Local Art Seen: Kandy at Benchmark Tattoo & Gallery

Carla Hamilton

I arrived at Benchmark Tattoo around 8:45 Friday eve. There were a dozen young people out front sitting, standing, talking, laughing. A dog lay near the door, in the way of the door actually, and one could see inside that there were people getting tattoo work on a couple of the beds, or stations (whatever they are called.) It was my seventh art opening of the young night, and I not yet beginning to tire of seeing the new work by so many interesting people.

The show here was titled Kandy and it featured work by Carla Hamilton and Cully Williams, the son of a close friend of hers. Hamilton, who lived in Germany for 19 years, had a stash of artwork that did not come back to the States when she first returned. Since that time she went back and retrieved a portion of it so that I looked forward to seeing some new pieces. Four of these were in the June Goin' Postal Show, but I anticipated more, plus some other new work. 

"Separate" by Cully Williams

Cully Williams presented a number of smaller pieces, some with edgy content. He also had a very large piece into which he had clearly invested himself, an immense line drawing on what appears to be brown butcher block paper. The drawing is essentially a vortex creating the illusion of lines converging in the center of the paper at infinity. Because of the nature of the lines it could also be seen as folded paper depending on the angle one looked at it. 

Williams also took special care in building a unique frame for the piece using glass, wire and turnbuckles. His meticulous attention to detail and tedious execution of the concept served to produce a mesmerizing effect.

Hamilton's new work likewise has features that entice including her ongoing fascination with color. The surface textures on her mixed media paintings are especially interesting. One gets the feel that she has poured a thin layer of glass over some of the pieces, like a glaze, and like raku pottery the crackling produces effects both unexpected and unique.  

Cully Williams with his line drawing.

From Hamilton's "Mädchen" series

Detail of Hamilton's effects

"Presents" by Williams

"Zerbrechlich wie Starke" by Hamilton

If you're taking a meal at Sarah's Table sometime in July, take a stroll across the intersection and check out this new show by Hamilton and Williams. You'll find it intriguing.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Especially here in the Twin Ports. Enjoy it.

Local Art Seen: Abstractscapes at Washington Galleries

Games magazine used to have a regular feature in which readers would have to figure out what the photos were. The photographs would be taken from an unusual angle or close up to the degree that you couldn't tell what it was, but there was color, shape and form, and just enough of a clue to unravel it. This Games zine feature came to mind as I looked at Samantha Pranger's photography at the Washington Galleries Friday night.

The joint show also featured paintings by Jonathan Thunder in the inner gallery space. Thunder's artist statement explained that his paintings are like entries in a scrapbook, conceptual snapshots of events, characters, epiphanies and dreams that have shaped his life. The paintings, executed with skill, demonstrate the artist's control of the medium, his grasp of color and attention to detail.

Ice #12

Because Prangers photos have been enlarged their impact is strong. One of the pieces featuring Lake Superior ice reminded me of how many amazing ways this lake of ours can excite the eye.

"Wooden Boy"

If I have my facts straight Jonathan Thunder came here from the Twin Cities. He also spent time in the Southwest where he studied at the American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Visual Efects and Motion Graphics from the Art Institutes International Minnesota.

"Hand Drum Solo"

While discussing one of his smaller pieces I discovered that every single element in the painting was intentional, carried meanings that are not initially evident.

One of the recurring themes in his life, and all of our lives, deals with our struggle to break away from conformity and seek out our own identity rather than being what we're programmed to be. His art is a record of his own journey on this quest.

The owl is a messanger.

Detail shows how clothlike the owl's uniform appears.

Much more here than you would initially realize.

In short, Abstractscapes is another show I recommend to friends and followers of the local arts scene. There will be a closing July 31 from 7-10 p.m.  There are also showings during the month on Fridays from 4-9 p.m. and weekends noon to 6 p.m.

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

Local Art Seen: Superior High School Student Art at the Red Mug

"Caged in a Free World" by Rachel Dixon

"Youth has no age, and art has no limitations."

Rachel Dixon

On Tuesday this past week the Red Mug hosted an opening reception for a group show featuring artwork by the students of Superior High School. The show was a treat, featuring work by Sarah Urban, Rachel Dixon, Quintana M. Walker, Bailey Lavallee, Monica Soland, Karlie Mattson, Robby McGrady, Netahlia Walker, Sami Lego, Naomi Lear, Ayla Androsky, Philip McCotter, Nicole McGuirk, and Benjamin Buchanan.

The show came about when Naomi Lear, who contributed three thought-provoking paintings, encouraged her art teacher Denise Schraufnagel to pull this together. Schraufnagel teaches 2-D advanced classes and Lear has been a student of hers this past year. The seed for this idea was planted by Naomi's father.

Each of Naomi Lear's pieces were painted in black and white with only one element in color -- in one instance yellow flower, in another a blue balloon and in the third a red umbrella. Although the skill with which the paintings were made is evident, it was the absurd juxtaposition of elements in these paintings that invites further engagement by viewers. When I inquired about the title Waabi-Saabi for the painting with the flower she said it's a Japanese word meaning, "accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay."

Naomi Lear's "Waabi-Saabi"

There were many pieces that left you wondering more about the backstory, such as Rachel Dixon's pandas or Sami Lego's "Icarus." The works showed more than skilled execution. It also showed that the students are getting exposure to a wide range of media as there were also prints and a superfine piece by Nicole McGuirk on clay scratchboard.

Of special note, The Red Mug is donating 100% of the commissions from sales back to the high school art program. (Thank you, Suzanne.)

Enjoy these selections here, though even better would be to visit the Red Mug sometime this month for lunch and a leisurely tour of its walls and halls.

"Japanese Dojo" -- Linoleum print by Qunitana M. Walker

"Painted Indian Elephant" by Quintana M. Walker

Naomi Lear

Robert McGrady

Meantime art goes on all around you. Celebrate it.

"Icarus" by Sami Lego

Untitled watercolor by Netahlia Walker

Untitled clay scratchboard, Nicole McGuirk

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.

Dylan's Wild Mountain Thyme: A Tender Enchanting Invitation

While Woodstock was unfolding as America's signature event of the hippie era, Bob Dylan, who had himself been living in the town of Woodstock, was packing his bags for another concert across the pond, to become a featured player at the Isle of Wight Concert in the British Isles. It was one of a handful of public appearances that Dylan made since his famously obscured motorcycle accident of 1966.

There were 150,000 in attendance there with Dylan the headliner. The set opened with She Belongs To Me, I Threw It All Away and Maggie's Farm, backed by The Band. Then an acoustic sequence followed, opening with a sweet, gentle rendition of Wild Mountain Thyme, a classic folk song of Scottish origin that like many folk songs has experienced many iterations.

What's striking during this concert is how at odds Dylan's set is in contrast with the explosive energy that now dominated the rock music scene. Joe Cocker, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who would wring themselves out in their big concert tours, performing with such intensity that it's a wonder they could return another day to do it all again.

And then, here's Dylan, standing alone in front of a mic, producing a gentle pasture of peaceful warmth with a wistful voice and simple guitar strum. This song is followed by It Ain't Me Babe in a manner so kind and touching, totally at odds with the near hostility he brings to the song in the Rolling Thunder Revue five years later. On this night, the voice is melodic and kind, like the rest of his acoustic set and when The Band rejoins him the tone has been established.

As I have been listening to this concert again recently I keep being struck by the beauty of it. Like flowers on a hillside. Wild Mountain Thyme exemplifies this period for me, with a vocal style that seems to have been groomed for Nashville Skyline (though I believe I'd read somewhere that this "new voice" was due to his having quit cigarets for a spell.)

Dylan first played this song in Minneapolis in 1961.  Eight years later he shared it again here at the Isle of Wight Festival. Seven times he played the song during the mid-Seventies with his Rolling Thunder Revue and finally performed it a last time in 1988 at Riverbend in Cincinnati, Ohio.

You can find the entire concert itself on The Bootleg Series #10: Another Self Portrait

Wikipedia summarizes the song's origins in this manner:
"Wild Mountain Thyme" (also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?") is a folk song written by Francis McPeake, a member of a well known musical family in Belfast, Ireland, and is of Scottish origin.[1] McPeake's lyrics are a variant of the song "The Braes of Balquhither" by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810), a contemporary of Robert Burns. Tannahill's original song, first published in Robert Archibald Smith's Scottish Minstrel (1821–24), is about the hills (braes) around Balquhidder near Lochearnhead. Like Burns, Tannahill collected and adapted traditional songs, and "The Braes of Balquhither" may have been based on the traditional song "The Braes o' Bowhether".

Wild Mountain Thyme

Oh the summertime is coming
And the leaves are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Blooms around the purple heather.

Will you go, lassie, go?

If my true love she won't go,
I will surely find another
To pull wild mountain thyme
From all around the purple heather.

Will you go, lassie, go?
And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
From all around the purple heather.

Will you go, lassie, go.
I will build my love a tower
At the foot of yonder mountain
And then on it I will put
All the flowers of the mountain

Will you go, lassie, go?

And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
From all around the purple heather.
Will you go, lassie, go?

This is a recording of the song as performed at the Isle of Wight:

No really deep thoughts here. I simply like the way he sang it, and wanted to share it. 

Throwback Thursday: For Whom the Bell Tolls

I was re-introduced to Hemingway in the late '70s through his first collection of short stories titled In Our Time. I was stunned by the power of Hemingway's prose. Though I'd never worn glasses, the stories there were like being a grandma who gets hit in the face with a fist, glasses flying across the room from the impact. I read the book continuously two and a half time through. The description of the doctor in The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife is so loaded with tension, yet achieved with sleight of hand, never once saying the guy was mad or outraged, or any such thing... it is nothing short of miraculous how he accomplishes so much with such simple prose.

I'd read Old Man and the Sea in high school, which is likely out of favor now due to his overbearing machisimo and politically incorrect attitudes. It is, however, a good read. The story did make an impression.

The first Hemingway novel that followed my return to classic literature during this period in my life was For Whom the Bell Tolls. Its setting is the Spanish Civil War. The hero's quest turns out to be a futile mission. The characters are vividly drawn, and tragic. Can one man make a difference? Robert Jordan believes he can.

The real tragedy of the Spanish Civil War was the pillaging of a section of European real estate in order to try out new war technologies. Franco fascists were not armed with Mussolini's planes for nothing. Hitler and friends watched with avid interest as the peoples were subjugated. Technology, not ideology, proved the winning variable in this situation.

In the novel, idealism and realism collide. Pablo, the local leader of a small guerilla band of anti-fascists, represents one shade of realism. Pilar, his wife, epitomizes another. Robert Jordan, the American teacher who has joined the war effort, is the idealist.

What really happened in Spain has still not fully been understood. The events of that time were significant, though soon lost in the shadows and mists of the world war that follow. Orwell lost his faith in communist socialism as a result of things he saw. Others were appalled by fascism's jackboot horrors. Picasso was inspired by the destruction of a town called Guernica to paint his famous statement decrying the brutality of this kind of "total war," which the U.S. continued to carry out in Viet Nam.

What follows here is an excerpt from one of Michael Mazza's reviews at amazon.com. I find reading reviews to be a mentally stimulating exercise. Movie reviews at imdb.com and the Amazon reviews are frequently cogent, insightful offerings from people who are thinking at least a little beneath the surface of things.

"Hemingway offers a grim and graphic look at the brutality of 20th century warfare. War is not glamorized or sanitized, and atrocities are described in unflinching detail. The characters explore the ethics of killing in war. As the story progresses, Hemingway skillfully peels back the layers of Jordan and other characters to reveal their psychological wounds. But the book is not all about pain and violence. In the midst of war Hemingway finds the joy and beauty that keep his characters going. He also incorporates storytelling as a powerful motif in the book; his characters share stories with each other, recall missing untold stories, or resist a story too hard to bear. In Hemingway's world storytelling is as essential a human activity as eating, fighting, and lovemaking."

THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN JULY 2008

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.