Silver Bay Library to host art reception for two local artists

Marti Mullen’s color-driven mixed-media work and Deb Wesenberg’s recreations of classic paintings will share the walls at Silver Bay Public Library, giving two local artists a public stage in a town of about 1,800 people. The reception will run Friday, May 8, from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at the library, 9 Davis Dr., and it will mark the latest two-month display in a program meant to keep local art visible in the heart of Silver Bay.

The gathering will take the form of an open-house style meet and greet in the library’s multipurpose room. That setup fits the library’s display policy, which says the goal is to highlight the abundance of artistic talent in a wide variety of media found in the local community. Priority goes to individual artists and small self-organized groups from the service area, including Silver Bay, Finland, Beaver Bay, Isabella, Little Marais and surrounding areas.

The library has been building toward this role for months. A 2025 newsletter from Friends of the Library said the newly remodeled Silver Bay Library reopened last fall and that patron use has been at an all-time high. It also said a hanging system was purchased and installed in the new activity room so local art could be displayed. The first round of artists was selected as a kickoff for the two-month exhibition program, and a late-2025 account described the library’s first juried local artists display.

Mullen brings a body of work rooted in place and process. She works in oil pastels, acrylics, collage and mixed media, using color, line, shape, layering and mark making to connect painting to the natural world around her. In a profile last fall, Mullen said she usually starts with a palette of color rather than a goal in mind. The same profile noted that her work has been shown at Cove Point Lodge and North Shore Area Partners in Silver Bay, and that she is part of the North Shore Artists League.

Wesenberg’s work takes a different path, but it comes from the same local spirit of experimentation. She began recreating famous paintings after one of her children asked her to paint Van Gogh’s The Olive Trees. What started with limited painting experience grew into what she now calls her Famous Paintings Collection, shaped by family encouragement and repeated practice.

For Silver Bay, the reception does more than fill a calendar slot. It helps anchor the library as a civic space where residents can see local talent, spend time in the building and connect around something other than books alone. In a small community, that kind of low-cost cultural venue can help drive foot traffic, strengthen neighborhood identity and keep public space feeling shared rather than purely transactional.