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 in the Twin Ports Arts Scene

"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense."
~ Gertrude Stein, who was born on this day in 1874.

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The weekend cold snap has passed so relax and get out a few times if you can.  Here are some ideas of happenings this week in the Twin Ports arts scene...

I'll start by noting that The Turn of the Screw is playing all this week atThe Underground, the relatively new theater space downstairs in the Depot. Details here.

Tonight
Tweevening with Jim Klueg and Liz James
6:30 p.m.
Tweed Museum of Art is hosting another evening talk about works in their collection. This month is a continuation of discussions based on the Resurfaced and Reformed exhibit currently on display. Klueg, a ceramist and head of the Department of Art & Design, will present about works related to the European and Bauhaus Influence group. Liz James, ceramics area head, will will focus on works from the grouping Variations on Form: The Vessel moves toward Sculpture. This is a free, and always informative, event. With light refreshments after.

Wednesday
Obscurities. Photos by Lori Molin
Lori Molin is also into ceramics. Currently a student at UWS this show at the Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior features her photography, another of her interests. She uses her lens to catch the rare things people tend to overlook in everyday life. The opening reception is from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Thursday

9th Anniversary Celebrity Dance Contest
From what I hear this is an event not to miss. Area celebs partner with Minnesota Ballet dancers in a barn-burner ballroom competition in styles from elegant waltz to steamy tango. The event takes place in the Marshall School auditorium. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Friday
Pop Up Galleries Workshop
On February 6th at 7:00 p.m. the PRØVE Gallery is hosting a collaborative presentation on activating vacant commercial property with temporary visual displays, aka "pop ups." Across the bridge, the Superior Phantom Galleries project is in its fourth year, with many exciting shows having taken place in various spaces there.

This Friday Joan Vorderbruggen will share images and storytelling from her project, Made Here, which is the largest storefront initiative of it's kind in the nation, currently hosting 38 visual displays over 16 city blocks in downtown Minneapolis.

Jami Rosenthal, who is a part of Duluth Pop Up Galleries, will also give an update about this project that hopes to add to the beauty of downtown Duluth with the help of local artists. This project produces galleries in storefront windows that are accessible anytime, day or night, and appealing even to those who might
not usually engage in art spaces.

For more information contact Flo Matamoros at flo@provegallery.com, or Jami at duluthpopupgalleries@gmail.com

Or visit this website to learn more about Made Here.

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

Things I've learned while covering the Twin Ports arts scene these past few years

Just under three years ago Bob Boone, publisher of the Reader, asked if I wouldn't mind writing a column pertaining to the arts. I was already writing about the local arts scene and interviewing artists here at Ennyman's Territory, so it wasn't going to be much of a deviation from many of my routines.

Near the end of 2014 I decided to hang up my spurs, or whatever it is that writers hang up when they move on. Nevertheless, I still desired to write a summing up of things I learned through this experience, which I may still attempt sometime. Here are a few notes I scribbled as I reflected on this matter.

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1. There is no single source that will keep you informed regarding everything that is happening in the Twin Ports arts scene. The Trib used to have a section called The Wave on Thursdays (and sometimes Fridays) which is now under a new name but serves the same function of identifying some of what is happening. The Reader lists galleries and has a calendar, but that is limited as well. The Transistor also fills a few holes.

2. What happened to the original mission of the Twin Ports Arts Align? This is a much longer discussion than I have time to explore here, but it's worth pursuing sometime. The Twin Ports Arts Align Facebook page is also a good place to learn some of what is happening here.

3. Duluth Grille's Tom Hanson not only does all he can to support sustainability and use local sources for the food he serves, he’s also a supporter of the local arts community. There are an increasing number of venues that will share the work of local artists on their walls, but Hanson goes further. He purchases the work of local artists and helps service the economic well-being of the arts community.

4. There are a lot of creative people here. Many are quietly active in ways you don't really notice. Some exceptional artists who would do well in many other places, but have chosen to live here. The natural beauty of our region is one of the reasons I believe many artists are here.

5. The schools -- UWS and UMD -- have been very influential. Once you start paying attention you begin to see the influence of certain professors with regard to the style of their former students' work.

6. There is more happening than most people are aware of. Once you do become aware of it you start to feel like something "big" is happening. But then, what is big? What do we really expect. For sure, something good is happening. We have a vibrant arts community.

7. Most artists do something else for a living. They will keep being creative because it is a passion, whether it becomes financially viable or not.

8. There seems a need for people on both sides of the bridge to cross it more often.

7. Tourist art and wall art for nursing homes is valuable. There are all kinds of reasons to paint, and it does not have to be "to become a famous artist." It can be simply to make a wall more interesting, comforting, etc.

8. Seems like there's an unusually vibrant poetry scene here. Is this something that is happening everywhere?

9. The Ballet, Symphony and Playhouse get more press because they have staff that write press releases.

10. I see reviews of plays, but can't recall ever having seen a review of an art show. (Someone will send me a link and make me eat my words on that, I suppose.)

11. Confirmed what I believe about creativity being an innate part of being human, but some people lack experience with regard to using art materials etc. which is why we need to keep art in the schools.

12. The Tweed Museum and Duluth Art Institute offer opportunities to see a lot of really wonderful work. I believe both resources are great for the community, and underutilized. Spread the word!

13. There is substantially more talent here than most people realize.

14. There are more venues where artists can show their work than you can shake a stick at. It's a very long list and there are probably many more I'm not aware of. And many that just emerged in the past three years.

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Call for Artists

Nora Fie, manager of children's and yong adult services at the Superior Public Library, is reminding artists that this year’s Love your Local Artist will be on Friday, February 13th from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Please let Nora know as soon as possible if you plan to participate.

As a fund raiser for the library, they now charge $20.00 for a table/display space or you can donate a piece of your work to their Silent Auction. This is an event where you can sell your work, so please have contact information available. Donations and/or the $20.00 are due by Friday, February the 6th. For more information send email to fien@superior.nwls.lib.wi.us

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