Athletics and art don't always overlap, but recently in the Northland, those two worlds have been coming together every June.
Kelly Schamberger is the artist behind this year's Grandma's Marathon poster. This Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of the 26.2 mile run from Two Harbors to Canal Park in Duluth, and Schamberger's poster design showcases the work that goes into preparing for such a trek. "Kelly did something really interesting," says Annie Dugan, "setting up a still-life of her running shoes, a runner's calendar with the X-marks and the training schedule, running clothes sort of spilling out of the dresser."
To further the celebration of art meeting the marathon, Siiviis Gallery has coordinated a retrospective of images from past artists who have contributed to the Grandma's Marathon poster.
In sad news, local artist and curator Jeffrey Kalstrom passed away recently. Kalstrom was an art instructor and a curator working with both the Duluth Art Institute and the Nordic Center. "Jeffrey Kalstrom was an artist, and art organizer, and educator and just a creative thinker in all that that means," says Dugan. "He was the type of person who you could talk to about anything as long as it was out of the ordinary and interesting." His art can be seen on his website.
Catherine Meier, a North Shore-based artist, has started a fundraising effort. "Her family is facing some pretty significant health struggles," says Dugan. For many artists, who essentially exist as a small business unto themselves, health care and the money to back it can be a difficult chore and subject.
You can hear Where's Art every Monday morning at 8:20 on Northland Morning.
