PASSPORT PRIZE VALUED AT $50 by jewelry artist Michelle Gratton donated by sponsor, 47 Degrees Gallery in Knife River, MN.
DURING THE WEEKEND OF THE 2019 Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour, GET YOUR PASSPORT STAMPED FROM ALL 10 STUDIO STOPS AND ENTER OUR FABULOUS PRIZE DRAWINGS! NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN; COMPLETED PASSPORTS CAN BE DROPPED AT YOUR FINAL STUDIO STOP. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON FACEBOOK!
We’re thrilled to receive support from local businesses that invest in the arts and in their community. We’d like to thank another sponsor, Superior Log Restoration, for providing support for the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour.
Superior Log Restoration provides log home and cabin maintenance, preservation and restoration services in Northern Minnesota. They have an annual maintenance program and specialize in structural log repair and replacement as well as remodeling, among many other services. They spend a lot of time working along the North Shore and thought supporting our annual tour was a nice way to encourage others to get out and enjoy the area.
Find out more about Superior Log Restoration on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SuperiorLogRestoration/.
During the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour, hosts open their studios to guest artists. But as a bonus opportunity for our visitors to see more art, they also invite pop-up artists who make small batch work or are just starting out. Sarah Riley is a popular Minneapolis based artist who will be joining us as a pop-up featuring her vibrant paintings. Sarah is well known for her commissioned portrait work as well as fun pop culture references and nature inspired work. We hope you’ll enjoy learning more about Sarah and her work!
What do you like the most about visiting the North Shore?
I lived in the Twin Ports area for around 10 years. I moved there to attend college and grad school, and it is still one of my favorite places to visit. Lake Superior, the surrounding beaches, the waterfalls and hiking areas are extremely beautiful. Also, the local art scene is awesome and growing all the time.
As a new artist in the tour, what are you looking forward to?
This will be my first time participating in the tour and I’m so excited and honored to be part of it. I’m brand new at pursuing art full time and I am so grateful for the exposure and the experience. The beautiful area inspires the artists to create, and the beautiful art inspires art lovers and adventurers to visit the area; it’s a really wonderful concept all around.
What is it that you enjoy about working in your medium?
My main medium of choice is oil painting; painting with oils is my absolute favorite thing to do. I never get tired of it. It’s so flexible, the possibilities are truly endless; there are always new techniques to explore and I feel like I learn something new with every painting I make. It is extremely captivating and fulfilling. The colors are so vivid and luminescent, and the texture is so thick and buttery. Because oil paint takes so long to dry it allows you to continue to blend and work until you achieve your desired effect. You can premix the colors on a palette, and you can also continue to blend the colors on the canvas. You can create such soft smooth blends, which are perfect for creating realistic flesh tones and textures, but you can also build up the paint thickly for more expressionistic effects. Oil paint has a reputation for being extremely daunting, but really I think it’s one of the most approachable and friendly mediums out there. If you have an inkling to try it, you should absolutely go for it.
You can find Sarah at the Larsmont Schoolhouse stop on the tour. For more about Sarah visit artbysarahriley.smugmug.com. For more information about the studio stop where you can find her during the tour, click the button below:
We are fortunate to have such generous businesses who know the arts are an important part of the fiber of our North Shore community. We’re happy to introduce you to Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour 2019 sponsor 47 Degrees, a delightful gallery in Knife River, MN. Featuring local art and gifts, it is a sweet little find along the shore. They’re open June through December, Friday through Sunday, 10-5. Owner Michelle Gratton is also a local artist who makes beach stone jewelry which you can see in the gallery!
We hope you’ll pop in and see the beautiful collection of work available!
Visit 47 Degrees on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/47DegreesKnifeRiver/ or on their website at http://www.47degrees.net.
Make sure to say hi to Lizzy!
During the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour, hosts open their studios to guest artists. But as a bonus opportunity for our visitors to see more art, they also invite pop-up artists who make small batch work or are just starting out. We are thrilled to welcome a very talented Wisconsin based fiber artist, Denise Hooper to the tour this year! She will be featuring a special small batch display of her whimsical, perfectly crafted felted figures that you have to see in person! Their charm will absolutely delight! Read her interview below.
What do you like the most about visiting the North Shore?
The beauty of the landscape and the power of Lake Superior are two of the things I like the most about living here. This area also seems to attract creative people of all types so it is stimulating and nurturing to be among them.
As a new artist in the tour, what are you looking forward to?
I am excited to spend time with the visual artists that will be participating in the tour and to share my needle felting with the public.
What is it that you enjoy about working in your medium?
One of the things that I enjoy when I am needle felting, is handling the wool. As a tactile person who loves working with natural materials, I find it to be an amazing fiber to use. It’s really satisfying to sculpt and form a lofty mass of wool into a solid figure with needles. As well, because this kind of felting involves a lot of repeated motions, it helps it to become a meditative process.
Denise is a pop-up artist at Corine Buechner’s studio. Click the button below for more infomation about studio CB!
Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-5pm 