First Friday is here again — time to join friends and neighbors on a gallery walk. Here’s a look at what’s going on this time around, at galleries and shops all over Vashon. Most openings take place from 6 to 9 p.m.
Blooms & Things will show hand-built, multi-fired ceramic works by Lisa DeFaccio. The show will include pieces that are inspired by bodies of water, and other works inspired by the delicate nature, spirit and elegance of flowers. For more information, visit www.lisadefaccio.com.
Blue Heron Gallery will show work by two Island artists — Olivia Pendergast, who will show Haitian oil portraits, and Brad Davis, who makes American hardwood tables. Seattle potter Rick Holst will also show pieces. Friday’s reception will feature live music by Todd Zimberg and Maggie Laird.
Pendergast’s life blends international humanitarian volunteer efforts with photography and painting. Pendergast volunteered in Haiti, where she witnessed such devastation that her photography became a way to process her feelings, resulting in her Haiti series, she said. Look for large posters of her work in 12 locations throughout Seattle and Vashon with the words, “Forgetting Haiti.”
Brad Davis’ artistry and love for wood are evident in his work. Much of the wood he uses today — black walnut, hickory, cherry, ash and yew — came from trees he milled himself 30 years ago.
Edmonds-based potter Rick Holst says pottery has been the focal point of his life for more than 40 years. His high-fired, earth-toned works are primarily visual and sculptural. Teapots, his favorite form, will be featured in this exhibition.
Books by the Way will show photographs and textiles from Meridee BonaDea. The show features a display of Bogolan, or “mud cloth,” works created by artisans in Koutiala, Mali, where BonnaDea served as a Peace Corps volunteer working with the Bogolan Association of Koutiala. This show, she said, is her effort to continue to help the artisans in Mali. Works will be for sale throughout July.
Café Luna will show oil paintings by Kathy Larsdotter, a Vashon potter and former Harbor School teacher. The show includes a series of images, called “Outside Time,” that explore moments of losing oneself in the simple acts of watching water, sky, children and dogs.
The Little House willl shown ceramic works by Christine Beck. The show will include two different types of her work — one formal and functional, and the other funky and fanciful. Some of the pieces, including tea ceremony water jars, ceremonial boxes, bowls and vases, reflect Beck’s training in Asian ceramics. Other pieces, such as cake plates painted in luscious colors with flashy metallic luster, are more offbeat and humorous.
The Hardware Store Restaurant will host two photography exhibits put together by Island photographer Ray Pfortner.
One exhibit is a juried show of work by students who took Pfortner’s most recent “Shoot to Show” class, offered through Vashon Allied Arts. The students picked the theme of “Change” for the class and show — an abstract concept Pfortner said provided the class of six photographers with plenty of challenges.
A panel of jurors ranked all the works and determined which would be hung in the show. The panel included Michael Feinstein, of The Feinstein Group; Natalie Johnson, reporter for The Beachcomber; Doug Kim, former Seattle Times arts editor; Barbara Kinney, who was the White House photographer during the Clinton administration; Melinda Sontgerath, owner of the The Hardware Store Restaurant, and Wendy Finkleman, director of arts education for Vashon Allied Arts.
The public can vote for their favorite image at the show, too.
Sharing the walls with the “Shoot to Show” exhibit will be a show by 11 eighth-grade students at McMurray Middle School who spent their “exploratory week” learning photography from Pfortner and humanities teacher Karen Person. The group photographed picturesque spots throughout Tacoma, Seattle and Vashon.
At VALISE, member Brian Van Buren and guest Sana Krusoe will exhibit work.
Krusoe is an associate professor of arts at the University of Oregon. Her ceramic work at VALISE is a collection of luminous porcelain forms, exploring the concept of place, home and desire through the lens of bird migration.
Van Buren will show work from his “thicket” series, which he describes as an expression in oil paint of “the situation or mess we sometimes find ourselves in either by our own doing or others, which we need to find our way through.”
More shows enrich the Gallery Cruise
Duet will show new watercolor paintings by Michael Spakowsky and mosaic wall hangings and ceramic jewelry pendants by Lisa Betz.
Heron’s Nest will have a show of self-portraits by Island artists.
SIlverwood Gallery opens “Little Miracles,” a show featuring new work by painter Margaret Tylczak and ceramic sculptor Joanne Bohannon.
Sunshine and Ideas will show metal sculptures in Craig Stewart’s “Surreal Roses” series.
Musician Mark Wells will play at 7 p.m. at Vashon Bookshop.
Vashon Tea Shop will display prayer flags by Lindsay Aickin.
Wings Birdseed will show paintings by Seattle artist Jon Cooney, who works mostly with acrylic paint on a wide variety of materials, including paper, canvas, ceramic tiles and wood panels. His website is joncooney.wordpress.com.
