Ceramic standouts share EWU Gallery spotlight

A show by contrasting ceramic artists leads off the Eastern Washington University exhibition season.

“Curtis Stewardson and Sandra Trujillo: 2005-2006 Artists in Residence” opens next Thursday in EWU’s Gallery of Art on the Cheney campus.

Trujillo’s often humorous, narrative porcelain teapots differ widely from the larger, more textural earthenware vessels of Curtis Stewardson.

She presents her narratives mostly without text, allowing the viewer to interpret the imagery, says gallery director Nancy Hathaway.

“Sandra’s delicate ceramic pieces intentionally invoke an intriguing sense of familiarity and domesticity,” Hathaway says.

In contrast, Stewardson’s pieces sometimes weigh 50 pounds.

“Curtis’ large-scale works convey the very essence of nature,” says Hathaway. “His aesthetic quality is often achieved through the contrast of sharp edges and the fullness of soft curves.”

The artists will present a free joint lecture next Thursday at noon in the EWU Art Auditorium. A reception follows in the Gallery of Art.

View the work through Oct. 20, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The gallery is in the Art Building, located in the center of the fine and performing arts complex on the college campus at Seventh and I streets in Cheney. All of the events are free.

MAC exhibit opens

“Image and Imagination: American Indian Photogravures by Edward S. Curtis” opens Saturday at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave.

Soon after Curtis settled in the Puget Sound area in the late 1880s, he began photographing local Indians digging for clams and mussels on the tide flats.

This exhibit highlights the aesthetic popularity of his sepia-toned images and the “criticism he has received for romanticizing native lifeways and customs,” states a museum news release.

A lecture, “Exploring the Curtis Legacy,” on Saturday at 1 p.m. discusses different perspectives on his controversial works. A reception follows the program. Cost is $5 for those who aren’t museum members, which includes admission to all of the galleries.

The exhibit is up through Jan. 28. For more information, call (509) 456-3931 or go online to www.northwestmuseum.org.

Grant group show

The diverse work of six Inland Northwest artists will be on view beginning Friday at the William Grant Gallery in North Spokane.

Featured artists include printmaker Joan Grey Smith, watercolorists Judy Patterson and Dixie Slaton, pastelist Thelma Giampietri, papier-mâché artist Leata Judd and enamellist Marti Bennett.

Sisters Smith and Patterson have “always been artists,” said Patterson in a news release. Their father, Larry H. Grey, was an illustrator and graphic designer.

“We were surrounded from birth with art and with permission to make art,” she said.

Her opaque watercolors have a strong illustrative style, while Smith’s prints reflect themes of nature.

“The patterns, intricate designs and the fantastic array of colors never cease to amaze me,” Smith said in her artist statement.

Slaton’s representational watercolors include landscapes and travel scenes painted from her own photographs. She said her goal is to “keep learning and improving on new techniques.”

Realistic pastel artist Giampietri specializes in portraits of American Indians in full regalia, landscapes and floral still lifes.

Judd works in both clay and papier-mâché. She is showing her humorous papier-mâché figures.

Bennett, a self-taught artist, paints realistic wildlife and outdoor scenes on glass.

“My roots are in Alaska,” she said in her artist statement, “so my work reflects both my love of wildlife and my Alaskan heritage.”

Meet the artists during a reception on Friday between 5 and 8 p.m. at the gallery, 820 W. Francis Ave.

View the work through Nov. 6. Regular hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; extended hours this weekend are Friday until 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Watercolor show

The Spokane Watercolor Society’s 11th Annual Juried Show will run Monday through Oct. 20 at the Print House Gallery, 409 S. Dishman-Mica Road in Spokane Valley.

The show is open to any artist, 18 years or older; each may submit up to two pieces of art. All artwork must be delivered to the Print House Gallery on Monday between 3 and 4:30 p.m.

For more information, a prospectus is available at Spokane Art Supply store locations or by contacting Bobbie Wieber, juried show coordinator, at (509) 536-6635.

“We will be awarding more than $1,000 in cash and gifts to winning paintings,” says Wieber.

Northwest Watercolor Society signature member Betty Jo Fitzgerald of Olympia will be guest jurist. She will present the awards during the opening reception on Monday between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

SFCC honors Bob Evans

A memorial exhibition, “Bob Evans, 1948-2005,” is under way in the Spokane Falls Community College Gallery of Art.

Evans, an abstract painter and art teacher in Spokane for 15 years, taught at SFCC, The Discovery School and the Spokane Art School. He died in December 2005, shortly after moving to Las Vegas.

A public reception is Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit is open through Oct. 13 in the gallery in Building 6 on the SFCC campus, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Drive.

Gallery hours are weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call (509) 533-3035. All SFCC exhibits are free and open to the public.

Sunset Gallery

“Threads of Light on the Lake” is showing at the Sunset Gallery in Harrison, Idaho, from Saturday through Oct. 31.

The show combines the mastery of embroidery art from China and paintings by abstract artist Jo Simpson of Coeur d’Alene.

There is an opening event Oct. 7 in conjunction with Harrison’s Fall Festival. The gallery, 200 S. Coeur d’Alene Ave., is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Other galleries

• Quilting instructors and authors Rita Hutchens of Sandpoint and Jean Van Bockel of Bayview will autograph their books and demonstrate innovative quilting techniques in River Park Square’s Kress Gallery on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m.