His Best face forward

Woodcarver Everett Best loses all sense of time when he’s working on a new project.

“When I think of some of the faces I’ve done,” says Best, “I’ve spent three hours trying to carve an eye and it went by like 10 minutes.”

Best is the featured carver this weekend at the 17th annual “Artistry in Wood” show sponsored by the Spokane Carvers Association and Inland Empire Carvers.

Nearly 200 carvers from throughout the Northwest and Canada are expected to display their work during the juried event in the Lair Student Union at Spokane Community College.

Best, retired for about 15 years, has been carving “off and on” since the early 1950s.

“I began when I was in the Air National Guard during the Korean War,” he says. “Then I quit for a number of years while I was a vocational teacher and picked it back up again about two years before I retired. I’ve been doing it almost full time ever since.”

Best will be showing a variety of carved and turned objects including birds, figures, faces and dolls.

Stop by the SCC Lair Student Union at Greene and Mission on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $4; children are admitted free with an adult.

Spokane Valley Arts Tour

More than 30 Inland Northwest artists are showing their work during the second annual Spokane Valley Studio Arts Tour on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Sunday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Studios and artists include:

“Natalie Gauvin’s studio, 1216 S. Garry Road, Liberty Lake, with Victoria Almond, Victoria Brace and Kim Darling. Paintings and photography.

“Nan Drye’s studio, 4621 N. McDonald Road, Spokane Valley, with James Dhillon, Sandy Haupt, Jan Moulder, Tori Chamberlain-Bailey, Amy Mickelson and John Wojtulewicz. Paintings, paper, jewelry, leather and candles.

“Lezlie Finet’s studio, 13902 E. 32nd Ave., Veradale, with Jan Juday, Jana Juday, Linda Christine and Wendy Bailey. Ceramics, paintings, dolls, photography and jewelry.

“Sami Perry’s studio, 11717 E. View Ridge Lane, Spokane Valley, with John Luppert, Darrell Sullens, Erin Wert, Louise Telford and Liz Bishop. Furniture, paintings, glass, ceramics and mixed media; fused glass demonstrations by Telford at 2 p.m. both days.

“Denise Bowles’ studio, 2105 S. Meadow View, Greenacres, with Rhea Giffin, Karen Mobley, Steve Rovetti and Ken Yuhasz. Mixed media, papier mache and neon works.

“Jan Kruger’s studio, 4810 Sunnyvale Drive, Spokane, with Suzi Middaugh. Calligraphy and stained glass.

Pick up tour maps at Spokane Art Supply, 1303 N. Monroe St. and 14401 E. Sprague Ave. Directions can be found online at www.svsat.org. For more information call (509) 924-9454.

Spectrum’s fall show

“Landscapes and Beyond,” opening Friday at the Spectrum Studio in Spokane, spotlights the paintings of Scott Melville and Marvin Smith

Melville, returning for his fourth show at the gallery, is bringing romantic egg tempera landscapes, many shrouded in mist or subdued light.

Smith’s landscapes generate a sense of “enveloping space,” says gallery director Jim Tatman in a news release. The Spectrum Studio, a small cottage gallery, is at 33 W. 34th Ave. The show runs Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. through December. Call (509) 747-5267 for more information.

WSU events

“The Body Image Project: Beauty as a Relative Concept” by Larry Kirkwood is under way in the Compton Union Gallery on the Move in the Gallery II space on the Washington State University campus in Pullman.

The exhibit consists of finished body casts taken directly from a number of individuals.

Located in Room 5972 of the Fine Arts Building, the gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.

Kirkwood will present two public lectures: Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Auditorium, and next Thursday during the Art a la Carte lunchtime series at 12:10 p.m. in its new location, the Bundy Reading Room in Avery Hall next to the clock tower.

For more information on Kirkwood visit www.kirkwoodstudios.com.

‘Splendid Trail’ in Moscow

A new traveling exhibit, “Splendid Was the Trail,” opens Friday in the Third Street Gallery in Moscow, Idaho.

The exhibit consists of 32 black-and-white photographs taken by forester K.D. Swan between 1911 and 1947.

An opening reception is Friday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the gallery, 206 E. Third St. The show runs through October, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

‘Host’ at UI

“Host” is the next show in an occasional series highlighting new media, known as “WeekSpots,” at the University of Idaho’s Prichard Art Gallery, 416 S. Main St. in Moscow.

Running Monday through Oct. 15 is a video created from a seven-hour performance piece by British artist Phillip Warnell.

Warnell “swallowed a miniaturized video camera,” states a UI news release. “The piece chronicles the journey the camera made through his body.”

The free show can be seen Tuesday through Friday from noon to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Palouse’s Left Bank Gallery

The Left Bank Gallery in Palouse, Wash., is showing tapestries by Sarah Swett from Moscow, Idaho, and wearable fabric art by Monika Kriebel from Garfield, Wash.

An opening reception is Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. with music by John Elwood and Sally Burkhart.

The gallery, 100 S. Bridge St., is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Other galleries

“New York City-based artist Jose Parla is speaking tonight at 7 at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. He will explore the history of urban aerosol and calligraphic arts and how his roots influence his art. The lecture is in conjunction with his exhibit, “The Mystic Writing Pad,” which runs through Oct. 26 in the Koehler Gallery at Whitworth College.