May’s Olympia Design Month: We Build This City

By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Janae Huber and other citizens launched the group Olympians for People-Oriented Places in 2015. Their goal was to support a compact, diverse Olympia designed around attractive public spaces. Abbreviated O-POP, the organization recognizes the challenges of housing an estimated thousand new residents each year without sacrificing environmental protections or civic beauty. Toward …

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Flowers and Other Works by Scott Waeschle

By Alec Clayton  Painter and teacher Scott Waeschle has shown his figure paintings and landscapes in area galleries for decades. This year, Olympians get to see something new from Waeschle: flowers. Waeschle explains how the new work came about. “I had both knees replaced two years ago,” he says, “and spent two months in the …

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New Direction for Tom Anderson to Be Seen at Arts Walk

By Alec Clayton  Tom Anderson is practically an art institution in Olympia. His studio has been open to the public since the 1980s. He’s created many well-known, public-art installations: the Park of the Seven Oars on Harrison, a suite of mural-size paintings in the emergency-room lobby at Providence St. Peters Hospital.His works are in many …

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A Trio of Artists Enlivens the Former Salon Refu

By Alec Clayton The gallery space once known as Salon Refu is now Lucy Gentry’s studio. “For Arts Walk,” Gentry says, “Susan Christian and I, plus a wonderful, Seattle artist named Lauren Boilini, are showing at my studio. Lauren’s work is really wonderful. Susan will be showing some paintings and a stick sculpture. I will be …

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Bob Coble and Debra van Tuinen Show Complementary Painting and Sculpture

By Alec Clayton Once again, Bob Cable and Debra van Tuinen grace the space at Waterstreet Café for Arts Walk. “I will be showing my new oils on canvas,” van Tuinen says. “I have a new series. ‘Light Revealed.’ That I am also showing at my show at Space gallery in Denver in July.” Van Tuinen is celebrated for …

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Carved Wood and Ceramics at Childhood’s End Gallery

By Alec Clayton As long as there has been Arts Walk in Olympia, Childhood’s End Gallery has been one of the most popular galleries to visit. In the past the gallery has featured works by no more than three or four popular area artists. This year it presents “Carved Wood & Ceramics,” a themed show …

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Pop-Up Art Coming to Olympia Storefronts

What’s the best way to address empty storefront space in downtown Olympia? Fill it with art. The Olympia Artspace Alliance (OAA) has proposed an ambitious new project to do just that. Beginning this May, the alliance will set out to create a series of three temporary installations that will show local artists in vacant, downtown-Olympia …

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Joe Batt’s Bullies at Allsorts Gallery

By Susan Christian Joe Batt has been teaching ceramic sculpture at South Puget Sound Community College for at least 20 years. He has shown his work at the college, in Olympia storefronts and at local galleries. His work has traditionally charmed with attractive color and fairytale references, and engaged social issues, such as the effect …

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Susan Aurand and Mary McCann enliven Childhood’s End

ART REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS A warm and welcoming glow washes over you as you step into the gallery at Childhood’s End. It’s not just that the art on display is good, which it is. It’s the spacing of the art and the dominant colors that flow wavelike from painting to painting …

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2018 State of the Arts

By Billy Thomas and Lydia Boss, special contributor Artist Trust is a nonprofit dedicated to helping Washington State artists of all disciplines thrive. Its mission is to support and encourage artists working in all disciplines to enrich community life throughout Washington State. Founded in 1986, it was formed by a group of artists and arts lovers who …

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