Art
Avant-Garde Women: The Shakespearean Tragedy of Peggy and Pegeen Guggenheim
The story of Peggy and Pegeen Guggenheim, as told by the Situationist painter Ralph Rumney, reads like Shakespeare: court intrigue, backstabbing, madness, and suicide. Rumney’s book The Consul provides a critical point of view on this fraught mother-daughter relationship cracking up at the cutting edge of the art world.
Eastman Johnson in the Arrowhead Region
I stumbled on the fascinating story of Eastman Johnson’s time in the Arrowhead Region, and thought Perfect Duluth Day’s historians might weigh in on him. The above landscape, in charcoal, chalk and gouache on paper, shows Superior as viewed from a trading post on Park Point in 1857. After painting portraits of luminaries such as Hawthorne, Emerson, Longfellow and Abe Lincoln, then studying art in Europe, Johnson traveled to Superior, where he had relatives. In 1856 he lived in a log cabin on Pokegema Bay, in what is now the Superior Municipal Forest. (more…)
R.I.P. Sue Sojourner
On a bridge in 1965 (photo by Henry Sojourner) | Holmes County Community Center, February 1965 (photo by Elaine Howmiller, Nashville Tennessean) | Portrait, 2012 (photo by Sam Alvar) | Right to Vote March in Jackson, June 15, 1965 (photo by an unknown civil rights worker)
Author and activist Susan Hasalo Sojourner died in Minneapolis on Dec. 4 at the age of 79. She lived in Duluth for more than two decades, beginning in the mid 1990s.
Sojourner fought tirelessly for justice throughout her life — for civil rights in Holmes County, Miss. and also for women’s liberation and LGBTQ+ rights during her years in Washington D.C. and Duluth. A complete obituary can be found on the Hodroff-Epstein Memorial Chapels website.
Duluth You & Me: Hockey
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Hockey
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Broken Duluth: Reviewing photos from a 2017 exhibit
In the video above, photographer Kip Praslowicz reviews eight large-format images from his 2017 exhibition Broken Duluth. Prints of the photos are for sale at kpraslowicz.com.
Selective Focus: Jeff Brown
This week we hear from a behind-the-scenes artist, literally setting the stage for others, creating environments and moods where actors can practice their craft. Jeff Brown is a scenic designer, lighting director and technical director who has worked with the Duluth Playhouse and other theater groups, and expanded his work into designing for museums and other public spaces. Oh, and he loves grilling.
JB: As happens with so many big things in life, I was introduced to the world of theater almost by accident. After some years as an Army paratrooper, I had enrolled at a community college and had one big choice left in order to finish my associate’s degree… A Public Speaking course, or a Stagecraft course? I was not at all interested in Public Speaking, so Stagecraft won by default. I couldn’t have guessed that the course would feel so natural to me and that it would introduce me to people and a field that I had never even considered before.
After being involved backstage in a couple of productions there, I decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in technical theater, and I transferred to Minnesota State University Moorhead. MSUM had a very active theater department with a strong technical standard, and I benefited greatly from learning scenic design and lighting design along with construction and production techniques.
(more…)
Virtual Broadway murder mystery musical is set in Duluth
Detective Case is finally on the case. Sing along with Jessica Keenan Wynn in the video above. She plays the role of a meter maid “doling tickets out in Downtown Duluth” until a murder case takes her in a new direction. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Sled Dogs and Their Mushers
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Sled Dogs
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Bailey is Short Rap
This is basically an in-joke between friends but local and fun enough to post. A diss track inspired by my short friend Bailey. She dared me to do this, is how I remember it.
Music: “Young Thug Type Beat 2018 – ‘Sippin’ | Trap Instrumental 2018” by MADEBYFLOWERZ
The Richardson Brothers: Bailey is Short Rap
Diss track about my short friend Bailey. Music: "Young Thug Type Beat 2018 - 'Sippin' | Trap Instrumental 2018" by
richardsonbrothers.libsyn.com
Release of Sofia Logan’s debut album
Stillwater-based artist Sofia Logan has released her debut album, Waiting for You, Waiting for Me. The album was recorded in December 2019 in a home near the University of Minnesota Duluth that houses what is believed to be one of the city’s first recording studios. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Chester Bowl Ski Jump
Sadly, the ski jumps at Chester Bowl were demolished in 2014, but the memories live on in this coloring exercise.
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Chester Bowl Ski Jump
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Selective Focus: Pandemic Persistence
This week, a quick update on two artists we’ve featured earlier this year. Carolyn Olson and Annelisa Roseen both started projects at the beginning of the pandemic, and are still regularly producing pieces based on the theme and guidelines they set for themselves. Carolyn Olson paints and draws essential workers in their settings, and Annelisa Roseen takes a selfie each day in make-up and costume of an interesting person born on that day. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Cross-country Trails
The number of miles of groomed cross-country ski trails in Duluth is given as 24 in this 1993 activity book page. The Duluth Cross-Country Ski Club reports the modern-day figure as more than 50 kilometers, or roughly 30 miles. (more…)
Building Family Blankets with Blair Treuer
Bemidji-based textile artist Blair Treuer talks about her journey of discovery as she produced blankets for her children’s traditional native ceremonies. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Winter Skiing
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Winter Skiing
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Duluth You & Me: Wild Animals
Of course, it must be noted that some animals illustrated above are not native to Duluth or even in Duluth at present, but represent Lake Superior Zoo animals from the past.
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your puzzle solving pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Wild Animals
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Selective Focus: Nan Onkka
Printmaker Nan Onkka makes images inspired by scenes on the North Shore. She starts with a wood block, and step by step, removes material from the block in order to add more color to the images she prints. It’s a time consuming process, and she says it’s a lot of backward planning, but a process where you can’t step backward to change something. That challenge and risk is what draws her to the process.
NO: I am a printmaking artist who specializes in reductive woodblock printmaking. This form of printmaking involves hand carving an image into a woodblock and then printing it onto paper one layer of color at a time. I add multiple colors to the image by carving away more of the woodblock and printing the next layer of color on top. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: Lake Superior Word Find
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your puzzle solving pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Lake Superior Word Find
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.
Selective Focus: Holley Morgenstern
Holley Morgenstern of Sparrow & Berry is carrying on a family tradition of making dolls. Her designs are modern and whimsical, giving a fun spin to heirloom dolls. The critters, faces and even the materials she uses vary wildly, and each doll has its own personality and is one of a kind.
HM: My name is Holley Morgenstern and I am the face behind Sparrow & Berry. I make handmade modern heirloom cloth dolls. There are several categories of doll makers, I fall into the soft sculpture category and would also fall under fiber art.
My work is made primarily of cotton, linen and wool. I do use some synthetic fibers for the shaggy/furry, more traditional stuffed animal type dolls. I frequently use bits of vintage trim, fabric, buttons and upcycled components as well. (more…)
The Slice: Windows into Grief
Mary Plaster explains how Duluth artists honored All Souls Night through “Windows Into Grief,” an event held across Duluth storefronts.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Lincoln Park Mural Project
Artist Moira Villiard and her team created a mural at 2024 W. Third St. this past summer through a number of artist grants. The team included Michelle Defoe, Aurora Webster and Heather Olson. This video was produced and edited by Dudley Edmondson.
Creating Apart: Adam Swanson
The pandemic gave Adam Swanson time to complete 14 paintings of endangered animals. But it also gave him time to think. In this short documentary by filmmaker Mike Scholtz, Adam wrestles with the importance of art, and art openings, in our lives. (more…)
Duluth You & Me: A Storm on Lake Superior
Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: A Storm on Lake Superior
Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.