West Seattle Art Walk this Thursday: Don’t miss ‘The Building’

This Thursday night, dozens of West Seattle venues from Alki to Westwood are open again for the monthly West Seattle Art Walk. Some of them are a bit off the proverbial beaten path – but well worth your time – like “The Building” in Gatewood.

Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

“The Building” is a deceptively simple name, given the amount of creativity and art that comes out of this former day-care and school building at 4316 SW Othello (map) in Gatewood. The Building houses a dozen artist studios where the artists produce work from sculpture and oil painting to ceramics and custom guitar-making.

Owner Randy McCoy, who has developed other affordable artist studios in the Seattle area, recalls walking into the building back in 2000 when his daughter attended day care there: “I thought, ‘Man, this would make killer studios!’” The building has soundproof walls, plus a restroom and janitor’s sink on each floor — perfect for artists’ needs. Randy, a West Seattle resident who is an artist specializing in abstract painting and sculpture, recognizes the need for affordable spaces for artists to work; he bought the building in 2008. He says: “Other buildings get converted, but this will be art studios forever.” (The photo above shows Randy getting a drink from an original day-care water fountain.)

The Building is open to the public every second Thursday of the month for the West Seattle Art Walk, providing the community with the opportunity to visit with the artists who work in the studios and to see works of artists featured in the monthly rotating displays. In August, photos by David Blank adorned the walls of the ground floor gallery.

Shaun Doll, owner of Northwest Encaustic, which operates on the ground floor of The Building (photo above), is the curator of the rotating shows. If you’re an artist who would like to have work displayed at The Building, contact Shaun at: shaun@nwencaustic.com.

Touring through the building, you come to appreciate the spaces that have been provided for the artists who create here. They all have high ceilings and natural light, and the upper floors have amazing views of the sound. Oil painter Craig Kosak – shown above with his dog Tucker – paints in one of the upper floor studios. He notes: “Randy’s been a blessing for us all. He makes studios available for a good price.”

Among the painters and sculptors in The Building you also find David Myka, who builds custom guitars. Asked about the market for custom guitars, he notes that not only is this the busiest he’s been in 3-4 years, he’s got a year-long backlog and will be taking on an apprentice at the end of this year. He says: “People are investing in things that will last. In the depression, people started investing in hand-made furniture.” His clients include students in music conservatory and “Weekend Warrior” musicians.

While most of the studios are private, the ceramic studio is available to rent for day use and Shaun’s encaustic painting studio offers classes to the public as well as daily rentals. To learn more about the encaustic studio, visit: nwencaustic.com.

Further, studio space opportunities are coming up for ceramic artists in the Mutablefire Studio. Ceramicist Steve Knipp, pictured above with his kiln, says that they are reorganizing the studio to make room for two other artists. For more information, contact Steve at steve@knippart.com.

There’s a strong sense of community among the artists who work in The Building, including the occasional sharing of materials. Sculptor Shawn McLean, who has rented space here for two years notes that he’s used beeswax with the help of Shaun Doll, and David Myka has provided wood to use as sculpture bases. Randy McCoy adds: “There’s strength in numbers, we’re all supportive and we push each other. It’s really healthy to be around other artists.”

For the full list of participating venues in this Thursday night’s West Seattle Art Walk – and details on who’s showing what, where – check out the official site at wsartwalk.com; you can also find the official map by going here.

2 Replies to "West Seattle Art Walk this Thursday: Don't miss 'The Building'"

  • Silly Goose September 6, 2010 (9:19 am)

    Thanks for posting this information, we had no idea this was even in our area. Looking forward to starting at this end of West Seattle this time for the Art Walk!!

  • coffee September 6, 2010 (9:35 am)

    Very cool!

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