NOVEMBER 2024 ARTBEAT by ncwarts

CELEBRATING OUR COLLECTIVE IMPACT ON THE ARTS

BY MEG KAPPLER NCW ARTS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In all honesty, I’ve been sitting here for a bit trying to put my gratitude into words that don’t sound like platitudes, but that near-rhyme is the best thing I’ve come up with. Sometimes the big, deep feelings just obstinately defy being pinned (or penned) down, so I’m trusting that you’ll feel what’s behind the words, which is an incredibly huge appreciation and love for the broad, inclusive and diverse Arts community we are all carefully cultivating here in North Central Washington.

Joining me in appreciation of our regional arts community are the 14 new individual members of the NCW Arts Alliance whose contributions helped us reach our goal of $2,500 for our inaugural 2024 Membership Drive. Our generous board of directors will be matching that amount,

which will allow us to grow our Artist Index and amplify the incredible work happening in our region.

Additionally, four new business sponsors helped us meet our goal of continuing to publish ArtBeat through the end of 2024 with an additional $2,200! Music Theatre of Wenatchee, Howell at the Moon Productions, Mail & More LLC, and Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival, THANK YOU for helping us connect all creatives with the opportunities that will help them thrive.

If you want to become a member, but just can’t swing it financially, I see you. However, you can still have an impact — election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

One of the biggest ways you can support the arts in our country, state and region is by voting in support of candidates who understand the critical value of what the Arts bring to our world.

Our friends at Inspire Washington, who have their fingers on the pulse of state and national politics and how it affects the arts, said: “We see firsthand the impacts when members of our cultural sector show up at the ballot box.”

It doesn’t get clearer than that, folks.

The biggest way you can support the Arts is by voting for the people at every level who understand its true value in our daily lives. With that, I want to leave you with some inspiration from A Proclamation on National Arts and Humanities Month by President Joe Biden, released on Sept. 30.

“The arts and humanities bring people together and show us that we have

more in common than we have differences — helping us see each other, understand one another and unite in common cause. Our artists and scholars embody the very spirit of America: the drive to create and connect, the pursuit of excellence and the boldness to be truth tellers and change seekers. During National Arts and Humanities Month, we celebrate the artists and scholars who lift us up, speak to our souls and shape who we are as a nation. We are a great nation, largely because of the power of the arts and humanities, which is stamped into the DNA of America.”

If you’re looking for opportunities to become more informed about the issues that affect Arts funding in NCW and statewide, I highly recommend registering and attending Inspire Washington’s Open Oﬃce Hours. Upcoming sessions are 10 a.m., Nov. 11 and 13. (You can register and find more information by scanning the QR code below.)

Platitudes notwithstanding, my heart is full, and I am grateful for what you do every day that makes our little corner of the world a better and more artful place to live in.

R.U. ARTSMART QUIZ

Who are these local artists? Initials are given. See answers below.

1. (R.E.) This eclectic artist, musician, tech designer, writer and humorist once owned Wenatchee’s RadarStation gallery and now publishes The Comet for you every month.

2. (V. M.) With her husband, she’s a longtime supporter of the arts. She also puts in volunteer hours year-round at Music Theatre of Wenatchee, where she serves as a board member.

3. (E.F.) As technical director of Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, this musician ensures that stage lights go on in the right place every time and that performers sound their very best.

4. (M.C.) This guitarist writes songs, sometimes in Spanish, and performs country, punk and rock music. His eponymous band played Centennial Park for Wenatchee’s First Fridays Arts Walk in September .

5. (J.D.) With her journalist’s eye on the region’s many talented artists and groups, she covers events, as many she can ﬁnd that will ﬁt, for the Wenatchee World’s weekly GO! section.

ARTBE T

Monthly Magazine of the NCW Arts Alliance

Co-editors: Jamie Howell and Meg Kappler

Design: Ron Evans NCWArts.org | arts@ncwarts.org

ON THE COVER:

Rings // Repose by artist Lindsey Bloomfield uses intersecting geometric shapes to explore movement in a stiff, brittle ceramic structure. The piece is part of

Wenatchee Valley College’s Advanced Students Art Exhibition, running Nov. 1 to Dec. 13 at the MAC Gallery. For more info, see the article on Page 7 of this issue of ArtBeat.

ANSWERS:1. Ron Evans 2. Vicki Michael 3. Erik Frank 4. Michael Carlos

5. Jessica Drake

Scan to learn more about Inspire Washington.

ON THE UPBEAT: CHUMLILIES PLAY ‘UP THE ‘STICK AND DOWN THE CRICK’

The Chumlilies: Adina, Molly, Emily, Christina.

BY KRIS LAHD

Spawned in 2019 in a yurt right off the magical corridor called the Chumstick that connects Leavenworth to Plain, a musical treasure was created: Chumlilies. Comprised of four wildly talented women — Christina Winter (guitar/vocals), Adina Scott (fiddle/ vocals), Molly Elder (banjo/cajon/vocals) and Emily Keenan (bass/vocals) — Chumlillies is a four-piece string band whose members write, record and perform original Americana music. They are highly attuned to their natural surroundings, evidenced in the lyrics of songs like “Chumstick Exquisite,“ “Lorax” and the haunting “Cascade Smile,” all from their sophomore album, 2023’s Roots in Real Thick Mud. These four chums form a connection that transcends their band — they refer to it as the “chumfam.” It’s clear they have a deep respect and show strong support for each other’s busy lives. Whether they’re at work in Antarctica, raft-guiding, raising children, in nursing school, fighting fires or saving lives, they still find time to get together, have fun and create some of the best downhome, blue sky, rain, snow and fog mountain music around.

How were the Chumlilies formed?

Christina: I had a dream for so long of being in an all-ladies string band, but I moved around too much. After I had lived in Leavenworth for a while, a friend told me there was a girl up Chumstick who lives in a yurt, plays banjo and sings. I was like, I live in a yurt up Chumstick, play guitar and sing, too. I got her (Molly’s) number and reached out. She said she’d love to get together and jam. She and I set a date to jam, but serendipitously, before that we ran into each other at Bushel & Bee Taproom watching River Dog Shakedown, which coincidentally was Emily’s band at the time with her husband.

Adina: So this is where my story pops in. My buddy told me that I should go check out this cool band called River Dog Shakedown at Bushel & Bee. It was a dreary April no-tourists-in-town kind of day, and the place was dead. I didn’t have anybody to play music with at the time so I asked them “if I run home to get my instrument (fiddle), could I crash your gig?” And they said sure! So I did, and I played with them the rest of the night.

Christina: Molly and I then ended up jamming, and it was fun, so I booked a gig for us at Icicle Brewery.

Molly: Yes, she asked me if I wanted

to play with her and I was like, “Oh God! In public?!” I had only done some open mics, so this was a big deal for me. I also knew Emily and invited her, so she came that night to watch our first show.

Emily: When I got home that night after watching them, I was like, “I want to be in that band!” Soon after that, I ran into Molly up at Stevens Pass and asked, “do you guys want me to be your bass player?” She thought it was a good idea, so we tried it out, and it launched pretty fast.

Molly: None of us were really looking for a band, but we now had a trio (Emily, Christina and Molly). Since we had all seen Adina play, we knew she’d be great. But she had gone back to Antarctica for work (science station electrical technician), so we just texted her and told her she was joining our band!

Adina: Yes, they volun-told me, and they had already lined up a gig for us when I got back. The other funny thing is, about two years earlier, I had taken an EMT class and Christina was one of my teachers. I had the biggest friend-crush on her, like “oh my God, I really wanted to be friends with this person,” but we were both really stressed out with life at the time and lost touch. Another random connection we realized is that Molly raftguided with the wife of my best friend who I worked with in Antarctica.

You’ve released two albums, one in 2020 and one in 2023. What have you learned about the recording process?

Christina: We all wanted to make our songs solid, and I feel recording them is the best way to do that. As a musician, if you don’t record something you’ve written, it can go away. I have lost so many songs because I didn’t record them.

Molly: Recording happens to be the most terrifying process because it’s forever encapsulated. I get in my head a lot about that whole forever thing. I love playing live because you can redeem yourself with the audience after you mess something up; the moment is over and you’re on to the next thing. There’s a dynamic nature of live music and a static nature to recording. There is studio magic that occurs for sure, but there’s a lot of toil and pressure about having to get things right. Facing that vulnerability for me is anxiety inducing.

Christina: I don’t have as much stress about the recording process. I’ve been performing my whole life, so I think it’s

cool and I enjoy it. What it’s taught me is just to really listen to my bandmates. In the studio, lots of times I’m like, oh I didn’t realize how cool Emily’s bass part was, that’s really badass, turn it up! It helps me to listen better for when we play live.

Adina: I feel that when we were recording our first album, it made us a much tighter band. After our first album, we got way more intentional about the story we are trying to tell for each song.

Molly: I learned the importance of changing my strings (laughs). Yeah, it turns out my banjo sounds better when I change my strings (laughing). I should have thought about that one before recording the first album. It sounded a little soft.

What was your last band argument about?

Christina: I don’t think we ... Molly: I mean, the album name … the second album.

Christina: Ah yes, that was many hours in car rides going back and forth with different album names. Then I acquiesced. Adina: We overruled Christina. Christina: I was lukewarm on it, but it’s good now.

Who are some artists we should be listening to?

Adina: DakhaBrakha, Sons of Kemet — they make raw-life, booty-shakin’ music!

Christina: May Erlewine, a wonderful singer-songwriter from Michigan.

Molly: Jacob Collier and Madison Cunningham.

Emily: Sierra Ferrell and Charley Crockett.

Five years, a pandemic and two albums later The Chumlilies are currently in the songwriting groove and taking time to write songs for another album. With all the synchronicities that lined up for this group of women to come together, maybe it’s part of the universe’s master plan to gift music lovers with songs that tap into the soul and plant the seeds of that third album, Love in a Mountain Town

For booking and CD purchases go to: chumlilies.com. The band’s music can also be found on Apple Music, Bandcamp and Spotify.

6. Two Rivers Art Gallery 5-8 PM Brad Brisbine, artist. Jeannie McPherson, musician. Local wines.

7. Mela 5-8 PM “Digressions,” Cynthia Neely, artist.

1. MAC Gallery 5-7 PM WVC Advanced Students Art Exhibition, featuring work by Lindsey Bloomfield, Sue Edick, Carly Feddersen, Cyndi Noyd, and Claire Sianna Seaman.

8. Tumbleweed 4-6:30 PM Stupid Stitch, sustainable handmade clothing using recycled fabrics.

2. LynnArt Gardens 3-6 PM Mural reveal and chili dinner. Mural features work by local artists: Betsy Watters, Faith Merz, Ellen Bruex and Sarah Sims.

9. Ground Control 6-9 PM Mijanou Forten, MF Pottery, ceramic artist.

10. Pybus Art Alley 5-7 PM “Fluid Horizons,” Alessandra Piro, artist. Hans Hessburg, cellist. Beverages and hors d’oeuvres by donation.

3. Town Toyota Center 6-9 PM Wenatchee Wild Hockey Art Night. Artist vendors will be set up in the concourse before the game. Kids free (for first 100 kids) courtesy of Riverside Payments.

11. iLa Yoga 7-9 PM Shine Song Circle. Free participatory singing event. No experience necessary.

4. Lemolo Café & Deli 4-7 PM Group show featuring work by Sue Edick, Nena Howell, Claudia Mullek, Cyndi Noyd, Niki Stewart, Jane Zanol.

12. Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center 6-9 PM Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead celebration. Free admission. Join us for crafts, mariachi, face painting and more.

5. Class With A Glass 4-8 PM Pick-a-painting fundraiser. Help us raise funds for our new neighbor, Until Now Creative. All proceeds benefit the Creative Arts Club after-school program.

6. Steam Panda 4-9 PM Buy one noodle soup, get 2nd noodle soup $5 off when you mention First Fridays. Dine in only

7. Cave Noire 4-10 PM Enjoy a complimentary glass after any wine tasting flight.

1. Horan Estates Winery 3-7 PM $2 off glass pours.

2. Crayelle Cellars 3-6 PM $2 off glass pours.

3. Visit Wenatchee Tasting Room 4-7 PM

8. South @ Pybus 5-9 PM Maria’s Dream cocktail special, inspired by the trailblazing Mexican artist Maria Izquierdo.

4-7 PM Happy hour special: $5 flights of cider or beer.

4. Stones Gastropub 3-9 PM $10 specialty cocktail. 5. Watermill Winery On The Ave 3-8 PM Wine specials.

4. Woody’s Classic Man 3-8 PM Happy Hour pricing on all beers and ciders. Extended hours. 5. Time Capsule 3-7 PM Roll a D20 and get up to 20% off your entire purchase. 30% off Funko Pop figures.

1. American Shoe Shop 5–7 PM Extended hours 2. Mercantile All Day $10 day pass for First Fridays. 3. The Original Children’s Shop 3-5 PM 10% discount on all merch when you mention First Fridays.

TJ FARRELL’S POETRY BOOK IS A PRODUCT OF DOGGED DETERMINATION

Flamboyant woman-about-town and multi-faceted artist TJ Farrell has been raising eyebrows and annually exceeding expectations since 2003 with her bawdy Hot August Nights and Music Theatre of Wenatchee acting roles, gritty undercover essays about the seafood industry and her spectacularly gruesome Halloween costumes and set pieces.

She’s not a fan of conventional conventions. And she’d be the first to tell you that the kids she used to hang around with in her Colorado high school would probably be described today as “acting out.”

That’s why TJ’s newly published children’s picture book, The Arfabet!, is such a nice surprise. Here’s a sweet stanza from a poem at the start of this alphabetical compendium of fun dog facts and images:

Your basic Doxie’s long and low

But fast and rarely shy

There is a stout courageous heart inside that little guy!

And later come lines about the Zuchon breed:

He’s a cross between a Shih Tzu and a sweet Bichon Frisé

And he’ll sure be pleased to meet you ‘Cause he really loves to play.

The many dog breeds in the book are described mostly in short rhyming couplets that are easy for young children to listen to and learn from. Sometimes people ask TJ if she’s working on a similar CATabet book for toddlers, but she demurs, saying “I think T.S. Eliot has already written the definitive cat book [Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.].” She noted that the well-known poet may have deflected a similar query when he commented “Of course, dogs don’t seem to lend themselves to verse so well, collectively, as cats.” Not so, proves TJ.

The Arfabet! was published under the imprimatur of Half Moon Cat Publishing, TJ’s all-purpose personal production company. The layout was by Denver designer Pamela McKinnie and the lush and whimsical artwork was done by selftaught artists and brothers Aram Joao and

TJ Farrel

About that satisfying illustration process, TJ said “the book took me a long time to write, but those artists turned out nearly 60 illustrations for it in about three months.” After doing her own research, she basically sent them the names of breeds and some key visuals she needed, and they took it from there. The rich colors and quirky, charming images were

just what TJ envisioned, and a whole bookful of happy dogs resulted.

TJ recently retired from her long career as a risk management analyst at the Chelan County PUD. In those years, she once noted “Only 5 percent of my waking hours were devoted to doing artistic endeavors of my own choosing.” Even so, she had acrylic painting projects, staged the Mission Creek Players Haunted House and was on stage in several local theater productions, mostly as actor, often singer, sometimes dancer.

And her writing was always in front of her, including a growing novel and some revised essays. But it was the dog poems that took precedence when TJ finally retired. She said The Arfabet!, which took almost 16 years from the first little verse to the new shiny cover, could only exist with tryouts at open mics and especially the encouragement of her local writing friends who were ardent cheerleaders and first readers.

You can meet the author and buy a signed copy of The Arphabet! in Wenatchee on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Ye Olde Bookshoppe, and on Friday, Dec. 9, at Firehouse Pet Shop.

Almir Ulises Mestre León, who live in Cuba.

NEW MAC SHOW FEATURES ARTISTS WHO

‘GROW THEIR PRACTICES’ AT WVC

Fiveaccomplished artists who have continued their creative learning through Wenatchee Valley College art classes will join together at WVC’s MAC Gallery for a group exhibit in November and December.

The WVC Advanced Students Art Exhibition will feature Carly Feddersen, Lindsey Bloomfield, Sue Edick, Cyndi Noyd and Claire Sianna Seaman. Each has years of experience in their respective mediums and strong exhibition records, said Scott Bailey, the college’s art director.

“We take pride in helping the most talented artists grow their practices,” he said. “Their presence in studio classes such as ceramics, painting, printmaking, illustration and figure drawing makes for a tremendous learning environment for everyone.”

Feddersen, who has enrolled in the college’s Continuing Education classes, said the courses “provide an ideal setting for experimentation and growth. I admire the instructors, who are practicing artists themselves, and their support encourages me to explore new ideas.”

Native heritage and alternative culture

Born and raised in Wenatchee, Feddersen is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Much of her work emphasizes humor, storytelling and the connections between her Plateau heritage and interest in alternative culture and self-adornment, said a MAC press release. With multiple college degrees, Feddersen is a metalsmith, stone carver, traditional basket maker and also works in glass and print. Her art pieces appear in collections of the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe,

New Mexico, the Hallie Ford Museum in Salem, Oregon, and the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma.

Movement in Ceramic forms

Bloomfield, also born in Wenatchee and raised in the Pacific Northwest, is a sculptor working in ceramics. She combines intersecting geometric forms with mobility to explore movement in stiff, brittle ceramic structures, said the MAC press release.

Bloomfield has worked as an industrial designer for over a decade and uses that background to bridge the gap between art and design. She was a winner in the 2017 Red Dot Awards, an international competition for product design, and in 2023 earned a state Artist Trust GAP Grant.

Skewed perspective

Following retirement, Edick’s artistic life began after spotting a newspaper article about WVC’s online science illustration class. The class introduced her to new media, including gouache, a water-based paint similar to watercolor but with a bolder, flatter wash of color.

The illustration class also renewed Edick’s interest in painting. She decided her subject would be the shower stall in her tiny bathroom, using a photo that skewed the walls of the tight space. She soon realized that interior spaces using this warped perspective would be a subject worth pursuing. For the last four years, Edick has been painting these interior spaces.

More to explore

A teaching artist at The River Academy in Wenatchee, Noyd says she’s a self-described landscape painter work-

CONFLUENCE MAKES IT EASY TO GET YOUR ART OUR THERE FEATURED OPPORTUNITY:

ing in a variety of media. “Expressing myself through art is a passion driven from deep within,” she said. “We all feel at our best when we create, and helping others to create is a great joy for me.”

Noyd’s current work involves layering hand-painted rice paper and Chinese watercolors, allowing materials and shapes to “speak, inform and lead the viewer to ask questions,” she said. “I want the viewer to step into the work with one idea and leave with three ideas. Just when you think you understand, you realize there’s more to explore.”

Coming to terms with climate change

Seaman, a Leavenworth resident, is a filmmaker and painter whose work grapples with the human relationship to the natural environment, attempting to come to terms with climate change and seeking community-based solutions through art.

She has been featured in the Wild and Scenic Film Festival Art Exhibition and chosen for the Conservation, History and Art residency at the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts. In 2021, she was chosen to work with University of Washington scientists to create an art piece that imagined climate resiliency in the Pacific Northwest. Her piece in the MAC exhibit will be shown next year at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.

The WVC Advanced Students Art Exhibit runs Nov. 1 to Dec. 13 at the MAC Gallery. A First Friday opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Nov. 1.

As a major gift to regional artists, The Confluence in Twisp has recently transformed how they accept visual artwork. “We are now announcing artist calls earlier and keeping them open longer, in a one-step application process that will streamline communications,” the art gallery’s organizers say. “And we’re asking for submissions of completed work.” Confluence also has their shows posted ahead for the entire upcoming year.

The current exhibit, Forged, will be up until Nov. 16. The next call for art is entitled Pattern, curated by Robin Doggett and Betsy Fetherston. They summarize the theme: “Humans are hard-wired to recognize pattern and line to perceive our surroundings, reacting differently depending on what we see. How do you integrate pattern and line into your work?”

Pattern will run Feb. 16 through April 12, and the call for 2-D or 3-D art is open from Nov. 4 until Dec. 16. Other intriguing themes worth investigating in 2025 are Object Lessons, Recreation, Weightless Wonder, Reclaimed Landscape, Rhapsody in Hue and Backyard Wilderness.

Confluence is located at 104 Glover Street in Twisp. The new application is online at confluencegallery.org, but artists with questions can also contact the gallery at info@confluencegallery.org or at (509) 997-2787.

“Cloud Over Leavenworth WA,” by Claire Sianna Seaman

“Bird’s Eye View,” by Cyndi Noyd

“Stargazer,” by Carly Feddersen