Arts Inland Northwest

Saranac's State of the Visual Arts: Final in a Series May 22, 2011

2011-05-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is the final in a series conceived by Scott Kolbo and designed to create/stimulate dialogue about the state of the arts in the Spokane area.

Speaking of Scott, who is from Whitworth College, the BFA Senior show is on at Saranac through the end of the month. Good show. Always interesting to see what is happening with emerging artists.

Tinman Gallery Schedule: 6 Month Preview

2011-05-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

I love it when galleries send me advance listings!

Check out the Peter Pan show, if you can (I think I'll be showing a piece in it, actually).

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...5 months later

2011-04-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really been 5 months since my last post? It goes in spurts, I guess. I overcome the notion that no one is reading this stuff and get really ambitious about putting out a lot of posts. And maybe I'm not so busy that I can't spare some time to actually go view other people's art. But then...after awhile...I begin to lag behind. Other things happen:

The start of third quarter grading and so lots of student projects to attend to.
The sudden (albeit fleeting) appearance of the sun, prompting me to spend inordinate amounts of time contemplating my garden and attempting to get several dozen varieties of vegetables started in the indoor greenhouse.
The realization that I will be showing work at Saranac in October and haven't done a dang thing for it yet.
The surprising invitation to show at two other places before the Saranac show in October...for which I haven't done a dang thing...and thus now have several shows for which I need to do something.
The death of a best friend, which set me on my haunches for awhile. Jeez that hurt. I miss you Melanie.

And so, here I am late in the evening when I ought to be sleeping. Finally, after 6 months, a new post. Maybe it will be the start of a new phase in posting. Too soon to tell...

Teaching the Future: Faculty Exhibition at Eastern Washington University

2010-11-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

It's a little known fact that I graduated from this university but since I already had an undergrad degree in art, I only took my educational theory classes there; I never got to fully experience the art program. Too bad. I missed out on Lanny DeVuono, who has since gone south to Colorado, and on Ruben Trejo, who has gone north or wherever it is good souls go when they pass.

I'm happy to know at least a few of the instructors, however, both through Saranac Art Projects and writing for Inlander. And I always have the best intentions to get out to the gallery in the hinterlands of Cheney, Washington (ok, not the hinterlands but in the winter the drive from North Idaho seems especially long). Maybe I'll get out there over winter break!

In the meantime, here is a taste of Faculty Exhibition 2010, featuring:

Tom Askman
Mindy Breen
Greg DuMonthier
Adrian Freuen (shown above)
Jamie Hahn
Jenny Hyde (shown at right)
Lisa Nappa
Roger Ralston
James Scarcello
Garric Simonsen
Chris Tyllia

LocationThe Eastern Washington University Gallery of Art is located in the Art building, situated in the center of the fine and performing arts complex on the south end of the EWU campus.

Gallery Hours
Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Closed weekends and holidays.

Digital Matters at Saranac Art Projects opens December 3

2010-11-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Matt Frieburghaus

Curated by EWU's Jenny Hyde, Saranac Arts Projects presents ten artists selected to participate in an exhibition of cutting-edge digital media.

Dave Beck
Jessica Westbrook
Adam Hinterlang
Richard O'Sullivan
Michal Brzinkski
Julian Palacz
Jason Bolte
Martins Rokis
Ron Lambert
Matt Frieburghaus

Richard O'Sullivan

The works include forms such as video, sound, digital print and animation. Digital_Matters will open on Dec 3 with a reception from 5 – 8 pm and run through Jan 1, 2011.

Jenny Hyde will present the works in the exhibition as well as discuss the use of digital media within fine art at Saranac Art Projects on Thursday Dec 9 at 6:30 pm.

About the Curator:
Jenny Hyde holds an MFA in Electronic Integrated Arts from Alfred University in New York and a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA. Her work has been part of numerous Media Art Festivals and exhibitions nationally and abroad. She is an Assistant Professor of Art at Eastern Washington University.

About Saranac Art Projects:
Hours: Thursdays & Fridays 12- 5 pm, Saturdays 12 – 8 pm
Located in the Community Building at 25 W. Main Street

The Ely Has Landed--Out of this World Artist has Major Exhibition at MAC through April 16

2010-11-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

I still remember my first glimpse at a Timothy Ely manuscript. It looked like an ancient artifact, perfectly preserved, as if from a time capsule. The pages--hand-tooled and bound--were covered in enigmatic characters and illustrations, flowing throughout the book like a river. Images spilled over the margins and into one another, not chaotically but intelligent-design like, secret code meant to direct us to another place, perhaps even another time.

This is the work of Tim Ely, whose Line of Sight exhibition caps a series of smaller exhibitions this year at Gonzaga University and Coeur d'Alene's The Art Spirit Gallery.

At the Museum of Arts and Culture, you can expect the unfurling of the widest range of Ely ephemera to date. From the MAC's Ben Mitchell:

Nearly 50 unique, hand-made manuscripts (he doesn’t call them “books”) covering over 35 years of his work, and, a 1957 work, his earliest unique book mad when he was a youngster. We have borrowed works from over two dozen public and private collections for the show, (but not any of those major names above because those intuitional loans are prohibitively expensive).
The centerpiece of the exhibition is an enormous graphic work—up to 20 feet wide and 10 feet tall—that Tim Ely will paint and draw directly onto the gallery’s south wall with a variety of projected forms, and with pigments, beautiful metal armatures, wire, and thread. This work, in essence an animated, open book, will exist only for the life of the exhibition.
A selection of the artist’s sketchbooks which he has been working in daily since he was an undergraduate student.
Over a dozen preliminary models for projects.
A selection of his book-making studio tools, many of which are antiques.
A selection of formative texts the artist has been referencing throughout his career, from as early as a mid-1950s pulp science fiction title that a teacher confiscated from him when he was a young student, to Tom Swift titles, comics, games, Isaac Asimov, Buckminster Fuller, Marshall McLuhan, etc
Our Solarium, adjacent to the gallery, will contain a graphic introduction to the extraordinary array of the subjects of his inquiry and art (see the attached Master List of Influences and Subjects), and photographs of the artist working in his studio. This component of the show will serve as a kind of map to Tim Ely’s unique mind.

Expect lots of media coverage, and a major fete at the opening, December 4. And you'll want to see the site-specific installation Ely will be creating for the exhibition space. Truly a magnificent show.

Upstairs Downstairs: Kota Ezawa at University of Idaho, thru December 5

2010-11-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

Kota Ezawa has made a name for himself by taking the names...and images...of others and digitially remixing them, much like the early rappers. The result is comic, but not comical; often the images are wry commentaries on such things as race, social justice, stereotypes, and pop culture.

If this exhbition, which runs through December 5 at University of Idaho's Prichard Gallery, were just the digital pieces for which Ezawa is best known, then a drive to Moscow might be a little much. However, this display includes watercolor, digital projections and film. Unfortunatley, no etchings.
From University of Idaho's press room:

“Kota Ezawa is very adept at sorting through the accumulation of images and selecting particular moments that speak to the place media holds in society,” said Roger Rowley, director of the Prichard Art Gallery. “The way he transforms source images into their presentation format highlights the process by which images become part of our collective history.”

Ezawa focuses on the contrasting streams of information and media, and weaves together coherent and cohesive statements on the impact of media fragmentation. Images and videos become part of our consciousness through a continual sifting process. These images shape society's view of history and the importance of people or events in a given time period. Ezawa strips away the density of media information through a process of digital animation, heightening the importance of what remains.

This exhibition showcases the use of technology in parallel with traditional imaging techniques. It suggests there are alternative possibilities for the future, as long as the viewer can move beyond the blind submission of a surface reading of the images that bombard society every day and pay more attention to underlying content.

“There is a vapor-ish sense to all the images that swirl around us every day,” said Rowley. “A celebrity breakup, miraculous rescue or the latest crisis are kind of there, even when we aren’t looking. What Kota does gives significance to that presence and also accentuates the distance between us as receivers of images and the many forms of media producing those images.”

In addition to the exhibit, an artist talk will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. in the University of Idaho Teaching and Learning Center, room 040. Ezawa will discuss his previous work and his current projects.

Ezawa was born in Cologne, Germany. He earned his bachelor of fine arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute and his master’s of fine arts degree from Stanford University. His solo shows include Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, Murray Guy in New York, N.Y., and the Hayward Gallery in London, England. Group exhibitions include Museum of Modern Art in New York, N.Y., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Calif., Musée d’art Moderne de la ville de Paris, France, as well as a showing in the Fifth Seoul International Biennale of Media Art in South Korea and the 2004 Shanghai Biennale in China. Ezawa received a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award in 2003. Ezawa lives and works in San Francisco, Calif.

The Prichard Art Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gallery is closed Monday. The gallery, an outreach facility of the University of Idaho, is located at 414/416 S. Main St., on the corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Moscow.

Admission is free. Additional information is available at www.uidaho.edu/galleries

Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center Holiday Soiree 2010

2010-11-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

Inland Crafts right around the corner: November 12, 2010

2010-11-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

Confidence of Value: Elaine Green

2010-11-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

Drawing isn't that complicated an art. Marks on the page. Values here and there. Expressive line. It's the foundation of most other studio skills and most artists can do it passably well.

And then there's that rare species capable of doing it in a way that seems effortless, so confident in every mark, every line and, in the case of Elaine Green, ever her erasures and rubbed out suggestions of shape and form.

Once you embrace her images, you will see like an afterimage on a blistering sunny day. Green's images are ethereal. They are echoes of a sound you can't quite identify. Truly, as Frank Lloyd Wright said, less is more.

Picasso at the Seattle Art Museum: A Date with Destiny

2010-11-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

There's something about Picasso that just knocks me out. Maybe it's the bit of trivia I still remember from high school days about his prolific output: "Adding up all the works he'd made in his lifetime equated to more than 1 per day of his artist career." Whether or not this is true is another matter entirely; what impressed me most was the truth to the adage about the WORK in artwork.

I also have come to appreciate just how inventive Picasso was/is. He was able to converse fluently in numerous different, parallel and yet equally fascinating visual languages. Exceptionally skilled at realism, he nonetheless delved into the esoterics of abstraction, excelling the artform to a standard that has held up in modern times like few others.

And Picasso was also fluent in multiple media, which suits my style of artmaking (no, I'm not comparing myself to a Picasso) in that an artist does not have to/should not have to be defined by what they "do," meaning paint, sculpt, photograph, etc. The media is not the message or the measure of the man; an artist can (and I believe should) explore things from multiple vantage points.

So what if I almost got tossed from the Museum (not really) for snapping this photo? I was actually after the quote on the wall, not the image.

"Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth."

Art and Science of Things: Malcom: Renfrew at Third Street Gallery

2010-11-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

Art and science, to me, seem kissing cousins. Add religion and you have the trifold foundation of a whole lot of human thought and activity. So it interests me that Malcolm Renfrew is an artist and chemist (and researcher). I like the synergy of that kind of brain, that kind of artist. And these watercolors remind me of Charles Scheeler, which I've always liked.

Third Street Gallery is located at 206 E. Third Street, Moscow ID hours are M-F 8-5 pm.

For more information contact us at kbruns@ci.moscow.id.us or dscallorn@ci.moscow.id.us or call us at 208-883-7036.

Saranac Arts Projects: Jamie Hahn and Roger Ralson

2010-11-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Roger Ralston: I am investigating the line between implicit and explicitly created. I have looked through a number of lenses to find and to search out the possibilities of seeing, and looking.

One way I search out possibilities is walking. I am documenting my experience of the walks, and have assembled these as meditations on the experience. Many times the walks include reflections, and wanderings into memory. In videos I am working on, I am searching for a method to enable these experiences to be viewed.

Jamie Hahn: Rhythm is a concept I've developed in my research of making interdisciplinary work. I'm interested in directing a sense of orientation as a figure (the viewer) transitions in response to the
ground (the environment). In four dimensions, time meets the moment to integrate with tactile and visual perceptual systems, shifting the figure to ground rhythm into a moment of difference within similarity.
Exterior surfaces merge with internal spaces of contemplation in an attempt to re-identify and reveal the transformative effect of moment-to-moment perception through still and moving imagery.

Dates: November 5-27, 2010
Reception: November 5, 5-8pm

Saranac Art Projects
25 W. Main Ave
Spokane, WA

Hours:
12-5 Thursday
12-8 Friday
12-5 Saturday

Gordon Wilson in November, Tinman

2010-10-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

I like Gordon Wilson. He's got such a calming manner, an ever-present thoughtfulness in his face. Energy, yes, yet more of a constancy. That shows in his work, I think, although these images were a bit of a surprise.

From his plein air experiences painting in Venice and Southern France, these are more exuberant, saturated, gooey with color and joy.

Artist's Reception: 5-9pm

TINMAN GALLERY LLC
811 West Garland Ave
Spokane WA 99205
509-325-1500

Visual Arts Tour Fall 2010

2010-10-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

KOLVA-SULLIVAN
The Ninth Annual "Archie Bray" show at Kolva-Sullivan was definitely worth the slog through sooty, torn-up streets resulting from Spokane's current reinvention of the Second Avenue area. What these exceptional artists do with clay is nothing short of amazing, and a testimony to the necessity and vitality of structured or critical review of one's work.

ON TO TERRAIN

Austin Stiegemeyer

They've struggled in the past with quality and capacity. Where some artists exhibiting might have really strong work, they didn't show enough to truly represent any range. Or the craftsmanship was sub-par, which can be true for any artist, even those who are studio-tested. This year, there were only a few works that truly fit the bill of "emerging" artist while many showed new talent that clearly were honing craft, content and concept. Some very good to really, really good stuff.

I knew a fellow educator's son had work there (shown at right) but wasn't prepared for how strong his work was. Way to go Austin. I'd be thrilled to think he learned at least some of that from his high school art teacher, the incredibly-talented and so-much-more-even-tempered-than-myself, Mary Maxam.

And, following in no particular order, are other works that struck me. I could kick myself for not having a pen to write down names. But the images made an impression.

Listen to the Saranac Arts Project podcast of the Visual Arts Symposium

2010-10-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

Saranac Symposium podcast PART ONE

Saranac Symposium podcast PART TWO

Click here to listen to the podcast of the Visual Arts Symposium from Saranac organized by our own Scott Kolbo. Good conversations.

Art in the Making in Coeur d'Alene, 2010

2010-10-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

You might not think watching someone draw is all that exciting, but it is. It's the creative process unfolding, stroke by stroke. It's the sound of creativity, in exhalations, sighs, pauses and the scuffing and sliding across the page that results in the final image. It's the feel of creativity, and even more so, of technique, a kind of tension that exists in the delicate balance between artist and subject, and even the onlooking audience.

Art in the Making will take place in the Cda Resort Plaza and features artists like Victoria Brace, Terry Lee and Pat Parsons. 1-4pm, free admission. Sponsored by our friends at The Art Spirit Gallery.

And part of the overall arts festivities for Art from the Heart. For more info, click here.

Spontaneous Explosions of Art in Spokane

2010-10-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Right outside Kolva-Sullivan was this odd but wonderful display of portraiture. What a gift. Who cares where it came from?

Normally I don't go to Spokane for First Friday but the weather was fine and it was time. Glad I did. What a weekend of art!

Spokane the Arts Town? You betcha!

2010-10-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Last night the Saranac Arts Project cooperative gallery (25 W. Main) was host to the first-ever panel discussion on the state of the arts in Spokane. Great questions, probably more than answers, and great conversations about what is working and what still can be done to improve the visibility and viability of the visual arts in Spokane,

The panel consisted of Kolva-Sullivan owner, Jim Kolva, artist Chris Dreyer, artist/professor and KYRS Readymade Radio host, Bernadette Vielbig, and myself. It was moderated by Whitworth professor and fellow Saranac artist, Scott Kolbo.

We had no idea how many would show and were pleasantly surprised to find both gallery sections filled with people who came to listen and contribute to the overall conversation. Even though I live in Idaho, I enjoy being part of the Spokane arts scene and continue to be impressed with how many varied avenues there are for artists:

Spokane Arts Commission, so ably commanded on a shoestring budget by Karen Mobley
RiverSpeak and other digital/online forums like it
Terrain, now in its third year and, judging by this year's work, a growing force in the emerging artist scene
Colleges and Universities, including Whitworth, WSU, EWU and definitely SFCC/SCC
A lot of spaces--both formal galleries and arts-supporting businesses--that encourage the arts
And the artists themselves, resilient as ever, doing everything from creating their own exhibition opportunities, to writing grants, to working with kids, to participating in events like the panel discussion.

Wish North Idaho had something similar...

First Gonzaga, now Art Spirit: Michael Horswill

2010-09-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen Drawn to the Wall at Gonzaga yet, where have you been? Great exhibition. All interesting and powerful work.

And central to the space is Michael Horswill's mind-blowing stark charcoal "Earth Machines" image, part of ongoing work that will be shown in October at The Art Spirit Gallery.

There is something powerful that happens when a sculptor unleashes form in a two-dimensional way and that potency is exactly what Horswill's work brings. The tension in the line is like finely twisted wire, the density of charcoal is the cool weight of steel in your hand.

Through November 6.

Selene Santucci at Chase Gallery thru October 29, 2010

2010-09-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of really abstract stuff, nor am I likely to get excited about colorfield work. But this is an exhibition I'd like to experience, surprisingly just based on this image (Music to My Ears) I received from Spokane Arts Commission.

There is more at work here than just color and shape; it feels strangely narrative. What intrigues me about this art--any art in fact--is when it feels like it is more than it appears. By that I mean that the artwork operates on several levels, such as close up versus far away, or both familiar and foreign. I'm drawn to that in-between-ness or sense of otherworldiness in some works, such as this one.

The Chase Gallery is located in City Hall at 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. in Spokane. An artist reception will be held in conjunction with Visual Arts Tour, on Friday, October 1, 5pm to 8pm. Gallery hours are Monday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Being OUTthere at U of I's Prichard Gallery: Iole Alessandri and Ed Mannery

2010-09-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

I can still remember when modern furniture--sleek chrome, black leather, monochromatic color schemes--fascinated me. There was something so refined, so pure about the aesthetic. And something so utterly distant from how I actually viewed the world and how, it would turn out, I would shape my world through my art.

That nostalgic fondness for something high-level and utterly modern is what attracts me to Iole Alessandrinin and Ed Mannery's exhibition “As the Camera Sees It” at Prichard Art Gallery, University of Idaho. They're wizards with technology, literally conjuring form from nowhere using light, camera, and action.

As seen from the Soil Gallery's exhibition, Alessandri also works with narrative, which appeals to me, in the sense that there is an implicit event in her light and magic show. And Mannery is just plain out-here (in a good way) with stellar experience in..stars, actually: he was chief engineer for University of Washington's Apache Point telescope project. How cool does that sound?

Iole Alessandrini (SOIL Gallery)

The Prichard Art Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gallery is closed Monday. The gallery, an outreach facility of the University of Idaho, is located at 414/416 S. Main St., on the corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Moscow.

Admission is free. Additional information is available at www.uidaho.edu/galleries.

Palouse Call for Plein Air Artists

2010-09-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

Coeur d'Alene Visionary Feted by Governor for Involvement in the Arts

2010-09-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Ruth Pratt will be honored by Governor Otter for her longstanding involvement in the North Idaho arts scene, including Idaho Nonprofit Center, the Arts and Culture Alliance of Coeur d'Alene, Spokane Public Radio, Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre and the Downtown Association, as well as numerous "big band" groups, and the Coeur d'Alene Library Foundation.

Click here for the Cda Press article.

Best of the Best: Annual Archie Bray Ceramics Exhibit at Kolva-Sullivan

2010-09-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

This exhibition features short- and long-term resident work from the prestigious Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Here you'll see some of the most interesting and innovative work in contemporary ceramics from mostly emerging and some established artists.

The State of the Visual Arts in Spokane? Saranac Arts Projects presents Panel Discussion

2010-09-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

October 2010 lineup at Tinman Gallery, Spokane

2010-09-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY, OCT 1 – Harold Balazs, “Winding Down (Non-Billable Hours)” – Artist’s Reception from 5 to 9 PM. Fresh from his retrospective at the MAC, iconic artist Harold Balazs will offer new paintings, small sculptures and works in enamel as part of the city-wide Visual Arts Tour.

Casey Klahn, “The Dramatic Landscape” – Artist’s Reception at Tinman Too from 5 to 9 PM. Award-winning pastel artist CaseyKlahn will exhibit newpaintings in his New Color series, characterized

SATURDAY, OCT 2 – Deanna Camp – Calendar Signing – 1 PM. Deanna Camp returns with a whole new collection of fanciful trout from around the world. Trout so rare, we absolutely guarantee you have never seen one. This year’s collection includes the German Short-Haired Trout, the Troutalope, and the King trout (complete with sideburns).

Scott Kolbo and Jen Erickson opening at Saranac in October 2010

2010-09-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

Saranac Art Projects will present an art exhibit, "Erickson/Kolbo: New Works," October
1-30, featuring the works of Jen Erickson and Scott Kolbo. An opening reception will be
held on October 1 from 5 to 8 pm as a part of the Spokane Visual Arts Tour.

Erickson’s drawings reflect her interest in scientific inquiries, visual information systems,
and how we form and filter personal memories. Activated by her signature process of
minimalist graphite mark-making, Erickson creates a visual language comprised of tiny
flying creatures and infinitesimally small zeros.

Kolbo’s drawings, prints, and video projections are filled with reoccurring characters and
humorously grotesque environments. His figurative work is primarily concerned with line
and tone and he often mixes hand drawn elements with photomechanical prints.

Located in the Community Building at 25 W. Main Street, SAP is a non-profit alternative
art space run by local artists and curators. Artist established, operated and supported,
SAP is a cooperative of 20-24 dedicated to supporting artists in Spokane since 2007.

Check out DRAWN to the WALL at Gonzaga

2010-09-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Click here for the link to my Inlander article. The show also features Michael Horswill, Louise Kodis and Ken Spiering.

Carolyn Stephens, from SFCC

Gordon Wilson, from Whitworth

Powerful Work at The Art Spirit: Victoria Brace and Katherine Nelson

2010-09-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

I've written about both artists before. Victoria Brace's work (Daydreamer, right) really stood out to me several years ago when I saw her paintings amongst the flotsam of Raw Space, part of the come one-come all exhibition put on by Spokane visual arts organizers.

And Katherine Nelson's black-and-white landscapes and architectural scenes (Venetian Alley, left) just continue to amaze me with their graphic qualities and depth.

Both of these artists use light, space and unusual edge-work. Great show at The Art Spirit through October 2.

Little Spokane River Artist Studio Tour September 25

2010-09-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Amanda Knowles at Whitworth College, through November 5th

2010-09-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

"Underpinnings"
September 14th -- November 5th, 2010

Opening Reception -- September 14th, 5-6 pm, Lied Art Center

Lecture by artist in the Oliver Gallery -- September 14th, 6 pm

Gallery Hours 10 a.m. -- 6 p.m., Monday -- Friday. 10:00 am -- 2:00 pm Saturday (Closed on official college holidays)

For More Information about the exhibit or opening reception, please call (509) 777-3258.

Harken Back to Yesteryar with Special Reception for Ross Hall Photos

2010-09-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

If you've never seen the Ross Hall Collection of photos, now is a great opportunity when son, Dann Hall, joins Entree Gallery and Arbor Crest Wine Cellars for a special wine-tasting reception at Elkins Resort.

Hall's photos graced the pages of the New York Times, National Geographic and Life Magazine through the 30's and 40's especially. His black-and-white photos of the Sandpoint and Priest Lake area are iconic, a visual treasure of the area and its inhabitants.

The event is September 10^th, 5-7 pm. Dinner reservations following the reception can be made by calling Elkins Resort at 208 443-2432.

The Entree Gallery, now at two locations, invites the public to view the work of these and over 120 regional artists on display. Hours for both galleries are daily, 10am-6pm. For more information, contact the Reeder Bay gallery at 208 443-2001, or the Coolin Bay gallery at (208) 443-2002.

TERRAIN Reclaiming Territory: Artists Needed

2010-09-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Terrain announces its 2010 call for artist’s submissions

Spokane, Washington - August 25, 2010 — Last year 3100 people piled into Spokane’s Music City building to view an exhibition of over 30 emerging local artists — some of whom had never shown in a gallery, coffee shop or public setting of any kind. In one night they gained the kind of exposure that takes years to achieve.

For Terrain 2010, organizers are reasserting their commitment to highlighting this bubbling undercurrent of emerging local talent. We’d like to invite the region’s emerging artists to submit their latest work.

In our two years of existence, Terrain has shown works of visual art, sculpture, fiber art, photography, graffiti, film and installation pieces ranging from trash mosaics to mini suspended aquaria with live goldfish. We’ve showcased pop bands, dance troupes and poets. We make no distinction between high art and low art — we simply want to showcase emerging artists with talent and fresh perspectives.

Please submit online at www.terrainspokane.com.

Submissions are due to the website by September 10 at midnight. Artists selected will by notified by September 17. We will be jurying specific pieces of art, so please only submit pieces that are available for the event.

Terrain 2010 will take place at the Music City Building (1011 W. First Ave., Spokane) on Friday, October 1 beginning at 5 pm and ending at 1:30 am.

ABOUT TERRAIN: Terrain was conceived in 2008 by a group of young organizers obsessed with helping their peers get noticed by the art establishment. Their idea was to host a juried exhibition (which would carry credibility with the establishment) with the atmosphere of a pop concert (the event had an emcee and a half dozen local and regional bands and artists), with the intent of giving all ages of people, regardless of taste in art or music, an excuse to come together, make contact and facilitate art that stretches across traditional boundaries.

Terrain 2010 is going to be an incredible night of art, rock and community. Join us.

For more information or to schedule interviews, contact Luke Baumgarten at lukebaumgarten@gmail.com.

www.terrainspokane.com
www.facebook.com/terrainspokane

Putting it on the Line: Carrie Scozzaro at Saranac with Lance Sinnema

2010-09-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

For all that I write about OTHER people's art, this month I put it on the line and showed my own work. Check it out at the Saranac through September 25. Here are some photos from the day after the opening, which was great. Loved seeing so many friends and meeting new people. And always interesting to get reactions to my work!

Alexis Gregg and Tanner Coleman Exhibit at Moscow's Prichard Art Gallery

2010-09-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho's Prichard Art Gallery will showcase the artwork created by Alexis Gregg and Tanner Coleman, Wednesday, Aug. 18 through Sunday, Sept. 12. A reception will be held on Friday, Aug. 27, from 5-8 p.m.

The exhibit will feature sculptures and ceramic artwork created by Gregg and Coleman. Inspired by the Asian influence and the use of mythical defense mechanisms used in art and architecture throughout history, the works exemplify how mythical sculpture has played a meaningful role in religion and life.

“We are emphasizing the aesthetic beauty over the purpose,” said Gregg.

The exhibit features pieces that utilize sculpted industrial brick with glazed ceramic adornment. Through the combination of ceramic techniques and architecture, Gregg and Coleman reinvent historical ideas and styles through sculpture.

“We are interested in how this technique can be scaled up and down and how it can be applied to permanent projects, public art and architecture,” said Gregg.

Gregg will teach a beginning clay course this fall at the University of Idaho as a visiting artist and will introduce students to the use of architectural ceramic. Gregg earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts in ceramics from the University of Georgia and a master's degree in fine arts in ceramics from California State University, Long Beach. She has taught art and ceramics to children and adults.

“The exhibit is a wonderful way to meet the visiting artist in the Art & Design program,” said Roger Rowley, Prichard Art Gallery director. “Visiting artists add energy and vitality. Alexis’ presence will meet the needs of students interested in ceramics. The exhibit gives an opportunity for the university and community to understand what Alexis and Tanner bring to Moscow.”

Coleman draws inspiration from human relationships with natural surroundings and each other. He earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts in sculpture from the University of Georgia.

The Prichard Art Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gallery is closed Monday. The gallery, an outreach facility of the University of Idaho, is located at 414/416 S. Main St., on the corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Moscow.

Admission is free. Additional information is available at http://www.uidaho.edu/galleries> .

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Glass at the JACC, Post Falls

2010-09-02T17:02:00.001-07:00

Gallery at the JACC

Ongoing through September 10th
The Glass Art & Jewelry Show with Paintings by Dixie Orzell and Kirk Barber: This show features glass artists Kim Huender, Cindy Summers and Louise Telford and jewelry artists Bonnie Cooper, Nancy Hansen, Mary Lou Hawks, Susan Jacklin, Kathy LeFrancis, Catherine Noble, Christine Owens, Patty Pierce and Laurie Schafer. The gallery is free and open to the public during our regular business hours, Monday through Friday from 10 am to 2 pm, and during special events; for more information call (208) 457-8950.
Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, 405 N William Street, Post Falls, ID, www.jacklincenter.org

Shaken Not Stirred: Martini Mixoff benefits St. Vincent ART ON THE EDGE

2010-09-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendar. September 18, 2010 is the date for the second annual Martini Mix-Off, where yours truly (accompanied by Mr. Meat-and-Potatoes) will be a guest judge.

This benefit (which involves imbibing alcohol for a good cause) will be held at the Eagles in Cda. Local bartenders and businesses from around the area will be competing for top-props as master mixologists while guests (for $45/ticket) will sample the wares of such places as 315 Tapas, Cda Casino and Bardenay. You can even dress up as your favorite James Bond character!

Click here for more info.

A little about Art on the Edge:

Art on the Edge (AOE) is a FREE art program for community youth. In 1994, AOE was born in the shelters of St. Vincent de Paul to provide homeless children an opportunity to express themselves through art. Since then, our program has expanded to include all community youth ages 6-18 and worked with over 3500 children. We offer after school classes, a full summer program, public art and community art festivals. We believe healthy communities are supported by investing in art and children.

Dynamic Duo, Tim Ely and Ian Boyden, at The Art Spirit

2010-08-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's a collision of cosmic sorts: the collaboration between two supernovas whose artistic minds are really out there at times. The Art Spirit Gallery presents Tim Ely and Ian Boyden's collaborative exhibition entitled Squaring the Circle.

EXHIBITION STATEMENT

SQUARING THE CIRCLE by Timothy C. Ely

My collaborations with Ian Boyden seem to be the most natural of occurrences. I have collaborated before with other artists and often with success, but sometimes there is a forced sense with the collaboration as we are simply bringing a skill set to the project without really being in alignment. It has been a steep learning curve for me. Historically, as artists formed a base for individuality over say direction from the Church or Royalty, to work collaboratively has been regarded with suspicion.

Mr. Boyden and I share a surprising number of common fields of interest and as we converse and expand our knowing of each other, these overlaps often amaze and then divert us into new areas to examine. Where this amps into a new level our collaborative projects is that we engage in a conversation and then merge our various working methods into an aesthetic fusion. This fusion is intuitive, spontaneous and results in a material form, a painting or book at this stage, and we then notice this object being far more than the sum of its parts or the work of only two beings. I also take note of the fact that our wives and extended groups of friends and past collaborators impact our thinking so the group mind begins to patinate the work. We are the sum of all we have met. I love the ideas that come from a fertile conversation---always have, for when they reach conclusion or the car door slams, I am changed and inspired. In the collaborations the element of the unexpected carries a charge that cannot be rationalized or explained. Still we try. Ian works in a liquid dance of primary material. It resists reductionist analysis and criticism. It can only be observed and absorbed. Whether I begin a work or he does, what emergent forms that result defy our ability to project or predict an outcome.

There is also an equilibrium that I have discovered and a sense of surrender. As an individual and a humanoid, my inertial response is to be right all the time. So to surrender to the impulses of a joint project and to the ‘’art direction’’ of someone else is a very dynamic way to allow for the novelty of process to occur. Our new work speaks more to me of playing music together for a common track of sound than for our visual personalities to overcome the other. In a working fusion two soloists can merge as one voice. This one voice or one vision is one goal we share. We know that our individual marking methods can be picked out of the paintings as you would pick out a disagreeable vegetable from a salad. What does happen so successfully is that Ian’s methods can enhance a passage of mine and set up a dynamic or force of activity that take my mark and makes it ineffable and so new and unique to me. Things result that I could not draw. Dynamic equilibrium is a state of balance between continuing processes. I no longer regard process as having an end point but simply moving into a new stage of being with ongoing change. Once a painting is complete or finished in sense of classical physics or painting, things continue to occur. It moves across the country to a new museum, it gets dusty and exposed to the light from various sources. It may be stolen and worshipped as a diagram for the conversion of fate or it may be destroyed and be re-compounded into a new material in a land fill. Our role in the process of PROCESS is to be agents for this change and we seek to do it through awareness of place and time and local history and so Science adds ground to the central idea. We embrace the process in the vehicle we know best, which are the intuitive aesthetic philosophies of painting and bookmaking. We seek to fuse our hemispheric brains and to fuse our ability to effect change on the inky surface of a cellulose matrix.
-Timothy C. Ely

Expect extraordinary artwork by this dynamic duo.

Opens September 4, 2010.

Artists Studio Tour this weekend in Sandpoint

2010-08-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

But if you miss it this weekend, there's always the following weekend!

Click here to go to their website for more information.

Art in the Community: Annie Stranger's Garden Art Mural

2010-08-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

When she returned home recently for a visit, Annie Stranger--a CHS grad--was inspired to lend her graphic design talents to the new Kootenai Environmental Alliance's Community Roots program. Her five-part mural is now located on the wall alongside the land donated by her parents, Scott and Linda of Dalton Gardens, Idaho. Check out the link here.

Class Reunions: From Marylin Lysohir's Pennsylvania to Kellogg, Idaho

2010-08-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

It was a fitting set of bookends to the sense of nostalgia we have over class reunions.

Marilyn Lysohir's GOOD GIRLS exhibition

For Idaho artist, Marilyn Lysohir, the passion to recreate the figurative busts of every one of her 163 classmates from Sharon, Pennsylvania.

The exhibition, which opened at Washington State University and was recently at Missoula Art Museum, is currently at Kolva-Sullivan in Spokane.

That's where I was Friday evening for ArtWalk, before hightailing it across the stateline and up and over the mountain to join my partner at the Kellogg All-Class Reunion.

Having never been to my own class reunion and having taught in a school that is only ten years old, I was unprepared for the outpouring of community support.

Yellow and gold everywhere. Classes from as far back as the 1930's. Classic cars. Music. Open containers everywhere. Memorials to those who'd passed on. Class events, parades, and a trolley running from place to place.

Everyone looking and wondering, trying to figure out if they knew you and from where or how. And on Saturday night, the whole town was at the legendary Dirty Ernie's, with it's commanding view of the Teeter's Field down below and most of lower Kellogg twinkling in the distance.

With its mining/logging history, the Northwest often reminds me of my former home in Pennsylvania and thereabouts. And with the first day of school fast approaching, this was a good reminder for me that what I get to do--teaching--is as much about making art as it is helping make memories for my kids and my community.

Call for Glass & Jewelry Artists to Exhibit at the Gallery at the JACC

2010-08-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release:

The gallery at the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center will feature glass art and jewelry art from Friday, August 20th through Friday, September 10th, 2010. Artists are encouraged to contact Louise Telford, Gallery Director of the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center for consideration in exhibiting their art in this show at (208) 457-8950 or art@thejacklincenter.org.

An artist’s reception will be held on the opening night of the show on Friday, August 20th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in celebration of the third year of “3rd Friday Artists Receptions” at the gallery at the JACC. The reception is free and open to the public and will feature wine tastings by Enoteca at $5 per flight (3 tastings). The gallery is also open during regular business hours Monday through Friday from 10 am to 2 pm and during other special events at the JACC.

The next show in our 2010 series will feature wood art, which opens on September 17th, 2010.

For a complete listing of events at the Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, please visit: www.jacklincenter.org

S-R Profiles Sandpoint's Arts Tour

2010-08-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

It isn't often the Spokesman-Review (or any of the other area dailies) write about the area's extensive arts communities, so when they do, it's worth a nod.

Here is the link to the S-R article for Arts Tour Drive.

Spokane Community Warehouse Call for Artists: CHAIRity EVENT

2010-08-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Around the Lake: Entree Gallery at Reeder Bay August 2010

2010-08-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE
The Entree Gallery at Reeder Bay is currently displaying “Inspirations and Dedications”, featuring pastel on handmade bark paper, and bronzes, by Monica Stobie. The show, which runs August 1-31 at the Reeder Bay gallery, presents elements of ancient rock drawings, re-imagined by Stobie and created into unique compositions. The gallery will host an artist reception for Stobie on August 8, from 5-7pm.

As a high school art teacher, Stobie became fascinated by the rock art found on basalt cliffs and crags along the Columbia and Snake rivers. “The discovery of those old images was an awakening,” she says. “I was hooked.” The artist, who grew up near the Yakima Indian reservation and attended church services at its Catholic mission, says the tribal culture is very much a part of her, and is reflected in her work. Stobie has done extensive research on tribal cultures, petroglyphs and other rock art, and has visited sites throughout North America, Europe and Africa.

Her pastel images, reminiscent of the primitive work found on cave walls, almost glow against the background of the textured paper, which looks like rock, and holds the pastel color in its coarse fibers. The paper, handmade in Mexico from indigenous tree bark, is processed by a method believed to be the oldest paper-making process in the Western hemisphere. Stobie explains that it is this paper that becomes the primitive “canvas” for to the oldest art known to mankind.

The Entree Gallery, now at two locations, invites the public to view the work of over 150 regional artists. The gallery at Reeder Bay is located just two miles east of Nordman at 1755 Reeder Bay Rd, and can be contacted at 208 443-2001. The Coolin Bay gallery, located two doors from the Leonard Paul Store on Bay View Rd, can be contacted at 208 443-2002. Summer hours at both galleries are daily, 10am-6pm.

Go Ask Alice: Alice in Wonderland-Themed Show Opens at Tinman

2010-08-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

Kurt Madison's jewelry

Bernadette Vielbig's sculpture

Tinman Gallery reopened this past Friday to a packed house nibbling on scrumptious little chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallow-y topping instructing "Eat Me." Conrad Bagley handed out invitations to his Mad Hatter party upcoming in August and everywhere the mood was festive and bright (like the melon-colored walls of the newly remodeled space).

This is the second such themed exhibition at Tinman (last year was The Wizard of Oz) and a nice break from more formal or individual pursuits we see around town. Some of the work was exceptionally well done, high level and refined; other pieces were a bit schlocky and at least a few felt woefully underdone. All in all, though, there was a reasonable range of artists--including longtimers Lila Girvin and Harold Balazs, as well as an underrated assemblage artist, Larry Ellingson.

For the Inlander writeup, click here.

At the Gallery opening night

Art and Sports: David Govedare Sculptures Unveiled at Sports Complex

2010-08-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

"The Dwight Merkel Sports Complex has completed renovation and will re-open Saturday, August 7^th, 2010 at 10am. As a part of these improvements the Spokane Arts Commission and the City of Spokane Parks and Recreation Department commissioned artist David Govedare to enhance the site improvements. Two sculptures have been created 16 feet above ground, with the main body constructed of steel hoops mimicking movement. The sculptures are colorful, banner-like, playful and reflective of light.

The project is a part of the 2007 Bond Issue which was approved by voters with an overwhelming 68% “yes” vote. The $42.9 million 2007 bond issue has funded the construction and development of a variety of aquatics and youth sports projects throughout the City of Spokane."

I think he should have redesigned the goal posts for the football stadium. Wouldn't it be more fun to watch the kicker send the ball into something more interesting than a the field goal posts? A sculpture of a gorilla with its arms up or a person doing a handstand, their legs becoming the goal posts. It could look like a version of a Japanese game show. Much more fun to watch...

Art on the Green: Coeur d'Alene Shines in Annual Event

2010-08-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Street performers in the background ranged from the Incan flute players to a young man playing classical fiddle with a folksy twist. Smells of fried food from various vendors wafting through the air. A trickle of tourists and locals becomes a stream, then a river, as the day warms up at Art on the Green, Coeur d'Alene's annual arts festival.

Kids are everywhere in all shapes and sizes, including on the beach, totally oblivious to the wonders of the art world unfolding in the tents and display booths along the pathway in the park or snaking around the edge of North Idaho College's grassy campus.

Scott Dodson's sand sculpture

We went early to this annual event, this indicator of August and summer winding down. School is not far off. Fall. Fewer people along the promenade. Only Idaho plates in the parking lot.

But for the first weekend in August, Coeur d'Alene shines. And we all fall in love with this place all over again. And maybe some newcomers, too, realize the charm of such a place. Sure it's crowded. But it's a festival. A celebration of the arts. And community. A chance to see old friends, like the parents of students and even former students themselves, including the one who excitedly showed me his first art purchase: an enamel by Allen and Mary Dee Dodge.

I told him he'd chosen well, then smiled to myself when I saw a lovely enamel by the Dodges included in the juried art show display. Their work with legendary enamelist Harold Balazs shows in this piece.

We bought some trinkets for friends--a great place for jewelry--and a few for ourselves. And we ate well (why go to Spokane for Azar's gyros when you know they'll be coming to you during events such as these!). But mostly we marveled at our good fortune for living in such a lovely area.

And then we went home and napped. Ah, summer.

Call for Arts Awards Nominations Due August 6

2010-08-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Spokane Arts Commission announces an open call for nominations for the 2010 City of Spokane Arts Awards. The 19^th Annual Arts Awards will be presented in six categories during a public meeting of the Spokane City Council Monday, October 4^th at 6pm. A reception will be held following the presentation to honor this year’s nominees and recipients.

Individuals, organizations and businesses are encouraged to nominate candidates for these awards in the following categories: Individual Artist; Arts Organization; Arts in Education; Individual Benefactor; Business Benefactor; and Arts Community Leadership.

Arts Awards online nomination form is available at www.spokanearts.org/awards.aspx. Deadline for submissions is Friday, August 6, 2010.

For a complete list of past winners visit www.spokanearts.org/awards.aspx.

"Will work for Mel McCuddin Paintings"

2010-07-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

If I stood on a street corner in Coeur d'Alene with this sign, I doubt anyone would get it. Unless they'd seen his paintings, of course, then they might realize that something about them invokes covetous behavior. Here is the one I wish for, called Reveries.

The exhibit, at The Art Spirit Galleryhttp://www.theartspiritgallery.com/html/home.asp, goes through August 7.

The Wonderful World of Harold Balazs: Northwest MAC through October

2010-07-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

The line to purchase a book was several dozen deep while down below in the gallery, Balazs had already begun signing the gorgeous volume that accompanies his retrospective at the MAC. Ever clever, Balazs even numbered his signatures to correspond with the individually numbered/signed, hand-pulled prints that will appear in EACH book. The man is unstoppable!

Of course any exhibition at the MAC is an opportunity to run into friends and colleagues and this was no exception. The gallery was packed, as was the outdoor reception area. So crowded it was hard to see all the amazing artwork.

One of my favorite things was the inclusion of a portion of his studio. Imagine looking in the kitchen of Julia Child or the science lab of Louis Pasteur. It's a rare glimpse into how a mind works. Awesome.

For more info and a great visual/essay in Inlander, click here.

For a podcast from KYRS radio, featuring Harold, video artist Tom Dukich, and MAC arts curator, Ben Mitchell, click here.

Tinman Gallery and Tinman Too: Reopening Celebration July 30th

2010-07-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Tinman Too opened recently, formerly Ruby Slipper, and the counterpart to owner Sue Bradley's Garland Street arts-oriented businesses.

Next door is Tinman Gallery, itself undergoing a facelift, with a grand (re)opening scheduled for July 30th.

The theme of the reopening is Alice in Wonderland (see post July 29).

Also appearing is their emerging artist series, this month featuring Deanna Camp, Five Mile Prairie in Pastels.

According to Bradley, "We first encountered Deanna when she brought in her Trout Calendars, featuring a series of whimsical watercolors of various trout characters, such as "The Patriot Trout" and "The Grateful Dead Trout." Deanna is an accomplished painter of landscapes as well, both in pastel and in oils. She paints the scenes around her up on Five Mile Prairie, creating a luminous vision out of a familiar landscape."

Christmas in July? More Harold Balazs? The MAC Summer Lineup

2010-07-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

The MAC July 2010 Calendar of Events

Christmas in July at Campbell House Wednesday, July 21st
Join us at this second annual benefit to celebrate Campbell House. This lawn party will be from 6-9:00 PM and will feature docent led tours of the historic home, a no-host bar along with seasonal silent auction packages and raffle baskets. There is no cost to attend – just come planning on bidding on these great items! Reservations are required. Call 509-363-5321 or email Eileen.anderson@northwestmuseum.org.

Harold Balazs Exhibit - Opening Celebration
Saturday, July 17 1:00 - 3:00 PM at the MAC
Enjoy this Celebration of a Life in Art reception with brief remarks by Harold Balazs, Tom Kundig and Alan Dodge and the introduction of the new book Harold Balazs published by the University of Washington Press and Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture. Great klezmer music by local band Chutzpah!

Exhibit July 17 – October 9, 2010
The largest overview of Harold Balazs’ extensive career – presenting a rich and wildly varied survey of this local artist’s deep, unfettered and creative imagination. A must see summer exhibit. His outdoor installations can be seen throughout the city of Spokane. Lead Sponsors - Sterling Savings Bank and The Spokesman-Review

Premier screening of the new Tom Dukich film, Uncle Harold’s Wunder Stuff

July 22.
4:30 – 6:00 PM at the MAC Auditorium. Free to MAC members, others by general admission. $5-7

Mestizo: Collections and Cultural Fusions

July 31 - December 4, 2010
This exhibit illustrates the unique Mestizo identity fused from the disparate cultures of the indigenous people and the colonizing Europeans. Colorful! Informative and intriguing. Lead Sponsor: Gonzaga University

Young Artists Symposium

Saturday, July 24, 2010 1:00 – 3:00 PM In the Davenport Gallery
In honor of beloved local artist Harold Balazs and his upcoming exhibition Harold Balazs– A Celebration of a Life in Art, the MAC will be hosting a young artist symposium. Spend an afternoon with local artists Harold Balazs and Ken Spiering for an open discussion about the role of art & artists in affecting change in the public arena, art’s participatory nature, and its cultural contribution to a community. The event is free to the public. Space is limited. RSVP to ginger.ewing@northwestmuseum.org or 509-363-5311. Exclusive sponsor is Wells Fargo

Gathering to Sing and Dance

August 7, 2010 – October 2010 Museum Orientation Gallery
This exhibit will highlight photographer Rob Roberts’ still images of the local, regional and visiting tribal peoples who gather for traditional summer celebrations (commonly known as powwows). The Riverfront Park Northwest Encampment and Julyamsh Coeur d’Alene Tribal Encampment are two annual events in the Spokane region that reflect the ongoing traditions of tribal songs and dances from the Plateau Tribes. A video produced by Shonto Pete, The Real Powwow Trail documents various aspects to these celebrations.

Current ExhibitionsTradition is my Life, Education is my Futures, Through July 3

Ruben Trejo:Beyond Boundaries, Aztlán y más allá through November 13, 2010

Living Legacy: The American Indian Collection through July 18, 2010

SpokaneTimeline: Personal Voices - long-term exhibit; current feature: Big Timber

Call (509) 456-3931 for additional information or e-mail pr@northwestmuseum.org. Events are subject to change or cancellation. All events are on the Museum campus at 2316 W. First Avenue, Spokane, Washington unless otherwise noted.

Tom Wakely's Impressionist Stylings at Entree Gallery, Coolin Bay

2010-07-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

The luminescent, contemporary paintings of Tom Wakeley will be featured at the Entree Gallery at Coolin Bay during the July 1-31 showing, “Light, Color and Priest Lake”.

Inspired by the Impressionists and 20th Century Modernists, the Priest Lake artist uses light, abstract shapes, palette-knife work and broad, loose brush strokes to create his regional landscapes and occasional still-lifes. For Wakeley, who prefers to paint on location, the application and textures of the paint itself is as important as the image in capturing a mood.

Of Wakeley’s work, gallery owner Pam Martin expressed, “Tom’s work has evolved and moved into a whole new arena. He has captured the essence of Priest Lake.”

Wakeley’s work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the region. The Coolin Bay gallery will host a reception for Wakeley on July 17, 1-3pm.

At the Reeder Bay gallery, Sandpoint artist Janene Grende is featured in “A Walk In The Woods” showing July 1-31.
Huckleberry board games and nesting bears will be on display July 18, 11am-3pm. Paul Kuhlmann will display his metal works on July 24-25, 11-4pm;

Upcoming August shows include pastels by Monica Stobie, and watercolors by Priest Lake artist Betti Jemison.

The Entree Gallery, now at two locations, invites the public to view the work of over 150 regional artists. The gallery at Reeder Bay is located just two miles east of Nordman at 1755 Reeder Bay Rd, and can be contacted at 208 443-2001. The Coolin Bay gallery, located two doors from the Leonard Paul Store on Bay View Rd, can be contacted at 208 443-2002. July hours at both galleries are daily, 10am-6pm.

Shown: Morning Light (from Painter's Chair Gallery)

Seeing Seattle: An Art Experience

2010-07-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Just back from Seattle and thereabouts, with lots of great art experiences to share. First, we did ArtWalk, which in Seattle can be quite the spectacle and as wide a range of types and quality of art as most other places who do this urban event.

Most of our tour was limited to the areal along Third Avenue South north of Yesler, around Pioneer Square. We started at 4Culture, and then made our way around, including Punch (Renee Adams' sculptural piece, left)and Platform Gallery, where I ran into Garric Simonsen, who had some pieces there and was en route to Spokane for his opening at the Saranac the following day (see previous post).

Somewhere in there we ended up inside a maze of studios called TK2 Studios in the Tashiro Kaplan Building. Lots of younger artists and group shows, some of it crap, some really trendy, and some really interesting.

The standout for me was Paul McKee, who works in installation, painting and sculpture, currently with taxidermy, figurative components and furniture to make these wry commentaries that are just exquisitely crafted.

Really liked the Greg Kucera gallery (gorgeous, huge space, well-appointed ). Not a huge fan of all the abstracts he had showing but his stable of artists (pardon the pun) includes Deborah Butterfield and John Buck from Montana, plus some artists I've written about (Susan Skilling), so that feels like a good connection, and some iconic contemporary artists like Helen Frankenthaler and Edward Ruscha.

On Friday, we bussed and hoofed it up to the Frye Museum, Seattle's first free museum, and the legacy of Emma and Charles Frye. Their German heritage in the rough-and-tumble early Northwest--including Alaska--can be seen in two of the shows currently on view. "Northern Latitudes: The Frye and Alaska" features work by Jules Dahlager, Ted Lambert, Sydney Laurence, Fred Machetanz, Theodore Richardson, Cleveland Rockwell, Jonathan Van Zyle, and Eustace Ziegler. Beautiful, poetic work documenting and sometimes memorializing early life in Alaska. There is also a series of photos of the Frye family's early days in the meatpacking industry, which stretched up from Seattle to Alaska.

And Tete-a-Tete features a salon-style exhibition of fifty of the Frye's collection, mostly portraiture and some landscape pieces. Some of it reminded of the Vienna Secessionist's style, Klimt especially, and, as I learned, quite a few pieces were from the German Secessionists. Example: Von Stuck's Sin, left, a pivotal piece that gives me ideas for a painting series! Ah, makes perfect sense. Click here for the Seattle Times piece on the exhibit.

Mel McCuddin Opens Tonight at The Art Spirit, thru end of July 2010

2010-07-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

I've never been shy about my enthusiasm for Washington artist, Mel McCuddin. His cast of characters and enigmatic landscapes emerge from the painting process, like flashes from one's dream floating on the surface of wakefulness.

See new works opening tonight at The Art Spirit Gallery, Coeur d'Alene.

And check out his new video.

Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center Events for July 2010

2010-07-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

July 2010 Schedule

Julyamsh Celebration Events

In July, the Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center plays host to the Julyamsh Artist & Buyer's Reception and the Vision Seekers Youth Art Workshop in collaboration with the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe.

Saturday, July 17th from 9 am to 3 pm
Vision Seekers Youth Art Workshop: The JACC is pleased to once again host this interactive arts education retreat for our local youth to experience native American art and culture from internationally known American Indian artists. This year we seek to extend the cultural exchange by featuring featherwork with Dave Browneagle, sculpting with soapstone with George Hill, acrylic on canvas with Ric Gendron and storytelling with Coeur d'Alene tribal elder, Cliff SiJohn. The workshop is open to youths aged 10-14. The fee for attending the workshop is $30, which includes lunch and supplies. Pre-registration is required. To register, please call (208) 457-8950.

Thursday, July 22nd from 5 to 7 pm
Julyamsh Artist & Buyer’s Reception: In conjunction with the Julyamsh Powwow, the Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center and Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel hosts the annual Julyamsh Artist & Buyer's Reception to celebrate the American Indian culture and to preview works by internationally acclaimed American Indian artists. Free admission.

Featuring live entertainment by bluegrass musicians Mark & Kimberly Holt, silent auction, raffle, hors d'oeurves, cash bar. Please RSVP for this premier art event by July 12th at (208) 457-8950.

Gallery at the JACC
Ongoing through June 11th
The Photography and Sculpture Show: featuring sculptures by Steve Gervurtz, Kevin Kirking and Terry Lee and the photography of Pat Schilling.

Friday, July 16th; 5:30-7:30 pm opening reception
The American Indian Artist and Western Art Show: The gallery at the Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center invites you to attend the 3rd Friday Art Gallery Celebration for our American Indian Artists and Western Art show. This show will feature two of our Vision Seekers youth workshop instructors, Ric Gendron and George Hill, with wine tasting by Enoteca at $5 per flight (3 tastings). The show will be ongoing through August 13th, 2010.

The gallery is free and open to the public during our regular business hours Monday through Friday from 10 am to 2 pm and during special events; for more information call (208) 457-8959. Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, 405 N William Street, Post Falls, ID

Garric Simonsen and Patricia Thornton at Saranac, thru July 2010

2010-07-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Click here for the Inlander preview of work by Montana artist, Patricia Thornton (image, left), and Washington artist, Garric Simonsen.

Saranac Art Projects

Hours:
12-5 Thursday
12-8 Friday
12-5 Saturday

Trendy Handcrafted Urban Marketplace: Local Gallery Advocates STEAMPUNK

2010-06-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

The email took me by surprise. Steampunk? What the heck was that?
Nagging in the periphery was a vision of DIY vinyl dolls with fur on them, absurd and grotesque clowns. Nah, that was Circus Punk. This was something else entirely, a new "trend," the very word being specious.

Fortunately the gallery owner provided us a link to Steampunk, albeit WikiPedia, which defines it as a "sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s."

It reminded of Flash Gordon and the newest movie version of Sherlock Holmes. Retro-future? Like the Jake Van Slott image (above left). Deliberately contrived, artfully so. A nudge and a wink to both future and past.

Exhibitors/participants: Abney Park, Aimee Stewart (illustration, at right), Gemma, Jerry Ringling, Pat Gallagher, Mac McGowan, Kristina Hoagland, Dmitri, Veronique Chevallier, Shamus Tinplate, Ivan Drugostrov, Rischa Leinweber, Renee Gorman, Vela Gyertya, Cecile Charles, Nienke Crick, Shanda Woodward.

Gallery of THUM
159 South Lincoln, Suite 151
Spokane WA 99201
(509) 294-9234

First Friday July 2, 2010

ArtWalk One Opened in Sandpoint, Continues through July 25

2010-06-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

I missed the opening by a day for the first ArtWalk but got to see a bit of work when up in Sandpoint recently and hope to finally get into the POAC show in the PowerHouse, too. Called "Rescued and Redeemed" and probably a lot of assemblage, which I like.

Got to stop by Woods Wheatcroft's gallery (he does a themed show, this one being Light & Yellow). No idea how he does at curating art but I love, love, love his photography.

Saw Catherine Earle's work at Coldwater. You'll want to check that out if you missed it at Redtail.

Others on the list include the collages and paintings of Ana Monfort, Julie Hutslar's watercolors and then just discovering the work of artists I don't already know.

Multi-Sensory Approach of Ted Apel

2010-06-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

June 14, 2010

Media Contact: Karen Hunt, University Communications, (208) 885-7251, klhunt@uidaho.edu

Prichard Art Gallery Opens Artwalk with Ted Apel's Coilings Exhibit

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Prichard Art Gallery will join in the City of Moscow's annual Artwalk event with Ted Apel's Coilings exhibit. The exhibit will open on June 18, with a reception beginning at 5 p.m., and the exhibit will run until Aug. 7.

Apel’s sculptures and installations focus on an audio transducing element as the source of visual and sonic material. The exhibit will feature six sculptures and installation pieces, including one that has never been seen before.

“Ted does an amazing job of combining challenging auditory elements with significant sculptural forms,” said Roger Rowley, director of the Prichard Art Gallery.

The Bell Synchresis produces sound through two loudspeakers. One speaker is electromagnetically shaken to cause two bells to sound inside the second speaker. Two doll house loudspeakers serve as the source of the recorded bell sounds.

The Trochilics is comprised of 10 freestanding sculptures, each consisting of a small motor resting on the floor. A metal panel is attached to each motor and acts as a sounding board for an audio signal. Audio amplifiers and a computer control the input signals. The Trochilics emphasizes the movement of the metal panels to unite sound with visual art.

The Jump Start features a car battery that is connected to a loudspeaker via jumper cables. The sound of a car starting is periodically produced by the speaker.

In the sound Trialogue, Apel uses three organ pipes that are modified with speakers to produce resonant frequencies of each pipe.

Portrait of Malleus is a sound sculpture that produces quiet and constantly changing music. A bronze plate is hung from the wall with electronics mounted behind it. The sculpture relies on the listener to focus their attention on the plate as both the producer of sound and the visual object.

“Each element on its own is very interesting, and then together they really make for a unique gallery experience,” said Rowley.

Apel was raised in Pasadena, Calif. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Pomona College and a master’s in electroacoustic music from Dartmouth College. His sound installations and sculptures have been featured in numerous festivals and galleries nationally and internationally. He currently teaches computer music and new media art at Boise State University.

The Prichard Art Gallery summer hours are Tuesday-Friday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Gallery is closed Sunday and Monday. The gallery, an outreach facility of the University of Idaho, is located at 414/416 S. Main St. on the corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Moscow.

Admission is free. Additional information is available at www.uidaho.edu/galleries.

Sculptors and Photography at Jacklin Arts Cultural Center

2010-06-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

Interesting Idea: Paul McKee Reflections at Chase Gallery

2010-06-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2010

                        Contact: Karen Mobley
                        Arts Director
                        City of Spokane Arts Department
                        (509) 625-6050

************************************************************************
PAUL MCKEE

“Spokane Reflections”

At the Chase Gallery

June 29th – August 27th, 2010

************************************************************************

The artwork of Paul McKee will be featured at the Chase Gallery, June 29 through August 27, 2010. The Chase Gallery is located in City Hall at 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. in Spokane. An artist reception will be held in conjunction with First Friday, on Friday, August 6, 5pm to 8pm. Gallery hours are Monday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Paul McKee will present “Spokane Reflections,” a portrait of Spokane in paintings and sculpture based on reflections in downtown windows. Since 2003, McKee’s work has based upon the reflections he sees in urban buildings. He is attracted to how the strict grid of a window’s panes contrasts with a flowing, reflected world. “My art finds transcendence in the ordinary experiences of contemporary life. A glass box skyscraper seems ordinary, but it is really exotic when approached as if I’m outside of the culture that builds them. I combine the sense of awe a newcomer might feel with the prolonged study only possible by a long-time resident. When I closely examine reflections in windows, I see the world anew, as if for the first time.”

“This is an opportunity for Spokane to see itself in a fresh light,” says McKee, “Spokane offers a variety of architectural styles. There are ornate masonry buildings such as the Davenport Hotel which reflect nicely in the mirrored windows of buildings like the Bank of America Building.”

Paul McKee holds a BA from Evergreen State College and has exhibited his work at the New York Fashion Academy, Seattle Academy of Fine Art, Blue Door Gallery, and North Seattle Community College Gallery. His work “Sight (Collecting),” a painting on 18 canvases of a reflection in the Tacoma Art Museum is part of the permanent collection of the City of Kent.

Karen R. Mobley
Arts Director
City of Spokane
Spokane Arts Commission
808 W. Spokane Falls Boulevard
Spokane, WA 99201-3333
(509) 625-6079
kmobley@spokanecity.org
www.spokanearts.org <http://www.spokanearts.org>

Future Artists: So this is why we teach...

2010-06-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Emma (and Javan for even entering the contest!). Click here for the link to the CdaPress article.

New artwork by Tom Kramer and Robens Napolitan in Sandpoint

2010-06-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

Opening JUNE 18 TO JULY 24, 2010

INQUIRE WITHIN BOOKSTORE
516 Oak Street, Sandpoint, Idaho
Hours: M-F 10:00 - 5:30 / Saturday 10:00 - 5:00

Moscow ArtWalk

2010-06-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

PRESS INFO

ArtWalk 2010 features 67 businesses and more than 110 artists from the beautiful Moscow, Idaho community and surrounding area.

The opening receptions are Friday, June 18 beginning at 5pm.

Friendship Square events start at noon, where there will be art and craft demonstrations, children’s chalk art, live music, and food.

Live music in Friendship Square will feature: Friendship Square UI Native American Drum Group performing from 4:30 to 6pm, Groovehaus performing from 6 to 8pm, and the Mullan Road Band performing from 8 to 10pm.

Also: Idaho Historic Statehouse Murals will be unveiled Friday, June 18 at 2:30pm in the Idaho Commons at the University of Idaho.

Now Filming in a City Near You: 2020 North by Northwest Film Festival

2010-06-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

There might still be time to sign up. Click here for more information.

Summer in North Idaho Means Seasonal Galleries are Open

2010-06-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

JUNE 1, 2010

Currently showing at the Entree Gallery during June is “Botanicals and Animals”, an exhibit of contemporary and rustic accents for home and garden. On display at both the Reeder Bay and Coolin Bay galleries, this diverse selection of regionally-crafted work includes pottery, fountains, bird baths, framed mirrors, forged iron pieces, garden sculptures, Amish furnishings, and unique reclaimed lumber beverage coolers.

As a special 2-day exhibit on June 18-19th, from 11am-5pm, the Reeder Bay gallery will also present “Earthen Song”, highlighting the Americana-style garden benches and furnishings of “American Maids” Hanna Moreland and Mandy Matlock. The two artists, whose country roots are reflected in their country-style accents and furnishings, use and reuse found wood and other items in their designs, using something old to create something new.

“This is a ‘must-see’ show, providing a wonderful opportunity to spruce up a sunroom, patio and yard with unique pieces not readily available elsewhere,” said gallery owner Pam Martin. “Although these pieces are specially created for the yard and garden in mind, many of are perfect for bringing the outside indoors”.

The Entree Gallery, now at two locations, invites the public to view the work of over 150 regional artists. The gallery at Reeder Bay is located just 2 miles east of Nordman at 1755 Reeder Bay Rd, and can be contacted at 208 443-2001.

June hours are Sunday-Thursday 10am-4pm, and Friday-Saturday 10am to 5pm. For hours at the Coolin Bay gallery, located two doors from the Leonard Paul Store, call 208 443-2002.

Art Foundations: Local Artist Creates Mural that Speaks Of and To Us All

2010-06-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

A local art gallery director and I have a friendly disagreement about art that involves the form of expression an artist takes. I see it as a continuum, a wide spectrum of ways in which artists express themselves...from the vase-of-flowers painter to the person whose work is so conceptual it tends to speak to only a narrow audience. My friend tends to regard the spectrum in levels, which I sort of do too, but I struggle at the idea that one form of expression is better than another.

Take this story, for example, about a local North Idaho artist who is completing a mural honoring Vets. How awesome is that?! Will this artist's work ever be in the Frye Gallery or the Met? No, but a whole lotta people are going to see this, get something from it and relate to it in a way that the typical gallery viewers are not. This is public art at its finest, expressive, illustrative and of the people.

Check out this link to a recent Cda Press article about Linda Fabrizius' mural at City Hall.

Tinman Gallery is Off to See the Wizard, Will be Back in July with New Show, Alice in Tow

2010-06-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

Last year they celebrated the anniversary of the Wizard of Oz with Ozvitational, an Oz-themed art show that had quite an array of work by many regular contributors, as well as a few that owner Sue Bradley invited especially for the show. The exhibition coincided with the Garland Street Fair, which was also Oz-themed. I missed it but heard it was quite the party.

This year, Tinman will pause for a reflection in the magic looking glass of inevitable change, but will reopen with an expanded view of itself. Check out the following advance press info from Sue Bradley, owner (shown at right):

"The Ruby Slipper at 809 West Garland will be closed starting Saturday, May 29th for redecorating and refurbishing. It will reopen in early July as Tinman Too, a store whose mission is to provide the creative experience in literature and art for children. We will be moving and expanding our current children's section to include more books for babies, more read-to-me and interactive books, even more fabulous children's illustrated books, and exceptional books for early readers.

Tinman Too will also offer regular storytelling times, dress up and puppet theater, and a wide variety of art activities and classes for children. These activities will range from one-day workshops (collage, painting) and seasonal projects (Halloween pumpkin painting, birdhouses) to regular classes in different art media such as printmaking, painting and drawing. Our teachers are drawn from former Spokane Art School staff, local school district staff and area professional artists. By fall, we plan to have a different children's activity every day for a full week of learning and playing.

The Tinman Gallery will close for remodelling on Monday, June 26th and reopen for the Artist's Reception for the Alice in Wonderland Invitational on Friday, July 30th. Over 30 artists will be exhibiting including Kay O'Rourke, Harold Balazs, Dick Ibach and Mel McCuddin."

KYRS Benefit Art Auction: July at Auntie's

2010-06-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

KYRS Benefit Art Auction

First Friday July at Auntie's Book

Silent Auction: Friday, July 2nd from 5:30-8:30PM (food, drinks and live music by 6-Foot Swing)
Live Auction: Saturday, July 3rd from 2-4PM (food & drinks)
At Auntie's Books (402 W. Main, Spokane).

All proceeds benefit KYRS!

For more information: JewelrybyMegan@comcast.net

Summer at the Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center

2010-06-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

Ongoing through June 11th
The Post Falls Artists Multimedia Show
Free admission; for more information call (208) 457-8959.
Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, 405 N William Street, Post Falls, ID, www.jacklincenter.org.

Friday, June 18th; 5:30-7:30 pm
Artist’s Reception and Opening for Photography and Sculpture Show featuring Terry Lee, Steve Gevurtz and Kevin Kirking (above right).

Free admission; show runs from 6/18-7/9; for more information call (208) 457-8959.
Jacklin Arts & Cultural Center, 405 N William Street, Post Falls, ID, www.jacklincenter.org.

Old Souls: Claudia Pettis Opens June 11, 2010 at The Art Spirit

2010-06-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

There is something tender and haunting about the work of Claudia Pettis. She paints the sheep for whom she has tremendous fondness, eliciting something of their animal soul in her work, revealing in turn something of her own soul, maybe even that of us all.

She writes:

Realist, allegorical, narrative—all describe the painting style I do. There is a story in the works that the viewer and I share. Narrative illustration however is quite a different thing from this as I begin with feelings, and feeling alone guides me throughout the entire work. The ideas and words come later, as the feelings take forms, and those forms have relationships that stories grow out of. I agree with Corot, “Reality is one part of Art; feeling completes it…abandon yourself to your first impression. If you have really been touched, you will convey to others the sincerity of your emotion.”

The materials I use are important to me—they have textures and smells and origins and histories. I use Belgium linen and elegant materials—fine ground pigments, Italian earths, ambers, chemically complex glazes. I take great joy in the process of mixing and discovering, of putting on paint and taking it away. I seldom frame and think it is unimportant. Yes, when in a private room and home a painting can be enhanced, but I like the viewer to see a work the way I see it, and in doing so they can take part in the process by discovering the way I got there. There are drips and clues in the exposed piece—the canvas texture, the edges, the wood stretchers. I put together each piece thoughtfully.

I am a shepherd and I serve my sheep flock daily. They in turn become my subjects. I also do Vipassana meditation, which is at the very heart of everything I do. This gives me some degree of balance and acceptance.

When a work is complete enough to view, it is my hope that the story and conviction in the piece will captivate and inspire, or as Corot puts it, that you will be “touched”.

I thank The Art Spirit Gallery and Steve Gibbs for giving me this setting and opportunity.

There are few galleries that care so much about how work is displayed and know how to do this as well and sensitively as it is done here. –Claudia Pettis

Catch her exhibit at The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene: Painting and Sculpture from a Shepherd’s View.

The opening reception is on Friday, June 11 from 5-8 in conjunction with the 2nd Friday Downtown ArtWalk. Everyone is welcome. This show runs from June 11 through July 3.

Start the Summer with Art: "Art on the Edge" Registration for Kids' Camps

2010-05-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

We love Art on the Edge. They do great things for kids and community, including their summer camp programs. Low-cost, lots of interesting stuff, and all about the arts.

Registration for summer camp is filling up. Check out the link here.

Welcome new Posting: Lewis-Clark State College

2010-05-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's always nice (and refreshing) to know someone is actually reading this blog so when I got an email from Lewis-Clark State College about an upcoming exhibit, my first reaction was "They have a gallery?" and then, "Sure! We'll hook you up."

Their link is added to the Links portion of this blog, but you can just mark your calendar now for the upcoming Chinese Remembering Project, whichwill open with a reception on June 4, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Seventh Avenue Gallery in Lewiston and run from June 4 to July 16.

PRESS RELEASE: The exhibit will feature Chinese artifacts from the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude’s in Cottonwood, ID, and the LCSC Center’s Beuk Aie Temple Collection. Alongside the historical narrative of the Chinese Remembering Project, artist Sarah Gilbert will present her work on memory. Gilbert’s work speaks eloquently through the medium of glass and found objects about the nature of loss and employs the sublime as a metaphor for healing.

The Chinese Remembering Project coincides with the third and final Chinese Remembering Conference, which brings together scholars, teachers and the public. This year’s conference specifically highlights the influence of the early Chinese and the contributions they made to Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. The conference will be held in Lewiston, ID, on June 24-25, 2010.

Admission to the Chinese Remembering Project featuring Sarah Gilbert’s work, will be open to the public, free of charge, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays at the Center for Arts & History.

The Chinese Remembering Project is made possible by the Office of Community Programs at Lewis-Clark State College and by a grant from US Bancorp.

The Mission of the LCSC Center for Arts & History is to educate and engage community in an appreciation of culture, history and arts. For more information please visit our website at www.lcsc.edu/museum or call 208.792.2243.

ArtFest June 4 Celebrates 25 Years

2010-05-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sponsored by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, ArtsFest is the public-access version of the museum's arts programming. Kid-friendly, lots of arts and crafts with commercial appeal, and the usual festival atmosphere: music, food, etc.

I'll be writing up some Inlander pieces on a few artists and you can bet Inlander will have lots of coverage on this event, too.

Don't forget to stop by KYRS radio, which will have an information booth. They've been expanding too, steadily increasing funding and community support for their small but vital arts, community and cultural programming. Congrats KYRS on your latest grants and plans to build a new tower!

June 4, Cda Park in Browne's Addition.

Quick Notice Item: U of I Art Exhibit, Alfred Dunn

2010-05-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

May 20, 2010

Media Contact: Karen Hunt, University Communications, (208) 885-7251, klhunt@uidaho.edu

Exhibit Showcases Former University of Idaho Art Professor’s Paintings

MOSCOW, Idaho – An exhibit of former art professor Alfred Dunn at the University of Idaho's Prichard Art Gallery will showcase some 200 pieces of artwork he created. The exhibit will run Wednesday, May 26 – Sunday, May 30. A reception will be held on Thursday, May 27, from 5-8 p.m.

“The gallery is excited by this opportunity to bring a sizable collection of Alf’s work back to the community," said Roger Rowley, director of the gallery. "His painting of the Camperdown Elms and Administration building continues to be one of the iconic images defining the image of the university. It’s also great that the community has a chance to add to their collection.”

Dunn attended the University of Idaho to study art during the Great Depression. He took up oil painting, only to give it up after discovering watercolors. After graduation, he worked as art director for Acme Press in Seattle, Wash., before moving back to Moscow to work for the University of Idaho.

During this time, he never gave up painting and soon, became well-known around the country. He began selling his paintings in Seattle to Ford Times and other publications. His work appeared with articles written by well-known western writers, such as Nard Jones and William O. Douglas.

Dunn continued to paint until his death on April 19, 2002. Dunn’s son, Jim, has pulled together a collection of Alf’s paintings, which span a period from the 1920s to 2002.

The exhibit will feature many pieces he created while living on the Palouse. Dunn’s artwork will be available for purchase, allowing many people who knew Dunn’s work a chance to own a piece of original artwork.

The Prichard Art Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Gallery is closed Monday. The gallery, an outreach facility of the University of Idaho, is located at 414/416 S. Main St. on the corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Moscow. Admission is free. Additional information is available at www.uidaho.edu/galleries

University of Idaho Artist Brings Haiti Home

2010-05-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE
May 21, 2010

Media Contact: Karen Hunt, University Communications, (208) 885-7251, klhunt@uidaho.edu

Prichard Art Gallery Exhibit Features Haiti Art Project Through May 30

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Prichard Art Gallery is featuring the Haiti Art Project, which showcases artwork created by Haitian women and children. The exhibit, currently on display, will run through Sunday, May 30.

Ryan Law, a master of fine arts graduate student at the university, traveled to Bwa Nwa, a small village located on an island, just off of the coast of Haiti. There, she taught nearly 40 women and children how to paint and draw.

Law transcended the language barrier by communicating through the power of art. With only a piece of plywood for a blackboard, Law would draw a flower or house and the students would follow her, recreating the same image. While the language barrier was difficult, it was the lack of supplies that became the greatest challenge. She made use of what little art supplies she had, often breaking pencils in half to provide utensils for everyone.

“I was doing watercolors and we had to get the water out of a mud puddle,” said Law.

At the end of her two week stay, she asked her students to paint a picture of something they thought about, with no limitations to subject matter. The children painted pictures of animals, houses, flowers and people, among other things. Many women painted pictures of themselves or representations of women. Law took a picture of each artist, which will hang next to their specific paintings.

“It brings a sense of unity to the work,” said Law. “It also allows the viewer to put a face with a painting.”

While there have been many outreach programs to the people of Haiti since the earthquake this past winter, the idea for this project began several years ago. With the support of Prichard Art Gallery Director Roger Rowley, Law decided it was important to bring art from other countries to United States. Law plans to return to Bwanwr next year to conduct the art class again.

“Roger believed in this project,” said Law. "I'm grateful for his support and dedication to helping me expand my horizons."

Advance Notice: The Art Spirit Schedule Through 2011

2010-05-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Local Talent: REEL Spokane Event at Magic Lantern

2010-05-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

Check out the ReelSpokane: Homegrown Film Events Spring 2010.

Starts at 7pm, Wednesday May 26 at the Magic Lantern.

Cost is $5 with proceeds going to help fund the event.

Brought to you by FAVES and SpIFF.

We don't usually feature film and video on this blog but it's not for lack of enthusiasm and interest. Wish it weren't a school nite... Sounds like a great event.

Not Too Late to View 11th Annual Clay Invite at The Art Spirit

2010-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

So the previous post laid out my excuses for not getting to publishing this sooner...

The Art Spirit is one of my favorite galleries anyway but when they do the Clay Invitational, I'm especially thrilled. It's some of the best and most diverse work around and it's so well-presented. Figurative, abstract, contemporary, traditional--this show always has a little bit of everything.

Like Patti Warashina's saki set. Who knew you could do this with clay?

The show runs through June 5 and includes the following:

The 16 participating clay artists are:
-Patti Warashina, Seattle, WA
-Don Reitz, Clarkdale, AZ
-Frank Boyden, Otis, OR
-Tom Coleman, Henderson, NV
-Elaine Coleman, Henderson, NV
-Adrian Arleo, Lolo, MT
-Chuck Hindes, Coupeville, WA
-Valerie Seaberg, Jackson, WY
-Matt Allison, Seattle, WA
-Jenny Andersen, Bainbridge Island, WA
-Ken Lundemo, Seabeck, WA
-Susan Stewart, Seattle, WA
-Ryan Mitchell, Missoula, MT
-Dan Murphy, Logan, UT
-Dean Adams, Bozeman, MT
-Shane Watson, Silverdale, WA

Spring Fever and 14 Days Left Til Summer

2010-05-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

Spring is a busy time for me with school, wrapping up the tail-end of writing for Sandpoint Magazine, doing a bit of arts writing for Inlander (this piece on Ruben Trejo was a privilege to write), and the beginning of negotiations for the school district.

That and planting in the garden in between downpours kept me busy. But it was worth the effort.

School has been a good year, the usual ups and downs, if there's anything "usual" about teaching high school. One of my students won a trip to Washington, DC for her artwork. We did our first field trip ever (in 10 years of teaching), to do "Andy Goldsworthy" sculptures in the woods by the lake (a group project at right). And some of my little cupcakes are going on to college (like Alex, whose art is above left), art school, adult lives, etc. and taking a bit of me with them, I hope.

Negotiations is always an interesting process. And a challenge. Since the Legislature froze our pay last year and disallowed advancement for years of experience, this year (as they informed us) we needed to "feel the pain" that everyone else had been spared. So they cut funding by 4% to salaries, as well as other parts of our funding. And they imposed something allowing the Districts to basically do whatever they wanted with our payscale if they declared a "financial emergency."

It's been ugly, not so much with the District, with whom our Association has a pretty good rapport, but in general; people are upset and nervous and frustrated because teacher pay is some of the lowest in the national already in Idaho and now we're going backwards. And yet we have jobs. The problem, as I see it, is that we've been fighting for improved pay and working conditions since Day One so this is ON TOP of an already undervalued job situation.

Sandpoint Magazine, which always does an outstanding job, included two of my pieces: a small profile of Do and Scott's new gallery, First Light Gallerie, and a profile of Jackie Henrion and Dan Earle, a musician/artist couple who were just a delight to write about.

And I had most of the food section, too, which is usually fun to do. A lot of work driving up and back and following up. It never ceases to amaze me that when we're willing to basically give away free publicity to folks that they don't recognize or value that. If I had a dime for every time someone blew off a request for information...I could probably retire from writing!

It works out well enough, though. I get to write for Inlander, covering a lot of Sandpoint, which helps when I write for the magazine. And vice versa.

Here's a photo of Ben Olson, in fact, taking photos for the Magazine on the same day I was there (having already finished my magazine piece on Trinity at City Beach) doing a review for Inlander. There's my sexy food shot (above left) and Ben feigning surprise (right). Ben's an admitted pain-in-the-ass but a fabulous photographer and one of the many interesting folks I've met from my writing gigs. All in all I feel pretty fortunate to get paid for writing the way I do.

It was probably my food writing, actually, that made me pay more attention to gardening. That and my mom was into most of her life, albeit she was sort of a lousy gardener. It takes some serious work, I have discovered, and towards the end she didn't have the strength. But she grew up picking potatoes and maybe once you get some good brown dirt under your nails that young, it just seeps in somehow and you can't shake the urge to plant your own someday.

Anyway, I ripped up the grass in the yard, front and back, put in a concrete planter the full depth of the yard, added a living fence of arborvitae, and have slowly been adding perennials and edible plants. Last year I had the cherry tree, raspberries, strawberries and a sad blueberry that I've since transplanted. Here are a few photos of the work in progress (above: before, after). I've added bark and rock walkways, perennial groundcover like Creeping Jenny, and some low but pretty trees like flowering sandcherry.

This year I added more blueberries, asparagus, onions and peas outdoors, plus containers and starts indoors: mesclun mix, spinach, cooking herbs I hope to winter over, tomatoes, cranberry (I know, they're bog plants, right?), and even artichokes, which are down from 8 to 4 and probably not going to make it. I also planted flowers (morning glory, delphinium and columbine) and nearly wept when one made a little flower. Our school has a horticulture program so I picked up some "backup" basil, some iris, and some petunias.

It's a delight to sit on the front porch in the summer and just watch all the flying things flit about the yard. And although I've made some mistakes with what and how I've planted, I'm looking forward to my first big crop of berries and the homemade salsa from one of my fat little tomato bushes. Yum. Come on Summer!

And They Keep On Growing: Group Show at Saranac Opens June 2010

2010-05-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Has Saranac expanded yet again from their original band of a dozen or so? It would seem so. The following press release invites you to the new Group Show.

This should prove to be visually very diverse and funny on many levels. I lifted some images from Jon Merrell's blog, Funderachiever. You can see the Scott Kolbo connection. Awesome illustration style.

And Margot and Kurt have been showing at Tinman off and on for a long time. Their piece for last year's OZvitational was one of my favorites.

Margot Casstevens . I think making art is a little like being a research scientist or a philosopher or maybe a hermetic mystic. It's about really looking at the world, seeing it and trying to understand. It's about all those
questions we have as small children or as adults at three in the morning when the stars wake us up shouting through the window: who are we, why are we here, what's it all about, and what's that really cool weird thing in the ditch anyway?

Kurt Madison. Kurt has been designing, working and exhibiting in the fine arts field for 30+ years. While the work has mainly been focused on 3 dimensional directions, his work includes digital and traditional 2D methods as well. Much of the work is multimedia using a variety of materials and techniques tailored to the intent and content of the piece. As a body, the work is an ongoing, chaptered commentary, holding 'the Condition' up for scrutiny like still shots or cuts or framing in cinema. Now this, now this, now this, now this, now this, now this, ..., ..., ..., now this.

Jon Merrell. After some deliberation, I cannot say for certain that I have ever produced art in a serious way. It is usually after I stop thinking about art in serious terms that I finally begin to get some satisfaction out of creating it. That being said, viewers are encouraged to examine their own expectations on reading this statement and viewing these images. My intent is rarely to communicate an important message or lesson. Viewers intent on wrapping their heads around some abstract concept, deciphering some radical hidden social agenda, or pontificating on some metaphysical truth perceived to be expressed through the imagery, should prepare for disappointment. I am a simpleton, easily amused by the mundane. I enjoy creating these things, and I display them with the sincere hope of witnessing dumbfounded expressions as viewers awkwardly attempt to ascribe them meaning.

Lindsey Merrell. There is exquisite variation, peculiarity, and amusement in life. My works are printed snippets of the day-to-day, both real and imagined. Inventive offshoots of reality juxtapose literal translations of daily interactions. By isolating moments, connections and variations on the truth, I process life through the printing press. My brief and partial narratives enlarge and examine specific moments and emotions, allowing each viewer to create and pursue a story based on his or her previous experiences and current assumptions. The take-away is different every time. Incorporating handmade elements into each piece, I further examine the idea of unique contact by displaying the ever-changing interactions between my hand and the prints.I primarily work in the medium of intaglio printmaking. I enjoy the process (most days…) involved in transferring drawing or photographic images to copper, etching them, and working by hand to remove and add marks on the copper plate, similar to adding and removing charcoal from a drawing. I also enjoy the diverse options presented by printmaking. One etched copper plate can produce as many images as the artist designs. Emotion and setting can be adjusted through placement, use of color, and added texture. This process seems especially fitting to my current subject matter: common, repeatable objects that make sense in different settings. My most recent images also incorporate monoprinting, watercolor and drawing materials. I hope to continue working in the format of a series, creating interesting individual pieces that become more lively and emotionally rich when seen together.

Alyssa Skiles
(no info available)

Reception: June 4
Runs through June 30

Saranac Art Projects, W 25 Main Street, Spokane, WA 99201

Gallery Hours: Thursday 12-5pm, Friday 12-8pm. Saturday 12-5pm. [publisher's note: CALL to confirm the gallery will be open]

2010-04-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April1, 2010

Contact: Karen Mobley
Arts Director
City of Spokane Arts Department
(509) 625-6050

Nan Drye, Bruce Hormann, Dirk Parsons,
& Mary Wheeler
At the Chase Gallery
May 4—June 25, 2010

The artwork of Nan Drye, Bruce Hormann, Dirk Parsons, & Mary Wheeler will be featured at the Chase Gallery, May 4 through June 25, 2010. The Chase Gallery is located in City Hall at 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. in Spokane. An artist reception will be held in conjunction with First Friday, on Friday, May 7, 5pm to 8pm. Gallery hours are Monday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nan Drye has created a series of mobiles. Each mobile contains a blank molded cloth face with varying collages underneath. The mobiles explore concepts ranging from spending or squandering of time to feminism and female motivations in the 21st century. Nan is a graduate of the University of Missouri at Kansas City with a Bachelor of Arts.

Bruce Hormann creates epoxy resin and collage works which relate to marking time and explains his life experiences such as remodeling his studio or his recovery from being hit by a car and being unconscious. Bruce studied at the Art Institute of Seattle and Spokane Falls Community College.

Dirk Parsons (art above left) is an acrylic painter inspired by elements of the natural world. Brightly colored pallets and highly detailed contrasting lines define the color and form of Parsons’ primarily abstract work. Complex shapes and colors seem recognizable at first, but familiar images emerge upon closer examination. Parson’s work has shown in California and throughout Spokane.

Mary Wheeler employs texture and bright colors using paper mache, mixed media and acrylic paint to comprise 3-D wall pieces inspired by leaves. Wheeler discovers an endless source of ideas from daily walks around the city. Her work is an abstraction of the leaves, debris, cracks, etc. which form themselves into compositions that she finds intriguing. Wheeler holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans.

2010-04-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

It's only Spring but Little Spokane River Artists Tour participants are already looking forward to Fall. Check out the lineup below and mark your calendar for September 25, 2010.

New from the NW Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC)

2010-04-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Arts & Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest
March 13 through June 26, 2010

Don’t miss this feast of decorative art displaying how Northwest architects, craftspeople and artists expressed simplicity and beauty in their buildings, furnishings, metalwork, crafts and printing in the 20th century. This exhibit Includes exquisite pieces donated from the local Davenport family.
Cost: Free with museum admission.

NEW EXHIBIT OPENING ON MAY 1
Ruben Trejo: Beyond Boundaries, Aztlán y más allá May 1 – November 13, 2010
A major one-person exhibition of Trejo’s work spanning over four decades. Ruben is one of our region’s most important and respected artists. His work is in many collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection. The exhibit includes the artist’s sculpture, mixed media constructions, paintings and drawings. A beautiful exhibition catalogue is available, published by the University of Washington Press. Lead Sponsors: EWU Foundation, Sterling Savings, The Spokesman-Review, Johnston-Hanson Foundation
May 1 Ruben Trejo Opening Day Celebration 3:00 – 4:00 pm Roundtable discussion and book signing followed by reception. Free with museum admission. MAC members no charge.

Special ArtFest Notice! Call for ArtistsArtFest June 4-6, 2010
The 25th annual ArtFest is upon us and we have openings for artists to participate in this MAC signature event. Deadline is March 12th. Download the prospectus here.

University of Idaho: Up-and-Coming Senior Exhibition

2010-04-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE
Memories in the Painting: MFA Thesis Exhibit at Prichard Art Gallery Opens April 16

MOSCOW, Idaho – University of Idaho master's of fine arts degree candidates will exhibit their works in an MFA Thesis Exhibit at the Prichard Art Gallery April 16 through May 8. An opening reception will take place at the gallery on Friday, April 16, from 5-8 p.m.

“This year's candidates provide a great variety of work” said Roger Rowley, director of the Prichard Art Gallery. "Painters, printmakers, sculptors in glass, metal and more are included. It’s a great representation of the depth of creative activity in the program."

Melissa Bixby’s sculptures create a contrast between the perceived weight of the material and the form’s sense of flow.

Courtney Brockett's paintings (right) of interior spaces portray remnants of human activity; images of a bedroom, an office or hallway act as portraits without people. The performance of daily routine becomes a trace of human interaction, and the chaos and clutter become the evidence of narrative in these interiors.

Hanna Clark’s installations of found objects and works on paper draw attention to the material residue that suggests a sense of collective memory. The capacity of detritus to expose repressed realities in cycles of decay is embodied in waste objects.

Coping with issues of parenthood and isolation from people her own age, and people in general, informs Rachael Eastman’s prints. It allows Eastman to speak when words cannot express the situation. The physical process of creating through printmaking makes possible a type of contemplation that becomes part of the work.

Pairing surreal dreamlike images with ideas of home, Danielle Feige seeks to portray the notion of the “uncanny.”

Sarah Gilbert’s work (left) explores the boundaries of the human, as both a physical form and an ideological category. Her works examine the formation and deformation of categories through everyday interaction with visual information.

The Prichard Art Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Gallery is closed Monday. The gallery, an outreach facility of the University of Idaho, is located at 414/416 S. Main St. on the corner of Fifth and Main streets in downtown Moscow. Admission is free. Additional information is available at www.uidaho.edu/galleries.

Whitworth University Up-and-Coming Student Art Exhibits

2010-04-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

deFINEart
Whitworth Class of 2010 JUNIOR Exhibition
April 13-April 23, 2010
Opening Reception: April 13, 5-7 pm, Lied Art Center

Stains
Whitworth Class of 2010 SENIOR Exhibition
April 27-May 15, 2010
Opening Reception: April 27, 5-7 pm, Lied Art Center

NIC Student Art Show to showcase student art in the Corner Gallery

2010-04-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

North Idaho College Student Art Show will showcase original artwork created by students in NIC art classes

April 12 through May 7 in NIC’s Boswell Hall Corner Gallery. The opening reception for the exhibit will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 13.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Information: (208) 769-3276.

“This is a great opportunity for our students to exhibit the pieces they’ve created throughout the year and to experience the last cycle of the artistic process,” said NIC Boswell Hall Corner Gallery Coordinator and Art Instructor Allie Vogt. “It’s also a wonderful showcase to the community on the quality of work our students produce.”

The Student Art Show will feature a variety of original works created by students in their art classes. Disciplines include graphic design, photography, two- and three-dimensional design, illustration, sculpture, ceramics, drawing and painting.

Annual NEW WORKS Exhibit at The Art Spirit (Coeur d'Alene)

2010-04-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Art Spirit Gallery at 415 Sherman Avenue in downtown Coeur d’Alene opens the 2010 ArtWalk season with “New Work by 12 Artists.” The opening reception is on Friday, April 9 from 5-8. Everyone is welcome. The show runs from April 9 through May 8.

12 Participating Artists: • Harold Balazs • Victoria Brace • Kathleen Cavender • Tim Ely • Mary Farrell • Viky Garden • Del Gish • Robert Grimes • Maurice Nespor • Kyle Paliotto • Brad Rude • Steve Sauer

By Steve Sauer, who will co-curate the upcoming Clay Invitational at the gallery with Al Tennant.

By Victoria Brace

By Timothy Ely, who will return in the Fall for a collaborative exhibition with Ian Boyden.

Blanchard Arts Calendar: Arts in the Country

2010-04-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Sandpoint Scene through April

2010-04-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Robens Napolitan and Tom Kramer will continue to show their abstracts (right) at Evans Brothers Coffee in Sandpoint (524 Church Street). Open 9-3 Tuesday-Friday, 9-1pm Saturday.

The "Annual Student Art Show," featuring work by area public, private and home-schooled young adults is ongoing at the Old Power House Building. Sponsored by Pend Oreille Arts Council.

Also sponsored by POAC, the work of 20 local photographers is on display at Panhandle State Bank at 4th and Church Streets. Entitled "Scenes of the Northwest," the exhibition runs through June 10.

And look for expanded arts exhibitions in the community of Sandpoint with POAC's “Out and About” exhibitions at seven different local locations: Panhandle State Bank, Northern Lights, Starbucks, Bonner General Hospital, University of Idaho Extension Services, Taylor-Parker Motor Company, and Spokane Teachers Credit Union.

If you haven't yet been in there, check out First Light Gallerie, a new studio/gallery by Scott Kirby and Marie-Dominique Verdier (www.sandpointphoto.com). They're in the former Stage Right Cellars space, adjacent to the Panida Theater. Currently on display are Kirby's watercolors and Verdier's photography. Bookmark the website to find out more about exhibitions and events.

A new round of arts classes starts April 26 at the Arts Alliance. Check out their website for more information or visit the Sandpoint Center for the Arts (located inside Redtail Gallery, 6th & Oak Streets) for samples of student work.

Mark your calendar for the May 7 opening of Catherine Earle at Redtail Gallery. Her abstract watercolors and encaustics have taken on new forms and figures, building a layer of personal and archetypal narrative into her characteristically color-saturated imagery.

Upcoming Schedule, New Artist at Tinman (Garland District, Spokane)

2010-04-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Wish I had an image to show you all... Here is the press release from Tinman:

TInman is pleased to announce a new show "At the Edge of the Sea" by Lou McKee to open with an artist's reception on Friday, April 2nd from 5 to 9 PM. The exhibit will feature works in several media including oil pastel on board, watercolor and pen and ink. The show is inspired by the coastal geology of western Vancouver Island where artist Lou McKee spends her summers hiking and kayaking. The main body of the show features up close and personal "portraits" of the surf polished stones that catch McKee's eye. Once chosen, each stone is examined for its patterns and basic colors which are then magnified with layer upon layer of oil pastel. "While painting on to the larger boards, layers of our planet or images of our vast universe seem to emerge," says McKee.

The artist was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended college at Western Washington University as an art major. She worked for several companies in the Seattle area as a graphic illustrator and designer while also showing her work in group juried shows at the Frye Art Museum and other galleries on the west side. She and her husband, David VerWolf have made their home in Spokane for many years now.

"We are pleased to have an artist of Lou's seriousness and sincerity at the Tinman," says owner Sue Bradley. "Lou is clearly following in the footsteps of other major Canadian painters who recreate their visual explorations of the Canadian landscape." The painter is inspired by Emily Carr and the Candian Group of Seven.

And the upcoming schedule:

April 30th – May 30th
Ric Gendron, Acrylic paintings
Artist’s Reception, Friday, April 30th, 5-9 pm

June 4th – July 3rd

George Flett, Ledger paintings

Artist’s Reception, Friday, June 4th, 5-9 pm

July 30th – Aug 22nd

Alice in Wonderland Invitational

Artists’ Reception, Friday, July 30th, 5-9 pm
Garland Street Fair, August 14th

August 27th – Sept 26th
Leonard Heid, Oil paintings, Kay O’Rourke, Mixed Media
Artist’s Reception, Friday, August 27th, 5-9 pm

October 1st – 31st
Harold Balazs, Mixed media, enamels, and sculpture
Artist’s Reception, Friday, October 1st, 5-9 pm, Visual Arts Tour
Halloween on Garland, Saturday, October 31st

November 5th – Nov 28th
Gordon Wilson, Oil paintings
Artists’ Reception, Friday, November 5th, 5-9 pm
5th Annual Handmade Ornament Show, Nov 26 – 28

December 3rd – Dec 31st
Best of 2010
Small paintings, sculptures, and mixed media
Artists’ Reception, Friday, December 3rd, 5-9 pm

New Artists Emerging: Travis Masingale

2010-04-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

I wonder if young artists are taught the finer arts of marketing while in art school. Travis Masingale probably was, ergo the email to my editor which eventually filtered down to me. We briefly discussed the possibility of an "emerging artist" series, which may be as far as the conversation goes. In the meantime, here's emerging artist, Travis Masingale.

Showing at the Globe Bar and Grill through April 28, opening Friday April 2, 5-7:30. "No Reservations" features reconfigured pieces from Masingale's portfolio (a few years each at SFCC and EWU), as well as new work. Shown are Reasons (below right) and Pieces of Me (bottom left).

"Transcendence Project" Debuts in April First Friday, Spokane

2010-03-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

Click here for more information.

From the Studio February, 2010

2010-03-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

The latest from the studio. Actually completed last month in time for entry into a show in Seattle.

I like the aesthetic of this piece, which is actually a re-work of an earlier piece that sold (the only one that sold!) when I showed at Redtail Gallery last year. That show, called Paradise Lost and Found, was a collection of assemblages dealing with gender issues, including the mythologies of relationships, romantic love, etc.

This piece has a bit of an edge to it. I like that. It's not what it appears to be. Things rarely are so simple, right?

This is called Free Love.

Saranac Art Projects Features Roger Ralston, Lisa Nappa, Chris Tillia

2010-03-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Saranac Art Projects

NEWS RELEASE

February 17^th, 2010

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Roger Ralston, Memeber of Saranac Art Projects

509.496.6341.

rogerralston@gmail.com

info@www.rogerralston.net

www.rogeralston.net

The Dark Room: Welcome Obscura

Roger Ralston will construct a Camera Obscura, or dark room in the gallery. This is an investigation of the projection of images from our world into a dream space constructed in the gallery. A camera obscura is a Renaissance period construction used to investigate light and perspective. Roger will also exhibit drawings he uses as investigative steps in making sculpture. Bronze cast plaques will be a part of the exhibition. His work approaches drawing and casting using a subtle poetic set of forms structuring a conversation of nuance and relationship in story telling.

Lisa Nappa and Chris Tillia will exhibit recent work. Lisa will exhibit ceramic constructions continuing her work with water as a theme. She will have a number of constructions made from cut and modified prints using water as an initial source of imagery. Chris Tillia will exhibit his continuing work with ceramic materials. Chris works with ceramic materials to create sculptural forms through non-traditional shapes. He has been working on a set of cast

Saranac Art Projects is a non-profit gallery open and free to the public to establish, explore, and support contemporary visual art and culture. Located in the Community Building at 25 W. Main Street, SAP is a non-profit alternative art space run by local artists and curators. Artist established, operated and supported, SAP is a cooperative of 20-24 dedicated to supporting artists in Spokane since 2007. Join us the first Friday of every month for first Friday or visit us Thursday through Saturday eleven to five-thirty. Saranac Art Projects is located at 25 W. Main Street, Spokane, Washington. 99201.

Saranac Art Projects

25 West Main Street

Spokane, Washington 99201

11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturdays

Get Connected: Links to Local Artists

2010-02-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

Writing about art has enabled me to meet some amazing artists, like Eileen Klatt, who emailed me an updated link to her website (which I added to the "Get Connected" section).

Klatt is a Sandpoint-area artist who has more or less dedicated her life to painting salmon, documenting their story, including the extinction of so many unique and beautiful species from tributaries throughout the Columbia region.

Here's a photo of her painting in her Hope, Idaho studio.

Hear the Difference: KYRS Ready Made Radio Art Fundraiser

2010-02-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already bookmarked this site, check it out. This is from Bernadette Vielbig, who is producing Ready Made Radio online visual arts broadcast. The upcoming fundraiser features cool art available from local artists for donations of $25 and upwards. A worthy cause. March 2-11.

The more we support KYRS, the greater reach...in lots of ways. Where would be be without public media?!