EVERETT — “All Natural.”
For Kait Rhoads, a guest curator at the Schack Center for the Arts, the phrase is irritating when applied to food.
The current 15-artist glass exhibit at the Schack, “All Natural,” uses the description in an ironic or unexpected manner.
The show is displayed through Nov. 7, featuring the works of Rhoads, Joseph BenVenuto, Courtney Branam, Daniel Joseph Friday, Amie McNeel and Rebecca Chernow, all of Seattle; The Butter Eaters, a collective that has included Jen Elek of Seattle, Brian Pike of Whidbey Island and others; CUD, which is the collaboration of John Drury and Robbie Miller; Sarah Gilbert of Tacoma; Samuel McMillen of Anacortes and Seattle; Kelly O’Dell of Stanwood; Amy Rueffert of Illinois and Jennifer Umphress of Kingston.
Most of the artists have connections to Pilchuck Glass School in north Snohomish County, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, the University of Washington, and several regional museums and glass art studios.
“To me creating art work that depicts nature with a medium (such as glass) that is extremely costly to produce and promotes the consumption of natural resources seems ironic and full of black humor,” said Rhoads in her exhibit statement. “How do I justify this as an artist working within this medium to express myself? (The exhibit features) a few artists (who) create work that reference nature, regardless of if the work is political, decorative, spiritual or scientific in its nature. As we balance on the precipice of the effects of global warming become more and more apparent, how will we act as individuals to support our environment? The work in this show demonstrates feats of excellence in executing work in the medium of glass. A celebration of the handmade and not mass produced.”
Also displayed now is an exhibit of new works by artists in the 2014 Pilchuck Emerging Artists in Residence program at Pilchuck Glass School. The artists include Anne Petters of Germany, Matthew Perez of Australia, Yuka Otani of New York, David King of Philadelphia, Irena Czepcova of the Czech Republic and Sarah Briland of Virginia.
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