The First Friday gallery cruise comes early this month to coincide with the opening of the Art Studio Tour. Most venues are open from 6 to 9 p.m.
Barnworks: Last call
It’s the last call for Islanders to enjoy the 30-year-old Vashon institution — a collective of Island painters who display their works in a picturesque barn tucked into the woods off of Cove Road. An opening reception on Friday will launch Barnworks’ participation in this year’s Art Studio Tour. But after the tour closes next weekend, the space will shutter and the artists will scatter to show their works in other locations.
Barnworks has been part of the twice-annual studio tour since its inception, with a roster that reads like a who’s who from the Island art scene. Current members include Jerry Balcom, Rose Belknap, Donna Botten, Mary L. Hodgins, Dayl Holst, Sharon Munger, Geri Peterson, Jayne Quig, Harmut Reimnitz, Ilse Reimnitz, Jon-Eric Schafer and Janice Wall.
More than a dozen other artists will show their craft wares in a converted chicken coop next to the barn.
Sharon Munger, who owns the Barnworks property, said that preparing for the group’s last show has been a whirlwind of activity. And this year, she’ll receive a special visitor during the second weekend of the tour — her 94-year-old mother, who is coming from Ohio to see the tour in action.
Munger said she is looking forward to the end of the Barnworks era. “I’m in my 70s,” she said. “How long do I have to do this?”
Small stuff at the Blue Heron
A record number of Island artists will participate in the sixth annual Masters in Miniature show, with works including paintings, fiber art, photography, sculpture and mixed media. Size matters in this exhibit, where 2-D work must be six inches by six inches or less and 3-D work must be five inches by five inches or less.
VAA Gallery Curator Janice Mallman and show co-curator Carol Schwennesen said the exhibition’s focus is to challenge artists who generally work larger to create smaller original art in their medium. New to the show this year will be Brian Brenno’s recycled aluminum works, Suzanna Leigh’s silk painting, Kasia Anna’s glass works and Biffle French’s handmade books.
“The traditional way to view art is to stand back. I like that the miniature art makes you get in close,” Schwennesen said.
Ingalls at The Hardware Store
Oil painter Pam Ingalls will show luminous new works in a show called “From Here to There and Back Again.” The globe-trotting painter will show works from her travels to Italy and other countries and also works created quite literally close to home, in the kitchens of her Island friends and neighbors.
The show is a part of the Art Studio Tour. At Friday’s opening reception, local guitarist Daryl Redeker will play.
Jewelry at Raven’s Nest
For the past three Decembers, Tlingit master artist and carver Israel Shotridge has traveled to Washington, D.C., to present his work at a holiday market held at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. This year, he’ll stay home on Vashon and show his work at Raven’s Nest, the gallery he owns with his wife Sue Shotridge.
Israel’s exhibition at Raven’s Nest will feature engraved pendant disks, earrings and bracelets. The gallery will also be open during the Art Studio Tour, offering a chance for visitors to see Israel engrave jewelry while Sue works on beaded necklaces, painted deerskin drums and a ceremonial button blanket. The shop will also display numerous gift products. Visitors on Friday and during the studio tour can enter a drawing for a door prize — a gift basket stuffed with goodies and art from the shop.
Box it up at VALISE
For the holiday season, the artists’ collective has chosen an appropriate theme for its gallery show — the box.
Works on display will include Kathryn Schipper’s “viewer box” of time-lapse ferry and/or airline traffic, described by show organizers as “peep-hole machine of yore.” John Martin will exhibit a wooden box that floats off the wall and visually jumps out at the viewer, while Britt Freda will show a piece made of bailing wire and seed pods, many of which will have words written on them.
Other VALISE members, some of whom will show work in the show, include Tom Hughes, Heather Joy, Pascale Judet, Mary Lawrence, Renee Marceau, John Martin, Jiji Saunders, Carol Schwennesen and Brian Van Buren.
Whimsical photos at Snapdragon
Laura Plansker, a well-known Los Angeles artist, will return to Vashon to exhibit her work at Snapdragon. Planker’s previous show on the Island, some years ago at Gallery 070, was a sellout success.
Plansker’s elaborately staged photo illustrations combine handcrafted sculpture with exacting photographic technique. Ever the storyteller, she uses scraps of fabric, clay eyeballs, flocking and fake fur to create whimsical fables and characters.
She got her start in photography as a child — a passion that continued through college, where she earned a BFA from The Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. Professionally, she has spent many years set decorating and constructing miniatures for both film and commercials — an occupation that has informed the creation of her own work. Her influences include Disneyland rides, the holiday films of Rankin and Bass and Czech animator Jan Švankmajer. Her show at Snapdragon will feature limited edition prints, hand-sculpted curios, cards and ornaments.
Take a peek at Waterworks Studio
The studio — the home, work and classroom space of Island artists Darsie and Christine Beck — will be the site of a preview party and reception marking Waterworks’ participation in the upcoming Vashon Island Art Studio Tour. The work of 16 artists, working in a variety of media, will be on display. An “artists’ tree” will be front and center, hung with ornaments that are art.
Music by Richard Person and Jim Hobson will add to the festive holiday atmosphere. The studio is located at 7012 S.W. 240th Street.
Also showing
The Heron’s Nest will feature 2D sculptures by Randy Kirk and jewelry by Kathy Pine. Nannette Cotton Pawlowski’s colorful paper bag drawings will grace the walls at the Vashon Senior Center. Island photographer Andie Styner will have a show featuring her fine art photography and a new set of 20 posters, many of which feature Vashon vistas and views, at the Two Wall Gallery. The posters, she said, are priced to sell as holiday gifts.
