This month’s gallery cruise boasts shows of every shape and size, complete with several exhibits that are a part of the Spring Art Studio Tour. Art aficionados can spend Friday evening taking an art walk through town, then head deeper into the wilds of Vashon on Saturday and Sunday to visit the places where art is created. For more on the studio tour, see story, Page 11. The Friday gallery cruise will also feature live music at local spots including Gather Vashon, Giraffe, Sugar Shack and Vashon Brewing Community Pub.
Allison Crain Trundle Arts
Artist’s books created during Allison Trundle’s recent artist’s residency at McMurray Middle School, sponsored by Vashon Artists In Schools, will be shown at the gallery.
Café Luna
“A Touch of Magic,” an exhibit from Marla Smith Photography, will include nature and landscape photography.
Gather Vashon
There will be a pop-up show by Bettie Edwards and Diane Stoffer, “Glassbaby — The Gift of Kindness.”
The Hardware Store Gallery
“Facing the new Us — Oil Portraits of Immigrants & Refugees,” an exhibit of work by Pam Ingalls, will include 45 portraits of people from a refugee center in Chicago, Heartland Alliance. To make the show a little more personal to islanders, Ingalls has also included a painting of two of Vashon’s Syrian refugees. Part of the sale proceeds from each painting will go to the person who modeled for it, and another portion will go to the community they are from. Daryl Redeker will play guitar music at the opening. This show is also included in the Art Studio Tour and will be displayed at The Hardware Store Restaurant Gallery until May 31. After that, it will travel to Chicago, where it will be part of the World Refugee Day Celebration there on June 20.
Hastings-Cone Gallery at Snapdragon
Emily Bergman will show botanical illustrations, while Snapdragon reveals a renovation that doubles the size of its center room, and adds a stage. (See story, Page 1.)
Judd Creek Ranch Gallery
The gallery, open from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, will exhibit headpieces from Azula by Design; wood vessels from Steve Caldwell; live-edge wood shelves by Paul Clark; acrylics on canvas by Don Cole; locally-harvested wood benches by Hans Nelsen; handcrafted string instruments by Joe Schonbok; origami boxes by Hazel Wilding; and fabric and net on canvas by Joan Wortis. The work can also be seen on the spring Studio Tour.
Margaret in the Hallway
Art by Margaret Heffelfinger will be on display.
Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union
A special art and photography exhibit will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Vashon Sheepdog Classic. There will be live music by John Dally, accompanied by some fiddlers and whistlers. The artwork will be shown from May 3 to June 28. All the works are eligible for the People’s Choice Award with voting at PSCCU or online. The artist who receives the most votes will receive a $500 prize.
Raven’s Nest
There will be a special, one-time visual presentation, “The Chief Kyan Totem — Rebirth,” on Friday, from 6 to 9 p.m. Sue and Isreal Shotridge will be on hand to share details of their restoration process for a traditional totem, which had grown weathered in the harsh climate of Ketchikan, Alaska, where it has stood for decades. Master carver Isarel Shortridge was commissioned in 1992 to create the totem as a replica of the original version of this important Tongass Tribe family totem. He returned to restore the totem in 2004, at the request of the City of Ketchikan Museums. Last month, Sue and Israel Shotridge were once again asked to revive, restore and help preserve the totem one more time. This time, however, the Shotridges found that the wood at the base of the totem was too rotten to preserve, so a decision was made to cut 3 feet off the bottom. The rest of the totem was cleaned and painted, and it is expected to last for another five years before it will need to be taken down and perhaps replicated once again.
SAW (Starving Artists Work)
Leland Beck is the featured artist at the shop. Originally a carpenter, Beck began fine woodworking six years ago. He produces a wide range of useful items, including birdhouses, covered boxes, spoons, spatulas, coffee scoops, canes, walking sticks, mallets, bowls and knives.
VALISE Artist Collective and Gallery
“Twelve Studios,” a show by 12 member artists, will pack the gallery floor to ceiling with art created by Leonard Yen, George Wright, Bonnie Wilkins, Sharon Shaver, Jiji Saunders, Robert Passing, Rachel LordKenaga, Pascale Judet, Jesse Johnson, Jennifer Hawke, Dot Church and Gregory Burnham. The opening of “12 Studios” will be from 6 to 9 p.m. First Friday, May 3. Hours during the month of May will coincide with the Art Studio Tour plus Fridays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. then return to the normal hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays for the rest of the month.
Vashon Center for the Arts
Exhibits will include the work of more than 100 Vashon student artists, plus three esteemed women artists. The 25th Vashon High School Biennial Art Show will fill the atrium and gift shop of VCA with art, prints, drawings and paintings. Additionally, VHS teacher Kate Dunagan’s advanced jewelry-making students will show handcrafted pendants, earrings and rings. The Blue Heron Education Center Gallery will feature the work of StudentLink youth artists from the Creative Action Art Circle, who have worked with teaching artists Britt Freda, Alisara Martin, Allison Trundle and Estevan Roache.
Three women artists, islander Cyra Jane, Lynette Chambers (Olympia) and Heather Goodwind (Portland) are bringing art and sculpture to the Koch Gallery. Charter’s exhibit, “Missing Women,” features work on mixed media and board that aims to highlight the historical under-representation of women artists. Jane’s work is a collection of sculptures using a variety of stone and steel. With these carvings, she addresses the topic of anger and the embrace of the self. Goodwind uses paint, ink and graphite to create a personal anthology of archetypal images, which she presents as a permanent record of her experience.
Vashon Bookshop
Listen in the Kitchen will play live music at the Vashon Bookshop, starting at 6:30 p.m. The group is a five-woman ensemble specializing in harmonies for Americana, bluegrass and traditional folk music. Musicians include Mary Tuel on vocals and guitar, Lynn Carrigan on vocals and mandolin, Mary Rose O’Reilley on vocals and fiddle, Linera Lucas on vocals and Erin Durrett on vocals.
