Carol Rose offers Ramblin' Rose Art Center, Studio for sale

Carol Rose, Keweenaw Krayons interim director, transformed this property in Mohawk, Mich., into the Ramblin' Rose Art Center and studio. Now planning to retire, Rose is offering both house and studio for sale. Click on photo for larger version. (See ad in right-hand column.) (Photo courtesy Carol Rose)

By Carol Rose

MOHAWK -- It will be 14 years on the 16th of December, 2010, that I moved to the Keweenaw. I walked into my rental house and saw the Christmas tree my daughter-in-law, Sue, had put in the kitchen -- decorated by her and my three grandkids -- then 5, 5 and 6 years of age -- yes, there are twins.

I was in process of divorce -- the end of a 36-year marriage. I chose the Keweenaw and my Keweenaw family of Tom, Sue, Steph, Mike and Steve to be the place to begin again -- start over afresh -- but I didn’t know what "afresh" meant.

I hoped to be able to curl up and heal -- God had other plans! Heal I did. Curling up was not even a small part of that process.

A few months after I moved into the rental, the divorce now final, I found myself looking for property to purchase. I knew I wanted to be close to my Mohawk family. I looked at a few different places and made an offer on what is now the Ramblin' Rose Art Center. I will be writing a book (really and truly) on this process so won’t go into detail here, but this is where it all began -- "it"??? Well Keweenaw Krayons of course. The non-profit love of my life!

In 2005, Keweenaw Krayons Graphic Arts and Marketing teens, from left, Stephanie Fouts, Andrea Laurie and Ashley Bracco, work with Carol Rose in designing flyers for Keweenaw Krayons' Mardi Gras Dinner, an annual event. (Keweenaw Now file photo)*

O.K. fast forward. Keweenaw Krayons is now located in the old Mohawk School -- sharing the building with Horizons Alternative High School. Because of a wonderful Strong Organization/Strong Youth (SOSY) Award, Keweenaw Krayons is on quite firm footing. Firm enough for me to be able to leave. While it does not yet have an executive director, it does have a strong volunteer base, very active Board of Directors and Executive Committee of that Board.

I have an apartment waiting for me in Grand Marais, Michigan; but in order to go there full-time (it’s been waiting for two years) I need to sell this wonderful, holy, magical, fun corner -- the corner where Keweenaw Krayons began some 13 years ago.

I am 68 years of age, and it is time to move on to yet another part of my life. There are words in my soul calling to be put on paper; photographs waiting to be edited; skiis, snowshoes, kayaks, and canoes are calling my name.

Keweenaw Krayons remains special in my heart and because of the SOSY award, I will be able to serve as Consultant and Historian -- working from afar. Life is good!

I put the house and shop on the market a couple years ago -- but not very seriously. It feels now like I was trying out the "retirement waters." And then a few months ago I became quite serious but still did not give the marketing process enough energy. My original price was $40,000 each for either the shop or the house or $54,000 for both, and I posted a few flyers here and there. Now I have an ad on this wonderful website and I’m ready to do a real blitz with many flyers. And I’ve LOWERED THE PRICE! New price -- only $45,000 for both! I’m offering an automatic $500 off that price if the sale closes before the end of 2010! Even in this economy, that is a really good deal!

I will consider options such as land contract, rent to own or just rent!

Anyone interested in pursing this opportunity is invited to email me at carolrose.u.p@gmail.com or call me at 906-369-4314.

*Editor's Note: Read more about Carol Rose, her plan to retire at her birthday celebration in 2004 and the history of Keweenaw Krayons. See the February 2005 Keweenawnow.com article, "Keweenaw Krayons former director retires -- but not!" by Jonathan Soper.

Khana Khazana Indian cuisine served to 400 at Michigan Tech

By Michele Bourdieu

Sahil Thakkar, right, and Komal Tayal, Khana Khazana chefs, serve their Indian specialties to Michigan Tech alumnus and visitor Chuck Brumleve during the Khana Khazana lunchtime meal today, Dec. 3, in the Michigan Tech Memorial Union Food Court. In the background is another student chef, Rochelle Prescott. Click on photos for larger versions. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)*

HOUGHTON -- Today's Khana Khazana (Hindi for Food Treasure) lunch, featuring Indian cuisine prepared by Indian students Sahil Thakkar and Komal Tayal, was a great success.

"We served about 400 people," Thakkar said.

Today's menu included a hot and spicy vegetarian dish, Pav Bhaji, by Sahil Thakkar; Phada Lapsi, a delicious sweet dish made with cracked wheat, by Sahil Thakkar; a spiced Chai Tea, by Sahil Thakkar; and Chicken Tandoori, a classic Indian chicken dish, by Komal Tayal.

Indian chefs Sahil Thakkar and Komal Tayal, serving, foreground, are assisted by student chefs, back row from left, Rochelle Prescott, USA; Chun Zheng, China; Nassim Sabanfar, Iran; Rui Pan, China; and Sara Fernandez, Spain.

Thakkar, a Michigan Tech student in electrical engineering technology, is the co-founder, along with Safayat Alam of Bangladesh, of the Khana Khazana program of international cuisine served on Fridays at lunchtime in the Memorial Union Food Court on the Michigan Tech University campus. The program began in the spring semester of 2010.

The weekly series of international lunches kicked off this semester on Sept. 17 with Pakistani cuisine. Half the proceeds of that meal went to benefit flood victims in Pakistan. Last spring two Haitian benefit lunches cooked by international students raised $1,024 for Haitian earthquake victims' relief. One half of the lunch proceeds were donated to the Bush-Clinton Relief Fund.

Khana Khazana is a collaboration of Michigan Tech International Students and Michigan Tech Dining Services. The lunches are very reasonably priced and open to the public.

* Editor's Note: Setting it straight: We regret the error in stating this was the last Khana Khazana lunch of the semester. Another Khana Khazana lunch -- with Indian and Thai cuisine -- will be served on Friday, Dec. 10. These international lunches will resume in the Spring semester in January, 2011.

From Headwaters: Activist-Turned-Miner touts Orvana Project’s virtues and failures in environmental law

By Gabriel Caplett
Posted Dec. 3, 2010, on Headwaters News

MARQUETTE -- Dave Anderson is the first to point out the possible disconnect between a life’s work protecting the environment and his new position as Orvana Minerals' project coordinator for its planned Copperwood mine, north of Wakefield.

"I was on the Rainbow Warrior Greenpeace vessel when we parked in front of Stone Container and I was on the tracks in Bad River when we stopped eleven billion gallons of acid from coming into the UP, and I was in Crandon for ten years," explained Anderson, referencing some of the more controversial regional environmental battles of the past two decades. "This project that I’m working on now is very different."

Anderson told the roughly twenty attendees of a public forum, held at the Ford Center in Alberta Thursday and hosted by the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, of his decades-long work as an activist and scientist. Anderson worked with national environmental groups, Native American tribes and local citizen groups to fight controversial mining and paper mill proposals in the region. It was only after years of failing to find enough work as an environmental consultant that he landed the Orvana job. ... Click here to read the rest of this article.

Finlandia to celebrate Finnish Independence Day Dec. 5

HANCOCK -- Finlandia University will present a Finnish Independence Day program at 2 p.m. this Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010, at the Finnish American Heritage Center, Hancock.

The 93rd annual celebration of Finnish independence at Finlandia University features a special musical program with local musicians and performers Libby Meyer, Oren Tikkanen, Pasi Lautala, Dave Bezotte, the Kivajat Dancers, Kay Seppala, the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, and others.

The celebration also includes the Finnish Christmas tradition tiernapojat, or Star Boys, a singing procession and folk drama which has its roots in a medieval play based on the "Three Magi" Christmas story in the Book of Matthew (2, 1-28). The procession, led by Michigan Tech Finnish graduate student Hanna Nummila, includes the voices of three additional Finnish nationals living in the Keweenaw.

This year’s City of Hancock "Hankooki Heikki" -- who will preside over the Heikinpäivä mid-winter festival set for Jan. 29, 2011 -- will also be announced during the program.

Homemade Finnish refreshments will be available by donation to benefit FinnFest 2013. For additional information, please call the Finnish American Heritage Center at 906-487-7549.

Daniell Heights Residents to hold Christmas Craft Bazaar Dec. 5 at SDC

HOUGHTON -- The Daniell Heights Residents Council (DHRC) will host its 40th annual Christmas Craft Bazaar, featuring locally made items, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5, at the SDC Wood Gym.

A variety of vendors will sell such things as Christmas decorations, homemade soaps, paintings, organic lotions, jewelry and chain saw carvings. The family-friendly event will include a coloring table for youngsters to keep busy while you shop. Santa will visit from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

There will also be a raffle, and the concession stand will be open.

For more information, contact Sarah Anderton, president of DHRC, at 281-6014 or at smandert@mtu.edu .

Khana Khazana lunch Dec. 3 to feature Indian cuisine

HOUGHTON -- The Khana Khazana (Food Treasure) lunch for Friday, Dec. 3, will feature Indian cuisine by Sahil Thakkar and Komal Tayal.

"It's the biggest lunch of the year," said Chef Thakkar. "We generally serve food from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. , but this time we are serving till 2 p.m."

The meal will be served in the Memorial Union Food Court on the Michigan Tech campus. (An entrance is near the large visitors' parking lot just off U.S. 41.)

Prices are $6 for a full meal or $2 à la carte.

The menu will feature Pav Bhaji (Hot and Spicy -- most popular veggie dish from India by Sahil Thakkar), Phada Lapsi (delicious sweet dish made with cracked wheat by Sahil Thakkar), Chai Tea (India's famous spiced tea by Sahil Thakkar) and Chicken Tandoori (classic chicken dish from India by Komal Tayal).

Khana Khazana is a collaboration of Michigan Tech International Students and Michigan Tech Dining Services. The Khana Khazana chefs are prepared to serve more than 350 people tomorrow, so don't miss it!

Celebrate with First Friday events in Calumet

CALUMET -- First Friday events in Calumet for this Friday, Dec. 3, include art gallery exhibits, a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, a dance performance at the Calumet Theatre and a Christmas sale of gift items handmade by Santa's elves!

Vertin Gallery to host "Weathering the Storm" exhibit Dec. 3, 2010 - Jan. 5, 2011

Ice Dance II, watercolor by Peg Sandin, one of the Vertin Gallery artists whose work will be featured in the exhibit "Weathering the Storm." (Photo courtesy Vertin Gallery)

The Vertin Gallery is pleased to present this winter’s juried exhibit, "Weathering the Storm," featuring work by artists from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as well as the Midwest.

The exhibit will feature new art from Vertin Gallery Artists, each with his or her own unique interpretation as to how to "weather the storm" of winter here in the Midwest. The show will feature a variety of artistic mediums from painting and drawing to ceramic and glass. "Weathering the Storm" is part of the Vertin Gallery’s December tradition of group shows designed to feature and honor the many artists represented by the gallery. Please join the Vertin in recognizing these talented individuals whose efforts help keep culture alive here in the Upper Peninsula: Kanak Nanavati, Eric Munch, Bernard Park, Susan Hooker, Dave Walli, Stephanie Trevino, John Lundeen, Bill Wiard, Edith Wiard, Len Novak, Tom Rudd, Carol Phillips, Donica Dravilles, Margo McCafferty, Joyce Koskenmaki, Linda Powless, Jessica Speer, Ellen Torola, Kayo Miwa, Terry Daulton, Kerri Corser, Peg Sandin, Alysa Diebolt, Bob Dawson, George DeSort, Andrea Puzakulich, April Lehman, Ed Schuck, and Kathleen Carlton Johnson.

"Weathering the Storm" will be on display from Dec. 3, 2010, through Jan. 5, 2011. A public reception will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3. Refreshments will be served.

Located in the heart of downtown Calumet, the Vertin Gallery is one of the Upper Peninsula’s premiere galleries, featuring art across all mediums -- including painting, copper, jewelry, sculpture and fine woodworking. The work in the gallery changes frequently and, each month, premiers a new exhibit to feature fresh new artists of the highest quality. For more information on the gallery and upcoming events, please visit www.vertingallery.com or call (906) 337-2200.

Ed Gray Gallery: Exhibit, Open House

The Ed Gray Gallery will host a "Christmas Show," from Dec. 3 to Dec. 31. This is a juried, all media, open show. An opening reception will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3 in the gallery. Refreshments will be served.

On Saturday, Dec. 4, and Sunday, Dec. 5, the Ed Gray Gallery will welcome the public to "CALUMET CELEBRATING THE ARTS" -- an Open House from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

The Miskwabik Ed Gray Studio-Gallery is at 109 Fifth Street in Calumet. Visit www.edgraygallery.com for more information.

Calumet Art Center holiday events

Don't miss the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, at the Calumet Art Center . Warm refreshments will be served beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Next week plan to attend the Christmas Concert at the Calumet Art Center at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10. The concert will feature vocalists Monica Rovano and Courtney Clisch, guitarist Cathy Isaacson, violinist Libby Meyer, and organist Kathleen Alatalo-Arten. The concert is a fundraiser to benefit the Art Center. A $5 donation is requested.

The Calumet Art Center is located at 57055 Fifth Street, behind the Keweenaw Heritage Center in the white building with the spire. Visit the Art Center's Web site for more information.

"A Christmas Carol" ballet at Calumet Theatre Dec. 3, 4

The Superior School of Dance will present a ballet/dance performance of "A Christmas Carol," based on the story by Charles Dickens and featuring a cast of many Michigan Tech University students, at the Calumet Theatre at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 3, and at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 4.

Donna Armistead, of Michigan Tech's International Programs and Services, is the choreographer.

Students who will perform are Paige Borel, Allison Strome, Jared Berryman, Josh Stuempges, Joseph Massoglia and Cassi Warsinski. Scrooge will be played by John Griebel, Michigan Tech graduate, '09. In addition, the dance will feature children of faculty and staff and community members.

General seating tickets are $12 adults, $6 students and seniors.

Santa's Workshop at Copper Country Associated Artists

Santa's elves have been working their fingers to the bone to bring you a large selection of surprises for the holidays. Visit their workshop, the CCAA Gallery, 112 Fifth St. Calumet, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, and meet with Santa's helpers in person! They may be still working!

Excellent homemade bakery and coffee will be served.

This sale will be run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday during the month of December until Christmas Eve.

After the holidays, CCAA winter gallery hours will be reduced to Thursdays, First Fridays, Special Events and workshops.

Stupak applauds Senate passage of Food Safety bill, urges swift House action

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, applauded the Senate’s passage today of S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

"I am pleased that after more than a year of delay the Senate has finally passed comprehensive food safety legislation," Stupak said. "The food safety bill, which is similar to the House bill I introduced with Congressmen Dingell, Pallone and Chairman Waxman, provides the FDA with some of the resources and authorities it needs to effectively monitor our nation’s food supply and prevent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses."

As chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Stupak has held 13 food safety hearings over the past four years, examining the failures of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the food industry to protect the nation’s food supply. The subcommittee examined failures in the food safety system highlighted by E. coli in meat and fresh greens, as well as salmonella-contaminated peanut butter, jalapeno peppers and, most recently, eggs.

Findings of the investigations and related hearings led Stupak and fellow Energy and Commerce Committee members John Dingell (D-MI), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) to craft H.R. 2749, the Food Safety and Enhancement Act of 2009. Among the improvements to the nation’s food safety laws, the bill would establish a national food tracing system, making it easier for the FDA to prevent and respond to outbreaks of food-borne illness, and would provide the FDA mandatory recall authority to remove contaminated food from shelves as soon as a problem is identified.

"With little time left for legislative action, I strongly urge Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer to schedule a House vote on S. 510 this week so the 111th Congress can complete its work on this important issue and send this critical legislation to President Obama before the end of the year," Stupak said.

In answer to a question from Keweenaw Now as to whether this legislation would affect small farmers who sell their own produce, e.g., at farmers markets, Stupak's office sent this reply: "The bill passed by the Senate exempts small farmers who garner less than $500,000 in annual sales and those who sell directly to the consumer. This includes small farmers who sell directly to farmers markets and those who produce organic and natural food."

Editor's Note: Click here to see the New York Times report on how the Senate voted. Click here for versions of the bill text.

Tori Market holiday craft show to be held indoors Dec. 1 in Studio's Orpheum Theater

HANCOCK -- The Hancock Tori Market sellers will hold a holiday craft show from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1, at the Orpheum Theater, inside the Studio Pizza and Gallery on Quincy Street (across from the old high school).

"I'm just trying to help our across-the-street neighbors keep their customers happy more of the year!" said Michael Shupe, photographer and owner of the Studio Pizza and Gallery.

Visitors will have an opportunity to see the newly restored old Pic Theater, now known as the Orpheum Theater.

All items for sale must be made in the local four-county area. They will include crafts, widgets, pottery, bakery and more...

Finlandia Gallery to host exhibit by New York artist Dina Kantor

HANCOCK -- The Finlandia University Gallery’s 20th annual Contemporary Finnish American Artist Series features an exhibit of photographs by New York artist Dina Kantor. The exhibit, "Finnish and Jewish," is featured Dec. 2, 2010, to Jan. 14, 2011.

The artist Dina Kantor. (Photos courtesy Finlandia University)

An opening reception will take place at the gallery from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2. Kantor will speak at 7:15 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

How does Judaism survive in a country where there are only two synagogues? In a nation of 5.3 million people, how do 1,500 Jews maintain their cultural identity? Kantor explores these questions in a series of photographs documenting the lives, work, and religious traditions of the small Jewish community in Finland.

Kantor’s photographs investigate the construction of identity and community in today’s complex and multicultural world.

This project developed as Kantor began thinking about how her Jewish and Finnish heritage affected her identity and sense of belonging. Kantor’s mother, born in Finland, moved to Minnesota as a child in 1947. Her mother converted to Judaism when she married Kantor’s father thirty years later.

"I spent a period of time looking into my mother’s history," Kantor explains. "I photographed all the houses she had lived in over the years and sifted through her old family photographs. I scanned images of her playing on stilts in front of one house and the passport photo that she had taken when she arrived at Ellis Island."

Heli, Helsinki, Finnish and Jewish series, Digital C- Print, 2007, 25.75" x 30," by Dina Kantor.

"As I struggled with those images, I began to think of how my siblings and I were a combination of my parents, and I sought out other families that were the same," Kantor continues. "I was able to find one other family with a Jewish father and Finnish mother in Minneapolis and one family in New York. Then I got stuck. So I decided to move on to the community in Finland."

In 2006 Kantor travelled to Finland and began her "Finnish and Jewish" project by writing a letter to a Jewish community leader in Helsinki. The letter was published in a Jewish community newsletter; and, as people learned of Kantor’s project, her opportunities to photograph people increased. To date she has photographed approximately 300 Jewish people in Finland.

"One of the things that interests me about making this work is that I straddle the line between being an insider and an outsider," Kantor notes. "I didn’t know anyone in the community before I began photographing. But because we share common cultural characteristics, we were able to talk as if we had known each other for a long time, and it felt like I was part of the community."

Influenced by Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra, Kantor’s first approach was to photograph people against a neutral backdrop.

She soon discovered, however, that she was missing the personal details and cultural signifiers that she believes are important to reading a photograph.

Andre, Helsinki, Finnish and Jewish series, Digital C- Print, 2007, 25.75" x 30," by Dina Kantor.

"I think the images that I make are as much about the environment as they are about the individual," Kantor says. "Finnish design is very striking. I’m drawn to colors, pattern and light -- and to personal objects like snapshots and artwork. I’m interested in the similarities and differences in the homes throughout the community."

Kantor will work with Finlandia University International School of Art and Design students Dec. 2 to 4. Her advice to students is to create art that they feel passionate about.

"Use your camera to explore things that truly interest you," she advises. "Don’t worry about the technical things or the art market. All of that will work itself out in time. Enjoy yourself and the act of looking. I think it is evident in people’s work when they love what they are doing, so be selfish. If you make something that you genuinely love making, it will be much more compelling than if you make something that you think other people want you to make."

Kantor received a bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication at the University of Minnesota and a master of fine arts at the School of Visual Arts, New York City. She was finalist for a Honickman Book Prize, and her work has been supported by Finlandia Foundation and Finnish Cultural Foundation grants.

The Finlandia University Gallery is in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.; or by appointment. Please call 906-487-7500 for more information.

Portage Library to host dog sledding program

HOUGHTON -- The Portage Lake District Library invites everyone to think snow for a dog sledding program at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1, with longtime musher Tom Bauer.

In "Mushing in the U.P.: A Family Experience," Bauer will describe the history of dog sledding and introduce members of his immediate mushing family, including a couple of their dogs. He will present a slide show that portrays a year in the somewhat unusual lifestyle of a musher, and he will show several mushing-related websites.

Participants will learn about local sled dog races and events including Beargrease, the UP 200, and Copper Dog as well as the Iditarod. They will also have an opportunity to handle dog sledding equipment and racing gear. If there is enough snow, Bauer will give dog sled rides or demonstrate skijoring or boardjoring.

Bauer has been training and racing dogs for over 20 years and participates in numerous races. He placed in the top 10 of the first UP 200 race in 1990 and is planning to run the Iditarod in 2012. He owns Otter River Sled Dog Training Center and Wilderness Adventures and offers rides, tours, group events, and year round wilderness camping with sled dogs. He is a strong supporter of youth who want to learn mushing skills and participate in sled dog races and events.

All library programs are free and everyone is welcome. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

To see photos of Bauer's dogs, visit his Web site.

Paintings by Constance Stockwell Johnson at Reflection Gallery Dec. 1 to Jan. 6

HANCOCK -- The Finlandia University Reflection Gallery will host an exhibit of paintings by Constance Stockwell Johnson Dec. 1, 2010, to Jan. 6, 2011. An opening reception will take place at the gallery from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2.

Painting by Constance Stockwell Johnson. (Image courtesy Finlandia University)

Johnson’s exhibition features abstract pairs of figures in dreamlike environments that represent human connectedness and address issues of wholeness and healing for our society. She uses watercolor, ink, and acrylic with bold shading techniques, complemented by a diverse color palette. Her vivid brushstrokes and style variety will intrigue any viewer and spark the imagination.

"Some of the art in this show is about what we can offer when we choose a connection with the Earth rather than a societal focus on corporate globalization, consumerism, and exploitation," Johnson says, "while other works bear a more quiet relationship to these ideas."

Johnson’s collection winds many themes together. She says she is inspired by the space around her. Its influence weaves its way into her work, and her pieces depict reflective and contemplative spaces. Throughout her life, Johnson says, her connection to her surroundings has been a constant source of fascination and reverence; in her art she senses her own connection to the Earth.

As a painter, Johnson wants to portray the hope that people can act together to sustain, vitalize, and joyously celebrate our shared humanity. She hopes that her art provides viewers with the opportunity to honor their senses of place and to walk among their brothers and sisters on this planet.

Johnson, a 14-year resident of the Copper Country, has shown her work at many area galleries. She has also worked as a scene painter at the Calumet Theatre and instructed in the Art for Elders program.

The Reflection Gallery is on the second level of Finlandia’s Jutila Center campus. For information, contact Yueh-mei Cheng at 906-487-7375 or email FinlandiaReflectionGallery@gmail.com.

Poor Artists Sale to benefit Community Arts Center Dec. 4

Kevin and DeeDee Maki with their rustic furniture at last year’s Poor Artists Sale held at the CLK Gymnasium. (Photo courtesy Community Arts Center)

CALUMET -- The Copper Country Community Arts Council celebrates its 34th annual Poor Artists Sale from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the CLK Gymnasium in Calumet. This year’s sale offers the work of over 60 artists including 12 that are new to the event along with the return of many long-standing favorites.

Shoppers will find handmade jewelry, pottery, wreaths, ornaments, baskets, functional and decorative wood art, blown glass, stained glass, metal sculpture, rustic furniture, rugs, art clothing and accessories, fiber art, candles, soaps, paintings, photography, gift baskets, and much more.

Artist Diane Zurcher, left, and Cynthia Coté, Copper Country Community Arts Center director, at the 2009 Poor Artists Sale in Calumet. (File photo by Keweenaw Now)

This year’s artists include the following: Mark Bukovich, Colleen Carroll, Colleen Carlyle, Debra Charlesworth, Connie Cogger, Ryan Dalman, Yana Dee, Tom Doman, Charlie Eshbach, Josh Frazier, Janet Ford Hietala, Michael Gage, Gordon Gearhart, Randall Geda, Linda and Mike Greene, Kathleen Harter, Todd Gemelli, Susan Hooker, Sue Hubbard, Georgiana Hurst, Wendy Johnson, MoJo Staley, Ronda Jones, Jess Kane, Mark Klemp, Barbara Knapp, Rowan Leithauser, Cynthia Lynn, Anthony Maier, Kevin Maki, Les McBean, Kristi Mills, Ted and Carole Noonan, Lee and Jan Perry, Miriam Pickens, Christine Protzel, Andrea Puzakulich, Chip Ransom, Robin Rastello, Jodi Rauvala, Marsha Rosenburg, Rebecca Rudaski, Mark and Dave Sarazin, Brian Larsen, Serenity Schoonover, Rick Shapero, Diane Simonson, Dennis snd Leslie Sotala, Caitlin Spera, Derik Spoon, Sue Stephens, Nancy Stoneman, Robert Sturos, Stephanie Trevino, Becky Weeks, Bill and Edith Wiard, Charles Young, Cyle Zablocki, and Diane Zurcher.

Miriam Pickens exhibits her pottery at the 2009 Poor Artist Sale. (File photo by Keweenaw Now)

Shop and visit with friends in a festive atmosphere and enjoy homemade baked goods at the hospitality table.

"Keweenaw Krayons will be staffing the hospitality table and have our own table right next to the table with all the goodies and coffee," says Carol Rose, Keweenaw Krayons interim director. "It’s great to network and partner with the Copper Country Community Arts Council!"

Copper Country Suzuki students will perform at 1 p.m. Renew your Arts Council membership or join for the first time.

The Poor Artists Sale is a program of the Copper Country Community Arts Council and is a benefit for the Community Arts Center located at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock. For more information call (906) 482-2333 or visit the website: www.coppercountryarts.com.