NCW ARTISTS GO WEST FOR ‘EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS’

Eight Wenatchee area artists are taking their show on the road and across the Cascades for a first-ever group exhibit of this region’s art at the prestigious Collective Visions Gallery (CVG). “East of the Mountains” is an homage to our own local arts and artists.

CVG, owned by twenty artists, is the largest and oldest commercial gallery in Bremerton. This past winter, Wenatchee jewelry maker Erin Senyohl was one of 394 exhibitors chosen to be in their annual state-wide show, one of the Pacific Northwest’s most comprehensive juried art shows.

Erin and her partner Steve Maher were impressed not only with Bremerton’s growth and its burgeoning downtown arts scene, but with the scope of the CVG gallery. They were also pleased at how easily the serendipitous partnering process came together.

The couple drove over in February to pick up some of Erin’s artwork. Steve, co-organizer of the upcoming show, said, “When we started talking about the arts in Wenatchee, the owners of CVG were immediately interested. Luckily, there was one unplanned month on their calendar—June—which they offered to us. We jumped at the chance to bring Wenatchee artists to Bremerton.”

Well known to most local art lovers, the artists the couple recruited were enthusiastic about exhibiting their work outside their own region. “It’s really an experiment,” Steve said. “We were trying for diversity in the people but also in the types of media — and we wanted the forty pieces to reflect not just our geography but individual perspectives and attitudes.”

These are the featured artists: Mary Big Bull-Lewis and Rob Lewis — Canvas art print

Lindsay Breidenthal — Oil and acrylic painting

Martha Flores — Acrylic painting and bronze sculpture

Kasey Koski — Watercolor, pen and ink journal reprinted on canvas

Alessandra Piro — Oil, cold wax, encaustic painting

Erin Senyohl — Silversmith art jewelry

Terry Valdez — Acrylic painting

Chad Yenney — Collage mixed media

“East of the Mountains” opens at the Collective Visions Gallery, 331 Pacific Avenue, Bremerton, on First Friday Art Walk, June 2. It continues through June.

QUIZ: R.U. ART SMART?

Who are these local artists? Initials are given; see answers on Page 6.

1. (J.D.) He’s known for producing and directing The Follies and bringing Hot August Nights to the PAC stage.

2. (C.Y.) Specializing in “cutting edge” collages, this former Collapse Gallery owner has a career in video production.

3. (J.C.M.) Wenatchee’s blossoms, hill- sides and colorful river rocks have filled her canvases for almost 40 years.

4. (N.C.) The Wenatchee Valley Symphony orchestra looks up to him as he conducts their annual concerts.

5. (R.B.) Whimsical aluminum sculptures from his Pateros studio live on after him here and all over the Northwest.

6. (P.A. & K.A.) A dynamic duo seen all over on stage, backstage, directing, or producing plays and musicals.