Spotlight

By Breana Roy There’s Always Something New

Artists are always creating new works and this past month is no different. There are also a few new exhibits opening. Photographer David Johnson will showcase his work at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais from Oct. 16- Dec. 5. Sivertson Gallery recently received the annual Dorset Fine Arts 2020 collection. And Downtown Duluth Arts Walk will feature a virtual art tour throughout October.

This pastel on paper by Carolyn Olson, titled “Essential Workers Portrait #1 – Grocery Cashier and Bagger,” will be displayed in the window of Lizzard’s Art Gallery in Duluth

as part of the Downtown Duluth Arts Walk throughout October. | CAROLYN OLSON

[ABOVE] Since 1959,

Kinngait Studios has released a collection of prints from artists of the far north. The 2020 limited edition original prints will be for sale at Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais starting Oct. 17. Shown above is a lithograph piece by Padloo Samayualie, titled “Opposite

Attraction.” | PADLOO SAMAYUALIE

Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth has new animation work by Jonathan Thunder. The exhibition will feature Thunder’s animation as they relate to recent paintings. This acrylic on canvas piece is titled “The Doctrine of Rediscovery.”

| JONATHAN THUNDER

David Johnson will hold an exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, titled Cook County Through My Eyes Volume 2. An opening reception will be streamed online via JHP’s Facebook

page on Oct. 16 from 5-7 p.m. | DAVID JOHNSON

The Duluth Art Institute Is featuring an online exhibit, titled Response, that reflects how artists are processing and observing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be on display through 2020 and can be found on their website. This piece, titled “The Breath Escaped from Her Lungs,” is an embroidery on recycled fabric by Alyssa

Swanson. | ALYSSA SWANSON

Sam Zimmerman: The Art of Story

CREATIVE SPACE: By Rae Poynter

In the summer of 2020, a beautiful public art installation appeared on some of the most commonplace of items in the city of Grand Marais: the city’s trash barrels had been transformed from ordinary-looking bins to being adorned with bright colors and paintings of fish. These paintings, with names in both English and Ojibwe, were the work of Ojibwe artist Sam Zimmerman. Originally from Grand Portage, Zimmerman is a painter and school administrator based in Duluth. While his life has taken him in many different directions, two years ago he felt a longing for home and a desire to return to painting that led him to where he is today: living, painting and storytelling on the shores of Lake Superior.

Zimmerman’s journey to becoming a full-time artist began when he was attending school on the East Coast as a pre-law student. By the end of his sophomore year he had completed a handful of paintings and knew that pursuing law was not what he wanted to do. And so, he approached the chair of the art department with his paintings and said that he was interested in becoming an art major. The department chair saw his work and said he wanted Sam in the studio the next week.

“My father always told me to follow my spirit,” he said. “There’s a fear in doing that, and you wonder if it’s the right decision or if it will pay the bills. But it’s something we all need to be reminded of, that you need to follow your spirit.”

Zimmerman finished his undergraduate degree in anthropology and art restoration and moved to New York City to pursue his art career. While there he worked at a summer camp for children with disabilities, an experience that instilled in him a love for working with children. He quickly went from being a working artist to being a middle school art teacher for children with disabilities. For 20 years he worked in education, eventually becoming a school superintendent.

However, living on the East Coast meant being far from family, and he began to feel the pull to follow his roots back toward his home of northern Minnesota. Around the same time, he took a trip to Alaska, where he was immersed in the beautiful Indigenous art from the area. He realized that not only did he miss painting, but that he had never painted the stories from his heritage. In the summer of 2018, he picked up a paintbrush for the first time, and in July of 2019 made the move from the East Coast to Duluth.

Zimmerman describes the time from beginning to paint again to the present as somewhat of a whirlwind: he went from

Sam Zimmerman stands next to one of his painted trash barrels in Grand

Marais. | SUBMITTED

a hiatus as a working artist to completing 120 paintings in two years and having his art featured in multiple gallery exhibitions since then. But through all the rapid changes, capturing stories continually lies at the heart of what he does.

“In general, painting is about capturing an emotion and expression, but for me, painting is about telling a story,” he said. “So much of Indigenous wisdom is passed on in story, and so much of our culture revolves around an elder telling you the story. Yet you won’t ever find a book with all of them, because they have to be lived in real time. When the Elders are gone, the stories are gone, and that’s one of the reasons that I’m being so prolific in my painting now.”

Zimmerman’s style borrows from the Woodlands style of art pioneered by Norval Morrisseau, but also uniquely incorporates his own personal background and training in realism. Each piece captures a particular story from his heritage, and is laced with rich symbolism and hidden detail. For instance, one of his paintings honors the sturgeon and has seven trees for the Seven Grandfather Teachings, as well as 153 dots on the sturgeon to represent the age of the oldest known Lake Superior sturgeon; another painting honors the pike as a predator, and has agate-like swirls on the fins. Some of the symbolism is more personal; one painting has the number of stars that correspond with how old he was when he completed the painting, and another has a tree for each of his siblings.

For Sam Zimmerman, painting is about telling a story. This piece is titled,

“Healing Song of Lake Superior.” | SAM ZIMMERMAN

When asked how long it takes to complete a painting, Zimmerman said it varies from a few days to a month; he often has a few paintings going on at a time, and will work on each in turn depending on where his inspiration takes him.

“I can feel it in my hands when I’m on the right track, and there’s a certain energy around a piece when it’s going well,” he said.

Since he began, the response to his work has been strong. As mentioned earlier, Zimmerman has had three gallery shows since moving back to Minnesota, and became the first Native artist in Duluth to have a solo show at a traditionally whiteowned gallery. He has also connected with people who have reached out to him to have their own stories told through art, often finding special and even serendipitous connections.

“I’ve had multiple people who have come up to me since I started painting who have said that there’s a reason that you’re doing what you are, when you are,” he said.

In addition to his paintings, many will also recognize Zimmerman’s work from the public art project that he did painting trash barrels for the city of Grand Marais. His idea was to have barrels that are both visually striking—so people would be encouraged to use them—and to also educate people about the Ojibwe community and culture. He chose to paint fish since the responsible handling of trash is a way to care for the waters; he painted six, well-known fish species, including two that are threatened, each with the English and Ojibwe names. Now there are six more painted barrels being added, with three animals and three birds: a fitting reminder to how our actions affect the wildlife on land, sea and air.

Beginning this month, Zimmerman will be writing a column, titled “Following the Ancestors’ Steps,” for Northern Wilds. Each month he will share a different painting as well as the story behind that painting. Readers will get to see his art and learn about the stories, traditions and hidden gems behind each piece.

In addition to his art, Zimmerman is a special education director in Duluth. His plan is to keep using his gifts in art and in education to inspire and to teach. “I love my culture and my heritage. In the world that we’re living in right now, I want to be someone who can be a catalyst for beauty and joy as much as I possibly can.”

Sam Zimmerman’s work can be found online on Instagram and Facebook under the name Crane Superior.

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Willow Harvest

BEHIND THE CRAFT: By Emily Derke

As I scurry around in the ditch, carefully organizing piles of sticks, I stop to give a friendly wave as a car slows down to see what’s going on. Occasionally someone will ask “what-cha picking?” or more assumptive questions like “are you picking berries?” “No. Willow,” I responded.

I use willow for weaving baskets. There are many species of wild growing willow in Minnesota. A lot of people immediately think of the weeping willow tree when they hear the word “willow.” The weeping willow is related, but not what I use for making baskets. The stuff I’m talking about grows more like a large shrub, with new growth shoots reaching upwards, not hanging downward like the tree.

It’s often found in low, wetter areas, though it can be nearly anywhere. A few of my favorite spots to look are roadsides and powerline cuts. To harvest, willow can be cut with a pruning shear right down to the ground. The next year it will send up straight branchless shoots, perfect for basketry. The second year of growth it will start to get branchy, which is not desirable for basketmaking. So, I either need to harvest from patches that I have tended and cut back every fall, or find a place where the ditches or power lines were mowed down the year before in order to get the nicest first year shoots.

Some wild willows work great for weaving. Others can be brittle, short and stubby, or their bark can rub off easily. Variety and growing conditions can affect the way plants grow, so I just try things and see how they work. Over time you can get to know an area and learn which wild willows will work well for basketry.

Willow has also been cultivated for basketry for a very long time, and there are numerous varieties that have been developed and used. I grow some basketry Emily Derke collects wild willow for weaving baskets. | SUBMITTED

willow in my garden and the cultivated varieties certainly have their benefits. Plants are cultivated for a reason—uniformity, color variation, flexibility, etc.

I’ve always liked the idea of going out to collect materials to make something useful, with nothing but a few tools and a little know-how. I tend to keep an eye on the wild willow wherever I am, even when I have access to the cultivated sticks. Late fall is harvest time. At this point, the leaves have fallen to the ground and the surrounding landscape can be quite brown and gray. That makes it especially easy to spot first year willow shoots that are long and straight and good for basketry. They can be shades of lime green, brilliant red, orange and bright yellow.

Sticks are collected and kept with like species, and then sorted and bundled into groups of similar length and thickness. Then they are dried out and can be stored indefinitely until ready for use. When it’s time to weave, the proper sticks are selected and soaked for nearly a week in the water, followed by some time “mellowing” as they are wrapped up in a tarp. The whole soaking process can take two weeks.

How many sticks does it take to make a basket? I’ve heard people say “around 100.” That is likely true, depending on what kind of basket is being made. But it is important to have the right sticks for the project at hand, so it’s always good to collect way more than is needed for a single basket, so that the best sticks can be used for each part of the basket.

Baskets have been made for most of human history all over the world, and practically speaking, making baskets is no longer a real necessity. There is a wide variety of containers that one could find to hold their fish catch, or their freshly picked green beans. butonce you start appreciating the work and process of harvesting materials to make something useful, the need for baskets just keeps growing.

Emily Derke is a basket maker in the Artisan Development program at North House Folk School, where traditional craft is taught on the shore of Lake Superior.

NORTH HOUSE FOLK SCHOOL TRADITIONAL CRAFT ONLINE & ON THE HARBOR NORTHHOUSE.ORG

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