Lynette Charters Serembe is a conceptual artist and author of The Missing Women Series book, presenting a new perspective of society and history from the female identifying point of view. She was born and grew up in The Yorkshire Dales in The North of England. She holds a BA (hons) degree from Cardiff College, Wales and an MFA from Chelsea College of Art, London. She studied under the British painter Graham Crowley, printmaker Amanda Faulkner, and was assistant to the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy on two of his larger outdoor sculptures. She has also travelled internationally working in the animation industry. Charters has exhibited in many parts of America, most recently in Gallery 839 in Burbank LA, Fogue Gallery in Seattle, Old Courthouse Arts Center in Chicago, Ryan James Fine Arts Gallery in Kirkland, Marin County Society of Artists in the Bay Area, The Hammond Museum, NY, also exhibitions in the UK. Her solo shows often involve a museum type installation with tongue-in-cheek docent performances by actor John Serembe as docent, and Yuri Serembe as security guard. She has been featured in articles in Oly Arts, Artist Close Up, Voyage LA, Shoutout LA, The Olympian, Saundra Fleming’s arts blog, and was on the cover of Kirkland Lifestyle magazine. She currently works from her studio in Olympia, Washington.
Articles
- tomakesenseofitall: Aisha Harrison and Paige Pettibon at Tacoma Art Museum
The art of Aisha Harrison and Paige Pettibon in their show, “tomakesenseofitall” at Tacoma Art Museum works to deliver orchestrated messages, respecting and supporting each other’s voice, singing a similar song which gives you many things to think about. Harrison and Pettibon have much in common, they both practice their disciplines with similar concerns in mind, they both utilize a rich, visually allegorical narrative, incorporating surrealism as a means of communication to express the niche space they occupy in the world. - Heart of the Deernicorn and Studio Golden in Downtown Olympia
Mo Golden and Ross Cowman are the owners of Heart of the Deernicorn Inc. Cowman has been casually designing tabletop games since he was a kid. Cowman and Golden made a game together called Night Forest. Golden studied fine art with Marilyn Frasca, also movement with Rob Esposito at Evergreen. Cowman says the prompts in the game give an opportunity to share in a poetic way, poetry being a love of Cowman’s which he studied as a student at Evergreen. - Labyrinths at Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts
Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts supports experimental and experiential art. They have made themselves quite the legacy. They usually house group shows twice a year, with some solo shows in between when possible. The Spring Arts Walk show through May 24 is a local open call. The theme is Labyrinth, and it is a deeply intriguing show because of its multiple interpretations of this universal theme and the uses of varied materials and compositions. - Trans Trad Music Festivalby Lynette Charters Serembe Trans Trad Music Festival is co-directed by Alex Sturbaum (they/them) and Hayden Stern (he/his). Stern said with the election and the craziness of what is going on regarding the executive orders being enforced restricting transgender people, as artists, they were wondering what they could do as an act of resistance. Celebration …
- Celery Jones and her Deliciously Crunchy Artby Lynette Charters Serembe Celery Jones has been making art since she could hold a pencil. Her parents met at art school, and her mother, De Selby (dselby.com), went on to become a professional oil painter. Jones vividly recalls frustration during childhood art lessons with her mom De, as she guided her to hone her …
- Saundra Fleming’s World
Much of Saundra Fleming’s art is quirky and humorous, but there is also intensity. Her raw, unabashed, expressive paintings are packed with the movement and disarray of her very personal experience of the world around her, laced with a heavy and welcome shot of humor to make it ever-so-slightly more, but not completely bearable, which, let’s face it, is not too far from what we’re experiencing as a nation … on steroids. Meaningful art for our times indeed. - SPSCC’s 14th Annual Fine Art Postcard Exhibition and Auction: “Forgotten Conversations”
Gallery Director Sean Barnes says of SPSCC’s annual postcard show: “I find the collective contributions from the community to be the most remarkable aspect of the exhibition auction. Every year 100 plus artists and non-artists contribute hundreds of small works inspired by the theme which are cultural and universal in nature. The show brings our creative community together to support the arts.” - Critic’s Corner: Best Visual and Performing Arts of 2024
Many of the South Sound’s best theater and visual arts critics write for OLY ARTS. We asked six of them to highlight some of their favorite visual and performance art shows from 2024, and we congratulate and celebrate the Olympia and Tacoma-area artists selected. Due to the limitation we put on the critics of no more than two or three shows, we are aware of and acknowledge that many great shows and artists were not picked. We are lucky to live in such a vibrant creative community. - Paper Trails at Childhood’s End
The current Childhood’s End Gallery show, up through December 23, is visually impressive and stimulating and yet simultaneously very relaxing to be with, demonstrating the versatility, and diversity of paper. The variety of styles and skills of the artists are cohesively unified by their shared love of the material. - SPSCC’s 16th Annual Native American Art Exhibition
The question was posed to Native artists, “How can we lovingly honor our ancestors, heal generational traumas, and preserve culture in the modern world?” Their many responses varied, vibrant and intriguing responses can be seen in this art exhibition at SPSCC’s Leonor R. Fuller Gallery at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts through Dec. 13. - Art of Salish Peoples with Featured Artist Ed NoiseCat at Evergreen Gallery
The Art of Salish Peoples, showcasing Coastal and Interior Salish People’s art, is a group exhibition until Jan 10, 2025, curated by the staff of The House of Welcome at The Evergreen State College. It is an all-Salish project, with lead artist Ed Archie NoiseCat and invited artists at Evergreen Gallery. - Form & Pose: Joint Show of the Works of Gabi and Alec Clayton
In Rex & Rose, a new coffee shop located in the beautiful and historic Security Building on 4th Avenue, you will see the works of two of the most prolific artists Olympia has to offer, Alec and Gabi Clayton. The art there until the end of October was chosen by co-owner Jay Michael Becker who curates the shows. This is the first time the Claytons have shown together other than in their home, and it is engaging to see how the two bodies of work interact with each other in such a beautiful setting. - Fall/Winter 2024 Print Edition
Oly Arts Walk * Bucoda Spook-Tacular * Anna Schlecht * Tacoma Film Festival * Enterlope * Eileen Bochsler * OFT & More! You can read our 31st print edition here. It is hot off the press and distributed free in the area plus available online! - Enterlope’s Fashion Runway in the Alley for ArtsWalk
by Lynette Charters Serembe — Tucked away in the heart of The Hotel Olympia building adjacent to Sylvester Park is the raw gem of a fashion enterprise named Enterlope. Cal Ledbetter is the owner and main designer, who has big dreams with plans of bringing couture fashion to our community in a truly Olympian way. He started creating clothes for drag queens, making some very flamboyant outfits, then moving on to make prom dresses. At the time being, inspired by designers of the past, such as McQueen, Dior, Lagerfeld and Galliano, he says he mimicked their designs to learn their techniques. Then he was introduced to local designer Dakota Miller; they teamed up working with their new brand aesthetic. - Summer at the Schmidt: Midsummer Night’s Dream Faire
“Midsummer Night’s Dream Faire” at Schmidt House in Tumwater features live music by Tacoma-based Pearl Django, other performances, games, dinner and refreshments (21+). This one-night event on Thursday, August 8th is a fundraising event to benefit the Procession of the Species organization. - Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema
“It is a great honor to have such prominent authors [Willow Catelyn Maclay and Caden Mark Gardner] meet remotely with our community. They are lauded as two of the best film writers working today, and their new book is poised to become a foundational text about cinema and queer history.” Trans Film Festival and library Zoom event with authors. - OLY ARTS Summer 2024 Print Edition
You can read the articles that are in OLY ARTS Summer 2024 Print Edition from links on this page, and you can read and download the PDF version linked in the website’s sidebar. - Olympia Harbor Days Celebrates 51 YearsBy Lynette Charters Serembe This is on page 10-11 of OLY ARTS Summer 2024 print edition. Olympia Harbor Day started in 1973, showcasing the vintage tugboats of the Puget Sound at Percival Landing in Olympia. It was a casual gathering hosted by the nonprofit South Sound Maritime Heritage Association, which organizes the event to this …
- OLY ARTS Spring 2024 Print Edition
You can read the articles that are in OLY ARTS Spring 2024 Print Edition from links on this page and you can read and download the PDF version linked in the website’s sidebar. - The Multidimensional World of Travis JohnsonTravis Johnson is a multidisciplinary artist, a prolific painter, sculptor, ceramicist, knowledgeable curator, and he has a deeply moving voice which will touch your soul when you hear it. Johnson is a man with an easy smile and a friendly demeanor. Anything he sets his mind to, he follows through purposefully and unflinchingly; he is extremely serious about his art and art mentoring practices and if you spend time appreciating his many talents and disciplines, you’ll notice there is a strong common thread that runs through them.
- Patsy Surh O’Connell’s Splendid “Discovery of Nature” at The Gallery at Tacoma Community College
Surh O’Connell’s rich and detailed watercolors at The Gallery at Tacoma Community College are like the artist herself, elegant and refined with an inner complexity, wisdom, and intellect. They show a rare and quiet dedication and stamina which reflects all aspects of Surh O’Connell’s life. - Creating a Platform for Native People’s Art, TCMoFA Becomes Coast Salish Museum of Fine Arts
Thurston County Museum of Fine Art is reinventing itself this year as Coast Salish Museum of Fine Art, creating a platform for native people’s art. OLY ARTS spoke to Griffin Quinn (they/them) about how this came about. - Sandra Bocas and Toni Lawrence Fine Art Show (with a side of Hot Babe Hotsauce)by Lynette Charters Serembe Sandra Bocas has traveled extensively and lived in many different parts of the world from her country of birth, Venezuela, to Trinidad, where she moved to at the age of five and where her family lives. She went to boarding school in Wales in the UK, moved to and worked in …
- Our Cover Artist Mikaela Shafer — Recent and Past Workby Lynette Charters Serembe Mikaela Shafer is our OLY ARTS cover artist. Her beautiful and meaningful artworks will be showing recent and past works at Dog Bog Studios with her studio companions Daniel Overstreet and David Overstreet, also other Knitting Mills artists J. Hukee, Evan Clayton Horback and the ACE program artists, and guest artists …
- SPSCC 2023 Art Faculty and Staff Exhibition Through September
The SPSCC 2023 art faculty and staff exhibition is beautiful, well executed, well presented, and thought-provoking with a variety of disciplines on display. Being created by educators, the show has underlying messages. Open through September. - The Beautiful, Chaotic and Rhythmic World of Tom Fath
Tom Fath says when he finishes a painting it gives him moments of clarity and a sense of being on the right path, creating good from chaos. Much like his life’s journey, his art explores fears and doubts while celebrating what life has to offer. - Middle Space at CaTMA Gallery: A Fine Art Show by Lucy Gentry and Rebecca Figel
Their works have elements in common, the most recognizable being that they are all monochrome. Gentry’s work is more playful and rhythmic, while Figel’s work is darker with more tension. - Local GalleriesTRAVIS JOHNSON STUDIOS & GALLERY STORE Travis Johnson Studios Gallery Store is a multifaceted creative extension birthed from Johnson’s personal art practice as a painter, sculptor, and fashion designer. He thrives on cultivating curating, developing, and promoting local, regional, and international artists. His studio showcases artists in a seasonal exhibition series, and he and his …
- Review: The Half-Life of Marie Curie at Oly Theater
The Half-Life of Marie Curie, written by Lauren Gunderson and produced by Theater Artists Olympia, is a joyful exploration of a pair of turn-of-the-century women scientists, the celebrated Marie Curie and the less well-known Hertha Ayrton. - Review: This Old World
This Old World at Childhood’s End through June 11 “is a show made by artists who have lived a full life, it is eloquent, and expertly executed but is also experimental.” - Small Creative Studios with Great Big Ideas
Olympia Arts Walk is a great way to get out and see what’s going on in our vibrant city. This article highlights three places that exemplify what makes Olympia a great place to be an artist or art lover. - Leonie Castelino and Irene Osborn at the Pacific NW Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum in La Connor
Celebrated and award-winning local sculptor Irene Osborn showing with internationally renowned contemporary bojagi artist Leonie Castelino at Pacific NW Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum in La Connor. - Lynette Charters SerembeLynette Charters Serembe is a conceptual artist and author of The Missing Women Series book, presenting a new perspective of society and history from the female identifying point of view. She was born and grew up in The Yorkshire Dales in The North of England. She holds a BA (hons) degree from Cardiff College, Wales and an …