Before I moved to Minnesota, I’d heard about this northern clime primarily in terms of cold: frigid, long months of winter and the many layers of clothing required to survive its severe temps; snow-pack so thoroughly chilled by February that the ground squeaks when you walk on it.

I expected this region’s formidable cold. What caught me off guard, however, were the summers. Up here, the warmer months make up for their relative brevity with verdant explosions of growth and long stretches of seemingly perfect weather. Rich in abundant lakes and big, old-growth woods, lush river valleys laced with sumac and prairie tall grasses punctuated with wildflowers in every shape and hue — this place is paradise in the summertime.

I’m a native West Texan — I’ve never experienced such exuberant landscapes. I suspect that has something to do with why I’m so charmed by the work in “Summer Dreams III” at St. Paul’s Grand Hand Gallery. The show includes handblown glass by Jim and Renee Engebretson alongside sculptural fiberglass paintings by Jantje Visscher, and the collection beautifully captures the distinctively generous character of the warm season up here.

The Engebretsons have been making vivid, sandblasted, blown-glass pieces together for 20 years: graceful vessels that call to mind the play of light on the lake or cattails swaying in a July breeze. The design sensibility in these pieces strikes me as particularly Scandinavian: Clean lines, organic forms, dressed up with the cheery colors of a world in full bloom.

Visscher’s “Drawings in Light” are the standouts of the lot, to my eye — delicate sculptural forms which deftly render the kinetic undulations of sunshine and shadow in so many shades of pale. Her paintings on fiberglass are notable for their textured layers of saturated color and plays on symmetry and geometry, with patterning akin to intersections of woven grass or concentric ripples on still water. All told, it’s a lovely, understated show filled with perceptive work, marked by the fine craftsmanship and artisanal touches of seasoned artists at the top of their game.

“Summer Dreams III” is on view through August 21 at the Grand Hand Gallery, 619 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 55102; 651-312-1122.