Cheryl Reitan Posts

Martin DeWitt: Expressing Life With Creativity

One can hear the anguish in Martin DeWitt’s voice as he talks about artists who are suffering. When Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, North Carolina in September, the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers came together with powerful force. The flooding devastated Asheville’s entire River Artist District.

DeWitt, who lived and worked in the Asheville area for more than a decade, had followed the hurricane’s path. “It wiped out the first and second floors of galleries and shops … the water totally demolished them,” he said. “Over 20 galleries and studios … the artwork of over 200 artists, were all destroyed.” The artists were DeWitt’s friends and colleagues.

Selective Focus: The Photographic Eye of Eric Sturtz

Left: Eric Sturtz self portrait. Right: Stony Point.

When looking at Eric Sturtz’s body of work, it’s clear the natural world inspires him. His photographic journey has taken him to the Grand Canyon and the hills of South Dakota, as well as out of the United States to places like Iceland.

New book looks at America on the eve of war

In the late 1930s, the world was on the brink of war. In 2024, Alexis Pogorelskin is well aware that the threat has returned.

Her book Hollywood and the Nazis on the Eve of War: The Case of The Mortal Storm details the events preceding World War II. It was released in August by Bloomsbury Press.

New Tweed director thinks of museum as classroom

Tweed Museum of Art Director Julie Delliquanti.

The fall semester hasn’t quite begun at the University of Minnesota Duluth, but the new director of the Tweed Museum of Art has been meeting with faculty in disciplines across campus to examine how the museum can further contribute to intellectual pursuits.

New screenwriting contest debuts in Duluth

What might be Duluth’s first screenwriting competition is one month away. “Unfinished Work: A Screenwriting Contest” will present some of the region’s finest screenwriters showing off a portion of their newest work. The event is on Saturday, Aug. 3, from 2 to 4:30 p.m., at Zeitgeist Teatro. Admission is free.

Bart Sutter’s new poetry collection revels in the natural world

Bart Sutter in the apple trees

Bart Sutter in the apple trees.

“Lake Superior is God.” Bart Sutter wrote that declaration in his 1998 book Cold Comfort, a collection of essays about “life at the top of the map.” The work was well received by readers, culminating in a Minnesota Book Award for creative nonfiction, and Sutter’s permanent status as a northern force.

Sarah Seidelmann and Her Spirit Guides

Sarah Seidelman in her studio.

Sarah Seidelmann is one of the four Arrowhead regional artists selected for the Grand Marais Art Colony Studio 21 Gallery this summer. She premiers her work at her exhibit, Making Love Visible beginning with the June 1 opening event. The show is on display through June 29.

Fur Trade Nation: Linking Continents

One of Carl Gawboy’s earliest memories is seeing a muskrat skin hanging on the wall in his house. “My father trapped animals and sold them to a fur buyer,” Gawboy said. “That’s when my fascination with trapping began.” Decades later, that interest became the subject of Gawboy’s latest book, Fur Trade Nation: An Ojibwe’s Graphic History, published by Animikii Mazina’iganan: Thunderbird Press. The release date is April 30.

Nolen Sellwood’s imaginative songs have arrived in Duluth

Nolen Selwood

Nolen Sellwood brings his creative spark to the Northland.

Nolen Sellwood hit the music scene in January as part of a live event produced by Minnesota Public Radio’s “The Current.” His performance delivered a fresh, new sound to the Duluth audience.