posts by Alec Clayton
VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Lucy Gentry Meltzer’s Biophilia Collection at Salon Refu is a selection of small voodoo dolls and sculptural figures on dress mannequins, standing on the floor and floating from a natural wood frame just below the gallery ceiling. Figuratively, they’re wood sprites, fairies, medieval warriors and goddesses, …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Coming next to The Gallery at South Puget Sound Community College is an exhibition of digital prints, sculptural objects, paintings and installations with sound components by Joe Hedges, assistant professor of painting and intermedia at Washington State University. Gallery director Nathan Barnes says he doesn’t yet know which of …
VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS I have been following Sherry Buckner’s art, mostly in shows at Childhood’s End Gallery, for well over 20 years. Her latest serigraphs and pastels might be her best yet. There are two groups of these works in the current show. On the first group of panels …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS I watched a preview performance of The Trip to Bountiful at Olympia Little Theatre. This is a finely polished production. Written by Horton Foote and directed by James T. Patrick, Bountiful is a quiet, intimate, little play. There’s nothing bombastic or showy about the story or the …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Artist and costume designer Lucy Gentry Meltzer is the next artist whose works will grace the interior of Salon Refu Galley. Described as couture or as sculptural dresses, Meltzer’s art is unlike anything commonly seen in galleries. People who frequent Salon Refu will recognize her as one of the …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Come out of the rain to kick off spring with Olympia Family Theater’s production of Alice in Wonderland—a lot of fun for kids from 3 to 73. Adapted from the book by Lewis Carroll by the multitalented writer, actor and director Kate Ayers and directed by OFT …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The setting is bleak, harsh, cold. Everything is gray. When the lights come up we see a figure in a fetal position on a square riser. Four men and one woman come in, all wearing black suits and white shirts, with a skirt on the woman, the …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS South Puget Sound Community College and the Lacey-Mińsk Mazowiecki Sister City Association are hosting an evening of music by Frédéric Chopin, featuring the two local winners of the Chopin Competition held March 20-23. The winners are students from southwest Washington. Highlighting the concert will be a solo performance by …
VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Once again Susan Christian is showing her painted stick constructions at her own gallery, Salon Refu. The paintings are assemblages of various kinds of sticks, mostly lathe, which she puts together in rectangular shapes and paints as if they were stretched canvases. The last time I …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Running a theater company requires a large package of talents—artistic sensibilities, intelligence, management and people skills and enthusiasm. Meet Linda and Scot Whitney, founders and managers of Harlequin Productions, the celebrated local company that’s produced more than 170 shows since 1991. Linda directs, writes and designs sets. Scot directs …