Lakewood Memorial Chapel

It never ceases to amaze me…the chapel at Lakewood Cemetery, on Lake Bde Maka Ska (previously Lake Calhoun). My paternal grandparents, and a beloved aunt, are buried in this picturesque cemetery. That is how I discovered the chapel. I didn’t know about it before I went to the cemetery to see the family graves. Since my discovery, I do visit the chapel occasionally, and often bring friends or out-of-town guests there, if they have not seen the stunning chapel.

My paternal grandmother’s gravestone.

The cemetery itself seems like an extra special place. Two Hundred and Fifty acres of mature trees, lush grass, and rolling hills with magnificent tombstones and monuments.  I learned on my last visit, the grounds of the cemetery are an accredited arboretum. I would assume my grandparents chose to lie in rest at this cemetery because of its beauty and proximity to a city lake. I know my grandmother loved the water, as do I. And as did Auntie Ag.

The Lakewood Cemetery Memorial Chapel.

The Memorial Chapel was completed in 1910. It is the centerpiece of the cemetery.   It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is a work of art; an excellent example of Byzantine mosaic art. I’m not sure why more attention isn’t given to this edifice. It is said, if this chapel were in Europe, thousands would visit it. 

“The dome is 40 feet high and ringed with 24 stained glass windows, set in copper and serves as a sundial. Twelve angels adorn the door, relating to the Old Testament’s 12 sons of Jacob, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gates to the Holy City and the 12 disciples of Christ in the New Testament.” There is a lot of symbolism within the artwork, explained in the brochure.
A zoomed-in image of one of twelve angels in the dome…all small mosaic tiles.

The chapel at Lakewood Cemetery is open to the public daily, when not reserved for special events, such as weddings or funerals. When we were there with our son and his family recently, there was a sound check going on so it was closed to the public, however a woman came over to us and said if we kept silent, she would open the doors so we could peak into the chapel to see the magnificent dome, its amazing walls, and its beautiful mosaic. 

From the brochure:

"In 1906, Lakewood’s trustees formed a committee to guide the chapel development and solicit design concepts from leading architects.

In 1908 the Lakewood Building committee hired Harry Wild Jones, a prominent Minneapolis architect.

In 1909 the Lakewood Board of Trustees commissioned New York interior designer Charles Lamb to design the interior. He suggested a Byzantine mosaic design based on the interior of the San Marco Cathedral in Venice.

Lamb traveled to Rome to enlist six of Italy’s most accomplished mosaic artists, who had just completed a project at the Vatican. In Venice they created more than 10 million mosaic pieces, from marble, stone and glass fused with gold and silver [for the Lakewood Memorial Chapel].

The tiles, no larger than a fingernail, were attached to gummed cloth and shipped to Minneapolis. The artist themselves arrived in the summer of 1909 and painstakingly assembled the masterpiece inside the chapel."

The chapel was completed in 1910.
“The alcove at the front of the chapel is lined with entwined mosaic olive trees, whose fruit is known for healing properties.”

Today the chapel stands virtually unchanged in appearance from the day it was completed.

One of four large mosaic figures that represent the virtues of Love, Hope, Memory and Faith. They adorn the side walls below the dome. This particular figure is “Hope”.

If I lived close to this impressive – dazzling – spectacular chapel, I’m confident I would find myself visiting more frequently, just sitting inside and being still.

 

Copper doors and mosaic tiles and lots of detail are in this architectural masterpiece.
Be still and know that I am God.  
Psalm 46:10

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

Recently on a road trip to Dubuque, my friend and I decided to begin our day in church. St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, built in 1896, is on the National Register of Historical Places for its architecture, its history in the region, and its Tiffany glass. We were interested in seeing the Tiffany glass.

Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933) was a world renown artist. He created his own unique glass, which he used to make spectacular windows, lamps and more. 

A classic Tiffany iris, as part of one window.

His windows are made of multi-layers of glass, with iridescence/opulence qualities and deep, rich colors. 

 “Tiffany believed that this new material (his new creation and technique) … enabled form to be defined by the glass itself rather than by painting onto the glass.” The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art

There is much to learn about this artist’s glass and his magnificent works. Click here for more information: Tiffany Glass.

To see this display of Tiffany windows in St. Luke’s was a treat. The church is open to the public for viewing the Tiffany windows during the week, and offers weekly church services on Sunday. 

There was a short 11-minute video clip we watched as we sat surrounded by these beautiful glass windows. 

The windows had been meticulously restored a few years ago at the cost of $40,000 per window.

This is one of the three Tiffany lamps in the church.

There were also three Tiffany glass chandeliers in the church. There were even Tiffany glass windows in the restrooms!

Looking up to the balcony.

In the Midwest, there are only a few places that have Tiffany glass windows. We were grateful one of those places was Dubuque, Iowa.

My favorite window: The Good Shepherd.

As we left the sanctuary, we noticed a sign that read, “If you think our windows are beautiful…you should meet our people!”

What a pleasant way to start our day.

The National Quilt Museum

As I mentioned in my previous post, we stopped at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky on our way home from North Carolina. I had heard about this museum, and, since it was not too far off our route, we decided to stop and check it out.

This forest scene is probably my favorite quilt.

It did not disappoint, however I thought it would be larger and Gary thought it would be smaller, but it was just right. 

Another favorite quilt….

This national museum displays, and collects, contemporary quilts…made within the last thirty years. There are no antique or restored quilts here.

And another…

In the main gallery there are several astonishing quilts to peruse. What craftsmanship…

What artistic ability…

What creativity…

We learned a few quilts are changed out every few weeks in the main gallery, so the exhibit is constantly changing.

There were various quilts on display. All lovely…

All intricate…

Another favorite…

All interesting…

All spectacular…

All different…

There were temporary exhibits too, which were interesting and fun to see. One was an exhibit of quilts students K-12 had made, as their first attempt at quilting. 

There was an exhibit of miniature quilts. 

This is a miniature quilt. A miniature quilt has to be 24″x24″ or less. I think most were 12″x12″.

There were two temporary exhibits by two different textile artists.

Special exhibit: Valerie C. White “Roots and Refuge”
Another piece by Valerie C. White. I liked this one because we saw Guinea Fowl in Africa and I loved their polka dot feathers.

Quilts are truly works of art. We both enjoyed this stop. It was worth our time to stretch our legs, relax, and enjoy exquisite artistry of quilt making.

An up close snippet… for you Frances.

The Tunnels in Northfield

There was a major street renovation in our town recently. The intersection by the high school and middle school was transformed into a round-about, and four tunnels were added for pedestrians and bicyclists to use to avoid crossing the busy intersection. In the beginning, I wondered how much sense it made since it was costly. But now that it is completed, and working smoothly, I do like the results.

A future section of the Mill Towns State Trail will run through one of the tunnels.

To top it off, the city included monies for a public art display in the tunnels. There were bids for the job… muralists (artist’s self-identifier) had to submit their work and be chosen. For this public art display, Adam Tuman was the chosen artist. 

The muralist: Adam Turman.

We have seen his work before. Several years ago, our son hired Adam to paint a beautiful mural on the outside wall of his office building in Uptown, Minneapolis. The mural included scenes of the uptown area (where the office is located) and signs of technology (the business). 

Mural of the Uptown area on our son’s office building, in Uptown.
Another section of the cityscape view on the office building.

I also saw an exhibit of Adam Turman’s artwork at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, MN.

Now, here he is in Northfield, painting beautiful, illustrated works to highlight our town and its surrounding area.

Bridge over the Cannon River in downtown Northfield.

The other day we went to see how the tunnels were progressing and Adam was working. We introduced ourselves and struck up a conversation with him. Adam was very friendly and engaging and we were so glad to meet him. Of course, he remembered doing the mural for our son. We are thrilled Adam was chosen to do this public art display in Northfield. He has almost completed his work on the four tunnels. 

Ruins of an old mill in Dundas, MN.

The colors are vibrant.

Bright colors.

The themes so apropos to our area.

Hidden Falls in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

The painting so artistically appealing.

Prairie cone flowers.
I love the added touch; a bee.

You get a sense of being a part of something big as you walk through the tunnels.

This woodpecker scene is still a work in progress.

There will be 16 scenes representing four sections when he is through with this project: Cannon River, Nerstrand Big Woods, Prairie, and Oak Savannah.

Kayaks on the Cannon.
An up-close snipit.
Trout Lilies.
A barred owl.
A chickadee.

Adam Turman does amazing work, and it is definitely worth a trip to see these tunnels in Northfield.

Adam’s signature.

Literary Steps

It caught my attention while driving down Division Street in Northfield. Someone painted the steps leading up to the library. I stopped on the way back from my errand to take a closer look.

This caught my attention while driving past the library.
The upper portion.

I stopped and immediately started photographing the steps while oohing and aahing over the fantastic idea and amazing artwork to a woman with a broom, tidying up the steps. I said I love this new paint exhibit and asked her if she knew who the artist was…she said, “Me!” She was a long-time children’s librarian in Northfield, and has since retired. She loves children’s books, as do I.

A pop-up book by Eric Carle.

Kathy Ness, the artist, applied for a Main Street Artist’s Grant and was awarded monies for “Literary Steps”.

Harold is painted off to the side.

The art teacher from Spring Creek Elementary School (formerly Sibley Elementary) offered to help her and so the two of them painted this beautiful piece of art.

Kathy was putting the actual book near the step representing it. This is one of her favorite children’s books: Stop That Pickle!

She painted replicas of children’s book spines on the 16 steps going up (I counted more) to the Division Street side of the Northfield Public Library. She asked the community for suggestions for the book titles and chose 16 titles from the list.

Dear World: a book of poems.

Many of the books I have read, but I got a few new ideas to check out. One of my children’s favorites, “The Little Engine That Could” did not make the list. 

Max!

I love this beautiful artwork on public display in downtown Northfield. It definitely adds to the unique and wonderful place we call home.

Sky Art

An unusual jet vapor trail, or a cloud? Either way…it was fun to watch.

My husband says it a jet vapor trail, I say it’s a cloud, but whatever it is, it made for beautiful sky art this morning over Lake Superior.

A sliver of the moon is visible too, but not captured on camera. Actually at 5 am I woke up and the yellow/orange sliver was shining brightly and reflecting on the waters of
Lake Superior.
The sunrise from our deck, on this Monday morning in March, at our cozy cabin on Lake Superior. A high of 48 degrees today.

LOVE

There is a new mural in town. LOVE.

A large, painted mural on 4th Street, in Northfield.

It is on 4th street – painted on the outside wall of Domino’s Pizza, to the north.

The artist’s signature.

The artist’s signature is Brett Whitacre. He’s from Illinois but I don’t know much about him, or the mural other, than “I like it.” 

I like the black and white contrast to the colorful letters spelling LOVE.

It’s a beautiful and colorful addition to our charming downtown Northfield. 

A view from across the street.

I’m grateful the Northfield city administrators and area residents appreciate these kinds of artistic endeavors.

Here is a link to my friend’s blog, Minnesota Prairie Roots. It has more information on the artist and the mural.

This mural is a creative reminder for us to love one another.

Nature’s Art

Nature’s art is everywhere…unique and beautiful!

This particular “tree stump art” took me by surprise. While riding my bike I rode past a friend’s house and she was out in her driveway so I stopped and we chatted for a few minutes (6’ apart). She told me to take a look at her tree stump in her backyard so I did. I asked her who created the design and she said “bugs”!

Photo by cb

I thought a pattern was burned into the stump to create art…but bugs created the artwork all by themselves. It was striking.

Trails in the stump made by bugs. Photo by cb

That week we took a hike at Cannon Valley Wilderness Park near Faribault and saw the creative work of eagles. There in the treetops were two giant nests and an eagle was sitting in one of them.

Of course spring flowers are nature’s art…Wilderness Park was full of Spring Beauty, a tiny pink spring flower carpeting the ground in many places throughout the park. Unfortunately my photo didn’t turn out.

Nature’s art is in clouds…

and tulips…

Bark with lattice work.

and tree bark…

Our pair of resident cardinals eating at the bird feeder attached to our window. It looks like they are perching on the back of our chair!

and birds. It’s all around us. God’s handiwork. 

Look and see that the Lord is good…the beauty of the Lord is all around us.

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

Artist-In-Residence

As I entered the Northfield Retirement Center I read a notice on the chapel door inviting people to watch an Artist-in-Residence paint a nativity scene.  

The notice depicting the different stages of the nativity painting.

Apparently there were two opportunities to see the artist, Mark Daehlin, at work. The session for final touches to his painting was on Saturday. I was visiting a resident, not going to the program, but as I left the center I snapped a photo of the artist in action. I liked his painting style.

The artist, Mark Daehlin, at work.

I thought this was a great opportunity for the residents at the retirement center.

This was how far along this painting was before the artist started his final session.

The final product was going to used during the upcoming Christmas Eve service in the chapel.

A poinsettia tree in the lobby of NCR.

Ploughing In Style

The other day as we drove by Memorial Park in Northfield we noticed the city snowploughs sitting in the swimming pool’s parking lot. And then we noticed the blades were painted with vibrant colors and wonderful pictures. 

We stopped to look at the interesting paint jobs. Later, I returned to take photos and to read the signs posted next to each machine, but they did not tell me what I wanted to know. 

But what I assume is this was an art project done by the students at St. Dominic’s School…in different grade levels. It seems a student created their own work of art by re-creating another artist’s painting. Then the student, or group of students, painted their rendition on the snowplough blades.

The ploughs were on display for a short while at Memorial Park. The signs next to each plough showed a photo of the original painting and told about the original artist. The student’s grade level were on the blades, but no recognition for the student artist(s).

It must have been a fun, new and creative way to paint.

I’m glad I was able to take pictures to show off the beautiful machines that will be clearing our streets in Northfield this winter.