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.  

Floating

Floating by Rick Singer and Hillary Hunt, is hung up in the Sapphire
Lounge located on 2nd avenue in downtown Spokane. The artists
create a 3D illusion by placing a thin layer of transparent fabric
oin front of the painting. Beautifully whimsical and capturing,
this is one of my favorite pieces in downtown Spokane. Stop by check
it out, and order a gin and tonic for the full experience.  

Artisan Fair
held in Kendall Yards on the first Friday of December, Spark Central which is an organization that helps provide accessible resources for success to those in need. Spark proved to be a safe haven for adults and children in all walks of life. This photo is a representation that it's never to late to create. Creating monoprints with glass and water soluble ink was a fun project for anyone who stopped by during the artisan fair. This is the second day of the even,  and the community  was well alive! ages ranging from 3-77. The conversations and relationships built due to creating art as a community spoke true to the value of community arts. 

                                           

RALLY SPOKANE
held in the terrain building, an art exhibit was held for anyone who wanted to comment on the current results of the 2016 elections. Art supplies were provided o the public, to create a reaction. This piece is one of the many examples that was hung in the gallery made by a patron who attended the event. Using canvas and charcoal STOP BEING COMFORTABLE looks like it's a comment on the comfort ability of American's. RALLY was an amazing event to attend, and cathartic feeling for those who have felt the devastation and discomfort of the 2016 elections. 

War No More

Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend the "War No More" event at Terrain with some peers. This event was composed of select art pieces from community members which had to do with war as well as short scenes and monologues following the reception. These theatrical scenes were written and performed by Gonzaga students.

The art pieces were decent but it was the expression in the form of performance which was so impactful for me. Each bit lasted for up to 15 minutes and was supposed to present ideas of why war is wrong in new ways. Some explored the general ideas of PTSD and the separation of families while others delved more into the psychology of it all and pursued deeper emotions.

At this event I saw undoubtedly the best acting I have seen live before--and I seriously mean this.

The last monologue of the night lasted about 20 minutes of which I was entirely engaged. The actress was dressed frumpily and the scene was set on the streets. She was a homeless drunk who had obviously experienced a great deal in life. While taking heavy swigs off her nearly empty bottle she never missed a beat while discussing the mythology of Achilles and Patroclus and subtly allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions in regards to our own actions as humans.

The story goes that Patroclus took Achilles' place in battle and after dominating and slaughtering the Trojans, is defeated with the tap of the loose helmet on his head.

The actress brutally acted out the slaughtering in the scene as Patroclus and afterwards began to cry (in character) at the gruesomeness of the scene she had acted for the acknowledged audience. She then take another drink of her bottle and huffs off stage leaving the audience in shock at the impact of the last 20 minutes infused with pure rage, humor, and most importantly--regret.

This event was enjoyable and well hosted by the Terrain team.

Spark Central and Printmaking

On the first Friday of December and the Saturday to follow, Maria and I had the opportunity to partner with Spark Central for a Printmaking Open Workshop Extravaganza. Spark Central is a community creative resource center which functions as a non-profit. They partner with Ink (a creative writing organization) to bring all kinds of creative activities and resources to the Kendal Yards neighborhood.

We worked with Taylor, one of the full time employees there, to develop an idea to bring community members into Spark Central during Spokane's December First Friday. As I had just had the opportunity to attend the James Bailey printmaking panel and had the chance to make my own monoprints I suggested a similar idea to Taylor and the Spark Central team.The Spark Staff embraced the idea and got most of the supplies for the project. I cut and beveled glass for the monoprint panels and brought some other miscellaneous supplies.

On Friday and Saturday the event proved very successful and we had a range of community members come in to participate. From volunteers from the center itself, to young boys using the computers to play videogames and even a couple on a date we were able connect with many different people. 

There was always a person or two at the table participating and a steady ebb and flow of community members interacting watching and creating at our table.

A particular conversation which stood out to me was with a man who frequently volunteered at the center. He was elderly but quick on his feet and told me of other community arts projects he had facilitated himself. He particularly mentioned his work and connections with retirement communities around Spokane and the importance of the outreach to these communities. This conversation is just one example of the potential community art has for connecting. I would definitely like to orchestrate another community art event in the future.

Rockwood Retirement Part 2

The Rockwood Retirement home was a success! Everyone who participated, though it was only 4 people (two of which were residents), thoroughly enjoyed our project. The main thought that continued to pop up throughout our visit was how much our project was like their daily puzzle! Even people who walked by would comment on how creative and fun it was, even if they didn't want to participate themselves. We were set up right next to the puzzle and I believe that at any given time during the 3 hours we were there, more people were working on the puzzle than participating in our 'create your own puzzle' project, so to speak. Nevertheless, even due to the lack of overall participation, the project was a huge success and our participants were thrilled to receive their finished works. I believe that I would do this project again, and if we were to do this again there are a few things I would do differently before administering the project. First off, I would go on a weekday. One of the activities directors, Dana, told us that she would have found more people who would've been interested in participating if we had gone on a weekday because residents normally, to use her words, "Go out and party during the weekend". I would have liked to have more participants, so going on a weekday would accomplish this. Next, we wouldn't bring so many supplies. Most of the supplies remained in the corner of the room and with how few people participated, we brought far too much. There were a lot of requests for dark green, of which there were only a few tiles, but there was really nothing we could do about that unless we sorted each box into a different colour. The residents were very interested in us as well, asking us what we were studying at Whitworth and why we decided to go to Rockwood for a project. One person in particular, Doris, was very sweet, and told us about her time in college at WSU. She became a registered nurse and was very confident in her knowledge. Overall, I believe that doing this project again would be a great idea; the residents loved the project and if we had gone on a weekday more definitely would participate!

Rockwood Retirement

For the final community arts in practice project Andy and I went to Rockwood Retirement on Hawthorne Road. Our project was to make mosaic wood panels with a small group of retired folks. Before we went to Rockwood Retirement we practiced creating designs and placing glass pieces on the wood. We tried using different glue and tried having the grout dry for different periods of time to see if it would stick better or look different between the glass pieces. Once we were at Rockwood we only had two volunteers to do the project with. We were hoping for a bigger turn out but this way we were able to get to know the people better. I was working with a lady named Doris, helping her pick out glass pieces and putting them on her wood panel. She was trying to create a rose with leaves so I help her pick out red and green pieces. It was really interesting getting to know Doris. She went to Washington State University and became a registered nurse. I really enjoyed my time at Rockwood Retirement and would love to do this project again.

An Early Christmas

Paige & Justine:
On Friday, December 9th, we brought our crafting hands and holiday smiles to the residents of Avalon Care Center. The falling snow, as well as the Christmas tunes were in the air, and we thought it would be just the right time to bring some Christmas cheer to the elder members of our community.

With us, we brought a 3-D Styrofoam Christmas tree that we had painted green and paper ornaments  that the residents were going to help us color and decorate. We set up in the dining room of Avalon, and spread out our crayons and markers to the small gathering of ladies that had showed up for craft time. Many of the women were excited to do a little morning art project and were readily wanting to color some ornaments. We passed out the ornaments, and watched as they began to let the creative side of their brains take over. With some Christmas music in the back ground, we sat down with ladies and began to color with them, asking them what their favorite parts of Christmas were. One lady, who made about 5 ornaments, said that family was her favorite part. Berenice, who also happened to be the birthday girl, said that she loved the decorating aspect, which spoke to my heart (Justine) because that is the career that I want to go into. Angie only had one able hand to color, so we taped down her ornament so that she could still color. The chatter that began to happen around the table was full of joy and giddiness, whether that being from the excitement of Christmas, or looking forward to their highly anticipated Christmas party that was going to take place later that afternoon. 

Paige:

The shared art project has been one of my favorite parts of this course. I really enjoyed getting to set up the project and making a plan to work with the residents at Avalon Care Center. When we got to the center, we were able to set up and then explain to the women what we would be doing. Justine and I sat on opposite sides of the table to get to know different people. I had a couple wonderful talkative women who really enjoyed Christmas time and coloring. Our residents all colored multiple ornaments and even helped us place them where they wanted them on our tree. Overall this was a fun project, and I really enjoyed getting to teach others to do it with us. I am glad Justine and I had the privilege to go to Avalon Care Center.

Justine: Some of the ornaments that these ladies made were amazing. Many of them colored cool patterns, or colored them like real ornaments. The ladies near my end of the table also helped me place the ornaments on the tree, pointing out some blank spaces that needed a little something to fill them. One of my favorite moments was when one of the ladies had colored a yellow star said that we needed it for the top of the tree. I cut a little notch into the top, and slipped it in, topping the tree with most perfect star. They placed the tree on a shelf in their dining room so that they could see it whenever the went to go get a meal. I would definitely go back to Avalon and create some relationships with these lovely ladies. 

Paige & Justine: This was such a lovely experience, and is one that we do not often get to do. We loved talking with these ladies, some of them allowing us little glimpses into their lives. Our hearts warmed when they had funny stories about family, or why Christmas is important to them. This was a truly refreshing experience, and really got us into the Christmas spirit. 

Wine Anyone?

On a blustery December day, my friends and I, on the way back from church, stopped into one of our favorite bakeries, Petit Chat. The cozy atmosphere as well as the tantalizing smell of freshly baked bread and pastries filled the air, making us want to forget all of our responsibilities for the day. 

As I watched my friend's run over to the pastries looking for the tastiest one, I glanced around, taking in the friendly, coffee filled conversations taking place between the people within the bakery. But, something that I had never noticed before almost immediately struck me. There, on the walls, is framed canvas art for sale. The subject matter of each painting is simple, but elegantly beautiful, adding the perfect something to the bakery. 

One in particular stood out to me is titled Strawberries, Flowers, & Wine by artist Patricia Chantry Keas. Keas has been an artist for over 30 years, while also working in marketing and advertising. She paints a variety of different subjects, from portraits to still lifes, and has just recently taken on the challenge of painting wine glasses within her Wine Series. A few of her works are in Petit Chat, adding to the welcoming atmosphere. Strawberries, Flowers, & Wine is truly a stunning piece. It measures 16"x20" and is oil on linen canvas. The two glasses of wine look almost lifelike, the dark burgundy of the wine playing off of the bright pink flowers in the jar next to them. The bright red of the strawberries stand in huge contrast to the wooden table that everything is sitting on, and the shadows of all of the elements on the table give depth to the painting. 

Due to the blowing snow outside, or the summery elements within the picture, the painting had a warming effect on me, making me smile. I love the simplicity of this piece, and how it looks as if I could reach over and grab a glass right from the painting. It is still completely wondrous that I had never noticed that there is art for sale in one of my favorite bakeries, but better late than never right? It was a much appreciated surprise, and one that I will now look forward to every time I go back for another orange roll.

"The Cock Crowed Three Times"

On December 2^nd, I went to three different art galleries in Spokane. I went to the Saranac Art Project, the Richmond Art Collective, and the Marmot gallery. At the Marmot gallery I looked at different oil paintings from Whitworth’s drawing and painting teacher, Gordon Wilson. He had about ten oil paintings in different sizes with different themes. There was a small series of paintings that he did in Italy that I found very interesting and beautiful. The painting that I was most interested in is called “The Cock Crowed Three Times” which was done with oil on linen. This painting had a lot of detail with many different colors and clear brush strokes. The color scheme in the composition was mainly cool colors with some warm colors to contrast for emphasis. One theme for this painting would be the repetition of mammals because there is a rooster, donkey, parrot, and a human in the composition, possibly comparing all of these different creatures and how they interact with each other. This gallery involved the community a lot because some of the artists were locals from Spokane like Gordon Wilson and some were from out of state to create more diversity within our community arts. There are a lot of similarities and differences with Gordon’s work and other artists’ work. I think every talented artist has a lot of detail and depth in their paintings but I think Gordon’s details are really emphasized by the paint brush strokes and the amount of different colors and values in areas of the compositions. I personally felt very connected to this event and these pieces of artwork because Gordon is my painting teacher and over the semester he has taught me different things and techniques that I can see in his own work. Can we have an art event where we see all different kinds of work from all of Whitworth’s art teachers?