We love our local businesses that support the arts, and they’re an integral part of our community! We asked our tour sponsor, Blackwoods, to describe a little bit about what they do and why they chose to sponsor our tour:
“Black Woods has been a family owned and operated restaurant group for more than 24 years, and it all began with our first location in Two Harbors, MN. We are a local favorite because we believe in treating our guests like family. We provide exceptional service and quality food in an atmosphere that is unlike any other. From an award-winning Happy Hour, offered twice daily; to our diverse, locally sourced menu items; to our fresh list of cocktails and tap beers, brewed right in the Northland, we offer something for everyone. We are proud to support the community we serve, and we look forward to taking care of you and your loved ones!”
You can find the original Blackwoods location on our tour map ( 612 7th Ave, Two Harbors, MN), and look for coupons for Blackwoods at each studio stop!
PASSPORT PRIZE VALUED AT $50 by jewelry artist Michelle Gratton donated by sponsor, 47 Degrees Gallery in Knife River, MN.
This gorgeous pendant could be yours if you are our lucky winner! Thank you 47 Degrees Gallery, located at 243 Riverview St. 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!
A big THANK YOU to Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour 2019 Sponsor, 47 Degrees!
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.
Superior Log Restoration owners Tad Taivaloja and Stephen Brown
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.
Northern Woman by Sarah Riley
Galactic Monarchs by Sarah Riley
A Bit of Space by Sarah Riley
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.
Pollinator Potnia by Sarah Riley
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!
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.
“Birch Fairy” Felted figure by Denise Hooper
“Sprout” Felted figure by Denise Hooper
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!
Michael Kapsos is a jewelry artist living and working in Brimson, MN. He once again joins the the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour as a guest artist at studio GR/PZ. His metal work is known for the dynamic and elegant movements of line and shape. When he is not creating his jewelry he also works as a certified massage therapist!
What do you like the most about living and working near the North Shore?
Living up here gives me creative space for my mind and spirit. It keeps my creative juices flowing being surrounded by nature. I’m also a Tai Chi addict and the ability to walk out my door and exercise being surrounded by nature is a life long adventure and a creative inspiration.
As an artist in the tour, what are you most excited about?
I love sharing my designs with people and it’s great to see their reactions and get feedback. It’s also so different from working in the studio alone trying to create something from nothing. People like to know what goes into creating the designs and it’s fun to share that, it also gives me more ideas for future designs. You know what they say about teachers learning more from their students than the students learn from them. I think it’s the same with artists, we learn a lot from the people who see our work.
Jewelry by Michael Kapsos
What is it that you enjoy about working in your medium?
I started my art life as a printmaker/painter, but when I started making jewelry and realized the endless possibilities of design I was hooked. I also enjoy the complexity of building each design and the never ending challenge. Jewelry is such a personal expression. So when I see people wearing my pieces I feel honored and to know they wear them often is even better.
For more information about guest artist Michael Kapsos and Studio GR/PZ, click the button below:
We have some fantastic local businesses who are supporters of our community and the arts and as sponsors are helping to make our tour possible. Look for our sponsor highlights coming next week. We’ll also be sharing some special prizes visitors will be able to win thanks to some of these generous folks!
2019 Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour Sponsors:
We are thrilled to introduce our visitors to another newcomer in the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour. This year Duluth artists Rita Morris and Barry Sands, talented duo behind Burdock Ceramics, will be joining us with their gorgeous ceramic work. The work is elegant and functional, featuring delicate nature drawings of plants and animals. We asked them to share a little bit about their work and connections to the North Shore.
What do you like the most about the North Shore?
We love so many things about the North Shore. All the beautiful places to go hiking around here are a constant inspiration. The amazing rocky shores of Lake Superior are the perfect place to sit and reflect. All the amazing artists that live here form such a vibrant community and we love getting to be a part of it.
As an artist in the tour, what are you looking forward to?
We’re excited to connect with people who love the North Shore and all the plants and animals that call it home as much as we do. We’re looking forward to being part of such a fun studio and art tour!
What is it that you enjoy about working in your medium?
The possibilities are endless with clay. We are constantly challenged, humbled and in awe of the many things that clay has to teach us. Also, It’s the perfect canvas for our paintings. It’s so rewarding to attempt to transform a functional everyday object into a thing of wonder and beauty.
Plate by Burdock Ceramics
Burdock Ceramics can be found at studio stop EK with host artist E.J. Klepinger. For more information click the button below:
Maria Brown will be joining the Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour again this year as a guest artist at Gail Rosenquist and Paul Zoldahn’s studio. Maria is involved in the community as a teaching artist and art vocational specialist for adults living with disabilities in Duluth, MN. She recently moved from Duluth to Two Harbors where she is working on setting up a new home studio. She was excited to share what it is like to live and work as an artist on the north shore!
What do you like the most about living and working on the North Shore?
I love the constant inspiration that comes from living near the sight and sounds of Lake Superior. It does wonders for creativity to have such a constant source of awe in view. I also have a soft spot for old pines and the many lovely creatures of the northwoods, so it helps me feel invigorated to have it all so near.
As an artist in the tour, what are you most excited about?
I have really enjoyed meeting such a wide variety of people in one place. It’s fun to share a love of art with so many different people, and to find out what moves them to want to bring a piece of art into their lives, or just what they love about it. So many stories!
Maria Brown and pit fired pig
What is it that you enjoy about working in your medium?
Although I do love other mediums, there is something very special about clay. It feels very raw and primal to work with mud! I’ve enjoyed playing in it since I was very little, so why stop now? I like how it can simultaneously teach patience and spontaneity. Such a treat to always feel like your medium has a life of it’s own, and I feel most successful when I try to keep that expressive nature alive in my forms.
Maria will be a guest at studio GR/PZ. For more information click the button below:
Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-5pm 