Head out for a gallery cruise on Friday, March 7, to see new art exhibitions popping up around town.
These include a major new show at Vashon Center for the Arts honoring women glass artists, a celebration of VALISE Gallery’s sweet 16th anniversary, and a peek at some never-before-seen treasures at Vashon Heritage Museum.
Anu Rana
Paige Wheeler will have an exhibit of large acrylic paintings opening at 6 p.m. Friday, March 7, at Anu Rana’s Healthy Kitchen, at 17610 99th Ave SW. The paintings will be for sale, and on exhibition until April 4.
Hardware Store Restaurant Gallery
Jeff Good, watercolor artist, and Bob Horsley, acrylic artist, will have a joint show at The Hardware Store Restaurant Gallery. The show opens March 1 and runs through March 27, with an open house from 5-8 Friday, March 7.
Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union
For the next two months, beginning with an opening reception on March 7, PSCCU will show works created for islander West McLean’s Vashon Remembrance Project.
The works have been seen around Vashon for the past several years, and with the current political climate, they continue to make a strong statement.
In 2020, McLean began painting the series, which hung throughout Vashon. The paintings memorialize the lives of people who have been killed in police violence.
Colette and Shawn Jones will play country duets at the opening.
Swiftwater Gallery
Stop by the artist’s collective gallery in town to see what’s new. Swiftwater features work by more than 50 local artists.
VALISE
In March, VALISE Gallery will present “March Gladness: VALISE Celebrates our 16th Anniversary.”
The show will include works, both new and old, by the gallery’s members, with styles ranging from zany to reflective, and many different mediums on display.
Participating artists are George Wright, Lenard Yen, Hita VonMende, Pascale Judet, Bill Jarcho, Sharon Shaver, Jiji Saunders, Dot Cherch, Gregory Burnham, Rachel LordKenaga and Stephen Schildbach.
The show opens from 1-9 p.m. Friday, March 7, and will run through March 29. Regular gallery hours are 1-6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Vashon Center for the Arts
March is Women’s History Month — a time to honor the achievements of women in the world of art, who have often often had to break barriers and challenge norms to gain recognition for their contributions.
Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) will mark this history with three exhibitions of glass, fiber and jewelry, all by female creators. The shows open on Friday, March 7, from 5-8 p.m.
“Women Make Glass” is a major new exhibition highlighting 15 pioneering women glass artists from the Pacific Northwest. The exhibition features the work of Lydia Boss, Nancy Burgess, Bri Chesler, Jen Elek, Raya Friday, Sabrina Knowles and Jenny Pohlman, Carol Milne, Debora Moore, Morgan Peterson, Kait Rhoads, Megan Stelljes, April Surgent, Cappy Thompson, and Karen Willenbrink-Johnsen.
These artists have each expanded the possibilities of storytelling through blown, cast, engraved, and sandblasted techniques, shaping a dynamic and expressive future for the medium, said the show’s curator, Lynann Politte.
Complementing the glass exhibition will be work by fiber artist Tininha Silva, whose sculptural tapestries — crafted from wire, paper, and raffia — reflect themes of resilience, emotional depth, and transformation. Inspired by nature and simplicity, her organic, hand-dyed pieces embrace negative space and challenge traditional weaving techniques.
Additionally, in the gallery shop, VCA will feature the intricate jewelry designs of Stephanie Benson. Benson creates handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pieces in silver and gold, often incorporating natural stones. Influenced by her Jewish heritage and time in the Southwest, her work aims to connect wearers with their inner beauty and self-love.
Regular gallery hours are 12-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Artworks will also be available for viewing and purchase online at gallery.vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Vashon Heritage Museum
Discover uncommon historical items of special significance at a new Vashon Heritage Museum exhibit, “Hidden Treasures: Highlights from Vashon Heritage Museum’s Collection.” The exhibit opens First Friday, March 7, when the museum will be open with extended hours, from 1 to 7 p.m.
The exhibit features many never-before-displayed items, including scales used at the Burton Pharmacy, an old payphone and a time capsule contained in an old glass bottle, filled with treasures. Also on view will be a Haida ceremonial robe made by Hazel Wilson.
At a young age, Wilson was chosen by Haida community elders to be a maker of ceremonial robes, also known as button blankets. She was given the name Jut-ke-Nayor (“The one they speak of”). Wilson created hundreds of button blankets for family and other Haida people, using melton wool fabric decorated with paint, abalone, copper, leather, fur and pearl buttons.
Later, Wilson also made and sold a series of narrative ceremonial robes based on stories told by her grandmother, uncles, and aunts during her childhood.
“Friendly Parting” — on view in the new exhibit — is one of 51 robes celebrating the resistance and survival of the Haida people, despite the devastating impacts of smallpox, colonialism and large-scale logging. In 2022, the robe — donated to the museum by Terry Welch and Steve Shanaman — was included in a book compiled by the Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, B.C., “Glory and Exile: Haida History Robes of Jut-ke-Nay Hazel Wilson.”
Volunteers on the exhibit’s curatorial team were Brian Brenno, Sue Hardy, Bruce Haulman, Ike Harmon, Laurie Tucker and Sue Winn. The museum also thanks Peter Ray and Jenna Riggs for their contributions to the show.
The Heritage Museum’s collection currently contains 3,282 objects, 4,615 photos, 1,128 archived documents, and a 1,106-volume library. It requires 15 dedicated volunteers working behind the scenes to properly catalogue, photograph, preserve, and research these vital holdings.
The Vashon Heritage Museum’s regular hours are 1-4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
“Explosion of Light,” by Paige Wheeler, is one the artist’s paintings in an exhibition running through April 4 at Anu Rana’s Healthy Kitchen. (Courtesy photo)
“Guitar Man,” by Bill Jarcho, is on view in VALISE Gallery’s 16th anniversary group exhibition. (Courtesy photo)
Portraits of (left to right, top row) Lamontez Jones, Breonna Taylor (bottom row) Treyvon Martin and India Kager. These and other portraits by West McLean will be on view at Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union. (Courtesy photos)
Carol Milne’s work in glass, “Divan,” is included in VCA’s major new exhibition of works in glass by women in the Pacific Northwest. (Courtesy photo)
“Meditation,” by Sabrina Knowles and Jenny Pohlman, is included in VCA’s major new exhibition of work in glass by women in the Pacific Northwest. (Courtesy photo)
