Gray Rock by Felicia Follum

This February, the Gallery at the Park unveils a new art exhibition based on the theme of social change. Stop by to see both parts of the exhibition: the Empty Bowls project and the artwork of Felicia Follum.

Follum’s exhibition celebrates the diversity in our community. While she acknowledges that many people do not consider the Tri-Cities to be particularly diverse, she argues, “If you are willing to leave your bubble of comfort, there are so many levels of diversity in the Tri-Cities that I’m not even sure how to define diversity anymore.” Follum invites anyone who is still skeptical to view her art and see our community the way she does.

Follum recently moved to the Tri-Cities from Laramie, Wyo., where she presented numerous exhibitions addressing important social topics such as religion, human trafficking and racism. She hopes to continue exploring culture and diversity with her exhibition at the Allied Arts Gallery. This body of work reflects the adventures she has had in the Tri-Cities and the diverse communities she has encountered here.

On the cultural relevancy of the exhibition, Follum states, “I believe that art has the ability to bring diverse groups of people together in ways that nothing else can.”
In conjunction with Follum’s art, the Gallery at the Park’s February exhibition will also feature our own community’s contribution to the Empty Bowls project, a national movement that aims to raise money and promote awareness for the fight to end world hunger.
Local artists have donated handmade bowls of various sizes, mediums and styles to the project. The Gallery also hosted three free one-hour workshops on how to create clay bowls by hand, which more than 40 community members attended on Jan. 7. All of these creations will be displayed and sold at the Allied Arts Gallery in order to raise money for the Tri-Cities Food Bank.

Follum’s artwork is a fitting companion for the Empty Bowls exhibition, as some of the groups she has spoken to in the Tri-Cities include homeless communities and refugees who have recently entered the United States – both of which are groups that the Empty Bowls movement will help. With her exhibition, Follum aims to shed light on the poverty hidden in our community. Attendees – even those who have lived here for their entire lives – will gain a new perspective on the Tri-Cities.

The Felicia Follum/Empty Bowls exhibition will be on display until Feb. 24., and the reception will be held on Feb. 5, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Desert Fiber Arts “Metamorphosis 2017”
January 3 – January 27, 2017

Artist Reception, Sunday, January 8, 1:00 pm

The Parkside Gallery will be embellished and warmed this month with beautiful hand spun and knitted lace shawls, woven baskets, hand-woven items for the home as well as clothing, art pieces and wall hangings. The show is always a delightfully colorful event that warms the heart in the cold days of January. There will be a display of looms and spinning wheels, along with docents demonstrating and available to answer your questions. Viewers will be seeing cotton as it is grown on plants, spun, and woven into lace tea towels, as well as wool going from fleece to finished lace. This show is educational as well as visually and emotionally stimulating.
Show coordinator Susan Schmieman says, “The theme this year “Metamorphosis 2017” is based on change of fiber to cloth, much like going from the cocoon to a butterfly. You will be amazed! Our featured artist for this show is fellow Desert Fiber Arts member, weaver and fiber artist Christine Simonen of Richland, WA.”
Be sure to stop by the Gallery to see the show and please come to our reception on January 8 where you may meet and talk with many members of Desert Fiber Arts.
Artwork pictured by Christine Simonen

Szulinski Award Winner Bobi WIlson

Through the continuing generosity of the family and friends of long-time Board member Bette Szulinski, Allied Arts is able to present this annual award. The recipient is a recognized member artist who has distinguished themselves with excellence of craftsmanship in a three-dimensional medium during the previous year. Bobi Wilson is our selection for the 2016 Szulinski Award.

Bobi’s work has been featured in galleries and events throughout Washington State receiving numerous awards. Bobi says “through jewelry, small sculpture and bookart, I discover and reveal the Magnificent in the Mundane and the Universal in the Everyday”. She uses traditional metalsmithing and bookmaking skills when she can. When she finds she cannot, she transforms metal, stone, wood, bone and paper into art meant to be held and explored. Bobi states she attempts “to find the connection and share it”- making her work both intimate and infinite in the palm of your hand. You are invited to view a special collection of Bobi’s artwork at the Gallery this month.

Visit the Gallery for our very special holiday reception Friday evening, December 9th from 6-8pm. There will be free gift wrapping, delicious treats, wine available for purchase, an artist demo and music performing throughout the evening by the Tri-City Dulcimers. Please stop in and enjoy the beautiful art and festive holiday spirit at the Gallery!

As December draws closer, Christmas cheer is spreading and affecting people everywhere, causing them to want to set up Christmas trees, hang stockings, decorate their houses and buy gifts for all their loved ones. Luckily, in a tradition going back 30 years, the volunteers of Allied Arts Association turn the Gallery at the Park into a one-stop shop for all things Christmas—just in time for the holiday season!

Do you want to give your friends and family presents as unique and wonderful as they are? Do you want beautiful, handmade wreaths and trees to decorate your house? Stop by the Gallery, located on Lee Boulevard near the entrance of Howard Amon Park, and celebrate the 30th anniversary of their special Gallery Aglow show.

Local artists contribute their incredible talents to the show, submitting items both beautiful and useful, such as ceramics, glassware, jewelry, fiber art and metal work. Unlike presents that can be found at a chain store, these items have been handcrafted with love and care, and each one is a unique piece by a talented artist.

The Gallery at the Park maintains one of the largest retail art collections in the entire Tri-Cities area. Allied Arts Association, which operates the Gallery, has served the community since 1948, providing Tri-Cities residents with a source of art and handicrafts. Every year through November and December, the Gallery at the Park hosts the Gallery Aglow show, featuring hundreds of works created by local and regional artists.

Not only that, but during this event, the Gallery also sells unique wreaths, trees and holiday decorations—all handmade by volunteers at the Gallery. All proceeds on these items go towards Allied Arts Association, which gives back to the community by providing scholarships and by setting up programs like Beads Behind Bars and Art Connection.

The purpose of these programs is make art education opportunities available to everyone in the community, no matter who they are. Beads Behind Bars allows eligible youth at the Benton Franklin Juvenile Detention Center to take beading classes and explore their creativity, giving them a greater sense of their own value, which will hopefully lead them to make better choices in the future. Allied Arts Association is only able to expand and continue these programs due to fundraisers and the generous support of the local art community.  

Gallery Aglow will run until the end of December. The Gallery at the Park is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

If you want to support a local business, help the community and get your Christmas shopping done all in one trip, just make your way over to the Gallery at the Park, located at 89 Lee Boulevard in Richland.

Three northwestern artists will be featured at The Gallery at the Park in Richland, October 4 – 28.

360 Degree View of the Gallery

Their Northwestern background is strongly represented in their art.  Michael J. Lewis is a representational artist depicting western themes, wildlife and landscape images.  Anne Beard is an accomplished furniture designer whose designs are more like pieces of art than furnishings.  April Ottey makes unique jewelry using her metalsmithing talents.

Michael Lewis was raised in a Wyoming household that taught him to love art.  His father was an artist and he took Michael to the finest art galleries in Jackson, WY. Thus he became familiar with the finest painters.  When he was about 10 years old, his father took him to visit famed illustrator and studio artist, John Clymer at his studio.

Lewis moved to Othello 26 years ago to teach art at Othello High School.  During that time, he served 5 years on the board of directors for the John Clymer Museum and Gallery in Ellensburg, WA.  After teaching for 23 years and surviving a life threatening illness he took a leap of faith and resigned from teaching.  He has since pursued his art career and has been invited to participate in the finest shows throughout the southwest and pacific northwest.
After a great deal of consideration, Lewis concluded that he wanted this show opportunity, at The Gallery at the Park, to celebrate the Hanford Reach.  “At the time of my decision I did not realize that this area would be included in one of our nation's newest national parks!  I was further thrilled to discover our national parks are celebrating 100 years!  This makes my theme selection very relevant.” The artworks will depict landscape, wildlife, ranch life and Wanapum peoples found in the Hanford Reach area.  He is also creating portraits of three Tri-cities residents that worked on the Hanford Properties in the 1950s. Lewis remarks, “I could paint for years and not run out of subject matter for the Hanford Reach.”

A veteran of her craft, Anne Beard grew up on a mountain ranch in Washington and has lived on the Oregon high desert for the past two decades where she creates one-of-a kind, upholstered furnishings for the contemporary western lifestyle. “I'm pleased to have the opportunity to exhibit regionally.  The Tri-Cities is so fortunate to have a venue such as the Allied Arts Center that enriches the community in so many ways.”

Blending the individual expression and functional practicality characteristic of traditional western crafts, Anne infuses her work with vignettes of the western landscape.  Her designs range from tailored ottomans depicting a cameo of a cowgirl and her favorite horse to nature inspired armchairs appliquéd with frolicsome chickadees on snow covered pine.

A strong sense of individuality, coupled with decades of focused experimentation, Anne's work is uniquely identifiable. Appliquéing the finest wool gabardines, her pieces are frequently accented with cow or deer hide, pictorial nail heads or minute pieces of hand applied Tamarack bark.  Given the attention to detail lavished on each one-of-a-kind piece, Anne produces a limited number of custom orders each year.  In viewing these pieces, one must go beyond seeing them as furniture and appreciate them for what they are, three-dimensional art. 

 Growing up in rural Montana, April Ottey was always drawn to the old dump on her parent’s farm. The interaction between the rusting pieces of homesteader’s trash and the mosses and decaying logs and glacial stones on the forest floor drew her in. As she progressed through her education and maturation as an artist, her attraction to the images created by these haphazard juxtapositions remained a constant. 

While completing her MFA in photography at Central Washington University she was introduced to working with metals. Ottey tells us, “This was an impactful experience in the course of my artistic interests.  My work has evolved over the years; I still incorporate objects that I find into my work. However, with metalsmithing I am also able to create work that combines textures, shapes and layers as if each was a relic left behind by one person and picked up and cherished by another.” Her work explores the relationships between natural objects and hand crafted pieces where the mark of nature isn't so different from the mark of the maker.
April taught jewelry and metalsmithing for 8 years at New Horizons High School in Pasco and Hanford High School in Richland.  “I love teaching and watching my students acquire new techniques and learn how to express themselves in metal”. For the past fifteen years, she has had a studio in her home.  Presently she works full time in her studio creating jewelry and teaching classes.   

Be sure to stop in The Gallery at the Park in Richland during October and see these artists’ creations.   The Gallery is located at 89 Lee Blvd in Richland and is open Tuesday – Friday 10:00 – 5:30, Saturday 10:00 – 5:00 and Sunday 1:00 – 5:00. For more information on classes and other artist opportunities check our website www.galleryatthepark.org.

The public is invited to a special reception for the artists on Sunday October 9, 1:00 – 3:00 PM.

Northwest Designer Craftsmen

August 30 - September 30

360 View of the Northwest Designer Craftsmen Show

The dictionary defines “craftsman” as a person who makes beautiful objects by hand, or a person who is very skilled in planning, making or executing a design.  The public will have a chance during the month of September to see the results of such skilled craftsmen.  The Gallery at the Park in Richland is featuring the Northwest Designer Craftsmen Show, August 30 – September 30.

Northwest Designer Craftsmen (NWDC) was founded in 1954 to promote excellence of design and craftsmanship and to stimulate public appreciation and interest in fine craft. Their mission was to establish an organization that would foster high standards of design and craftsmanship in the Northwest. They also wanted to promote public interest in crafts and craftsmen and to foster sound business methods among designers. Artists who work professionally in clay, wood, glass, metal, fiber, and/or mixed media, are members. Other members support the crafts in the Pacific Northwest as educators, managers of non-profit arts organizations, or buyers of art for public or private collections.

Over the years, the organization has supported artisans and brought to our region an awareness of design and the crafts. In the 1950's, handmade objects were created in the tradition of New England and Southern crafts. In the Northwestern states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, craftspeople were not bound by these traditional approaches. In fact, their influences were more Asian or Scandinavian. Craftsmen throughout the region felt liberated to create and design products breaking free from constraints of the past.

From the beginning, NWDC accepted only new members who had the highest professional craftsmanship and standards. Whether working in metal, wood, clay or textiles, NWDC members held a common respect for materials and process. Today, membership has grown to over 150 individuals working in a variety of craft mediums from weaving, quilting and basketry to an array of jewelry and metal arts, as well as mixed media artists who create using a variety of techniques and materials, blurring the lines between fine art and craft.

With 55 pieces by 27 artists, the NWDC Show at The Gallery at the Park will showcase just a small sampling of the member’s work.  All members were asked to submit artwork for this show.  Longtime member and NWDC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Larry Metcalf is the juror for this show.  Metcalf says “I, as juror, select at least one piece from each artist.  As I know the Gallery very well, I can visualize the sizes and some placement ahead of time. The Richland exhibition has been one of my favorites because of the people in the association.”

Most of the artwork comes from artists out of the area but Kennewick resident, Katherine Sylvan has three pieces in the show.  Katherine works with fiber and has a way of looking at all the colors in the universe when constructing her works.  Get a preview of her works on her website, www.katherinesylvan.com.  Other Eastern Washington artists are Ruth Allan from Wenatchee and Gena Freuen from Spokane, both ceramic artists.

The public is invited to a reception for the artists on Sunday, September 11, 1:00 – 3:00 PM at The Gallery at the Park. 89 Lee Blvd. Richland, WA.  The Gallery is open Tuesday – Friday 10:00 – 5:30, Saturday 10:00 – 5:00, Sunday 1:00 – 5:00.  Check out the website www.galleryatthepark.org for more gallery info on workshops and other happenings.