This March, the newest exhibit at the Gallery at the Park in Richland features works by Harley Cowan and Nathan Robles. This show displays a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional art, with Cowan presenting his photography and Robles his sculptures.

Cowan is a photographer and architect based in Portland. He studied large-format photography with Ray Bidegain and became a research fellow in architectural heritage documentation and preservation, with work in the Historic American Buildings Survey collection at the Library of Congress. He has also lectured for the Portland Art Museum, the Society of Architectural Historians, Docomomo Oregon, the University of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School.

The photographs featured at the Gallery at the Park are in a series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Manhattan Project. Though Cowan had to work hard to get the necessary permissions to document the Hanford Reservation, he believes in the importance of archiving and recording history. Eventually, he was given authorization to spend a week at the site, which he took full advantage of by photographing everything he could.

Cowan’s Manhattan Project is a unique blend of photography, architecture and history that uses stunning artwork to pay tribute to a significant event in our city’s past. See more of Cowan’s work by going to harleycowan.com.

SCULPTURE

Along with Cowan’s photographs, the exhibit features contemporary sculptures by Nathan Robles. Robles has been interested in sculpting for many years. Growing up, he would receive modeling clay and woodcarving tools as birthday and Christmas gifts. He studied art at Columbia Basin College in Pasco for three years, and in 2014 he graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a degree in art.

To create his sculptures, Robles often uses scrap metal and other materials that would otherwise be thrown away. He has a remarkable talent for taking what could essentially be trash and transforming it into something wonderful and inspiring, making figures, monuments, robotics and fish that appear dynamic and convey a sense of motion. Visit Robles’ website at wroblewskistudio.blogspot.com.

The Cowan and Robles’ exhibit will be on display at the gallery from March 5 through 29. The artist reception will be held on March 8 from 6 to 9 p.m. Then, on March 9 at 2 p.m., Cowan will have a demonstration and talk on silver gelatin photography methods and equipment. Both the reception and the demonstration and talk are free and open to the public.

If you haven’t had a chance to stop in at the Gallery at the Park yet this holiday season, don’t worry—the gallery will continue to feature its Gallery Aglow exhibition through December.

In November, local and regional artists submitted hundreds of paintings and fine crafts to Gallery Aglow, a show that has been an annual tradition at the gallery for more than 30 years. Now, you can visit the Gallery at the Park to see beautiful decorations and to purchase unique, handmade gifts.

You can also buy wreaths, trees and other holiday décor made by Allied Arts volunteers. All proceeds from these items go towards funding the Allied Arts Association and its various community outreach programs, like Beads Behind Bars and Empty Bowls.

Lucy Dole, a jewelry artist for the Gallery at the Park, started Beads Behind Bars in 2008 as a way of helping young people incarcerated at the Benton Franklin Juvenile Detention Center. Every Sunday, Dole brings beads, clasps, wires and other jewelry pieces to the detention center and teaches beading classes to eligible youth.

These classes give participants the chance to explore their creativity and experience a greater sense of their own value. They see the result of their good choices in designing their jewelry pieces, and each person ends up with creative, artistic, wearable works of art. The classes also allow the youth to have a positive connection with the community.

Fundraisers such as Gallery Aglow are one of the ways in which Allied Arts is able to offer plenty of quality supplies for the Beads Behind Bars program.

Another program these fundraisers benefit is Empty Bowls, a national movement that aims to promote awareness and raise money for the fight to end world hunger. As part of our community’s contribution to this project, the Gallery at the Park displays and sells handmade bowls to raise money for the Tri-Cities Food Bank.

This December, you can view beautiful works of art, finish up your holiday shopping and support your local community all in one trip by visiting the Gallery at the Park, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

Throughout September and October, the Gallery at the Park will showcase Tom Hausken and Larry Metcalf’s exhibit “Working Through It – 35 Years.”

The title of the show, “Working Through It,” refers to the idea that working is a constant part of an artist’s life. Artists are always working and creating, regardless of what life throws at them. 

Metcalf, who has been a friend and mentor to Hausken for 35 years, taught him to “work no  matter what the outcome” and to “hold the creative process close to one’s heart in order to nurture and maintain a right and pure aesthetic.” Hausken was impressed by his friend’s devotion to his craft and by his commitment to his students, his family and his community.

For over four decades, Larry Metcalf has been a member of the Northwest Designer Craftsmen, a group of artists whose stated mission is “to promote excellence of design and craftsmanship, and to stimulate public appreciation of and interest in fine craft.” Metcalf also received the organization’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary contributions and service.

In 1985, Tom Hausken graduated from Seattle Pacific University before continuing his studies in drawing and painting at the University of Washington. He has received two fellowship residencies from the Vermont Studio Center: a Clowes Fellowship in 2010 and a Pollock-Krasner Fellowship in 2016. In 2017, he was the artist in residence at the Yakima Valley Museum.

Hausken creates bold, effusive paintings that are rich in texture and layering. For this exhibit, he has returned to a saturated color palette, reflecting an optimism of an earlier time. He describes his work as “making friends with the memory, melancholy and fragility of the world in which we inhabit.”

Meanwhile, Metcalf has provided the three-dimensional art for the show. His pieces are based on the form of a pagoda—a place for solitude. The pieces were made using white willow, raffia, gold leaf and felt. They are dramatic in their absence of color, with light creating shadows on the folded paper.

Regarding the show, Hausken states, “It is a bold statement of the love and gratitude for the opportunity to do what we do—to be able to work through it together.”

“Working Through It – 35 Years” will be on display at the Gallery at the Park until Oct. 26. The reception will be held on Sept. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m.
 

Allied Arts Association is getting ready to host its annual summer events — the Juried Show and Art in the Park.

The 2018 Juried Show will feature works by artists primarily from the Pacific Northwest. Some of the featured artists will win monetary prizes, with more than $2,500 being awarded in total.

This year’s juror is Paul Lewing, a professional clay artist from Seattle. Lewing is most noted for his expertise in glaze chemistry, and he is the author of the book China Paint and Overglaze, which was published by the American Ceramic Society in 2007. He has also written articles for Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter, the Crafts Report, Clay Times and Pottery Making Illustrated.

Lewing’s work is included in collections at the Montana Institute of the Arts, Colorado Springs Art Museum, Overlake School and Pacific Northwest Bell.

The Juried Show artwork will be on display at the Gallery at the Park in Richland from July 6 to Aug. 17. The reception and award ceremony will be held on July 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Art in the Park

This year marks the Allied Arts Association’s 68th annual Art in the Park celebration. The open-air festival, which is free to attend, invites visitors to browse and purchase works from more than 200 artists, including many who have never before been showcased at Art in the Park. Stop by to see artwork from painters, jewelers, photographers, woodworkers and more.

Along with a wide array of arts and crafts, Art in the Park will also feature activities for children and live performances by local musicians.

Art in the Park is a two-day event that is fun, family-friendly and has something for everyone, regardless of how old they are or where their interests lie. It will take place at Howard Amon Park on Friday, July 27, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, July 28, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This June, the Gallery at the Park continues its presentation of “New Horizons,” a woodturning show featuring new work from acclaimed artists.

Jim Christiansen, Jerry Johnson, Jim Swift and Ron Gerton developed “New Horizons” because, although they’d seen many excellent wood art exhibitions, they wanted to put together a collection of new works that audiences hadn’t seen before. To accomplish this, they encouraged established artists to depart from their usual styles and branch out in new directions.

“New Horizons” features works from 34 of the most noted wood artists in the U.S. and Canada: Dixie Biggs, Trent Bosch, Christian Burchard, Marilyn Campbell, David Ellsworth, J. Paul Fennell, Douglas Fisher, Michael Foster, Dewey Garrett, Stephen Hatcher, Michael Hosaluk, John Jordan, Ed Kelle, Ron Layport, Kristin LeVier, Art Liestman, Steve Loar, David Marks, John Mydock, Bill Ooms, Binh Pho, Graeme Priddle Melissa Engler, Merryll Saylan, Betty Scarpino, Mark Sfirri, Steve Sinner, Curt Theobald, Gerrit Van Ness, Jacques Vesery, Molly Winton, Andi Wolfe and Malcolm Zander.

The Mid-Columbia Woodturners, a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners, produced this exhibition.

“New Horizons” will be on display until July 1, and the reception will be on June 3 from 1 to 3 p.m. Several artists will also be doing live demonstrations.

On June 2 at 2 p.m., Jim Christiansen will demonstrate basic turning and design concepts by turning a small bowl and showing how attention to detail affects the final product. On June 23 at 2 p.m., John Barany will showcase various techniques for applying detailed images using an air brush. Learn more by visiting newhorizonswoodart.org.