Minnesota Artist

The Ely Folk school works with over 80 individual artists, 75% of whom have homes in Ely, to put on educational programming in fiber arts, folk arts, music, metalworking, humanities, and Northwoods skills and crafting, along with youth classes. The creativity, passion, and knowledge of the Ely community has allowed the Folk School to grow and thrive. 

It was a coincidence that Shawn and Cindy both fell in love with metalworking, but they’ve found ways to collaborate on their individual art forms. Often, they share a booth at festivals called “Blades and Beguiling Jewelry” and support each other while creating at home.

The mission of Good Graces Paper Co. is just as multilayered as its name. First, the designs are crafted to speak to other Black women, giving them a place to express their anger and exhaustion while finding a way to maintain hope and healing. For those outside of the immediate audience, the designs seek to challenge– to spark curiosity and conversations that will lead people to learn more about the issues and histories of which they are uninformed. But even that isn’t the entire story:  “I have some designs that are just pretty!” laughs Melanie. 

It’s Grace's artistic eye and attention to detail that allow her to transform her experiences outdoors into stunning hand-illustrated stickers, wrapping paper, and notebooks for her company Little Rocks Design. Whether as inconspicuous as a mushroom or as magnificent as Lake Superior, which Grace can see from her window in Duluth, anything can become a sticker to commemorate the environment of Minnesota in particular and the Midwest in general.

Gallery 24 is a non-profit collaborative space run by more than two dozen local artists from Rochester and the surrounding communities. Located at 120 Elton Hills Dr. NW, the gallery is open six days a week. When you visit in store, the volunteers you meet are the same people who have created everything on display.

Each issue of Under the Moonlight is a fantastical journey. The amazing illustrations (my 12 year old’s choice of adjective) gently guide the reader on a journey through nature. The content is a nuanced balance between scientific facts and tales of fairies and gnomes who live in Firefly Hollow.