Brian Barber Posts

Selective Focus: Thomas Spence

Aug 07, 2020 No Comments

Thomas Spence’s photos of the landscapes and wildlife of the North Shore have been published and featured in regional and national magazines and TV shows. His Instagram feed is filled with the critters that we all know are around, but rarely get to see so up close and personal. He talks about how he got started with his photography and the patience required to get shots like these.

TS: I have been taking photos with a DSLR for about seven years. I used to carry a point-and-shoot around on trips and gatherings, just to capture the moments with friends and family. I never really was into scenery or wildlife with a camera growing up. In 2007 I gave up a loooong drinking career and needed a new hobby. I wanted to take better photos and I wanted to capture two things. Waterfalls with that silky smooth look, and northern lights. I bought a little Canon digital point-and-shoot and was able to figure out how to do long exposures on it. I learned that camera and was able to get some northern lights photos and the waterfall look I was trying for. I was hooked. In 2011 I took a road trip through the Smoky Mountains and south to Kennedy Space Center. It was that trip that I decided I needed a “real” camera. I think I bought my first DSLR in 2012. Lake Superior, the surrounding State Parks and Superior National Forest soon became my daily haunts. I was mainly doing landscape photos, but I see incredible wildlife on a regular basis, so I knew I needed a long lens to add to the camera. I found myself going into the woods to search for wildlife a lot more once I had the “reach” with a long lens. I live in a great place on the Sawbill Trail in Tofte. When I leave home, if I turn left, I can be on Lake Superior in minutes for sunrise or sunset. If I turn right, I am in Superior National Forest where I see Moose, bear, wolves, lynx and more on a fairly regular basis.

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Outdoors, Photos ,

Selective Focus: Indigenous First Art and Gift Shop

Jul 31, 2020 No Comments

Located in the AICHO building at 202 W. 2nd St. in downtown Duluth, Indiginous First opened in 2017, and has been promoting and investing in Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs through their physical space, and now through their online store. This week, Jazmin Wong, coordinator for Indiginous First, discusses the mission guiding the shop, challenges and adaptations due to COVID-19, and a new CSA partnership to bring farm fresh foods to Duluth and Superior.

JW: We sell quality gifts and goods with a mission of advancing, promoting, and investing in Indigenous and diverse artists, authors, agriculturalist and entrepreneurs! Indigenous First is a continuously expanding social enterprise run by the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) in Duluth, MN. Our doors opened in July 2017!

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Art , ,

Selective Focus: Teri Glembin

Jul 24, 2020 No Comments

Artist Teri Glembin recently made the most of pandemic social distancing, her Scandinavian heritage, and the gift of some new art supplies to tackle a daily drawing project. This week she shows off that extended project along with some of her other work.

TG: As a graphic designer, I’m usually glued to my laptop… so it’s funny that my inspiration BLOOMED on the end of my couch with Sharpies and wood.

I’ve always loved flowers and patterns and when my friend, Kate Kebbekus, came back from a Zentangle® workshop a few years ago, I began to explore the line flow and techniques she taught me. This led to my “couch crafting” obsession. In the evenings, I’d curl up with my border collie, Lussi, and work on my “Teri-tangles”. Using various mediums to illustrate flowers, tangles, and mandala patterns, I started with black ink on paper and later transitioned to Sharpies on canvas. Wood burning with those same flower and design styles became my next obsession last summer. I currently make earrings, shelf and wall artwork, and ornaments that are wood burned and often embellished with oil or watercolor paint markers.

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Selective Focus: Comet Neowise

Jul 17, 2020 No Comments

A collection of stunning comet Neowise photos from across northern Minnesota. Here’s a link to some info from Astrobob. The comet should be visible for one more night tonight.

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Selective Focus: Sarah Brokke Erickson – Illustrating “A Common Thirst”

Jul 08, 2020 No Comments

Artist and teacher Sarah Brokke Erickson goes in depth into her process for planning and illustrating a children’s book, “A Common Thirst.” The book was written by fellow Duluthian Gary Boelhower.

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Selective Focus: Blackbird Revolt

Jul 03, 2020 No Comments

Blackbird Revolt is a team of creatives and organizers who work to raise the voices and increase the visibilty of marginalized groups. They recently published APRÈS, an elegant, beautifully designed and written zine that started out as a way to honor Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie at the 100 year mark of their lynching. The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others caused them to change direction with the project. The zine now contains content to help people who want to make meaningful change happen, but may need some suggestions for next steps, and ways to sustain the energy. This week in Selective Focus, we take a look at the work of Blackbird Revolt, and hear how they use their skills as artists and organizers to support, challenge, engage and change.

Please tell us about yourself and your work, and how you came to work in your style.
Influenced by artists and activists, Blackbird Revolt was founded by Jordon and Terresa Moses who felt compelled to engage their community through art and design. The idea to form the company came about in Fall of 2016. We noticed the continued lack of representation and the intentional exclusion of diverse and intersectional voices from the dominant narrative. We are an alternative to that exclusion: A network of artists, designers, photographers, painters, writers, orators and more. Blackbird Revolt acts as a platform for these conscious creatives.

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Selective Focus: Silver Bay

Jul 01, 2020 No Comments

Select Instagram photos of scenes in Silver Bay, with particular emphasis on Black Beach.

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Selective Focus: LampsnTime – Rob and Teresa Reese

Jun 26, 2020 No Comments

When you walk through the Duluth Antique Marketplace on Grand Avenue, like most antique malls, each booth has its own specialty and feel. But when you approach the LampsnTime booth, even from a distance, it’s clear there’s another layer of personality to it. Rob and Teresa Reese transform old discarded items into reimagined pieces of functional and decorative art.

LNT: With Teresa’s fascination with the Borg technology portrayed in Star Trek and Rob’s interest in all that is “haunted” naturally we fell in love with the Steampunk alternate history of the “Past that never was.” We repurpose all sorts of odd pieces we happen upon into industrial lamps, clocks, steampunk accessories and Assemblage art.

Six years ago, Rob made a lamp and friends expressed a desire to purchase one if he made more. That was the start to what we have become, Lampsntime.

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Selective Focus: Annelisa Roseen

Jun 17, 2020 1 Comment

Toward the beginning of the pandemic, Annelisa Roseen started posting a photo of herself in make-up and costumes looking like a person who has a birthday on that day. The individual images are entertaining and impressive, but when you view the body of work as Instagram thumbnails, you get a much better sense of the variety, commitment, and skills Roseen has to make this work. It’s not just about the props and make-up, the expressions in her face, whether deadpan or over the top, are often the thing that make the connection to the celebrity.

What was the inspiration for this ongoing project?

I had seen that it was Gloria Steinem’s birthday; she is one of my heroes. So when I was brushing out my two-day-old pandemic bun I noticed I was sporting a kind of ’70s Gloria-frizz-do. So I took a selfie (no real make-up or costume) and posted a happy birthday to her. The next day I saw it was Lenard Nimoy’s birthday and thought “that would be funny” to do him today. I studied pics and read up on his life. And then I never stopped! I have been doing my #homageaday every day since then! Every day I pick someone whose work is inspiring or meaningful or has made an impact on culture. I love becoming these (big and small) icons each day! Most days I do an individual’s face, but sometimes I honor their image in a different way — like I did James Brown’s feet dancing on his birthday.

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Art, History ,

Selective Focus: Double Rainbow

Jun 11, 2020 1 Comment

Depending on their vantage point, Duluthians had the chance to see two simultaneous rainbows over Lake Superior today. Here are a few images via Instagram.

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Selective Focus: Community Mural at the CJM Memorial

Jun 09, 2020 No Comments

Visual artist Moira Villiard organized a mural project at the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial as part of a day of creative expression on Monday, June 8. People were invited to add to the images she created of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and a raised fist. The activities also included interviews of black, indigenous and people of color on the topic of police brutality. The interviews will be used in a documentary produced by DanSan Creatives. June 15 marks 100 years since the lynching of Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Issac McGhie in downtown Duluth for a crime they didn’t commit.

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Art, History , ,

Selective Focus: Annmarie Geniusz

Jun 05, 2020 3 Comments

If you want to see Annmarie Geniusz’s original artwork, it’s a “right place, right time” situation. She works in chalk on the sidewalk, and the next rainstorm can carry away the masterpieces in minutes. This week in Selective Focus, Annemarie fills us in on the appeal of doing public, temporary artwork.

AG: I work in illustration, stained glass, and chalk art. This time of year (and since the start of quarantine) my main focus has been chalk art. This is a form of street art that involves drawing murals and 3D illusions with artist pastels on pavement. It is considered a performance art, and is often the focus of summertime “Chalk Art Festivals” across the country.

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Art, Outdoors ,

Selective Focus: Protesting the Death of George Floyd

Jun 01, 2020 1 Comment

Protests and riots in the Twin Cities spread to Duluth on Saturday. The death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer spurred the actions, which were mostly peaceful in Duluth. The notable exception was an incident at the Kwik Trip convenience store on 27th Avenue West and Superior Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

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News and Current Affairs, Photos

Selective Focus: Richard Hoeg

May 29, 2020 1 Comment

Rich Hoeg is a naturalist, photographer and children’s book author. His blog, 365 Days of Birds, provides daily updates on the birds and animals he follows, as well as an occasional post about his human activities. In Selective Focus this week, he talks about how his other interests have influenced his wildlife photography.

RH: Unlike most photographers who like to use DSLR’s and big lenses which are heavy with lots of reach, I chose to use a “super zoom / bridge” camera. I wanted a camera setup which allowed for easy portability whether birding, bike touring or cross-country skiing. This decision was driven by a decision to retire from the traditional work world (I was a software techie) at the somewhat young age of 57. My wife and I had planned a 2,500 mile self-supported two month bicycle tour of northern New England, the Canadian Maritime Provinces and the St. Lawrence River from its mouth to Quebec City. A large camera would have been impractical and heavy in my bike panniers.

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Selective Focus: Allen Killian-Moore

May 19, 2020 No Comments

Allen Killian-Moore is a filmmaker who recently released a new experimental project in collaboration with the music of Minneapolis-based Humbird for her new single, “On the Day We are Together Again.” His work takes advantage of the imperfections of film and video — the grain, dust and scratches, pixels, flickering, varied frame rates, and they become an important part of the images. This week in Selective Focus, Allen talks about his process and the experiences that have influenced his work.
 

“On the Day We Are Together Again” Music by Humbird, film by Allen Killian-Moore
 

AKM: I am a Neurodivergent moving image artist (film and video), writer, curator, still photographer, visual artist, and performer. For this interview, I’ll be focusing specifically on my moving image film and video art.

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