Highlights of August’s First Friday cruise include a rock-n-roll themed photography exhibit at Snapdragon’s Hastings-Cone Gallery, yet another slew of new shows at Vashon Center for the Arts’ Summer Arts Fest, a mother-son pairing at VALISE and an out-of-this-world exhibit at Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union that shows the spooky side of Maury Island. Most art spots are open from 6 to 9 p.m.
Allison Crain Trundle Arts
Art by Allison Crain Trundle and music by Gus Reeves will be featured.
Café Luna
Photography by David Waterworth will be on display.
The DOVE Project
Lirijo Daniels’ art exhibition “Abstract Resilience” will be paired with a live acoustic set of music by Maijah Sanson-Frey.
Gather Vashon
Art by local artists and music by Tab Tabscott Trio is on the bill.
Giraffe
Fair-trade gifts, as well as art and music by Stephen Buffington, will be offered.
The Hardware Store Restaurant Gallery
Art by Mary Smith will be on display.
Island Paper Chase/Alice Larson
Origami and hand-folded paper art will be featured.
Kronos
Art by William Stoneham will be on display.
Margaret in the Hallway
Margaret Heffelfinger’s new show is called “Dogs, Walruses, Cats, Did I Mention Dogs.”
May Kitchen + Bar
Diners can experience magic by Thomas Pruiskma. Later in the evening, the restaurant will transform into its dance club doppelgänger, One Night in Bangkok.
Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union
Anne Gordon’s show, “Vashon Maury Island After the Incident,” references the famous 1947 incident when a UFO was sighted over Maury Island and includes images of men in black as well other sci-fi references and otherworldly sights. CatBird will play music at the opening. In tandem with the exhibit, the film “The Maury Island Incident” will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, at Vashon Theatre. The screening, which will include a Q and A with the film’s producers, is a benefit for Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Museum and has a $10 suggested donation.
Raven’s Nest
Native American artwork will be on display.
SAW (Starving Artist Works)
Fine art paintings and prints by Emily Bergman, inspired by nature and animals and made with pen and ink, watercolor and gouache, will be shown.
Snapdragon’s Hastings-Cone Gallery
Monica Gripman’s photography exhibit, “Debra Heesch Presents: A Photographic Tour of Live Performances from 2018-2019,” will open a two-month run at the gallery. The exhibit shows Gripman’s year-long documentation of Heesch’s efforts to bring top-tier music performances to island audiences. The backstage images in the show capture The Shook Twins, Star Anna, Mike Love, Mark Lanegan, Makana, The Posies, Rainbow Girls, Patterson Hood and more. Throughout the run of the exhibit, Heesch will continue to bring music to the masses, including Moody Little Sister, on Aug. 31 at Vashon Center for the Arts, The Posies on Sept. 3 at Snapdragaon, and Shawn Mullins on Sept. 8 at Vashon Center for the Arts. Friday’s opening will also include music by Alessandra Rose and a DJ set by Michael Whitmore.
VALISE GALLERY
“Air & Water,” a first-time duo exhibit by mother and son Hita von Mende and Jesse Johnson, will be on display. In contrasting styles, the two artists explore landscapes and seascapes of the Pacific Northwest. Von Mende, who came to Vashon in 1975, is a well-known island painter known for contemporary western art, as well as paintings that address myth, the loss of arctic sea ice and the industrial landscape. To create his pieces, Johnson uses Adobe Illustrator, calling his computer a kind of “digital collaborator.” The works are printed in limited edition runs on archival bamboo paper. Johnson was born and raised on Vashon. After a flirtation with the outside world, he returned in 2010.
Vashon Bikes
Photography by Andrew Johns will be on display.
Vashon Brewing Community Pub
Art by Christopher Allen and music by Steve Amsden will be offered.
Vashon Bookshop
Take a break at the bookshop to hear old-timey music by Julie and Carmen.
Vashon Center for the Arts
VCA’s Vashon Summer Arts Fest kicks off several new shows. Brette Flora’s “Vibrant Notions” is an expression of the artist’s enjoyment of working with bright colors and creating abstract visions of nature. Flora is a participant of Vibrant Palette, a professional studio space at Pratt Fine Arts center for adults with developmental and physical disabilities to create visual art and participate in gallery shows. “Vashon Views” is an exhibit of Gretchen Hancock’s oil painting of Vashon, Puget Sound and the Pacific Coast. Jeff Good’s exhibit, “Vashon through the Seasons,” is a landscapes show. “Minor Miracles” is a collage and assemblage exhibition featuring Brian Brenno, Sheila Eckman, Jennifer Hawke, Renee Marceau, Donna Romero and John Schuh. “Musical Vision” is a group show by photographers who have created new works inspired by specific pieces of music — QR codes allow viewers to experience both visual and auditory works. The show, organized by Kim Farrell, includes work by Jim Burke, Harvey Bergman, Lynn Davison, Terry Donelly, Michael Elenko, Georgia Gallus, Anne Gordon, Kevin Hoffberg, Ric Peterson, Karlista Rickerson, Peter Serko, Rick Skillman and Julian White-Davis. “Art You Can Use” is a collection of work by fiber artists Lisa Brown, Sharon Schoen, Sue Willingham and Patricia Wronsky.
Vashon Senior Center (on Bank Road)
Paintings and sculptures by Odie Hendershot will be on display.
