Degenerate Art Show

Local artists Gregory Burnham, Bill Cleaver, Bill Jarcho, Alice Larson, Marc Pease and Lenard Yen will open their “Degenerate Art Show” — an overtly political exhibit that will fill Snapdragon Bakery & Cafe with work responding to the current state of the nation and world.

The opening reception for the show, from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, will include performances and costumed pageantry by local activists.

Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union

The credit union will open a new exhibit featuring Margi Amstrup, winner of the 2024 Washington Wildlife Stamp Contest, from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7.

Amstrup has produced works across a variety of media, including acrylic, pen and ink, watercolor and oils. She moves between genres but is partial to wildlife and landscapes. As an outdoor enthusiast, she appreciates and supports programs that foster wildlife and land stewardship.

The opening reception will also feature the musical talents of The Kings of Mongrel Folk, a well-traveled and celebrated duo made up of Mark Graham and Orville Johnson. With Graham on clarinet and harmonica and Johnson expertly wielding guitar and dobro, expect R&B, country blues, jazzy ballads and other songs that have made the Kings favorites on the international folk festival circuit for decades — including Graham’s widely covered “I Can See Your Aura and It’s Ugly” and “Zen Gospel Singing.”

Amstrup’s art will be available to view during PSCCU’s regular business hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Vashon Senior Center

Printmaker Lynn McClain will exhibit linocut prints throughout the month. McClain will demonstrate her tools, materials and printmaking process at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7. An opening reception will also take place that evening from 5 to 7 p.m.

Swiftwater Gallery

Swiftwater Gallery, a cooperative showcasing the work of more than 50 local artists, will host a First Friday reception beginning at about 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7. The gallery is located at 17600 Vashon Hwy SW, with regular hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

VALISE Gallery

VALISE Gallery members will present their annual holiday show in November and December, but with a twist from their typical five-inch-by-five-inch format.

At the show’s opening, from 1 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, islanders will find art of all sizes — lots of small pieces, but also larger works — ranging in price from $40 to $400.

Expect the usual wide variety of color, styles and techniques in oil, acrylic, collage, photography and mixed media.

Rachel LordKenaga said her work in the show includes “figures seeking connection, houses on fire and plants from my studio, which I consider supportive friends cheering me on as I work.”

Bill Jarcho will exhibit a wide variety of mediums and themes, including digitally created color abstract pieces called “Land O’ Shapes” and foam-core cutouts of cartoonish characters.

“I’ve been craving a little whimsy in my art lately, so for this show, I decided to paint the donuts of Capitol Hill,” said Jiji Saunders. “There’s the circle, a classic torus, eternal and deliciously philosophical. Donuts are tiny canvases of joy — call me glazed and amused.”

The full list of artists in the show includes Saunders, LordKenaga, Jarcho, Pascale Judet, Liz Maxfield, Sharon Shaver, Hita Von Mende, Lenard Yen, George Wright, Robert Passig, Dot Cherch and Gregory Burnham.

The show runs through Dec. 28. Gallery hours are 1 to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Vashon Center for the Arts

Vashon Center for the Arts presents “Good Buy! Cruel World: Woke Retail Therapy & the Art of Mike Leavitt,” a new exhibition opening from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, and running through Nov. 30.

Mike Leavitt, an islander, will present a free artist’s talk about his work at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9.

In the show, Leavitt examines systems of capitalism, consumerism and the art market itself, rebuilding them with equal doses of humor, empathy and rebellion.

“This show is me processing 13 years of unlearning,” he said. “I used to think art scenes outside New York were small-time. Vashon showed me that community is the real capital. The art here doesn’t need validation from collectors — it’s about connection, not transaction.”

The exhibition title plays on the duality of “goodbye” and “good buy,” echoing his call to consciousness: every purchase and every creation is a vote for the world we want.

“We live in a culture that sells us distractions,” Leavitt said. “My work tries to make people stop and laugh — but then realize what they’re laughing at. I want art to be a mirror, not a product.”

According to VCA Gallery Director Lynann Politte, the exhibit shows how art can serve a community.

“Mike’s work reminds us that art is not a luxury — it’s both a necessity and an act of resistance,” Politte said.

Leavitt has spent two decades turning the familiar into the uncanny, using sculpture, satire and storytelling to challenge how we consume culture, politics and products. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Leavitt’s early exposure to design through his mother’s work at Boeing — and his own obsession with model-making — formed the foundation of his signature handmade style.

After a short stint at Pratt Institute, Leavitt pursued an independent path to create socially engaged art from salvaged materials — long before sustainability became mainstream. His “Art Army” series — hand-sculpted figures of icons like Bernie Sanders, Banksy and Frida Kahlo — earned him national attention for its biting humor and craftsmanship.

In his artwork, Leavitt has skewered Hollywood, consumerism and corporate greed with playful precision — turning packaging waste into weapons, toys and symbols of resistance.

“I make things that look like fun, but they’re meant to sting a little,” Leavitt said. “Satire helps us laugh at what hurts, so we can finally face it.”

VCA’s regular gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Margi Amstrup’s work will be on display at Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union. (Courtesy Photo)

Artist Mike Leavitt creating an action figure of “Avatar” film director James Cameron — a work that will be included in his November solo show at VCA. (Courtesy Photo)

Mike Leavitt’s solo exhibit at VCA includes this action figure of Bernie Sanders. (Courtesy Photo)

Orville Johnson and Mark Graham will bring their duo act, The Kings of Mongrel Folk, to Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union’s First Friday reception on Nov. 7. (Courtesy Photo)