West Seattle, Washington
16 Sunday
What has long been the home of Brace Point Pottery is actually “downtown Arbor Heights,” as Loren Lukens explained when we visited his studio/shop last night, the first night of its annual holiday show and sale, which is continuing right now (until 6 pm) and again 10-6 tomorrow. Downtown, because the commercial buildings there at and near 4208 SW 100th used to include a market and a drugstore, he explains. But for almost 20 years, he and wife Beth Kirchhoff have made art and music there.
Looking for light on this gray day? The brightly lit studio/storefront shows some of the creations:
Brace Point Pottery is hosting four other artists in the space for this weekend’s special occasion:
It’s part of the Seattle Sampling studio tour this weekend, which has four other West Seattle stops – see the full tour map here.
(WSB photo from one stop on this year’s WSGT)
While this is the dormant season for many gardens, it’s a busy time of planning for the next West Seattle Garden Tour, which is now inviting artists to get ready to enter next year’s poster contest:
The West Seattle Garden Tour provides an opportunity for local artists to showcase their original artwork on marketing materials, including the cover of the WSGT ticket book and promotional poster. The winning artist also receives a $500 cash award. Winning and honorable mention artworks will be featured during the June 2016 West Seattle Art Walk.
Please accept this invitation to submit your original artwork to the annual WSGT Poster Competition. Submission rules and entry form are available on our website.
The West Seattle Garden Tour (WSGT) is one of the premier garden tours in the Northwest, as well as a fundraiser for local non-profits promoting horticulture, education or the arts. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organized by a group of dedicated volunteers. Since its inception in 1995, the WSGT has donated nearly a half million dollars to local beneficiaries.
Entries are due in early February.
(SYSO photo)
Students at seven local public schools get the priceless gift of coaching from professional musicians via the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras‘ Southwest Seattle Strings Project. If needed, the students can borrow instruments for free from Seattle Public Schools. But the ability to assist stops there, which means it stops short of providing badly needed supplies such as replacement strings, chin rests, shoulder rests, rosin, and method books. So a modest donation drive is under way right now – explained in this clip:
SYSO hopes to put together a supply basket worth more than $1,000, with the assistance of the discount at Hammond-Ashley (mentioned in the video), for each of the seven local schools with which it partners – Arbor Heights, Concord, Highland Park, Roxhill, Sanislo, and West Seattle elementaries, and Denny International Middle School. You can help build the baskets by chipping in a bit here.
(WSB photos)
Potential gifts you won’t find anywhere else await you right now at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse in West Seattle; it’s Day 1 of the three-day Native Holiday Gift Fair. Above, Vashon Island-based Shotridge Studios‘ offerings include laptop sleeves and phone cases by Tlingit master carver/artist Israel Shotridge; below, artist Margie Morris is at work during the fair, adding designs to drums:
While you’re there, get your copy(ies) of the West Seattle Wildlife Calendar, with photos by Mark Wangerin (you’ve seen his wondrous bird photos here on WSB). It’s a benefit for Chief Sealth International High School environmental programs, and students are helping sell them – Elaine was on duty when we stopped by:
No admission charge at the Longhouse, which is also a cultural center, but if you want to support the tribe’s fight for federal recognition, “Stand With The Duwamish Tribe” T-shirts are being sold too:
You can also buy snacks/lunch while there. The fair continues until 4 pm today, 10 am-4 pm tomorrow and Sunday, at 4705 W. Marginal Way SW (turn into the parking lot from the west side
Story and photos by Michelle Riggen-Ransom
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
If you live in West Seattle, you probably already know that you can enjoy a meal out in Chicago, or Brooklyn, or even exotic Rhode Island just by visiting local restaurant Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor). With its rotating, site-specific themes changing every four months, at Joe’s you can be sipping mojitos under a palm tree one season, slurping pasta and drinking vino at a cheerful Italian café the next.
But what you may not know is that beneath the restaurant is a cavernous basement filled from floor to ceiling with funky props, exotic creatures, and hand-painted signs from themes of yore. Looking for a giant wooden shark, or a glittery, oversized Mardi Gras mask? You’ll find it here, tucked away in the depths below the hundred year-old building where Endolyne Joe’s has made its home for well over a decade.
Our newest WSB sponsor has been providing quality dance enrichment for West Seattleites of all ages since 1983!
For more than 30 years, West Seattle has been home to one of the region’s best schools for dance instruction and art enrichment. Dance! West Seattle (formerly Seattle Civic Dance Theatre) has exposed hundreds of children and their families to the joy of dance through classes, pre-professional company experience and community performance. With classical ballet at its core, Dance! West Seattle has expanded its class offerings over the years to include *Tap, *Jazz, *Hip Hop, and *Contemporary.
“We’re one of West Seattle’s best-kept secrets,” says Artistic Director Kim Dinsmoor.
This might be because of our off-the-beaten-path location! Dance! West Seattle is located in the lower level of Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California Ave SW), with the main entrance facing SW Director. Walk by any weekday evening or Saturday morning to hear music drifting out of the tall studio windows. Then, stop in and say hello! We are happy to offer a FREE CLASS to any student (ages 3-Adult) new to our studio.
Unlike other schools, Dance! West Seattle doesn’t focus on competition. Professional instructors lead students in a supportive and creative environment so they develop strong minds, bodies and spirits and a love for artistic expression through movement! We look forward to serving the West Seattle community for another 30 years.
ENROLLING NOW! Find us online @ dancewestseattle.com and facebook.com/dancewestseattle | info@dancewestseattle.com | 206-938-3063
We thank Dance! West Seattle for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
This year’s Community Art Showcase at Southwest Library featured 112 creations by 57 artists and musicians – and librarian Jane Gibson says that if you’re among them, tonight and tomorrow are your last chances to go get your work and bring it home! She shared the photo collage of participants; click the image for a larger version. The library at 35th SW & SW Henderson is open until 8 tonight and 10 am-8 pm tomorrow.
This week’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting was so wide-ranging (as usual), we’re breaking it into two reports. This first one is something you’ll be hearing more about soon:
(WSB file photo)
You might recognize that mural from the back of the commercial building on the southwest corner of California and Fauntleroy. Dan Austin, who owns one of the businesses in that building – Peel and Press – told MoCA on Wednesday night that he’s leading a project to save the mural, painted by Bruce Rickett a quarter-century ago, as mentioned in this 1990 Seattle Times story. And “save” is the word, not just “restore” – Austin said it’s falling apart, and one more winter of rain/wind against the west-facing mural – which depicts the mid-1920s Morgan Street Market – might just peel some of it away.
He told MoCA he’s consulted with Peter Malarkey, who – as we showed you last month – recently restored the mural inside the Colman Pool building. Austin said there’s “a game plan” that he’ll be presenting to various civic organizations. He said that if this works, he would hope it would lead to a “blueprint” for action that could be shared with others in West Seattle to maybe get more of the local murals restored, especially the ones in The Junction.
The first sum of money that would be needed, $2,500, would stabilize the mural to get through the winter. From there, Austin said, there’ll be various price points for various stages of saving the mural, with the total restoration cost around $35,000. And yes, he confirmed, he’s talking to other tenants, including the building’s biggest one, Starbucks.
After Austin spoke, MoCA passed a motion in support of the project and lauded him for taking it on.
Coming up in report #2, more from the meeting, which had begun with an SPD update on the local arsons, as the most-recent one had happened in Morgan; we quickly added video of the briefing to what was at the time our most recent followup.
While artist Jesse Link worked on that West Seattle Junction mural, we published a few in-progress looks (starting October 8th) … and realized we hadn’t been back in a few days to see if it’s finished. It is! (If you haven’t seen it “in person,” it’s on the south side of the almost-done apartment building at 4535 44th SW. It’s his second West Seattle mural in less than two months, after the bear on the north side of Shack Coffee in Luna Park.)
Thanks to Eddie for another photo of artist Jesse Link‘s ongoing mural-painting on the south-facing wall of Lofts At The Junction (4535 44th SW) – Eddie first told us one week ago about the start of work on the mural, and we followed up with a few notes and the backstory.
(Photo by Kelly Beal)
Here’s something else you can do this afternoon – or any day between now and month’s end: Check out this unusual local art display: Dano Beal, a West Seattle resident who also happens to be an award-winning schoolteacher, is displaying what he describes as “whimsical birdhouses” at Tully’s Coffee on Alki.
He explains: “This project started over 2 years ago, with an old, funky birdhouse found at a yard sale. I decorated it as a gift for my Mother, covering it in wild and wonderful ornaments, personal trinkets, and broken jewelry… For several years I had been collecting vintage and costume jewelry purchased at local estate sales, church bazaars, and antique stores. Every piece always came with a wonderful story, usually shared by elderly folks or the people who loved them… Each one of the birdhouses in this exhibit is made using a variety of vintage pieces, religious icons, toys, found objects, and ‘grandma jewelry’.” They’re on display all month at Tully’s, which is on the corner of 60th SW and Alki SW.
Sunday nights are usually quiet on the calendar – event highlights often ending around mid-afternoon. Not tomorrow. So here’s a heads-up if you haven’t already seen this on the calendar: The Southwest Seattle Historical Society is presenting a free concert and film, “Some Places Are Forever Afternoon: A Tribute in Music, Words, and Film to White Center’s Richard Hugo,” 6 pm Sunday inside the historic White Center Fieldhouse at Steve Cox Memorial Park (1321 SW 102nd). Admission is free, thanks to funding by 4Culture; the concert features pianist/composer Wayne Horvitz (who’s in the video invitation above), who released a Hugo-tribute CD in July. The event also will screen “Kicking the Loose Gravel Home,” an hour-long 1976 film about Hugo, who was just 58 when he died in 1982.
Last night, we reported on the first day of work by artist Jesse Link on the mural long planned for the south-facing wall of the Lofts At The Junction apartment building (4535 44th SW). We went by late this afternoon to see how it’s going. The artist was gone for the day, but it’s clear that, as he had told us in a brief shouted exchange yesterday, it’s a heron and a boat – with the words WORK IN PROGRESS painted across the space for now, lest anyone think otherwise.
Thanks to Eddie for the photo and word that painting is under way on The Junction’s highest-profile mural in a long time. A mural has always been in the plan for the south-facing wall of The Lofts At The Junction (4535 44th SW), but the design wasn’t done until long after the project went through Design Review and started construction. After Eddie shared the tip this afternoon, we went over and hollered up at the artist to ask what’s in store – not knowing at the time that it’s Jesse Link, last featured here when he painted a mural on The Shack coffee house in Luna Park a month and a half ago. This afternoon, via that ground-to-bucket exchange, he told us the mural will feature a heron and a tugboat.
Last day of September, and the holidays are in view. Three events are inviting artists to apply, with deadlines coming up fast:
ART UNDER $100: Deadline is TOMORROW for South Park Arts‘ annual mega-event Art Under $100, happening again this year at the Seattle Design Center. While the event isn’t until December 12th (1-8 pm), the application deadline is October 1st, and you’ll find all the info on the application page – just go here.
FALL ART OPENING AT ‘THE BUILDING’: October 14th is the deadline to apply to be part of this event in Gatewood. The announcement:
Our Fall Art Opening is free and open to the public! We will be featuring local artists’ works, music, & food, just in time to kick-start the Holiday Season. We hope that you can join us for this amazing night!!
We are looking for artists doing work in different mediums at a variety of price points for the holiday season.
The Building’s 3rd Annual, Fall Art Opening!
Saturday, November 14th
5:00-10:00 pm
4316 SW Othello St.m West SeattleE-mail Submission Deadline is October 14th, $25 participation fee once accepted. Please email samples of your work with a detailed description and prices to Brenda Scallon – brenda@acaravan.com – thank you in advance for your participation; we look forward to seeing your work!
HIGHLAND PARK IMPROVEMENT CLUB BAZAAR: Handmade arts and crafts are what organizers want to see from vendors at HPIC‘s annual bazaar, also set for November 14th (daytime – 10 am-3 pm). Find out more, including contact info, on the HPIC website.
(Photo by Laura Goodrich, from the WSB Flickr group)
Happy weekend! We start with a transportation reminder:
METRO SERVICE CHANGE: Today is when the next “service change” takes effect. Not much changing for West Seattle this time around, but here’s the breakout.
Now – highlights from our calendar:
PANCAKE BREAKFAST: 8 am-11 am, benefit breakfast with the West Seattle Lions Club at the Senior Center of West Seattle. (4127 SW Oregon)
SEAVIEW UNITED METHODIST CHURCH RUMMAGE SALE: 8 am-3 pm, come see what’s for sale at the church in Seaview. (4620 SW Graham)
SHOREWOOD PARKING LOT SALE: 8:30 am-4 pm, day two of the sale at Shorewood Christian School‘s parking lot – info here. (10300 28th SW)
MAC’S TRIANGLE PUB TURNS TEN: 9 am-2 am, party all day and all night as the pub in the South Delridge Triangle celebrates its 10th anniversary. Here’s the plan. (9454 Delridge Way SW)
FREE GENEALOGY SEMINAR: 9:30 am-1 pm at West Seattle’s Church of Latter-Day Saints, no pre-registration required, all welcome. Details here. (4001 44th SW)
(WSB photo @ SW Precinct, added 11:40 am)
DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY: Get those expired/no-longer-needed leftover prescription drugs out of your house safely, by dropping them off, no questions asked, 10 am-2 pm today at the Southwest Precinct. (2300 SW Webster)
(added) HOT DOGS FOR A CAUSE: Last benefit barbecue of the year at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), 11 am until about 3 – hot dogs for $3. (California/Morgan/Fauntleroy)
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER, FINAL SESSION: 11 am-1 pm at the Arbor Heights Swim and Tennis Club pool, it’s the fifth and final chance for your dog(s) to swim in the pool before it’s closed for the year (the human swimming season is already over). It’s a benefit for AHSTC’s teams, and you don’t have to be a member to participate – info here. (11003 31st SW)
‘LISTEN TO SEATTLE’: 2 pm at the Duwamish Longhouse, the Steve Griggs Ensemble will premiere this “75-minute original program of narration and music inspired by the life and words of Chief Seattle, weaving indigenous customs and local history with jazz composition and improvisation.” (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
THE WHATEVERLY BROTHERS: 7-9 pm, live at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) with an eclectic range of musical styles. (5612 California SW)
THE GODS THEMSELVES: Album-release party, free/all-ages, 7 pm at Easy Street Records in The Junction. (California SW & SW Alaska)
THE JOCELYN PETTIT BAND: Canadian and Celtic folk music and more at Kenyon Hall, 7:30 pm. (7904 35th SW)
AFTER – AN APOCALYPSE STORY: 8:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in North Delridge, Rebel Belly Productions presents “AFTER – An Apocalypse Story.” A tale told through dancing to live music; read about it, and get tickets, here. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
MORE! Browse our complete calendar for the rest of the listings for today/tonight/beyond.
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
PARKING-LOT SALE: The Shorewood Christian School fall/winter parking-lot sale is on until 4 pm today, 8:30 am-4 pm tomorrow. Thanks to Mel for the photo! (10300 28th SW)
BOWLING FOR HOPE: 4-6 pm at West Seattle Bowl, bowling, pizza, and pop to benefit the Hope Middle School Washington, D.C., enrichment program – details here. (39th SW & SW Oregon)
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: 5-7 pm, second-to-last chance for your dog to swim at Arbor Heights Swim and Tennis Club during their post-human-swimming-season fundraiser – details here. (10103 31st SW)
‘SEATTLE MADE WEEK’ TRUNK SHOW @ CLICK! Local blacksmith Erica Gordon is bringing her Steel Toe Studios forged buckles and handmade leather belts to Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) for a “Seattle Made Week” trunk show, 6-9 pm tonight. Here’s Erica in the studio:
(Photo courtesy Erica Gordon)
Click! says, “She will be showcasing a limited offering of one-of-a-kind buckles from her Scale collection, as well as new leather belt color ways. She will also be sharing her full collection of stainless steel and brass jewelry, not typically carried at Click!.” (4540 California SW)
HELP THE HELPLINE – CONCERT SERIES STARTS TONIGHT AT ALKI UCC: At 7 pm, Alki UCC Church is hosting its first formal concert since acquiring a 7-foot handmade German concert grand piano two years ago, and its the start of a concert series meant “to bring concert-hall-quality music to West Seattle, and support a local organization in the process. Our outreach team chose West Seattle Helpline because their focus is on how to keep people from becoming homeless.” Here are tonight’s musicians, Spencer Hoveskeland, Lia Wax, and DJ Wilson, rehearsing earlier this week (clip provided by organizers – thanks!):
Desserts and refreshments will be served during intermission. Helpline could only fund one of every three requests for help during its last fiscal year – your support tonight (and beyond) can change that for the better. Full details in our calendar listing. (6115 SW Hinds)
WESTSIDE BABY’S FALL MASQUERADE: 7-10 pm benefit at Emerald City Trapeze Arts – details in our calendar listing; get your tickets here. (2702 6th Ave. S.)
HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Chief Sealth International High School is home at Southwest Athletic Complex against Ballard tonight, 7 pm; that’s when West Seattle High School plays Rainier Beach on the road at Southeast Athletic Complex; and it’s also when O’Dea and Seattle Prep face off at West Seattle Stadium.
OF COURSE THERE’S MORE! Music, bingo, theater … all on the complete calendar.
The 24th annual Southwest Library Community Artists Showcase is just a week and a half away – so, whatever you want to show off, get it ready for dropoff, and take note of something new this year: Music! Songs can be uploaded to the library website starting next Monday (September 28th) and continuing through October; visual art can be dropped off at the branch for display October 1st-3rd; for both visual art and music, up to three entries per person. The showcase runs October 4th-31st, starting with a 2 pm opening reception on the 4th. Saturday art classes are on the schedule too, 1 pm Saturdays, October 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st. Southwest Library is on the southeast corner of 35th and Henderson in Westwood – drop in to sign up and/or get more info.
Long after Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s two-day visit – ending this morning – is over, hundreds of local students will continue learning about China’s language and culture in local schools. The Confucius Institute is involved in much of that local education, and its Washington branch co-sponsored a spectacular slate of art demonstrations and performances at Chief Sealth International High School last night – coincidental to the president’s presence in our area, as far as we know. The artists and performers were all from Seattle’s sister city Chongqing, in western China; above, a demonstration of sugar painting; below, our video of the Chongqing Song and Dance Troupe performing “Girls Playing Water”:
That was just the first of eleven planned song, dance, and acrobatic performances. The art demonstrations outside the Sealth auditorium preceded the show; they included crafting with shredded bamboo:
Fans and scrolls are some of what’s made from the bamboo filaments:
Before returning home, the Chongqing artists and performers will appear in San Francisco on Saturday.
(WSB photos)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
When the doors open at Colman Pool for its 75th-anniversary season next summer, be sure to look up as you walk in.
The 6′ x 13′ mural over the reception window in the lobby is getting some TLC right now, following the end of the 2015 season for the city-owned outdoor, saltwater pool on the shore of Point Williams at Lincoln Park.
We stopped in earlier this week to talk with Peter Malarkey, the conservator who is cleaning and repairing the mural for what might be the first time in its three-quarters of a century:
The mural was painted by Ernest Norling for the pool’s completion and dedication on July 4th, 1941.
Malarkey, who cleans and restores privately owned paintings as well as public artwork like this, says he’s seen worse – but still, here’s proof of what he’d removed in the first few days:
Since the pool is only open to the public a few months a year, and there are no other sources of “emissions” to contribute to the grime, that’s likely why it’s in what Malarkey terms “surprisingly good shape.” You have to look hard to see the spots he’s repairing – a few nicks and scratches, one long line of “graphite” that he suspects might have been caused by someone with a pencil. A few spatters, too.
And then, a protective coat of varnish will go over the entire mural – not too glossy, so it doesn’t detract from the art itself, “as invisible as possible,” says Malarkey. “It’s meant to be panels of color, not a lush oil painting.”
Talking about the mural restoration led to a discussion of the mural itself, which reflects many aspects of the time, and the interests of Laurence Colman, for whom the pool is named. You can read about the mural, titled “American Youth and Freedom,” on interpretive signage in the lobby (which has other items of interest, even an old-fashioned phone booth):
We discussed the mural’s style – which Malarkey sees as a reflection of American Regionalism, and the so-called “American Scene” painters. He has another term for it – “late ‘Public Deco’.” The mural, he observes, “clearly responds to the building,” including its curves
Back to Peter Malarkey’s work as a conservator. “All the materials I will use are reversible,” he said. His work is “to influence the painting as little as possible” – everything is soluble in case at some point it needs to be removed. “Reversibility” is important in the kind of work he does. When you see the mural again next year, “the fresher colors will give you a chance to look at (Norling’s) work again, the way he intended it to look.”
Malarkey expects to be done by the middle of next week. Of the project (publicly and privately funded, for an estimated total of $15,000), he says, “It’s good of Parks and the city to be taking care of this – it shows a lot of dedication to the building (and its history). It’s an example of a wise investment in the city’s culture.”
This is one of those events that tends to sell out way ahead of time – so here’s your advance alert. If you want to celebrate Oktoberfest authentically, without leaving the peninsula, it’s reservation time – Martin Král sends the info (and the photo of his son Logan):
The Austria Club of Washington has the most authentic Oktoberfest – and it’s held in West Seattle!
Date and Time: Saturday, October 10 6 – 11 pm
Location: Alki Masonic Hall, 4736 40th Avenue SW
Featuring the Bert Carlson Band
Folk costume (Tracht) encouraged
German beer and wine at modest pricesCost: $35 (includes dinner)
Advance purchase only!Tickets must be paid by October 3
Mail check (made out to ‘Austria Club of WA’) to Rosie Mulholland, 11737 5th Avenue NE “C”, Seattle, WA 98125
For info call Rosie at 367-1988 or visit www.austriaclubwa.com
(Silkscreener Shino Mikami, right, was one of 15 West Seattle artists at last year’s Fauntleroy show)
The photo and final reminder are from Judy Pickens – please note, if you’re interested, that the deadline is TOMORROW:
September 15 is the deadline for West Seattle artists and creative crafters to apply for the eighth annual Fauntleroy Fine Art & Holiday Gift Show Nov. 6-8. Details and application form are at www.fauntleroyucc.org.
Any other shows/bazaars/etc. accepting vendor applications, please let us know so we can share your announcements too. We’re also already adding holiday-season events to the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – follow that link to see not only listings but also guidelines for sending information about announcements year-round … bottom line is always, the sooner the better!
Second Thursday means lots of art around West Seattle – our first stop is C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), where our crew spotted this chalk art outside, and will be talking with painter Jennifer Carrasco inside. It’s Art Walk night until 9 pm – more info on the official WSAW website!
ADDED 7:08 PM: Happening now at a longtime Art Walk stop, Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor):
That’s artist Deanna Baldi, with her “Morpheus and Adonis series of pyrographic paintings (the Greek names refer to poppies and anemone flowers she paints),” per Click! co-proprietor John Smersh, who shared the photo.
Also in The Junction:
Twilight Gallery (4306 SW Alaska) is open for tonight’s Art Walk after some recent renovations – stop in!
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