An arts revival in Marine on St. Croix

Tom Maakestad spent most of November giving his art studio above the Marine General Store a makeover. Now he's ready to show it off.

Last weekend he opened his annual holiday art show featuring sculpture by his brother, Erik, and stunning paintings by Stillwater painter Kami Polzin. Tom Maakestad also has 10 paintings in the show, which continues from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday and throughout the week by appointment.

Of course, Tom Maakestad is proud of the 1,200-square-foot gallery and painting studio where he's worked for the past four years, and the art that is on display. But he sees the show as having a larger purpose: Showcasing Marine on St. Croix, the small northern Washington County city of about 600, much of which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a historic site by the state of Minnesota.

"We have a ceramics tour on Mother's Day weekend and that gets a lot of people to the [St. Croix] Valley," he said. The Marine Art Fair in the fall draws well, too, but the city doesn't see as much traffic the rest of the year.

There could be more cars in town Sunday than usual. Along with Maakestad's art show, jazz legend and pianist Butch Thompson will play his annual "Home for Christmas" concert at 3 p.m. at the Marine Village Hall. From his lyrical "Silent Night" to a rollicking rendition of "Jingle Bells," the popular performance is a benefit for the Marine Restoration Society, which promotes the history and heritage of the city through a variety of programs and initiatives. Tickets are $20 and available at the General Store.

Maakestad's rehab work included reformatting the gallery space and adding a fresh paint job and new lighting to illuminate such works as Polzin's painting of the St. Croix River. The landscape depicts a "dramatic spot on the river north of town and it looks wet," Maakestad said.

The show also features a redwood and metal sculpture entitled "Intake," by Erik Maakestad, who is a professor of sculpture at Hendrix College in Little Rock, Ark.

Along with a business revival, some are trying to give the arts a boost, too.

Maakestad, who has lived in Marine for the past 14 years, said plans are in the works to begin a monthly art crawl to promote the writers, authors, painters and filmmakers who call Marine and the surrounding area home.

"There are a lot of artists in the area," said Peg Arnason, who is organizing Thompson's concert. "It's sort of a well-kept secret."