artists are always invited to show their work at each of the shows if they have something that ties to the theme. You are rewarded with a free ticket to the show, a nice incentive to pay attention to what is coming up.

For those who haven't been following this blog, Krochalk has been a regular contributor to the annual Duluth Dylan Fest art events we've had over the last several years. Our upcoming Dylan Fest (the week preceding May 24 next spring) will feature a student show, the seed having been sown by Susan.

Cherries On Top

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Related Links
PBS Pledge Drive Inspires Sue Krochalk's George Harrison Themed Guitar
County Seat Theater website with upcoming events

PBS Pledge Drive Inspires George Harrison Guitar Art

Anyone who has listened to public radio for any length of time is well aware of their periodic pledge drives. Over the course of many years of listening to KUMD's Highway 61 Revisited while painting in my studio on Saturday nights, there were many of these programs where the late John Bushey, the show's host, would be live on the air commenting on rare Dylan outtakes that he'd saved just for these occasions. (Miriam Hanson is our current host holding the torch for this popular Northland radio program.)

"Here Comes The Sun"

THIS PAST WEEK I learned that Susan Krochalk, a local artist who has routinely contributed her talent and art to a number of our annual Duluth Dylan Fest art shows, did this really cool George Harrison-themed guitar. She was crowdsourcing on social media, asking advice on the kind of finish to use over the surface. 

As soon as I saw it I wanted to share it here. I asked what her what motivation was for producing this beautiful creative work. She shared her story here:

My motivation for this piece was a call for art for the upcoming WDSE show celebrating 55 years of public television in the Twin Ports. So (that would be) any art inspired by PBS programming. In spring of 2018 we were watching the "Concert for George" during the PBS pledge drive. We loved it so much that we became sustaining members of the station at that time. I originally bought the guitar thinking I would create a Bob Dylan piece, however while listening to the George Harrison cd (the pledge drive gift along with concert dvd) I felt inspired to do this instead.

Glad you did, Susan. It's very, very nice.

Related Links
George Harrison & Friends: The 1971 Concert for Bangladesh
George Harrison's "Taxman" Has Lessons for Us All
My Dinner With George
And finally, one of many renditions of While My Guitar Gently Weeps that you can find on YouTube, this one featuring Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney at the Concert for George.

What's your favorite George Harrison song?