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 …
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 …
VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS If Joe Hedges is trying to convey a message, I don’t get it. But as purely aesthetic objects and images, they’re fascinating; and perhaps that’s the point, that they make the viewer wonder what’s going on, what kind of future world we’ve entered. The largest and …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The arts are for everyone to create and to enjoy. The Washington Center for the Performing Arts’s Young Arts Ambassadors are learning about the arts from the inside out, and they’ll share their knowledge and creations at a showcase this Saturday. A benefit for the program, the showcase features …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Billed as being “much like Parisian salons of old,” Center Salon at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts will fill the intimate space of the Black Box with art, literature, music and theater. Amy Shephard, actor, singer and co-founder of StoryOly at Rhythm & Rye, will emcee the …
WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, we’re bringing you everything you need to know about amazing events you can only find in Olympia, including the Spring Arts Walk, Luminary Procession and Procession of the Species. We hope you’re ready for a weekend full of jaw-dropping visual arts, theater …
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS Sophie Stimson’s work draws inspiration from body and form, both human and animal. Working predominantly with ceramic, bronze and oil painting, Stimson pays respect to the geographic and natural sources of each medium. For the ceramic pieces, Stimson’s clay is mixed along the Puyallup River, while its red tint …
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS The environment is part and parcel of artist Charles M. Willyard’s practice. Using nature as his palette, Willyard drifts between photography, oil and acrylic painting, charcoal, digital media and decorative interiors. From Canada to Michigan and Ohio to Washington, Willyard’s work has encapsulated a wide range of physical landscapes. …
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 …
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 …