Ewu Seniors Step Into The Spotlight
Eight ambitious Eastern Washington University fine arts seniors have taken the bold step of seeking out places to exhibit their work.
Their first show opens Sunday at Far West Billiards in downtown Spokane.
“We’re all excited about having the show,” says bachelor of fine arts major Patrick Sullivan. “I haven’t had anyone tell me that something like this has happened before, where Eastern students have organized public exhibits off-campus.”
Says senior sculpture major Sami Perry: “We have a talented group of students who are willing to work together, show our art and see what we can do in our community.”
They found an eager partner in Andrew Sackville-West, owner of the billiards hall at Monroe and Sprague.
“I’ve had an idea to do some type of art show since we opened in August,” says Sackville-West. “Our space is ideally suited for showing artwork.”
The walls and window spaces will be showcases for at least 15 pieces, including Perry’s mixed-media sculpture “Hanford Chinook, No. 2.”
An environmental activist for many years, Perry says her raku clay and found-objects piece is a comment on the pollution of the Columbia River.
“I saw Hanford as this mechanical industry of pollution,” says Perry. “Instead of giving the chinook three eyes and six fins, I have them spewing gears, sprockets, springs, and nuts and bolts.”
Other student works on display include oil and acrylic paintings, ceramics and sculpture. Rounding out the group of eight artists exhibiting their work are Yuvgeniy Ampleyev, Logan Kaufman, Tracy Mackprang, Keri Marion, Sean Olson and David Saling.
The exhibit runs through December. The opening reception is Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Far West Billiards, 1001 W. Sprague.
E. L. Stewart open studio
Spokane artists E. L. Stewart and Denae are doing something different for their pre-holiday open studio. They’ve invited Egyptian-style belly dancer A’isha Azar to participate.
“Two Artists and a Belly Dancer” takes place Friday through Sunday at 124 S. Wall.
To the artists, the pairing of dance with their art seems natural.
“I do a lot of figure studies,” says Stewart. “I also paint landscapes and sometimes I put them both together.”
Stewart weaves narratives through most of her acrylic paintings. “The story line can begin with a conversation I had or something I’ve overheard,” says Stewart. “I build a story around it and put it down on canvas.”
Alongside Stewart’s loosely rendered figures and landscapes are Denae’s detailed representational works of jazz collages, studies of fish and antique fishing lures, still lifes and garden scenes.
Denae’s recent “Botanicals Collection” combines pressed, dried flowers and foliage with paintings, vintage sheet music, stamps and internationally postmarked letters.
The open studio runs Friday from 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Azar performs Arabic and folkloric dances on Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.
The exhibit continues through the end of December by appointment.
Twin Totems Art Gallery
During November the Twin Totems Art Gallery is featuring the mixed media work of Bremerton artist Amy Burnett.
Gallery owner Melanie Rodd says that Burnett’s images combine “tightly organized Pacific Northwest Native graphic designs with very colorful, loose abstract images of people and foliage.”
Burnett specializes in depicting historical characters including representations of early settlers and Native American peoples.
The gallery, located at 5117 E. Green Bluff Road in Colbert, is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In other galleries
The images of Hungarian-born artist Judy Dori are hanging in the lobby of The Met theater through the end of December. Her exhibit includes drawings of classic sculptures and portraits juxtaposed over bold original graphic designs.
The show can be viewed during performances at The Met, 901 W. Sprague.
“Wizards and Dragons” features the raku clay and intense glaze work of Winthrop, Wash., potter Jim Neupert.
Running through November at Pottery Place Plus in the Flour Mill, 621 W. Mallon, the display contains two dozen ceramic platters, bowls and planters.
Pottery Place Plus is a cooperative gallery of 16 regional artists. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
“Multiples,” a group exhibition by four California artists, continues through Dec. 1 at the Spokane Falls Art Gallery with a closing reception that evening from 5 to 7 p.m.
The show features a variety of media including photography and mixed-media assemblage.
The Spokane Falls Art Gallery is located in the Art Department, Building 6, on the Spokane Falls Community College campus, 3410 Fort George Wright Drive.
The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free.
An exhibit of expressionistic paintings by Spokane artist Burtoni Jones runs through Dec. 8 at Out of Our Minds Gallery, 318 W. Sprague.
Jones’ acrylic cityscape paintings on canvas and wood can be viewed between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Gallery II in the Fine Arts Center at Washington State University in Pullman is showing “How the Ink Feels” through Dec. 15. This traveling exhibit includes letterpress broadsides by distinguished artists and writers.
The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Admission is free.
Recent watercolors by Terri Austin-Beach are featured through Dec. 23 at Terri’s Art Works in Post Falls. The exhibit includes scenic and Western paintings along with portraiture and figure drawings.
The gallery, located at 1505 Brook in Post Falls, is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.