Ann Klefstad Posts

Roundabout wrong for London Road and 60th Avenue East

Dec 29, 2022 3 Comments

As part of its repaving and redesign of London Road, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is planning to put a 150-foot diameter roundabout at 60th Avenue East and London Road. The build will take two years, will destroy a two-household historic home, and will take parkland that was granted to the city on condition that it would always be parkland.

It will be accompanied, of course, by many streetlights, because roundabouts are only safe if they are very well lit.

Read More


Random ,

Selective Focus: Fishnetstockings at Joseph Nease Gallery

Jul 14, 2021 No Comments

Across the globe, one discovers mermaid tales clinging like barnacles onto historic seaports, sharing themes of the cross-cultural outsider, environmental imbalance, and gender inequality. During the summer of 2021, see Fishnetstockings projections at Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth during open gallery hours.

A gallery talk, featuring a discussion with the artists and some images of what went on behind the scenes as the projections were created happens Thursday, July 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Read More


Art, Videos

Selective Focus: Kirsten Aune’s North Coast Fashion

Jul 03, 2021 No Comments
model in window

Kirsten Aune Textiles outfit

Kirsten Aune has lived in Duluth for a number of years, working in textile and garment design. She has a fashion show upcoming in her new showroom, Kirsten Aune Textiles, at 12 N. 21st Ave. W., in the heart of our blessedly reviving Lincoln Park Craft District. It goes down July 17, with two showings, one at 4 p.m. and one at 5 p.m. Most of the fashions being shown will be for sale or can be custom ordered. Mary Mathews, a master sewer, will be modeling her own creations out of Aune’s fabric. The showroom is stocked with household items as well as clothing, and Aune notes that you can order custom printed fabric by the yard there as well.

Read More


Art ,

Selective Focus: A Year of Sunrises with Ron Benson

Jun 23, 2021 No Comments

Stoney Point, March 6, 2021

Ron Benson, a Duluth glass and ceramic artist, began posting daily photos of sunrises over Lake Superior to Facebook during the first winter of the pandemic. I hadn’t known him as a photographer, so I was surprised. He posted these images almost every day, and they were amazing. I knew, and eventually thousands of people knew, that he’d be out perched on rocks as ice water slammed or sloshed, aiming a camera at the sunrise, every day. It was impressive.

Read More


Art, Photos ,

Selective Focus: Shaun Chosa’s Wheat-paste Project at AICHO

Jun 06, 2021 No Comments
Shaun Chosa's art on the wall

Shaun Chosa created a group of images to be wheat pasted on the wall at AICHO — seen here with some of the folks who helped make it happen.

The American Indian Community Housing Organization, which has become a force for enabling Native voices in Duluth and bringing radiance to the city, worked with In Progress, a multi-media arts organization in St. Paul, to create this installation of Shaun Chosa’s strong images on the walls of AICHO’s headquarters, 202 W. Second St.

Read More


Art ,

Selective Focus: Carl Gawboy’s Life Well-Painted

May 20, 2021 No Comments

A Life Well Painted

This text, taken from the curriculum written by Wendy Savage, serves to introduce Carl Gawboy — a foundational artist in this region.

At Tweed Museum of Art this winter of 2021, Carl Gawboy’s stellar paintings were featured in the exhibition “A Life Well Painted: The Art of Carl Gawboy.” It featured 36 narrative paintings. Carl Gawboy is a highly respected Ojibwe and Finnish artist; he paints the beauty of everyday life of his Ojibwe people. He is an Elder and enrolled member of the Bois Fort Band of Chippewa in Northern Minnesota. Carl has been creating art since he was a child at his Finnish mother’s kitchen table. Carl’s father was a trapper, and his mother was a teacher and farmer. Carl went on to college and studied art and history, and researched the fur trade era.

Read More


Art ,