Most galleries are open from 6 to 9 p.m.
Chainsaw art at Blooms
Blooms & Things will show the work of Jake Lucas, a Western Washington chainsaw artist that shop owner Carol Ahlfors said “has taken the medium into the art realm.” Lucas was recently featured in a segment on KING 5 news. All his recent works on display at the shop are made with Western Red Cedar and include an obelisk, a salmon, a heron and deer.
VAA features pottery, painting and music
The Vashon Allied Arts Gallery will open a two-person show featuring glazed tiles and vases by islander Cory Winn and paintings by Spokane artist Sheila Evans. The opening reception will boast live music by Richard Person on horns and Jim Hobson on piano.
Winn, a 2010 commissioned artist for Vashon Allied Arts’ art auction, is known for colorful and meticulously glazed terra cotta pieces. Influenced by early English arts and crafts and medieval illustrations, Winn said her current favorite designs are lily of the valley, columbine, birds and dancing white mice.
Evans uses both oil and pastel to create realistic yet abstract canvases. Her themes include flight, the sky, leaves and petals. Her lifelong love of drawing and graphic design background also inform her work. “I’ve gone down this path using what’s available to me, what’s in front of me. Light is the thing, along with voluptuous, organic shapes,” she said.
Work from Indonesia graces Luna’s walls
Café Luna will show work created by high school students a world away, in an Indonesian region known as Tompotika — the tip of a long peninsula ringed by coral reefs and dominated by the heavily forested, 5,000-foot Mount Tompotika. The artwork and notecards for sale in this show were created in 2009 as part of a calendar project that focused on the region’s imperiled wildlife. Over the course of nine days, students worked with artists to create hundreds of drawings, paintings and other art.
The force behind both the workshop and this exhibit is the Alliance for Tompotika Conversatin (AITo), a Vashon organization that works to conserve habitat in Tompotika — a region that harbors many rare and imperiled animals. AITo works closely with villagers on a range of local issues. The nonprofit was founded by islander Marcy Summers and has board members both on Vashon and on a separate board in Indonesia. To find out more about AITo, visit www.tompotika.org.
A spiffier Heron’s Nest makes its debut
Heron’s Nest, the retail shop featuring the work of local and regional artists, will reopen on Friday after a major remodel. Manager Kathy Pine and assistant manager Ellen Parker will host the re-opening celebration, beginning at 5 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Hilary Emmer, Vashon’s unofficial mayor. The shop will offer giveaways, champagne, sparkling cider and chocolates on First Friday, and DJ Michael Whitmore will be on hand, spinning his collection of vintage vinyl. Kate Endle, who makes collages and prints of animals, flora and fauna, is the night’s featured artist.
The store, said Pine, now has much more useable space to display artwork. “We’re very grateful to the VAA donors who made it possible for us to update the shop,” she added.
In addition to continuing a focus on fine art and handcrafted items that have traditionally been sold at Heron’s Nest, Pine and Parker are expanding the store’s offerings and range of prices. Services like jewelry cleaning, gift registries and a rewards programs are in the works.
Cedar bark art showcased at Raven’s Nest
Raven’s Nest’s latest show is called “Cedar Bark: Tree of Life to the Northwest Coast Indians.” The show includes a collection of woven hats, baskets, bottles and jewelry that date as far back as the mid-1800s. Examples of many different weaving techniques will be represented. The evening will also include a weaving demonstration by Haida artist Cherlyn Bell, taking place in intervals from 6 to 9 p.m., and an exhibit of the cedar bark baskets of Haida weaver Eliasica Timmerman.
Museum opens exhibit on Vashon’s first families
Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Museum will open its new exhibit, “Vashon 1885: The Early Settlers,” which traces the story of Vashon’s pioneer families and their descendants who continue to reside on the island today.
The show, curated by Jessica DeWire with help from Laurie Tucker and Jean Findlay, includes photographs, graphics and historical artifacts that shed light on the lifestyles, hardships and rewards that pioneers and settlers faced on Vashon. The Shermans, Wards, Bibbins and Fullers are among the descendants of the 1885 families featured in the exhibit. Other families include the Hofmeister, Landers, Anway, Snow, Livesley and Cristman clans.
The exhibit will run through the summer, closing on Oct. 20. Regular museum hours are 1 to
