A Scene of Tragedy

This was one of the 4 scenes that Julie Gautier Downes created at the Richmond Art Collective. I went to see this event on December 2nd, along with a couple other places for first Friday.

















This art gallery is very different than other places because Julie has constructed multiple small scenes, where she is studying home, trauma, and loss. These scenes are either real or imagined scenes of fractured homes and environments.

Julie was born in San Diego and went to New York in 2001, therefore she has multiple views of how homes may be.  She received her bachelor of Arts from University of California, Santa Cruz in 20011 and her Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2014.









This piece was very interesting because it really gives you that feeling that you are in the bad or sad home, a few of the scenes actually sort of scared me, so I didn't stay at those for too long! But overall it was a wonderful experience to see this type of art.

Well, I guess this is the last one! -- Donald Derosier, "Outstretched Lines"

Earlier this semester our amazing community arts class took a trip to the galleries around downtown Spokane for First Friday! This piece, a photograph by Donald Derosier, was taken in a series that he created along with his wife, Julia. Their extremely aesthetically pleasing website, http://donandjuliaphoto.com/, is a great resource to view some of heir amazing work! This piece in particular is from their Space Hero Mission project, and his wife has other pictures in this as well. This is the inspiration for their project:

"We are constant travellers and up till recently, we were wandering the world, trying to find where we belong. Space Hero Mission was born out of this theme of wanderlust and trying to find oneself in this vast world. It's not a story about us, but the stories of the people we connect with along the way."

I would highly recommend everyone to visit their website and explore the rest of their amazing work from other events, such as Weddings, Portraits, and Commercial!

The Spark Center meeting for Spokane artists who may or may not be lost

Last Saturday, December 10, I participated in a round-table conference for young and emerging artists in the Spokane community. The purpose of this meeting was to give advice and build connections for younger artists, as well as to establish a community feel for the fine arts community in Spokane. There were representatives from all aspects of the fine arts community; theatre, comic books, glass, art administration, 2D, and many others. The main ideas discussed during this meeting were:

• Marketing towards groups in and outside of Spokane to get a feel for how your work fits into the market
• Interacting and forming relationships with people who are further along in their career and work in the same style/mode/form as you do
• What is relevant here may not be relevant somewhere else; if you find that some of your work here is successful and some others aren't, there is still a possibility that there is a market for the other pieces of artwork, it just depends on the city and the viewer's thoughts on your work.
• On January 1st there will be the first, Spokane Arts Grant program going live for artists/collectives/partners to get funds for their projects. Grants range anywhere from $0-$10,000
• Look at the big picture when pricing your work. Take into account the money that you wish to be paid for the time period in which you will be working on the project, the utility cost of creating and maintaining your project (lights, electrical, supplies, renting space for displaying)
• There aren't very many resources for emerging artists to bring professionalism into their artwork, so always remember: Adhere to guidelines, look at industry quality (the quality of other artists who are successful in your field), and make sure to conduct yourself well.
• Is what you are saying lining up with what we are seeing and what you are writing when you are writing a grant?
• All artists should go through the process of writing grants, this is a very important part of the artist community
• Being in a community, its not just about you, and often times you will become much more successful when working in a collective or with a small group of people who all share your ambition
• Don't be afraid to approach a gallery. Be sure you are able to articulate what is important about the work that they specifically should be excited about. Show that your art relates to them or would be of particular interest to them
• An artists statement should be short and concise

For more information, visit Artisttrust.org

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: An interpretation of Jess Walter's Statistical Abstract of Spokane

 We definitely were feeling some Jess Walter vibes when we chose his work to be the focus for our wheat-paste project! His piece, the statistical abstract of Spokane Washington, talks about his life growing up and the things that he noticed and experienced as a child compared to as an adult nowadays. Each of our BMX tires that we designed explores a different side of Spokane that he hints at or states directly throughout his work. The first (top image) is referencing the homeless in Spokane through the use of ironic signs that have positive notes rather than the sad stories that get us to donate money or give out food stuffs. The second is specifically referencing Jess Walter's childhood, combining the Kaiser Aluminum factory and his childhood cereal into one piece that POPS, literally.

Corn pops are probably one of the strangest things I have ever consumed. If you like orange styrofoam that tastes like dry air and sadness, this is the cereal for you.

 Finally, we have the Wheel that depicts the good side of Spokane, showing positive and historical aspects that are often overlooked when skimming the surface of the City.

Unofficially named, 'The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly', our pieces each represent our interpretations and important takes from Jess Walter's words in his Statistical Abstract of Spokane Washington.

The Marmot and the Mongoose

On December 10, 2016, I went to the Marmot gallery in Kendall Yards to view their newest installation. Bartosz Beda, a new and rising star in the art community, had one of his large installations pieces on display. This piece, named Recollections, is oil on Canvas, 72 H x 100 W x 1.2 in. The curator of the Marmot referred to him as, "an up and coming artist who graced the gallery with his presence." Beda is an artist who is originally from Poland. He worked for a short time in England and has now made his way to Spokane where he is able to enlighten us all in his impressive oil painting skills. If you are interested in this piece or want to see the other work on display, such as pieces from our very own Gordon Wilson, the Marmot is associated with the Spark centre in Kendall Yards, 1214 W Summit Pkwy, Spokane, WA 99201.

Megan Atwood Cherry, was also a featured artist at the Saranac Art Projects. Talking with the artist, I found out that all the materials used for her pieces were gathered from a passing relative. An example was this piece that was made of tarp material, a metal ring, and black thread. Once again continuing the theme that anything can be art. This exhibition of a tribute to her relative that passed away.

Artist Brad Skubinna
Had an exhibition at the Saranac Art Projects
Talking with the artist he started collecting random
items in his home and made a piece that art can be made out of anything. The picture below are pieces of bar soaps. The piece also included Reese's Peanut Butter cups wrappers, peach pits, orange juice lids, and tags from tea bags.