Jennifer Zurlini

What do you get when you mix a beautiful girl from California with a new life in Spokane? Danielle Hatch. Raised in the paradisiacal garden land of Santa Barbara, about an hour north of Los Angeles, Hatch was brought up as a visual artist.

Traveling down the winding road from Main Street into Peaceful Valley, where the river flows serenely between the north bank and Browne’s Addition at “the heart of the Great Gorge,” the arrival at veteran artist John Thamm’s home and studio is peaceful. His neighbor, poet and author Tom I. Davis, is there bearing a marked-up chapter of his biographical manuscript for the book the two artists have collaborated on, “Vets,” which will be released in the fall.

Exposure. The juxtaposition of two of Webster’s definitions of the word – “presenting a film or the like to actinic (ultraviolet and violet) rays of light,” and “a putting out without shelter or protection” – vividly defines the concept of two innovative photography exhibits opening with First Friday receptions. “Beneath the Surface,” a photography and art installation at Clearstory Gallery by Spokane artist Jim Van Gundy, re-creates a Mexican barrio near Tijuana that he visited during a Christian mission.

Flying shadow boxes with hand-snipped tin wings and cast bronze birds’ feet. Hand-tooled wooden construction trucks, just right for racing across the kitchen floor. Precious stones wrapped in smooth, textured sterling. Still-fresh oils, capturing lush Northwest landscapes. Bamboo wind chimes, cast in bronze, softly clanging in the breeze.

To see the world, then bring it back in a knapsack – and within the pages of a sketchbook, a watercolor pad, a camera and, say, a shipping crate or two. Traveling the world has been one magnificent treasure hunt for Mary Dewey, who at age 77 has returned to, shall we say, the refined bohemian lifestyle she once led.

Next week, the biannual Association of Northwest Weavers’ Guilds conference will wash over the River City, sending a sea of professional fiber artists, novices, students and enthusiasts from six Northwestern states and four Canadian provinces our way. More than 430 participants have enrolled in the “Weaving Waves of Color” conference at Gonzaga University, which features a tapestry of seminars and workshops led by the field’s top fiber artists and artisans, including weaving, spinning and felting professionals.

If you’ve been to Europe, you’ve likely seen laundry hanging out to dry, pinned onto clotheslines suspended from overhead balconies of apartment buildings – one atop another, zigzagging modern and historic architecture alike – or billowing gracefully across pastoral country landscapes. Skirts, dresses, trousers, shirts and undergarments flap openly in the wind, revealing much about their inhabitants.

For most people, their home is an extension of their personality. The furniture, artwork, essentials and accessories they choose to surround themselves with paint a picture of their lifestyle and personal aesthetic. An ideal dwelling should nurture its inhabitants with an inviting environment and harmonious atmosphere. Pulling all of the artistic elements in your home together cohesively into a unique, expressive style can be nothing short of challenging.