Northfielder Barry Cipra, freelance mathematics writer, alerted me to the one-day (Oct. 21) exhibit at Dean Kjerland’s ArtOnWater Gallery last week: The Art of Mathematics in Wood- a special evening of mathematical puzzles, games, and art. The invitation poster reads:
This handsome, hands-on collection of puzzles and games can be appreciated on many levels, from novice to expert. There are building blocks for sculpture and design, put-together and take-apart puzzles, arrangement puzzles, sequential movement puzzles, sliding block puzzles, and two-person games.
Loren Larson, professor emeritus of mathematics at St. Olaf College, constructed many of these pieces while working with award-winning mathematics writer Barry Cipra. Come play with the puzzles and join Loren and Barry for an evening of entertaining mathematics. Its free. Light refreshments will be served. Students are welcome.
This Northfield event is part of the international Celebration of Mind in honor of Martin Gardner the renowned mathematical expositor and longtime author of the Mathematical Games column for Scientific American.
See the album of 13 photos (large slideshow, recommended), or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
I followed Fred out to the east side of the Cannon River Wilderness Area last week so he could show me the oak tree that he’s painting (above right). It turned out to be quite the excellent adventure as we mucked about, both of us madly snapping photos.
See my album of 22 photos (large slideshow, recommended) or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
The Studio ArTour is a co-operative venture among a group of artists in Cannon Falls, Northfield and Faribault. We open our studios to the public on the third weekend in October each year, and invite you to come out and see where and how we work.
This is the seventh year we have put on the tour. It’s still getting bigger so we must be doing something right. This year there are 23 studios featuring 46 artists. Most studios will have several artists working in different media. The artists will be glad to answer questions and provide information about the art. Some studios will have demonstrations.
The range of work is amazing; knitting to welding with glass, and clay and paper in between. Whether you are a long time collector or are just looking for something unique, the studio tour is a perfect way to shop for fine art, and best of all the tour is free!
I stopped by Reboot Computers on Bridge Square on Wed. to meet proprietor Travis Freudenberg who, earlier in the week, had submitted a LoGro banner ad (free for a month).
Travis does all the usual computer servicing and repair (PCs and Macs), including:
Travis is also an accomplished bass guitar player. From the bio page of one the bands he currently plays with, Rare Medium (Jazz/Funk):
Travis Freudenberg is an electric bassist with over 15 years of electric bass recording and performance experience. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Morris, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz Studies and, oddly enough, Biology in 2001. While in attendance at UMM, Travis recorded, toured, and performed with a variety of different groups, including UMM Jazz Ensemble 1, No Smoking, The Black and Blue Note Jazz Quartet, and the Booty Police.
Travis was a featured soloist with UMM Jazz Ensemble 1 at the 2000 Montreaux Jazz Festiva in Montreaux, Switzerland and also at the 2000 Vienne Jazz Festival in Vienne, France. He was honored with the Keith Carlson Memorial Jazz Award as Outstanding Jazz Musician at UMM in 2000.
On Sunday, October 2, ArtOrg is honored to open an exhibit of 13 artists called “Glen Hanson Gallery: Now and Then”. The Glen Hanson Gallery ran from 1978 to 1982 and anchored the Minneapolis Warehouse District along with the next-door New French Café. Thanks to this energy, artists represented in this gallery could, for the first time, make a living as artists. The booklet given below puts the importance of the Gallery in context in terms of old articles and gallery ephemera.
All of the artists in the exhibit continue to work today. We will be exhibiting one new work and one old work from each artist. The opening event for the exhibit will be on Sunday, October 2 and will start about 3pm. There will be a performance by the Glen Hanson Band first about 4 pm, followed by food at 5 pm, and then comments in the gallery about 7 pm. Please join us.
At Switzer’s Nursery and Landscaping, 26601 Chippendale Avenue, Northfield, 55057. Gallery is 8 miles north of Northfield on Highway 3, near the town of Castle Rock.
Nick Sinclair and colleagues hosted Lowbrow-High Octane VI in downtown Northfield on Saturday. Division St. between 4th and 2nd was packed with people and appeared to not have enough room for all the vehicles that showed up.
Nick also pulled together an impressive list of sponsors and collaborating organizations. This event continues to grow each year (this was #6) and has the potential to take over the entire downtown for a three-day weekend.
Once Nick Sinclair fueled up with some GBM caffeine this morning, he smiled and posed for a photo in front of the Lowbrow-High Octane VI banner on Division St. by the Contented Cow.
No parking on Division from noon on because Nick has influence at Northfield City Hall. This guy could be running for mayor next year so don’t fuck with him.
On September 24th blue collar will descend upon downtown Northfield, Minnesota. Lowbrow – High Octane is an art show, car show and a rock-n-roll show all in one night. The Northfield Arts Guild will be hosting the art show in their gallery located at 304 Division Street S..
For 50 years the Arts Guild has been an important influence in Northfield arts. We are honored they have decided to show some art from a few grease monkeys. The gallery will be showing the art all week, but the big day is the 24th. The gallery will be open from 4-9pm. Come meet a few of the artists, buy some art and eat some free food.
The show is free! Yeah, I said it. FREE.
All makes, years and styles are welcome as long as it’s classic or hot rod. Show up in your Prius and we will charge you! We have 3 blocks of downtown Northfield reserved for your machine. Space is limited so get there at 5pm! Last year we filled our lot in about 20 minutes!
The Contented Cow is the epicenter of loud music, $5 burger plates and PBR specials. The “Cow” is located right next to the Northfield Arts Guild and overlooks the Cannon River. Music will start around 6pm on the outside stage and then the music moves indoors around 9ish. The bands are: Mr. Sticky, Reckless Ones, Violent Shifters and Rifflord!
The entire show is free to attend. The gallery show, car show (spectators and car entries) and the music!
A few weeks ago, Robbie and I were having a drink on the outdoor patio of the Contented Cow, chatting with Northfielder Jon Bjork about the progress of his putting together a new band. He mentioned that they were struggling to come up with a name for the band and after listening to his description of the process they were using, Robbie suggested the name Stone Soup, which the Wikipedia describes as "an old folk story in which hungry strangers persuade local people of a town to give them food. It is usually told as a lesson in cooperation, especially amid scarcity."
So she was delighted to hear that the band adopted the name and we got to hear them play on Friday night after doing the downtown Northfield Art Crawl.
Featuring rock and blues from the seminal sixties and seventies served up by some well known local musicians who have played in bands together for over 30 years! Join Dave Drentlaw on drums/vocals and Jon Bjork on guitar/vocals with fellow townie Chris Perry also on guitar/vocals and Jeff Lien on bass for some classic feel good sounds outside at the Cow!
The independent film Girl Meets Bike is being shot in and around Northfield this week by the Minneapolis-based production company, Moto Girl Films, Inc. Why here? The Carleton College connection.
Actors include Ruth Menard as Kat; Melissa Pizaarro as Ty; Dave Engler as Becker; Palf Schirg at Martin; Sam Scherf as James.
Producer/Director: Eric Tretbar; Line Producer: Jessica Paxton; Production Coordinator: Aiyana Ruggiero.
Locals are involved as extras and more. More photos to come.
Update 07/11, 7:30 am: See the album of 28 photos (including the 7 above), the large slideshow (recommended), or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
Nick Sinclair had his artwork on display at By All Means Graphics during Friday night’s Art Crawl. When I noticed that the series of four ‘mixed media on wood’ pieces were untitled, I offered to post a photo of them here in hopes that LoGro readers might suggest some names.
For reference, refer to the four as: Left, Left Center, Right Center, Right.
Fred Somers, local artist famous for his oil and pastel paintings, stopped by my corner office at the GBM this week to chat.
I told him that my wife Robbie had just signed up for his upcoming two-day workshop at the Northfield Senior Center and I wanted to know if he was qualified to be a teacher. He assured me that he was, and looking at his bio on his web site, I guess he is.
Somers, of Northfield, and 29 other artists from the region, painted “en plein air,” the French expression for “in open air,” in Red Wing and the surrounding countryside from Monday to Saturday last week.
The paintings were judged and awards given during a reception at the Depot Gallery on Saturday evening. The judge was Brian Stewart, of St. Paul, a member of the Plein Air Painters of America.
One of the cool things about Northfield’s downtown Riverwalk and footbridge area is that it intersects with the outdoor patio, deck, and stage area of the Contented Cow. So when there’s a big crowd at the Cow for outdoor music, it draws a crowd of observers on the footbridge and Riverwalk. And sometimes entertainers emerge from that crowd. On Friday night during the JuneBug Festival of Music, someone began entertaining the crowd with big soap bubbles. My good camera is in the shop for lens cleaning but I managed to capture a bit of the performance art of big bubbles with my smartphone camera.
See BigBubblers.com for more about big soap bubbles as performance art.
The Contented Cow’s 4 day JuneBug Festival of Music kicks off today. Although two of the bands performing today didn’t perform at last year’s JuneBug, I’ve blogged about their Northfield performances.
Former Northfielders (and country singer-songwriters) Johnny Western and Marilyn Sellars came back to their hometown last Sunday night to join the community in a celebration of Maggie Lee’s 90th birthday.
Scott Richardson composed the words to "The Ballad of Maggie Lee," (sung to the tune of Rawhide):
Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Keep those presses rolling Keep those presses rolling Maggie
News and information Your readers are waiting Hungry for what you’ve got to say.
City Council’s steaming School board is dreaming Opinion is what is you try to sway.
Get the news, make it sing, type it up, paste it up Turn the press, hit the street, Maggie Eat a bite, check the mail, pet the cat, get some sleep Back to work Back to work, Maggie
Clicken, clicken, clicken Keep those keyboards clicken Keep those keyboards clicken, Maggie
Always deadlines loomin’ No time for snoozin’ PMTs are still an hour away
That waxer is cloggin’ Photon lens is foggin’ Why can’t those writers make some hay!
Get the news, make it sing, type it up, paste it up Turn the press, hit the street, Maggie Eat a bite, check the mail, pet the cat, get some sleep Back to work Back to work, Maggie
Strolling, Strolling, Strolling Division she is strolling Division she is strolling, Maggie
Broomball shoes protect her The cart is her collector Gathering news and goods she finds on sale.
Shops and keepers need her Her stories they are feeders She never tires of telling Northfield’s tales
Get the news, make it sing, type it up, paste it up Turn the press, hit the street, Maggie Eat a bite, check the mail, pet the cat, get some sleep Back to work Back to work, Maggie
Purple, purple, purple What’s the deal with purple? Why’s it always purple, Maggie
First a fashion respite, Now her fans expect it. Regal in every swish and sway.
Accessorizin’s easy Oft’ a wee bit cheesy Now you know the secret so they say.
Get the news, make it sing, type it up, paste it up Turn the press, hit the street, Maggie Eat a bite, check the mail, pet the cat, get some sleep Back to work Back to work, Maggie
Paul Krause, Paul Krause Creative, stopped by my corner office at the GBM this morning to inform me that his documentary ‘Harvest’ will air on TPT’s Minnesota Channel (2.2) this weekend.
Harvestsculptor Ray ‘Jake’ Jacobson is recovering at Three Links Transitional Care unit from recent back surgery. Paul expects that Jake will soon be back to work on another exciting project for Northfield that he’s got in the works.
The threat of rain chased the Prairie Creek Group indoors last Saturday during the 2011 Mayfly Festival at the Contented Cow. Members: Alisa Leonard, lead vocals; Dave Drentlaw, drums; Peter Diggins, guitar and vocals; Bo Aylin guitar and vocals; Joel Cooper, bass and backup vocals; Peter Diggins’ daughter, piggyback.
More than 20 Northfield area musicians will perform songs from Dylan’s legendary catalogue in a five hour concert on The Contented Cow’s popular outdoor stage.
The Fond Farewell Party for Patsy Dew at the Arts Guild this past Friday night (9-22) was great fun. Patsy has left her position of Program Director at the Guild, and after 15 years of her work you can bet there were lots of people with stories to share and tributes to make. Some theater folks did a surprise reprise of one of Patsy’s theater roles, and another group put together a slide show of some of her moments on stage as actor or director. There were dance performances, limericks and poetry, lots of good food and fun. Here are some pics!
Robbie and I met with Mr. NEG Rob Schanilec on the outdoor patio of the Contented Cow last night. He’s putting together a special issue for June and he wanted to know who we make it with, where we do it, how we do it, what we do the most, and he wanted photos. Yes, he’s one of those kind of publishers.
If you do it too, he needs to hear from y’all by May 16. Details here.
All residents of Northfield, and all students enrolled in Northfield schools, are eligible and encouraged to submit short poems (10 lines, 240 characters maximum) that are appropriate for the public sphere.
Up to 10 winning poems will be stamped into Northfield sidewalk pavements and will be considered for other public purposes including publication and readings.
The Locally Grown Triumvirate has requested that one of the winning poems be used to replace the sidewalk graffiti that one of our fans scrawled into the cement in front of the HideAway Coffeehouse & Winebar last summer.
George Kinney: As someone who has cracked a helmet when pushed off the street by a driver with issues (in Green Bay, not here) I do think wearing a helmet is a very good idea. So — get your bike club to be the coolest thing going, and helmet...
Patrick Enders: Griff, I grew up well before bike helmets became the norm, and still, when I went to high school, almost no one rode a bike, because driving a car was already seen as “the only socially acceptable form of local...
Gabe Meerts: By the way, Griff. I think you do a great job promoting biking (even if I disagree with this particular post).
Gabe Meerts: You must have added the wrong link because the PRI story quotes: “There’s no question that wearing a helmet is a good idea.” There’s a big leap from promoting bike helmets to mandatory helmet laws. I...
Barry Cipra: Hayes, thanks (I think). Just to be clear, I penned (actually keyboarded) those lines in all due affection, not to mention affectation.
Hayes Scriven: Where is the like button! Griff you know I love ya!!
Barry Cipra: With apologies to poetic sensibilities everywhere (and partial blame ascribed to Paul Zorn for his scholarly consultations): A blockheaded blogger named Griff With cement twixt his ears caused a tiff. He showed himself shallow By...
john george: Rob- I guess it doesn’t take much to get Griff agregated.
john george: Griff- Are you sure you don’t have me mixed up with someone else?
Peter Seebach (Seebs): WOO! Go Betsey! As the Ward 2 rep, she has indeed worked for exactly these sorts of things, and was extremely helpful when I was trying to get a bit of paperwork untangled. So, yeah, looks like my vote is clear.
Griff Wigley: Councilor Betsey Buckheit just filed to run for mayor. She sent out this email: Good morning, media folks! I just returned from City Hall where I filed to run for Mayor. Here’s a little information, but there’s much more...
Tom Kotula: Despite rumors you may have heard to the contrary, I have not thrown my hat into the ring.
Sean Hayford Oleary: I was glad to hear Erica Zweifel is running again. She’s done an excellent job and has advocated well for her ward. I’m eager to see some filings for mayor.
Griff Wigley: Today’s Strib: A sobering era for municipal booze The forces that create winner and loser cities in the metro are complex, and they involve clashes with other “muni” cities as well as private operators. Farmington,...
kiffi summa: Curt: obviously I thought there was more in the article that was less than fully informative: see above… But as far as the city paying overtime etc, i.e., all the issues you mention above.. the question is why the city was doing...
Curt Benson: Kiffi, I agree that the $75/hour ambulance time section was incomplete and confusing. However, I wouldn’t negate the whole article because of one weak section. What do you think about the city paying overtime for rescue squad...
kiffi summa: Griff: here’s why I used the word “vendetta”: there has been discord between the firefighters since the Dept of Public Safety was created with one Dept Head, i.e. Police Chief Taylor. That’s close to two years...
kiffi summa: Curt: Once again the NFNews article has left a confusion instead of a clarification, because it says that Elko paid $75 dollars an hour to have a rescue squad presence (and that seems very low to me), and then it says the city was...
Curt Benson: Griff and Kiffi–is this a reasonable recap? The city was paying city employees overtime to be on site at Elko’s events, using the Rescue Squad’s truck. Elko didn’t reimburse the city for it’s overtime...
Kathie Galotti: I’m glad the kids will have this for this summer. I recognize it’s not ideal. Unfortunately, there seems to be NO ideal place.
rob hardy: The PRAB met on Thursday, and the subcommittee on siting a permanent skatepark was on the agenda. Does anyone know what was discussed, and whether the process is moving forward in a timely manner?
Brenton Balvin: Wish I could attend this and listen to the tunes Blowing in the Wind. Unfortunately I’ll be dealing with a Hurricane of issues at work.
john george: Peter- I’ll be glad to do that, if I can figure out how. I’m technologically challenged, to say the least.
Peter Seebach (Seebs): John, that sounds lovely. I will try to remember to call. If I don’t, ping me (email is usually good for reaching me) to remind me, because I have a really bad memory for things I was going to do.
john george: Peter- I was just thinking that I would enjoy a cup of coffee with you sometime. You can ask Grifff- I don’t bite! My days off are Monday & Tuesday. I’ve bee a little tied up recently with new grandchildren being born...
Peter Seebach (Seebs): I think we are probably pretty close to agreement on that one. One of my hobbies is nudging things along to get people out of some of the various poverty loops. It is amazing how little money it takes to move someone from...
Peter Seebach (Seebs): A clarifying note: Consequences of Gay Marriage. No one is proposing making homosexuality a civil right. Marriage is already a civil right, and gays are already a protected class for discrimination purposes in most cases....
Curt Benson: Hvistendahl’s strange request for omerta from the Rescue Squad’s auditors doesn’t seem so strange today, after Suzy Rook’s NFN article: http://www.southernminn.com/no rthfield_news/news/article_...
Griff Wigley: Props to the newspaper and Suzy Rook for mentioning LoGro twice in the story: Fire Department officials, including Fire Chief Gerry Franek, did not respond to several requests from the News for association financial records or...
Griff Wigley: Posted to Northfield News at 1pm: Ethical questions arise over Northfield Fire Relief Association expenses Donations made to Northfield Fire Relief Association aren’t public dollars, but that hasn’t extinguished city...
Griff Wigley: Curt/Robert, There’s a summary of the Rescue Squad on Page 21 of the 2009 NFD report to the City. It doesn’t mention that there’s a Rescue Squad Association. The last paragraph states: The Northfield Rescue Squad is...
Robert Palmquist: If Hvistendahl’s motivation was to keep the financials from getting known, his submitting a memo like that just really backfired. I agree, why would these financials be such a secret??? And why did the NRSA hire a lawyer to...
Griff Wigley: Good turnout last night for the Cannon Valley Mountain Bike Team meeting at the high school. I’ve blogged a summary with the ppt presentations.
Griff Wigley: Jordan Osterman, the new Sports Editor for the Northfield News, scooped me on Saturday. I’m glad! Northfield high school mountain bike team forming As a club sport, mountain biking would have no official affiliation with either...
Griff Wigley: Good suggestion, Curt. I’ll do that for next week’s blurb. I have been verbally emphasizing the importance of having girls on the team, especially since their points on race days count more than boys’ points. Other...
john george: Living where we do, it is only a few blocks walk to North Street and a grand view of the sunsets. Also, with our neighbors’ mature white pines & spruce, our covered deck affords outdoor enjoyment with a fair amount of...
Jim Haas: Happens to me a lot. So much that my lovely wife had to coin a term for it: she says I have datelexia.
norman butler: Since coming to my adopted country 16 years ago I have observed, amongst other things, that not putting the day with the date is both common and peculiar to Northfield (MN? USA?).
John Thomas: Just a reminder, advance tickets for Girls Night Out 2012 can be purchased on The Grand’s website at http://www.thegrandnorthfield. com/public-events. Your tickets will then be available at a special “Will Call” at...
Liz Reppe: This is a great place to buy plants! Jeni is very knowledgeable and they are both really helpful. You get great service and plant expertise, but the prices are not higher than other places in town.
bill metz: While most of how Jake is being remembered revolves around, and rightly so, his great and wonderful talent as an artist and teacher and the works of sculpture he has left for our and the next generations enjoyment, I have had the...
kiffi summa: Come on, Griff… you say you’re “more than a little clueless about about investments” but you “just happened to notice”… and from what you said, were reading analytically, etc etc… Once...
Griff Wigley: I’m more than a little clueless about investments but I noticed on page 14 in the April 24 Council packet that the Fire Relief Association has 85% of its pension portfolio in stocks. Isn’t that a bit risky/aggressive for...
Griff Wigley: Has there been any media reporting on the intergovernmental meeting in Bridgewater Township that was held on April 25 re: the Rural Fire Protection District and the City of Northfield?
This handsome, hands-on collection of puzzles and games can be appreciated on many levels, from novice to expert. There are building blocks for sculpture and design, put-together and take-apart puzzles, arrangement puzzles, sequential movement puzzles, sliding block puzzles, and two-person games.
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