The Holiday Art Show, an annual show and sale at the Arts Council of Snohomish County’s gallery in downtown Everett, has an added dimension this year.
Along with the big selection of pottery and art glass from Puget Sound area artists – just in time for holiday shopping – the council is paying tribute to some of the county’s best-known artists.
Fourteen winners of the Arts Council’s Artist of the Year award are being honored with an exhibit of their art that runs in conjunction with the holiday show, which opens Thursday.
It’s a who’s who of local artists, each of whom was recognized for their art and for their contribution to the arts community as teachers and volunteers and for their contributions to the Arts Council of Snohomish County.
| A show and sale of pottery, art glass and jewelry, and an exhibit of works by 14 Snohomish County Artists of the Year, opening with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Arts Council of Snohomish County gallery, 1507 Wall St., Everett. The show continues through Dec. 29. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays; 425-257-8380. on |
The program, started in 1992, names an artist of the year and honors them with a solo exhibit of their work.
“It was a good time to have the group together and celebrate them,” said Carie Collver, gallery director, who put together the show.
The honored artists will have a combined show of about 50 works, which will be shown along with the dozens of pieces of pottery, art glass and glass jewelry in the Holiday Show. The exhibit opens with a meet-the-artists reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Arts Council gallery in the Monte Cristo Hotel, and runs through December.
In the meantime, here’s an update on what the Snohomish County Artists of the Year have been doing. (The 2006 recipient is Stan Price, a glass artist who owns Covenant Art Glass in Everett. A show of his work opens March 16.)
Susan Jane Russell, 1992: Russell, an Everett artist who retired from teaching several years ago, is noted for her calligraphy, watercolors, gouache and mixed-media art. “After receiving the award and recognition from the Arts Council I became a more prolific artist and dedicated more time in my studio. This time allowed me to work on theme shows such as ‘Landscapes of the Palouse’ and ‘Domestic Arts,’” she said. She continues to exhibit and will have a new show opening Nov. 11 at Built Gallery in Everett.
Byron Bratt, 1993: Bratt is renowned for his mezzotints, a highly disciplined form of print-making that includes abrading and burnishing the surface of the copper plate. Bratt, who works from his studio in the Riverside Neighborhood of Everett and lives in Lake Stevens, teaches drawing at Everett Community College. “Learning the thrill of teaching at the college has been a great discovery for me,” he said.
James L. Davis, 1994: Davis, who works in pen and ink, has mostly retired from active work, citing some “bumps” along life’s road. “However, there are mountains to climb, poems to read and a few pictures to draw for my grandchildren,” said Davis, who lives in Monroe.
Genevieve Tuck, 1995: At age 96, Tuck continues to paint, working in her Monroe studio and outdoors painting in the “plein air” style. Her oils are widely collected by the public. “As a plein-air painter, I find inspiration in the natural world. I still find support from my colleagues and various art groups to which I belong,” she said.
Jack Gunter, 1996: The Camano Island resident, who works in egg tempera and mixed-media, said the 1996 show changed his direction in art. After seeing 25 years of work on the walls of the gallery, he felt the urge to work in three dimensions and yet still continue his theme of Northwest histories. Consequently, he invented a civilization called “The Mount Vernon Culture” and began to work in large-scale ceramics, bronze and glass. He’s also created three full-length films, wrote a couple of adventure novels and creates two-dimensional art that glows in the dark.
Lisa Spreacker, 1997: Working at a new studio in Mukilteo, Spreacker continues to create her assemblage and mixed-media art, and now has a small gallery space for exhibiting her work and that of other artists. She also finds time to mentor emerging artists; her son, Zack, is active in the arts community. And she has plans to teach classes and bring in visiting artists.
Cheri O’Brien, 1998: O’Brien’s vivid paintings, done in acrylic, gouache and mixed-media, are among the most recognizable in the region. While her signature spaghetti-armed people are popular with collectors, O’Brien said she has recently challenged herself by painting haunting landscapes of the Palouse region. Recent awards include the May cover of the Daniel Smith art catalog and an artist residency at Centrum in Port Townsend.
Karla Matzke, 1999: Soft pastels are the hallmark of Matzke’s art and this remains the favorite medium of this Camano Island artist. “The last few years my imagery in my paintings has been exploring the human figure (nude fragments),” she said. “I am still exploring and continuing with my series of architectural landscapes with a color-field eye. Both series reflect the strong and sometimes dramatic use of light.” She’s also begun to work in stainless steel. “Being an artist allows one to continue to learn, grow, explore and be challenged,” said Matzke, co-owner with Jack Gunter of History of the World Fine Arts Gallery on Camano Island.
Robert Mitchell, 2000: Bob Mitchell is one of the region’s best known glass artists, and for years his blown-glass replicas of chilies have been collected by many. He was also widely recognized for teaching art and glass blowing at Everett Alternative High School, but he left teaching to pursue his art career, expanding his glass business and his artistic vision. He recently moved Whidbey Island, but commutes to his Marysville glass studio where he creates a variety of beautiful and sophisticated art-glass vases and bowls. He still makes a few glass chilies for a gallery in Santa Fe, N.M., but they are very different from earlier versions, he said. His work has been shown locally at such locations as MUSEO gallery in Langley and J Matheson Gifts in Everett.
Janet Hamilton, 2001: Hamilton, a noted pastel artist who lives in Everett, has been traveling and painting in the last few years including trips to Italy, France and Spain where she paints on-site scenes of such things as castles, rivers, streetscapes, cottages and kitchens. She also finds inspiration in the local landscape, painting farm-stands, gardens, sloughs and island scenes. She teaches, is active in Women Painters of Washington and the movement in Skagit Valley to protect farmland from urban sprawl. Her work can be seen in galleries from Bellingham to Everett.
Kathryn Glowen, 2002: This busy artist, who works in assemblage and mixed-media, has had solo exhibits at the Francine Seders Gallery in Seattle, and been shown in group invitational print art exhibits in Seattle, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Shenzhen, China. Upcoming exhibits are at the Museum of Art and Culture and the Lorinda Knight Gallery, both in Spokane. She lives and works on a farm in rural Arlington.
Dona Anderson, 2003: Anderson is one of the region’s foremost artists working in basketry and mixed media. She continues to make art at her home studio in Seattle, where she moved from Marysville two years ago. Anderson recently completed a “Body Armor” series constructed from round reed and displayed on a metal stand that are in exhibits in Los Angeles and Chicago. In September she had a basket piece included in an international show in Korea and next spring is scheduled to be in a bamboo invitational at the Contemporary Crafts Gallery in Portland.
Bernie Webber, 2004: Webber, an icon among Everett artists, has been painting the local landscape for decades. His watercolor paintings and murals, done in a loose but highly realistic style, have preserved the history and beauty of Snohomish County. They are on view in area schools, public buildings and at Naval Station Everett. The artist paints at his studio in downtown Everett.
Terri Shinn, 2005: The Snohomish fiber artist was named this year’s Artist of the Year for her continuing contribution to the arts community and for her finely made and highly imaginative fiber art. After receiving the award, Shinn said she took a trip to Disneyland. Back in her studio, continues to experiment with her art.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Kathryn Glowen, “Sea of Levity,” wasp paper dictionary fragments acrylic on canvas.
Dona Anderson, wine basket, fiber coiled, painted.
Jane Cucchiara jewelry
Gary Georger pottery
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