It's summer in Seattle, and I'm thinkin' Salmon!

You think you're too busy to enjoy the small stuff, when it all of a sudden it's there right in your backyard. Literally.

So my mom calls me the other day, and says, "I got a chance to talk about Etsy today!" Love that my mom is all psyched about Etsy. :-)

She proceeds to tell me that this great guy, Isaiah Heyer, who's doing some landscaping for her also creates these beautiful glass fish. She suggested he jump on the Etsy bandwagon, and he may just have his shop up and ready any time now.

In the meantime, be sure to check him out on his website: http://glasssalmon.com/index.html. Don't be fooled by the name - he makes glass trout too!

Also, take a look at his landscaping page, as his ponds and stone walls are quite beautiful too! http://www.islandgardenarts.com/

new studio neighbor at the OK

I just found out that one of my dear friends, David Lindes, will be moving his photography business in to the OK Hotel!

That's right, yet another reason to come drop by First Thursday Art Walk.

I met David almost 3 years ago when he was doing tech for a small startup in the suite next door. He and his co-workers used to drop by for coffee, and I carried his prints as one of our cool, up-and-coming Seattle artists. He now returns to the OK Hotel with his true love, photography. (I may be sneaking in to his darkroom, to return to my roots... shhhh...)

David tends to work with darkness and light, movement and long exposures. His colors pop brilliantly against his frequently dark backgrounds.

Be sure to check him out:

http://photo.lindes.net/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindes/

And of course, come see him in person soon!

(P.S. As a quick reminder, all images on this blog remain copyrighted by the artists. I have borrowed these images from the artists' websites for the purposes of promoting their fabulousness.)

I’m the green-eyed monster…

I discovered my dream place last night.

Having walked down this street many times, and recently hearing of this place mentioned by several others, I was excited to finally make my way over to “grey” for a drink.

“grey” is another combo of bar and gallery, but I was really impressed by the balance they’ve found. There are many galleries that serve wine for receptions, and many bars that feature local art on the walls, but “grey” has discovered you can have a true 50/50 balance.

This month, they have two featured artists, one of whom makes smaller drawings and hand-embroidered drawings. The other makes larger sculptural pieces. So even between the two artists they chose this month, there is a harmony between pieces to fill the walls while you enjoy a drink, and larger pieces to inspire you to walk around, explore, and create flow through the space.

In addition to enjoying the space and the artists they chose, they had attentive bar staff, and a great menu! I enjoyed 2 glasses of the Portuguese red, which was impressive for $5. And while I didn’t get a chance to eat this time, I did enjoy watching them make a few of their savory crepes. Art, cocktails, crepes, and music? Sign me up! I found out they are open all day, so expect to see me lounging here for lunch some nice weekend.

Check them out:
“grey” http://greygalleryandlounge.com/
Noah Grussgott (artist) http://noahgrussgott.com/
Sabrina Small (artist) http://www.sabrinasmall.com/

seattle unfriendly to art?

My eye was drawn to an article in The Stranger entitled "The Vancouver Problem: Why is the Art Up There So Much Better Than the Art Up Here?"

Of course, my first thought was How Dare You Jen Graves - you're supposed to be on our side! But then I read the article, which proved a true point about the Seattle art scene. And to build further on her criticism, we can look at other cities besides Vancouver.

For a city that appears art friendly (most neighborhoods hold monthly art walks, and many cafes have local art on their walls), the City itself could go far in terms of improving an artists' chances here.

I just came across an online article about cheap dating tips, and it suggested Art Walk; the event itself is free and there was no risk of spending money because "no one buys that crap anyway". Ouch.

How do we encourage legitimate customers to attend, who are not just there for the free wine? And if the art really is that bad, how can we encourage a culture that appreciates good art, and encourage its artists to develop themselves?

In a city with several art schools, how are we not a culture that supports the arts, holds the artist to a higher standard, and also has a consumer base that appreciates it?

One place to start: In New York City, where the cost of living is very high, and the paychecks are not comparable, and therefore people have smaller homes with less room for art, how is art still prevalent and successful? The local rules of play art that setting up a booth on the street is FREE and requires no vendor license. Catch this: selling your art is considered freedom of speech. You still need your business license and need to claim income, etc. But the actual act of going public becomes very accessible. And with all these artists right there in your face, the general public now sees art on a regular basis, and comes to appreciate it.

Conversely, in Seattle, where there are sprawling suburban homes with plenty of wall space, where are the consumers? You must jump through hoops to vend on the street, and likely will have to pay 10% of sales to the neighborhood or community association. You can buy an $80 framed poster print at Beb Bath & Beyond, or you could spend the same $80 on an original by a local artist, but how will you do that if you don't know the artist exists? In a city where we pride ourselves on buying local food, because it's more green, should we not also pride ourselves on our local culture?

Do I have any solutions for change? Not yet. But it is certainly time to start the dialogue.

oops, i fell in love.

I fully intended to cover a different creative topic this week, like music, or cooking.

But the recipes I made were horrible. And I was introduced to the work of two amazing, primarily 2-D, visual artists this week. Thank you Facebook and Urban Fashion Network.

First, Christoff Niemann. Is it wrong to blog about a blog? Niemann is an illustrator, whose pieces can stand alone, but his blog brings an added element. He strings several pieces together with captions and commentary, which add up to a whole storytelling-style piece.

One entry that's been floating around Facebook shows various ways you can depict New York trademarks with legos. But everyone, New Yorker or not, can enjoy my favorite of the series: the server with a larger than life peppermill!






Another entry tells a story about the artist's lifelong relationship with coffee by drawing on napkins with, you guessed it, coffee. Poetic.





These entries and more can be found at: http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/

Next week... I'll cover Carla Sonheim, mixed media artist from Washington!

I've come undone!

Scultpure's been on my mind. I've been noticing a significant amount of commercial pieces around Seattle. And not just the Sculpture Garden, but miscellanous pieces scattered thoughout the city, adding just a bit of interest as you are passing by or entering your office building. I was also talking to a co-worker earlier today about my secret wish to one day do some large scale metal lawn sculpture.

With all this on my mind, I started browsing for Seattle sculptors for inspiration. I stumbled upon Diem Chau, a Vietnamese-American artist, who received her training at our very own Cornish.

Now I had originally been thinking large scale, freestanding, metal or stone... I was completely suprised to find this body of miniature 3-D sculpted works. I always love being caught off guard - it gives me a little bit of joy to realize this artist has stumbled on something completely new and original.

First, the crayon figures. Crayola - not just for grade school anymore. I love the play on medium. Rather than using the crayons for their traditional purpose, as a drawing implement, the wax now becomes a sculptural medium. Yet the scale of the piece practically requires the context of the crayons to remain the same. The small scale encourages the adult artist to create a loosely detailed, child-like piece, reminiscent of the very drawings one would create with the crayons if used as drawing tool. It's downright witty.

Second, the miniatures within the dishes... Again, a play on the pieces used, this time with scale, using inverse proportions. How clever to use a plate to frame a table! Perhaps I'm easily amused, but it's this twist on our expectations that makes these pieces stand out.

Beyond amusement, though, I also get a sense of, well, eeriness. How strange would it be to be the little person who lived at that table, trapped in this room of white walls?

Next, Diem Chau has series of pieces that involve string adhered to dishes. The irony I find here is that, while many artists, including myself, try to find ways to make their art functional to appeal to a larger audience, Chau has done the opposite. She has chosen a functional canvas and rendered it disfunctional. Yet that simple choice adds charm to her pieces. I, for one, am drawn to texture of this mixed media, and find interest in the 3-D form created by using an alternate canvas.

The last piece. Does anyone else hear Weezer's Sweater Song?

i don't know why i'm surprised

but there is a LOT of political art on Etsy! (I'm posting early this week with the excitement of the Inauguration.)

Even the classics, those artists who were paid by patrons to create what they wanted, found ways to insert their own messages, points, or even jabs. Politics have frequently found their way, whether openly or sneakily, into artistic creations.

So, in the spirit of this week's Presidential Inauguration, I bring you some of the Obama art that caught my eye.

First, this Circles of Change bracelet by tafurious. This is a bracelet I would wear regardless of theme, because I love the simplicity of design, and how each circle has a different texture. The words "hope" and "dream" stamped in two of the circles just add to the small surprises you find looking at this bracelet.

Next, I fell in love with this mixed-media painting by StormOne. I'm immediately drawn to his smiling soulful eyes. What is he looking at? If I didn't know this was Obama, what would I see? I love the jazzy feel of this painting. I feel like he could be inspired to start playing a double bass at any moment.

Then I stumbled across some Hope. Hope on a Rope, that is!

With the seriousness of this election, it's great to see some (loving, not mocking, in my opinion) playfulness!

I don't know if want Obama grinning at you in the shower, but this is sure to start your day off with a smile. And everyone will love this Obama, because he's purple (both red and blue friendly), vegan, and smells like fresh air. Thank you, dugshop, for making my day.

Additionally, if you thought Obama was just going to restore our country to fabulousness, you were wrong. O-Balm-Ah (by themefragrance) will also restore your skin. That's right, folks. You can put Obama on a rope, and you can also put him in a jar. Here's hoping the new President can heal our economy and reputation - but no matter what, we know he can heal our bodies!

With all this great Obama floating around,

let's all jump on the hope train.

tune in thursday nights

Welcome to the new blog of stir, your local artist's boutique under the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle.

A little about what I'll be doing here: Writing about anything creative or arts related! This may be sharing new projects I'm working on that will be available at stir. Or it could be instruction on a new technique I'm playing with. Or it could be sharing with you other cool artists I've discovered.

While I primarily focus on photography and painting at stir, this blog will cover the creative as I come across it in my daily life: 2-D visual art, 3-D visual art, architecture, music, dance, performance, cooking, even bartending!

So if you get a little thrill for the creative, please visit again. I'll be updating this blog Thursday nights, PST.

Best,
Kimberly @ stir