EVERETT — When stone sculptor Verena Schwippert was 12, she traveled with her school mates to see a Neolithic stone monument in the area of Northern Germany where she grew up near the Baltic Sea.
“So these big boulder piles are standing around, and as a girl I suddenly realized, ‘people did this. People moved and shaped these great stones,’” Schwippert said. “In a way, my work continues from that.”
Schwippert and photographer James Arrabito will be honored from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Schack Art Center as the Schack’s Artists of the Year. The reception also marks the opening of an exhibit “Vibrant Matter,” a show of their works, to be displayed through Sept. 19.
Since 1992, the Schack (formerly the Arts Council of Snohomish County) has selected an artist to honor as its artist of the year. This professional artist is someone who is recognized by his or her peers for their accomplishments and contributions to the visual arts. Schack gallery director Carie Collver said this is the first year two people have been selected for the annual award.
“The committee felt they were both equally deserving and that their artwork would complement the other,” Collver said.
The Schack also will pay tribute to Art Advocate of the Year Lloyd Weller and Volunteer of the Year Susie Howell at 6 p.m. during the opening reception.
Arrabito started a commercial photography business at 19, while enrolled at Fort Lewis College in his hometown of Durango, Colorado. In the Marine Corps, serving as a combat photographer, Arrabito honed his ability to shoot on his feet and do well in the darkroom. He was stationed in Iwakuni, Japan, when he worked for the Pacific Stars and Stripes newspaper.
After graduating from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, on the GI Bill in 1983, Arrabito opened a studio in Snohomish County, where he found “a community very receptive to artists.”
His commercial clients have included Weyerhaeuser, Seattle Opera, JanSport, Pay-n-Save, Snohomish County Superior Court, Washington CEO magazine, Tulalip Tribes and Sir Mix-A-Lot.
Though he has embraced digital photography, Arrabito has preferred being the first to see the magic in the darkroom.
The photographer served two terms on the board of the Schack Art Center and considers himself lucky to have been a part of the founding teams that have brought the H’Arts Art Auction, Fresh Paint: Festival of Artists at Work and the Artists’ Garage Sale to Everett. A fervent supporter of art education, Schack officials said, Arrabito is always willing to teach, jury and provide art supplies wherever he sees an opportunity.
This weekend, Schippert will begin the big task of moving large stone sculptures into the Schack. Trucks, forklifts, pallets and heavy lifting will be involved.
Schwippert, who has lived in Arlington since about 1993, is perhaps best known locally for her granite “Waterline” and “Salmon Spawning Pool” and andesite “Dedicated to the Beauty of Earth” sculptures along the Centennial Trail in downtown Arlington and for her megalithic 24-ton granite “Handwerke” sculpture at Everett Station. Her other public commissions include those for the cities of Bellevue and Gig Harbor and for Walla Walla Community College.
Trained originally as a painter, Schwippert is a member of Northwest Stone Sculptors Association. Her work is seen regularly at the Karla Matzke Gallery outdoor sculpture garden on Camano Island.
It is natural to want to touch a sculpture from granite, a durable stone layer that covers the planet, Schwippert said.
“Without people interacting physically (with sculptures), the work is not really complete,” she said. “Visually, my work is intuitive. I like rounded things and often the stone will guide me.
“But without assessing this too much, after two decades of sculpting, I just make them. And with any luck, they will last until the next 20,000 years.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
If you go
Sculptor Verena Schippert and photographer James Arrabito will be honored as artists of the year from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Ave., Everett. Admission to the Schack is free. It is open daily.
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