Emma's Revolution

Emma’s Revolution CD-Release Concert

by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Emma’s Revolution, the hard-hitting duo of activist-musicians Pat Humphries and Sandy O., will hold a CD-release concert at Traditions Café and World Folk art to celebrate the release of their new album, Revolution Now. They’ve been creating and performing music together for 25 years, all while working to spread …

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"Phoebe 1," oil on wood panel by Peter Scherrer

REVIEW: Jean Nagai and Peter Scherrer

VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Salon Refu ends its brief but amazing history as the only gallery in South Puget Sound to rival major galleries in major cities by offering a two-person show of works by Jean Nagai and Peter Scherrer. The gallery closes its doors at the end of this …

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Susan Christian

Susan Christian: Painter and Gallerist

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS One might think, if one pored through painter and gallery owner Susan Christian’s biography, that she’s the kind of creative being one might expect to have seen hanging out with Picasso and Hemingway at Gertrude Stein’s salons at the beginning of the 20th century, or later at gatherings of …

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Heather and Michael Christopher

Heather and Michael Christopher: Together in Theater

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Heather and Michael Christopher are a power couple in the Olympia theater scene. Heather is a teacher and director with Olympia Family Theater’s children’s programs and a near-ubiquitous actor. Michael is an actor, director and set and lighting designer. Michael most recently directed Theater Artist Olympia’s Playhouse Creatures and …

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"Some Time Ago," acrylic on paper by Jean Nagai

Jean Nagai and Peter Scherrer at Arts Walk

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Jean Nagai paints with acrylic and correction fluid on paper — that’s right, correction fluid, commonly known as whiteout, the stuff used to correct typing mistakes. Nagai first showed his work in Olympia at Salon Refu in December 2014. The paintings were intricate patterns made of thousands of white …

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"Tech Twins," stoneware and mixed media by Joe Batt

Joe Batt and Students at Arts Walk

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS South Puget Sound Community College professor of art Joe Batt creates comically surrealistic ceramic figures of men and women, children and animals. Rabbits that look for all the world like they just stepped away from a Mad Hatter tea party appear to be his favorite creature creation &mash; and …

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painting by Megan Bailey

Weekend Preview: April 21, 2017

WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, we’re bringing you everything you need to know about debut author readings, hilarious plays and stunning art exhibits around Olympia. The only question is how you’ll pick from this week’s stellar lineup of events.   Click here to listen to our podcast version …

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blue heron at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge

2017: Alki Middle School and the Shores of Nisqually

by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS Since 1974, the Nisqually river delta has been set aside for public enjoyment as the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. This biologically diverse estuary covers over 760 acres, the largest delta refuge in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a birdwatcher’s delight, with over 200 species alighting there each …

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Charging, archival digital print by Joe Hedges

Joe Hedges: Empirical Evidence at SPSCC

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 …

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Susan Christian

REVIEW: Susan Christian

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 …

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