By Kristen Rebollo from The Cook County News Herald - September 6, 2019

A leisurely drive along the shores of Lake Superior, combined with crisp autumn weather and the brilliant changing colors of fall serve as the backdrop for Cook County’s annual “Art Along the Lake Fall Studio Tour.” From Sept. 27 to Oct. 6, visitors are invited to more than 20 studios of artists who choose the beauty of Minnesota’s North Shore as their daily inspiration.

During the 10-day event, these artists’ workspaces are open to the public, giving visitors a unique opportunity to speak directly with the artists in the environments where they create works featured in national and local galleries and shows. 

Husband and wife collaboration

Sharon and Steve Frykman, owners of Art of the Elements Gallery, south of Grand Marais, are on this year’s fall art tour. The indoor/outdoor gallery at their studio and home enables them to share their love of art and continue working on their own creative projects. They invite visitors to enjoy a walk through their sculpture garden with its backdrop of North Shore meadow and forest, or head directly in to the gallery space adjoining their working studio. This year, six guest artists will join them for the fall art tour. For visiting hours this summer and during the tour, see www.frykmanart.com

The Frykmans are known for their large-scale architectural installations. They are currently working on one that involves eight large pieces encased in steel, which will be installed at North Shore Health Hospital in Grand Marais sometime next year. So it will be under “construction” during the fall art tour.

“The hospital auxiliary members had strong ideas of what they wanted the art to contain, so one panel depicts a Lake Superior sunset over the Sawtooth Mountains,” Sharon said. “The second panel is a night scene with Northern Lights over the lake.”

She began her artistic career as a painter and holds a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In the early ’80s she became active in the Grand Marais Art Colony and moved to the North Shore. Glass is currently her primary medium. Sharon and Steve studied warm glass techniques together in Corning, N.Y. in 2001.

Steve is a member of the Guild of Metalsmiths, Minn. He works in forged and cold iron and copper, as well as wood. He studied as a machinist and was a surgical nurse for 27 years, bringing multiple tools and skills to the studio. They have installations at the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and the Angry Trout Cafe in Grand Marais, as well as Trinity Lutheran Church in Hovland. 

Glass art inspired by the wilderness

Included in this year’s event is Nancy Hemstad Seaton, who with her husband Dave, operates Hungry Jack Outfitters on the Gunflint Trail near Grand Marais. Originally focused on watercolors inspired from her North Woods home, she is now a glass artist creating sculptural glass pieces with fluid, vibrant colors. The flora and fauna continue to provide the stepping off point for her abstract glass totems. Hemstad Seaton received a B.A. from St. Olaf College where she worked in watercolor and blown glass. She creates her work in the glass studio at the Grand Marais Art Colony, and feels lucky to have it as part of her life. The Art Colony is also a stop on the tour. She recently appeared as a new artist at the American Craft Show in St. Paul. The American Craft Council accepts a limited number of artists, following a rigorous application and juried selection process.

Other notable artists on the tour include: Steve Hahn at JNS Gallery – Lutsen; illustrator Kari Vick – Lutsen; woodblock print creator Betsy Bowen – Grand Marais; plein air painter Neil Sherman – Hovland; and Sivertson Gallery, which offers the work of many North Shore artists in Grand Marais.

For the complete list of artists and galleries participating in the “Art Along the Lake: Fall Studio Tour,” see www.visitcookcounty.com/event/art-alonglake fall-studio-tour/.