New Art Exhibits Opening Friday in Issaquah and Sammamish

It's going to be a great Friday for art lovers in Issaquah and Sammamish, with two new exhibits opening here, including hands-on activities for kids at the show in Sammamish and an artists' reception at artEAST in Issaquah.

Issaquah

Pulse: Rhythm in Clay

Meanwhile, artEAST in Issaquah will open its new show, "Pulse: Rhythm in Clay," which features a number of artists from the Puget Sound area. The exhibit opens Friday, March 9 with an artists' reception planned from 6 - 8 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

artEast says of its show:

"The versatility of clay is expressed with dramatic energy in this showcase of Puget Sound clay artists. Artistry in clay and a theme with attitude come together in an exhibit with its own power surge."

The artEAST show will be on until April 14 and includes works by the following artists: Anita Feng, Art Pasette, Barbara Hennig, Carol Ross, Chaim Bezalel, Charan Sachar, Gale Lurie, Ginny Conrow, Joan Watkins, June Lindsey, Katherine Market,Kat Morrell, Lars Husby, Louise Schollaert, Mary Lynn Buss, Megan Somerville-Loomis, Melissa Balch, Pat Colyar, Peter and Dorothy Bonneau, Sandra Mander, Satomi Pellerin, Ted Loomis, and Yonnah Ben Levy.

The Sammamish Arts Commission

The Sammamish Arts Commission offers a year-round series of exhibitions in the City Hall Commons Gallery with a primary focus on regional artists.

artEAST

artEAST is a fast growing, dynamic, and innovative nonprofit organization dedicated to making the arts an integral part of life in our community. We were founded in 2005 as the Arts Collective of Issaquah by a small group of local artists who believe that whether we are viewing an exhibition, learning a new technique or expressing our creativity, art enriches our lives and creates energy and optimism.

Sammamish

Come Sit a While

“Come Sit A While,” Papercuts by Hannah Viano, will open this Friday, March 9, at .

The Sammamish Arts Commission says of the exhibit: "Come Sit A While is an invitation to slow down, to appreciate a place and moment of time. Hannah Viano’s modern portrayals of local flora, offset with large locally  inspired landscapes beckon the viewer to have a closer, slower look and sit a while."

Included with the exhibit will be a hands-on opportunity for children who will be able to create their own black and white art on a large white felt board from black felt abstract shapes and silhouettes making their own version of the black and white art.

The Sammamish exhibit, sponsored by the Sammamish Arts Commission, runs through June 29, and also will include a public gallery tour and program with the artist Tuesday, April 17. The tour begins at 6 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m. 

As part of the program, Dr. Joshua Tewksbury, biology professor at the University of Washington. Professor Tewksbury will speak about the role of the layman in the study of natural history and how that offers a better appreciation and enjoyment of the environment. This program is provided in partnership with the Sammamish Parks Commission and the Sammamish Walks program sponsored by the Sammamish Parks and Recreation Department.

 “I have tried hard to learn the lessons of how to catch a memory, and save it for another day and another friend to see. To distill these impressions down I use an exacto knife and pieces of black paper. The act of carving out the pictures is a delicious and delicate process that gives itself perfectly to the flowing shapes of wood and water, the way faring a hull feels right in the hands, or a sweetly blossoming bowl on the potter’s wheel,” Viano says.

Viano has been working with the papercut medium for the past 2 years. She has studied different printmaking styles through Sev Shoon and Pratt.  Recent exhibits of her work have been at Center for Wooden Boats, spring 2011 and Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend and Columbia City Gallery in the fall of 2012. Her work can be found on her website: www.devilspursediary.com.

“I would like to tie pictures to words and word to actions.  Maybe my inspirations from nature can be reflected back, nudging others out to find their own,”Viano said.