Mosaic art is fascinating to me. I recently posted about four mosaic panels as public art in Lanesboro, MN. There is another huge, mosaic public art display in Duluth. It is a wall of images made with ¾” x ¾” ceramic tiles, using only seven different colors. The mosaic wall is 12 x 590 foot long.
The Lake Place Image Wall is along Duluth’s new Lakewalk…with a boardwalk, and bicycle and scooter lanes.
Another view of the Lake Place Image Wall.
According to the information plaque…the Lake Place Image Wall consists of 1.29 million tiles that were placed on 12”x12” grids. Eight people worked for eight weeks to complete this wall. It was finished in 1990.
A ship image from a photograph.
Sandra and Mark Marino provided the artistic composition and production for this piece. The mosaic images, made from the tiles, are based on photographs from Duluth’s waterfront history.
A little easier to detect the small, ceramic tiles in this photo.
Duluth’s original lake walk was damaged during four major storms: one in 2017, two in 2018 and one in 2019. Finally the lake walk had to be reconstructed (and improved) and it has now reopened.
Looking towards the lighthouses in Duluth Harbor.
The 590’ mosaic wall is along Duluth’s Lakewalk, as are wonderful vistas of the great Lake Superior, and Duluth’s waterfront.
A view of the Ariel Bridge from a different point on the Duluth Lakewalk.
There is a lot of public art in Lanesboro, Minnesota, starting as soon as you enter town, in the parking lot close to the downtown area.
One of several haikus posted in the general parking lot in Lanesboro.
On each lamp post in the parking lot is a plaque with haikus posted for people to enjoy. The haikus are responses to the Lanesboro Arts Poetry Series. What a fun way to welcome people to town.
The plaque reads: 1893 Chicago Bridge Co.
We walked away from the parking lot toward town on a path that led us over the Root River on an historic bridge, now a pedestrian bridge, built in 1893. The bridge leads you to a side street in town. And there, on the side of a brick building, is a wonderful public art display of four mosaic panels.
1 of 4 mosaic panels.
The bike trail and rolling hills and farm fields near Lanesboro.
Mosaics have always intrigued me. I’m fascinated to see images and pictures created from small, colorful tiles, or stones and other such elements (in this case some pieces of mirrors).
2 of 4 mosaic panels. An eagle over land and river, a big-wheel trike in the foreground, and flowers.
These panels were the results of an Artist in Residence project in 2017. The artist, Bailey Aaland, involved the community in making these panels which, I think, adds a special touch.
The plaque explaining the mosaic public art pieces.
According to the artists plaque, she offered mosaic making sessions to community members, mirrors were donated by local residents to be used in the mural, and participants, working off Bailey’s outline, “helped shape the design throughout the creation process.”
3 of 4 mosaic panels. Tractors and bicycles on land, near river.
The results were four very creative, beautiful depictions of the surrounding areas of Lanesboro…the bike trail, the farm fields, the bluffs, the river.
4 of 4 mosaic panels. A bridge, fish, land and river.
It’s a wonderful display, showing off the area, and the collaborative work of the community, for the enjoyment of all people.
A mural in an empty space on Lanesboro’s main street.
Another public art piece in Lanesboro is on the main street, in an empty green space between buildings. It is a colorful, painted mural of the town’s name, providing a photo op for many people. There are picnic tables in this area too, offering space for people to gather together to gather to visit, eat or rest. During our overnight stay there was a community event held in this outdoor space.
Little Lending Art Cupboard:
on wheels…rolled out onto main street for folks to borrow art supplies.
To encourage art, instead of a “Little Free Library” there was a “Little Lending Art Cupboard” in this same community space. The cupboard is full of art supplies, and was on wheels so it could be set out during the day and taken in at night, or kept out of the rain, and moved around town to different locations I suppose. It encouraged people to “Take what you need, leave what you can. Because everyone needs a little art in their life!” The Art Cupboard was created by Girl Scout Troop 47985. What a great idea. I haven’t seen that before.
It was delightful to take in the variety of public art displays created with the intention of sharing them with the Lanesboro community and its many visitors.
The Habberstad House Bed & Breakfast in Lanesboro, Minnesota is a charming, historic B&B. We had a delightful weekend there, eating breakfasts…and in the Lanesboro area, riding bikes…antique shopping…attending plays…walking…eating pie and ice cream, and other delicious food.
The historic Habberstad House Bed and Breakfast.
The beautiful Habberstad House where we stayed, was built in 1897, by Mr. Habberstad who was a banker. He and Mr. Scanlan partnered together to bring a bank to Lanesboro. One man was catholic and the other was protestant, an unusual business partnership back in the day. The Scanlan House is another historic Bed and Breakfast in Lanesboro, built by Mr. Scanlan…two blocks away from Mr. Habberstad’s house.
A side view of the Habberstad House.
Besides being a residential home for a couple different families over the years, the Habberstad House’s history includes being a nursing home for a short period, and also a hospital. Our room had previously been the maternity ward, or birth center, where babies were born.
We stayed two nights at the B&B. Our Innkeepers thought of every little detail and the B&B is top-rated on Trip Advisor for 2021. The house has five rooms to rent, plus a carriage house over the garage.
The gardens in front of the Carriage House.
The rooms were well-appointed and clean and each had a private bathroom. The house is so pretty, and well-maintained. The inside parlors were inviting, as was the large outdoor front porch, with rocking chairs and a swing!
A view from the second floor porch.
There were colorful gardens with a fountain on the side of the house, including benches – to sit and enjoy the flowers.
Gardens at the B&B.
I always like a whimsical touch.
The Innkeeper, Elaine, was welcoming, informative and engaging. And a fabulous cook.
The first morning’s breakfast. photo by ta
The breakfasts were amazing…tasty and colorful and huge portions. Each morning the first course was a fruit compote, followed by a full plate of eggs, meat, fruit or veges. The food was presented in an appetizing way, besides being delicious. We had good breakfast-mates too, and therefore good conversation each morning around the dining room table. Our breakfasts lingered for one to one and a half hours. What a luxury.
The Habberstad House B&B.
It had been awhile since we stayed at a B&B, but this delightful experience reminded us how special they are. Elaine, our hostess, alerted us to several other B&B’s in the surrounding areas. I’m ready to try others for sure, but we’d also come back to the Habberstad House. They set the bar high.
We enjoyed another bike ride on a rail to trail system…the Root River Trail, formerly the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. We started our ride at the trailhead in Lanesboro.
It’s an easy-going trail that winds along the Root River and offers a lot of shade and a lot of views of the Root River. The river was flowing swiftly because of recent rains in the area – a welcome sight after seeing many signs of drought lately.
We rode the most popular section of the trail (and beyond) on Saturday morning. It was busy but not crowded. However, when we arrived at the town of Whalen, known for its wonderful pie shop, there were lots of people congregated along the trail. Of course we stopped too, for pie, even though we had eaten a fabulous, and substantial, breakfast at the B&B we were staying at in Lanesboro. The pie was yummy!
A portion of the Root River Trail.
It was humid, but we felt the cool breeze from biking. On our way back it did start to rain, but just lightly, and we were ok with that since most of our state needs rain. It didn’t “dampen” our spirits.
I was intrigued to see this placard along the trail featuring part of a poem, “The Ghost Tree Speaks” by Richard J. Dorer. It “spoke to me”. I like trees, nature, words.
Back home I looked online for the poem and found it is also a book title, so I believe the placard is an excerpt from the poem. I also found this quote by the author Richard J. Doer:
“The charred body of a burned tree, a ghost tree, stands in a blackened swath in Minnesota’s wilderness forest. Through the years the tree watched seasons pass, and with them generations of animals and men–Indians, voyageurs, pioneers, timber-cruisers. Finally, a moment of man’s carelessness with a match denied the tree the fulfilling destiny of being a ship’s mast, a sheltering house, or a sturdy floor. Eventually he will fall and Mother Earth will take him back in her embrace.”
It was another great trail ride, with an interesting twist.
Southeastern Minnesota is a beautiful part of our state. Recently we drove through green forested, rolling hills, along winding roads, dotted with small farms and small towns, to a cute, little camping cabin in a state park for a camping weekend.
SE Minnesota
One of the small towns we passed through was Houston, population 979. It is the trailhead for the Root River State Trail. The recreational trail (bicycles, walkers, runners) begins in Houston and has 42 miles of paved trail that leads through Lanesboro and on in to Fountain, MN. It connects with the Harmony-Preston Valley State Trail, which adds an additional 18 miles of paved trails, and makes for a great trail system.
One day we drove to Houston to begin a biking adventure, and during our brief time in Houston we discovered a few interesting things.
First, outside the trail center was a wooden bench carved in the shape of a mother owl spreading her wings over her owlets. It is a beautiful piece of art…and functional art for all to enjoy.
A beautiful carved bench outside the Houston Trail Center building.
Then, right in the back yard of the center as we started down the trail we passed two sandhill cranes in the park. On our way back the cranes were in the same area so we stopped to take photos. Sandhill cranes are big, beautiful, sleek birds and are always a delight to see.
Two sandhill cranes going this way….
…and that way.
While looking at the cranes we noticed something else in the grass…a sundial of some sort. We quickly found the sign that explained it: an Analemmatic Sundial. We had never seen a “clock” quite like this…
The explanation/instruction sign.
On the ground is a cement square plaque with roman numerals indicating different hours. There is a rectangle plaque within the square with the twelve months etched in certain places. You step on the month and notice where your shadow falls and it indicates the hour of the day….and it was accurate! How does that work?
The Analemmatic Sundial.
I had never heard of this word analemmatic. I looked it up and it means: a plot or graph of the position of the sun in the sky at a certain time of day at one locale measured throughout the year.
We enjoyed seeing these different sightings in Houston and we had a great bike ride on this end of the Root River trail.
