by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS
Loralin Toney created Aquapia, the mixed-media sculpture on the cover of the Arts Walk map, in and around her tiny, off-the-grid home in Tenino. “I used to have a thousand-square-foot studio, and now I have a picnic table,” she said in a recent interview. “But I’m much happier here. There’s no maintenance.”
Toney is well known for her terra-cotta garden ware and lamps, including those she designed for the now-closed restaurant Cielo Blu, but her intricate porcelain, wood and copper sculptures — influenced by art nouveau and the symbolist movement — have only recently begun to attract attention.
The meaning of each piece matters to her, and Aquapia is a tribute to Olympia and its environment — particularly the oft-maligned rain, represented by shimmering, Japanese glass beads that stream down the backdrop and dangle from copper chains.
Aquapia and four other works in Toney’s “Rise” series will be on view at the cooperative Splash Gallery, where she’s been showing her work for the past year and a half.
What: Rise
Where: Splash Gallery,
309 State Ave. NE, Olympia
When: When: 5-10 p.m. Friday, April 28;
noon – 8 p.m. Saturday, April 29;
through Sunday, May 28
How much: free
Get tickets: 360-943-5177 | Splash Gallery