DuluthLISC.org

Art Turns to Ice in Central Hillside Public Art Project

By: Christa Lawler, Duluth News Tribune

Kristen Pless, Dan Neff and Daniel Schutte gathered ice for their art sculpture from the beach in Canal Park. Submitted photo

Cigarette butts, an old tire, a beer can and McDonald’s wrappers are considered blight when they’ve been thrown on the ground. But two local visual artists and an environmentalist plan to use the litter as frozen fixtures in a public art installation in Duluth.

On Saturday morning, Kristen Pless, Dan Neff and Daniel Schutte will assemble a 9-foot ice sculpture in the shape of a waterfall adjacent to the blue bridge in the yard of the Central Hillside Community Center, 12 E. Fourth St. It will include slabs of ice formed on Lake Superior and harvested from the beach in Canal Park, and premade ice chunks filled with found trash collected on Fourth Street in the hillside.

The trio responded to a call for artists in the fall by the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, Duluth and Superior Arts District Development Committee and Duluth Local Initiatives Support Corp., who were looking to build creative clusters and bring attention to the artists who live and work in the area.

This team’s message: “We all felt very strongly about our resources here, with Lake Superior,” Neff said. “We, as Duluthians, have an important job as keepers of the lake. We wanted to communicate that to the people in the area where our piece is being installed.”

In similar public art installations around the country, residents have filled the bough of a tree with snowballs, thrown seed bombs into cracks in pavement, or allowed a prom dress to freeze among icicles.

    Published November 20 2009

   Central Hillside Will Get Its Market Back

    By: Andy Greder, Duluth News Tribune

When his home-cooked dinner didn’t taste just right, Central Hillside resident Scott Yeazle would hustle to the nearby 4th Street Market and Deli to buy that missing spice. Other times, he’d pop in to buy a hot taco for his wife. But for about seven months, Yeazle and the rest of the Central Hillside have been without their neighborhood full-service grocery store. It closed in April, but come December, the doors at 102 E. Fourth St. will reopen, showing a remodeled storefront and new management.

“It was very missed in the hillside when it closed,” said Yeazle, an active volunteer in the neighborhood. “I’m excited. I can’t wait for it to open up.”

The Hurlbut-Zeppa Charitable Trust, which owns the property, has signed a lease with father-son pair Tom and Matt Potter, who also operate the Hillside ICO convenience store on Sixth Avenue East and Sixth Street. “When we were over there showing it or meeting with contractors, people came up to the door and want to buy stuff,” said Keir Johnson, managing agent of the trust. “It’s a neighborhood tradition; it’s a gathering place. It’s a place that anchors the community as well as serving a need for basic groceries and foodstuffs.”

Brendan Hanschen, a community organizer in Central Hillside, said the complexion of the neighborhood changed without the market. “People would meet up at the market and it gave you the opportunity to talk to your neighbors and meet them,” said Hanschen, neighborhood project coordinator for Neighborhood Housing Services. “There was a nice sense of community there.”

Matt Potter wants the market to return to its place as a destination. “It’s going to be a really community-driven store,” Potter said. “We think the community really needs it, and that is what we’ve heard from everyone.”

San Marco - No Losers!

No Losers examines the unexpected success of the controversial New San Marco Apartments in downtown Duluth which provides supportive housing for homeless chronic alcoholics. Duluth stakeholders responded with considerable skepticism when project developers Rick Klun of Superior, and Gary Olson of Duluth promised that the San Marco would dramatically reduce police contacts and detox days.But the results exceeded these expectations.

Produced by Superior filmmaker Dan Woods of Clarity Films, No Losers was broadcast regionally by PBS eight. Cameraman Steve Ash, associate producer Riki McManus, music composer Bruce Bowers and graphic artist Rachael Stene are included in the credits.
No Losers was funded by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Minnesota Housing, the National Equity Fund & Duluth LISC, the Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment and Center City Housing.

This is the second regional Emmy nomination for Dan Woods, who is in production on a third independent documentary, tentatively entitled Look It In The Eye, which examines the success of four northlanders who confront and manage their own mental illnesses.

For futher information contact:
    * http://midwestemmys.org
    * Teresa Vickery, Marketing By Design/National Television Academy, Upper Midwest Chapter,  952-474-7126
    * Dan Woods, Clarity Films, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 715-392-4457
    * Rick Klun at Center City Housing, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 218-722-7161
    * Gary Olson, Center for Alcohol and Drug Treatment, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 218-723-8444.

A limited number of complimentary DVDs of No Losers are available at Center City Housing Corporation, (218) 722-7161.