Glass art shows blow into town

For those of you who are into art glass, this is your weekend.

There is not just one, but two free glass events – the 13th annual Glass on the Grass, and the new Art and Glass Fest at Arbor Crest.

The long-running Glass on the Grass show has moved from its eight-year perch at the Arbor Crest Winery site to a more expansive location on the Gonzaga University campus.

It will be spread across the sweeping lawn area outside GU’s Jundt Art Museum, home of the impressive Dale Chihuly “Red Chandelier” installation.

“We wanted to expand our show to include more family-oriented activities that involve teens and younger children,” says Conrad Bagley, coordinator of Glass on the Grass, “and Arbor Crest Winery was limited to those 21 and older.”

In addition to about 40 glass artists, activities will include live glass-making demonstrations, a fundraiser for Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services, ecology displays, children’s games, food and live music.

Exhibits include lamp work by Kirsten Erickson, Ken Frybarger, David Glover, Lisa Moss and Linda Nicholson; blown glass by Patricia Garibay, John Johnson and Peter Reuthlinger; stained glass by Marissa Athens, Kim Huender and Isaac Smith; fused glass by Theresa O’Neill and Summers Glass; Lynn Gamble’s Cloisonné painting and fused glass; and glass reflections by Susan Kim.

The free event is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is live music on both days; animals on leashes are welcome.

‘Art and Glass Fest’

When the decision was made to move Glass on the Grass, the folks at Arbor Crest Winery decided to hold a complementary event.

“Ours will be a smaller, more intimate happening,” says Jim van Loben Sels, the winery’s general manager.

“There will only be about 20 artists,” he says, “and we decided to include a selection of other types of art.”

The heart of the show, however, remains handcrafted glass, including the work of William Hagy of Spokane.

Hagy has been working with glass for 15 years. He started out creating flame-worked glass beads. Over the years he has ventured into floral arrangement, sculpture work, vases and goblets.

“I’ve be doing lamp work demonstrations at Arbor Crest,” says Hagy, founder of the Northwest Glass Society. “I’ll make a number of small, blown-glass objects using a bench burner.”

Visitors will also see hand-painted glass and dinnerware by Wayne and Susan Girlen of Colbert, Wash.; fine glass jewelry by Carrie McCoy of Smelterville, Idaho; metal works by Herbert and Nicola McGowan of Post Falls; and Northwoods Creations by Lori Wise of Spokane.

The free event runs between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Catered for You will have picnic foods and beverages available for purchase.

Music begins on Saturday with Jazz Attack from noon to 3 p.m., followed by Lindell Reason from 4 to 7 p.m. On Sunday, Reason returns from noon to 3 p.m. The 20-piece big-band sound of Men of Rhythm takes over between 4 and 7 p.m.

Because Arbor Crest is offering free wine tasting, attendance is limited to those 21 and older and no pets are allowed.

To reach Arbor Crest at 4703 N. Fruithill Road, take Argonne Road exit 287 off Interstate 90 and head north. After crossing over the Spokane River, turn right on Upriver Drive, proceed one mile and then bear left onto Fruithill Road. Make a sharp right turn at the top of the hill and take in the breathtaking views of the Spokane Valley.

‘They Passed this Way’

A new art exhibit, “Lewis and Clark: They Passed this Way,” opens Friday in the Third Street Gallery in Moscow, Idaho.

The exhibit is a collaborative effort involving the Moscow Arts Commission and Bridging the Arts, an artist group from the Lewiston-Clarkston area.

Artists participating in the project were “challenged last spring to do work depicting how the ‘trail’ might have looked at the time Lewis and Clark passed through, as well as how it presently appears,” Deena Heath, director of the Moscow Arts Commission, says in a news release.

Participating artists include: Judy Brand, Sandra Hardgrove, Julie Jacobs and Carol Crull of Clarkston; Chris Chapman, Judy Fairley, Franceen Hermanson, Judy Mousseau, Carmelita Nedrow and Vikki Wayne of Lewiston; and Donna Baker, Orofino Hough and Zinona Hough of Kamiah, Idaho.

There is an opening reception Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. in the gallery, 206 E. Third St. The show runs through Sept. 29. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Clay throwing at Moscow

The Palouse Studio Potters Guild is hosting a fundraiser at the Moscow Farmers’ Market on Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon.

At $5 a pop, guild members will be helping folks learn how to throw a pot on the potter’s wheel.

Each participant will be given a 10-minute lesson on how to shape and pull a simple pot. Guild members will center the clay, open it and have it ready to shape.

Money raised during the four-hour event will help fund such activities as the annual Palouse “Empty Bowls” project as well as classes and workshops taught by the guild potters.

The Farmers’ Market is in Friendship Square in downtown Moscow. Live music by Full Circle goes from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Sunset Gallery

Mark Brown of St. Maries is showing his abstract paintings at the Sunset Gallery in Harrison from Saturday through Sept. 23.

“Mark’s abstracts have the flavor of French cubist painter Ferdinand Leger but less geometric, a more organic feeling,” says gallery owner Carol Muzik in an e-mail.

“Mark uses the canvas, paint, ink and pencil to create a textured, mixed-media painting on canvas, or paper,” says Muzik. His work is “colorful and fun, with lots of shapes juxtaposed synchronously to each other.”

Meet Brown at an artist’s reception on Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m. in the gallery, 200 S. Coeur d’Alene Ave. (above One Shot Charlie’s Bar and Restaurant).

Also in the gallery are Lynn Hanley’s ethereal, pastel-like oil paintings; Michael Jones’ oil paintings and drawings; Rhea Giffin’s papier mâché story bowls; and shirts and hats designed by the I-90 Sisters.

Gallery hours are daily, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Naples Gallery

Artist Dorothy Smith opens her new show on Friday at Naples Gallery in North Idaho.

Smith is showing her latest impressionist paintings including florals, landscapes and Southwestern-influenced still lifes.

Meet the artist on Friday between 4 and 9 p.m. at the gallery, located between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry on Highway 95 at milepost 495 ½.

The show is up through Sept. 8. Regular gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For additional information call (208) 267-6575.

Fyfe at Rocket

Jo Fyfe, known for her exuberant acrylic paintings, is showing new work in the Rocket Bakery at 903 W. Garland Ave.

The Spokane artist combines her acrylics with a variety of media including wood, croquet balls and paper.

“Her work is filled with a sense of wonder and enjoyment in the variety of nature,” says Tinman Gallery owner Sue Bradley in a news release. “She uses bold colors and vigorous application to suggest the energy of creation.”

The free show runs through Oct. 6.