Sally Penley

Calligrapher Sally Penley at Buck’s Fifth Avenue

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Sally Penley is an aptly named calligrapher living in Olympia. In addition to her love of letters and mixed-media painting, she enjoys creating Asian-inspired images with Sumi ink and simple tools such as pieces of board, handmade Sumi brushes and pointed pen nibs on a variety of textures and …

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Pat Tassoni

Sculptor Pat Tassoni at Peacock Village

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Pat Tassoni is locally famous for lamps patterned after the Space Needle and made from recycled materials. On display at Peacock Village will be various Space Needle replicas ranging from one-foot to 12-feet-tall. The 12-foot Space Needle will be exhibited only on Friday evening. Other works by Tassoni can …

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"The Weight," sculpture by Grey Brogdon

Sculptor Grey Brogdon at Thomas Architecture Studio

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Grey Brogdon has traveled extensively and lived abroad for more than 11 years. He says he finds joy throughout the creative process, from the discovery of found items to the fabrication, casting, building, renovation, painting, drawing and designing of original works. Brogdon majored in art at Oklahoma State University …

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Kathy Gore-Fuss

Painter Kathy Gore-Fuss at Salon Refu

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Kathy Gore-Fuss was born in Seattle but spent most of her childhood in the Midwest. She returned to Seattle in 1966, then attended the University of Washington and studied at Pratt Fine Arts Center. In 2004, her husband of 23 years died suddenly of a heart attack. After his …

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"Islands in the Sky," acrylic by Debra Van Tuinen

Painter Debra Van Tuinen at Waterstreet Café

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Debra Van Tuinen will be showing new paintings and some older work at Waterstreet Café for Arts Walk. Her prints combine watercolor monotypes and solar etching plates. She’s been exhibited by Oehme Graphics at the Washington D.C., Boston, New York City and Minneapolis Print Fairs; by Goodwin Fine Art …

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"Wildflower 2," ceramic by Nicole Gugliotti

Ceramist Nicole Gugliotti at Arbutus Folk School

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Nicole Gugliotti completed her MFA from the University of Florida in 2014. She has exhibited in solo exhibitions at the Tim Salen Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida and The Institute of Ceramic Studies at The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Shigaraki, Japan. Curatorial projects include “Think Warm: Miami Draws …

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"Turnbuckle," collage by Evan Horback

Collagist Evan Horback at Compass Rose

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Evan Clayton Horback grew up in New Jersey and earned a degree in art from State University of New York. Between those two events, he spent years pursuing the monastic life in ashrams in New York and India. He spent 10 years as an arts educator on the East …

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From "My Love Hath / Kissed in Fixing," art by Shaw Osha

REVIEW: Shaw Osha’s “My Love Hath / Kissed in Fixing” at Salon Refu

VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Salon Refu owner Susan Christion posted this on Facebook: “I have an art gallery, Salon Refu. This evening we finished installing a quiet, enticing, initially mysterious show of works by Shaw Osha, my friend and an important artist. Sometimes I don’t understand what Shaw is doing …

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Kate Ayers

Let’s Play Daytime Shows at OFT

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Olympia Family Theater’s “Let’s Play Daytime Shows” are interactive shows for young children, performed on the first Monday, Wednesday and Friday of every month. All shows this season are adapted and directed by Kate Ayers. They’re performed by local actors and are generally about 30 minutes long. “We have …

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The new bookmobile with artists (from left to right) Nikki McClure, Ira Coyne and Jay T. Scott.

Olympia Library’s New Bookmobile

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The downtown Olympia Timberland Regional Library now has a child-size, handmade bookmobile built by local woodworker Jay T. Scott, with a painting of otters on the back by artist Nikki McClure. On the side is an aphorism hand-lettered by Ira Coyne–“You Otter Be READING!”–and a poem, also lettered by …

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