Washington Voices

The children held their left arms out straight while their right hands clung to their bike handlebars, trying to maintain their balance while they made their left turn signals. Most of them were a little shaky at first, but they got the hang of it.

Artist Nikai Birchler has a lot to say, and his work is his soap box. Birchler creates poetic images in a multitude of mediums, beginning with a mark or a scribble that then becomes an elaborate doodle that becomes people, places, things, and views on current affairs.

Gordon Spunich , of Spokane Valley: “Riding my bike in Maxville, Mont.”

Whatever you want to call it, the sport of cross country running demands pace, rhythm or timing – some even refer to it as dancing to the beat of a different drummer. For some, it’s about the unrelenting, unstoppable tick-tick-tick of the clock. It’s an unflinching yardstick that measures all who toe the start line, that stands at the finish line like a constant guard, measuring all by the same standard.

Spokane Valley Public Works Director Eric Guth has been on duty for two weeks and he’s liking the job more than his last one. In Spokane Valley, he doesn’t have to worry about rocket attacks. Guth, 50, previously worked for CH2M Hill for more than four years and he spent a year of that working on U.S. Armed Forces construction projects in Afghanistan. He served in two areas during that year. His first was in a more volatile area where his camp went through three or four rocket attacks a week. Toward the end of his year he was in a calmer area that only drew one rocket attack every month or so.

It all started with Cynthia Baker’s passion for embroidery. Her husband, Topper, bought her a small embroidery machine. Overwhelmed with caring for her aging mother-in-law, Baker found respite and escape. “I embroidered everything in the house,” she said. “Towels, pillowcases ….” She even embroidered her mother-in-law’s shirts.

On Sept. 15 and 16, six artists on the South Hill will open their homes to the public during the ninth annual Spokane Town and Country Studio Tour. At each stop on the self-guided tour, artists will be exhibiting their wares in a variety of media including painting, pottery, photography, wearable art, and sculpture. Four of the studios have been on the map before, but two are opening their doors for the first time. “Opening my home studio just sounded like a great way to meet other artists and to share what I love about art,” said watercolorist Joy Gruenewald. “Spokane has an incredible arts community.”

Nine years ago when Mary Ann and Ken Corman built their house on Five Mile Prairie, their “garden” was nothing more than a weedy field that cleverly hid a lot of large rocks. After they realized they couldn’t dig them out, they decided the best strategy would be to bury them under 500 cubic yards of topsoil. It took a lot of work to reshape the land and then build their garden into a magical play space for grandchildren and the neighborhood birds. But their efforts won them the August Garden of the Month from the Inland Empire Gardeners, as well as a place on the 2013 Spokane in Bloom tour next June.

Simon arrived at the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services on July 28. He is an adult shepherd mix, around 1 year old.  He knows sit, shake and down commands and is house broken. Shelter workers find him very playful and eager to please. He is also very energetic and would be a great candidate for SCRAPS’ free training. Simon tested well with dogs.