Proteus (Adam St. John) and Valentine (Jeffrey Painter)

REVIEW: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Quoting director Scot Whitney’s notes in the program for Harlequin Productions’ The Two Gentlemen of Verona, “Probably no one had argued that it is (Shakespeare’s) best work. It’s not…The jokes are often cheap, strained or downright corny. And though Shakespeare always played fast and loose with time …

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"A Tender Moment" (watercolor), by Robyn Chance

Fall 2016 Arts Walk Guide

Olympia’s fall Arts Walk 2016 takes place on these days: Friday, October 7 (5-10 p.m.) Saturday, October 8 (noon – 5 p.m.) Think of Arts Walk as a weekend-long street party, with live music, theatrical performances and the conversion of downtown Olympia into one big gallery. It’s a showcase for the best of local arts and culture, …

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Julie Creighton, "A Favorite Place"

Oly Artists to Show in Bicoastal Exhibition

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Two Olympia-area artists have been chosen to show work in the bicoastal exhibitions Coast to Coast West in Seattle and Coast to Coast East in New York beginning in October and sponsored by The National Association of Women Artists and Women Painters of Washington. These artists are Susan Flora …

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Christine Malek

Gallery Boom Explodes

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Gallery Boom, opening Oct. 1 in downtown Olympia, has come a long way. Geographically, it’s moved only four miles from its first home in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Tumwater, where it began two years ago as part of the city’s business incubator program. The big change: The …

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Margaret Noble, "Resonating Objects"

REVIEW: Margaret Noble’s “Resonating Objects” at SPSCC

VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) gallery director Nathan Barnes noted that Margaret Noble’s exhibition “Resonating Objects” begs the question, “What is art?” Is it just painting and sculpture? What about sound, movement, light? What are the boundaries between visual art and the performing arts? There …

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222 Market; photo by Piper Hope Backholm

222 Market Opening Downtown

by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS This October, Olympia welcomes an indoor food market to the downtown corridor. A year-round destination, 222 Market features local vendors and restaurants that focus on sustainable, hand-produced goods. The project includes traditional walk-in businesses as well as a walk-through promenade, with open stalls and indoor public seating. The building’s …

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Brian Jansen

Painter Brian Jansen at Rush In Dumplings

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Brian Wayne Jansen is a self-taught artist who began his career shortly after he took an art history class in high school. He enjoyed his first show at the Capitol Theater for a Stonewall Youth event eight years ago and has been showing around Olympia and Seattle since. For …

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"A Tender Moment" (watercolor), by Robyn Chance

Painter Robyn Chance at Bamboo & You

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Robyn Chance has lived in the Northwest for most of her life. She attended the University of Washington, the University of Puget Sound and Bastyr University. She’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is the author and illustrator of two children’s picture books. …

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Tom Anderson

Painter Tom Anderson at Childhood’s End Gallery

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Tom Anderson is a contemporary mixed-media artist. He’s the artist who created Olympia’s Park of the Seven Oars by the roundabout on Harrison. His large paintings fill the walls in the emergency room at Providence St. Peter Hospital, and his work is in more than 1,600 public and private …

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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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