White Center Now: The blog about White Center

The sun just peeked out as we started writing this, so maybe it’s a good omen. And even if it’s rainy, who cares – the art’s indoors. Tonight’s the night for the Third Saturday Art Walk in White Center! Full list of where to go, when, and what to see, can be found on the White Center for the Arts website.

2 notes discovered while wandering online tonight: First, Dubsea Coffee is inviting babies – and parents – to a baby meetup tomorrow (Sunday) morning, 10 am, hoping it’ll be a regular feature on the 2nd Sunday of each month. Details on Facebook. Second, 3.14 Bakery is seeking artists and musicians to show/perform their work at the new bakery/coffeehouse. More here.

Just in from Shelli Park at White Center for the Arts:

August 21, 6 PM – 9 PM
White Center Third Saturday Art Walk

Dubsea Coffee (9910 8th Ave SW): Jeannette Jones – oil paintings. Jeannette’s oil paintings are a complex tapestry of images that require second and third looks to discover the hidden portraits contained within.

Proletariat Pizza (9622-A 16th ave SW): Terry Peart – acrylic paintings. “17th and Roxbury”. Come see this series of paintings of a local landmark in White Center. have you tried the tiramisu?

Salvadorean Bakery (1719 Roxbury): Heather Mathias – Photographing Color and Design:
An Exhibit by Heather Mathias
Heather Mathias’s artwork is an exploration of color and design. She photographs everyday objects, then through “reverse process” discovers their essence – their visual essence; whether it be a specific color, a specific design, or both.

Dzul Tattoo (9622-B 16th Ave SW): The Dzul Family – Tattoo, airbrush, cool urban art. Check out the shop, get that long-desired tattoo!

Cafe Rozella (9434 Delridge Way SW): Another month of good ART!!

Full Tilt Ice Cream (9629 16th Ave SW): Check for updates

Big Al Brewing (9832 14th Ave SW): Adam Schmidt – Metal Art -Precision-cut metal art.

That’s the “book trailer” published to YouTube last December for “The Car That Brought You Here Still Runs,” Frances McCue‘s look at the towns visited, and written about, by Richard Hugo. She’ll read and sign books at the Greenbridge Library on July 15th, followed by a literary open-mike session at Mac’s Triangle Pub, according to this flyer just sent around by Seattle’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Coordinator Ron Angeles.

From White Center for the Arts, the lineup for Saturday night:

White Center 3rd Saturday Art Walk
June 19th, 6 PM until 9 PM

Salvadorean Bakery (1719 SW Roxbury St): Erich Blattener – B&W Photography. Beautifully expressive photography, nice use of pattern, and contrast.

Café Rozella (9434 Delridge Way):

Full Tilt Ice Cream (9629 16th Ave Sw):

Proletariat Pizza (9622-A 16th Avenue SW): Devrim Ozkan – Paintings/monoprints. Wild and beautiful abstract-ness, full of passion and color.

Dzul Tattoo (9622-B 16th Ave SW): Dzul Family – Airbrush, original fashion, peircings, and tattoo. Take your mind on a ride in this wonderful shop!

Big Al Brewing (9832 14th Avenue SW): Cael Mulligan – Digital photography on canvas. Lovely abstract photography from a young photographer with an eye for light and design.

Dubsea Coffee (9910 8th Avenue SW): Amanda Helmick – Mixed media awesomeness!! Check out Amanda’s latest pieces that are sure to satisfy! Innovative re-purposing, recycling, sculpting./blockquote>

From Shelli at White Center for the Arts:

White Center 3rd Saturday Art Walk
May 15th, 2010
6:00 PM until 9:00 PM

Salvadorean Bakery (1719 SW Roxbury): Marty Gordon– collage

Through his art, Marty is asking questions, inviting debate and telling stories. Looking at one of his works is akin to peeking through a window into another world, a world where art, humor, faith, tension and candidness live together in vignettes of surreal commentary.

Dubsea Coffee (9910 8th Ave SW):
Jaime Temairik – paintings and drawings. The artists reception will be Sunday, May 16th from 2 until 4. Here’s a note from the artist:

“Hey Kids!

I’ll have some new paintings and drawings up mid-May to mid-June at my favorite cafe, Dubsea Coffee!

How’s about you and your fam join me for the opening party on Sunday afternoon, May 16th?

There’ll be snacks and an art activity and maybe even some boogie-ing…”

Café Rozella (9434 Delridge Way Southwest):

Full Tilt Ice Cream (9629 16th Avenue Southwest): Richard Olmstead – drawings and prints. New works. This is good stuff.

Proletariat Pizza (9622 16th Ave SW): Alexander King – photography

Dzul Tattoo (9622 16th Ave SW B):
Dzul Family – Airbrush and Tattoo

Big Al Brewing (9832 14th Avenue Southwest):
Phil Scroggs – paintings. http://www.phillustrations.com/
And… 7:00 PM at Big Al Brewing DO NOT MISS “Billy and the Bouncers” a local jazz combo!

Just four days till the 6th annual – and biggest ever – West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – and White Center Alliance is part of it – look for sale #193, at 18th SW and SW Cambridge. If you’re interested in wandering even further north to shop, here’s the direct Google Map link). We also have a more packet-like printable map. It’s a 12-page Word doc (6 pages if you print both sides). If you’d rather print from a PDF, use this link. The sales are all open for business 9 am-3 pm this Saturday ONLY.

From Shelli at White Center for the Arts – a call for help, at a critical time for what is literally the organization’s DREAM:

White Center for the Arts must make a decision this weekend as to whether or not to continue pursuing the very fabulous space at 9640A 16th Ave SW for DREAM Community Gallery. We have the deposit money, and some grant money coming. However, it is not enough to responsibly continue with the project at this time without having $28,000 more. The landlord is understandably tired of waiting, and wants to move on. We have seen a vision of the future, and this space is what is needed, and desired, by many of the artists in the area.

DREAM: Community Gallery has a solid business plan. We have a great person, Lance McIntosh, who is managing the project, and who has crunched the numbers. We have a solid team of volunteers who will help with the build-out, and plenty of artists who are ready to exhibit, and performers ready to bring their art to you. We will be providing a resource library, a computer that is free to use, free wi-fi, and art materials for those who want to use them while they are at the gallery. In the gallery, as a way of avoiding having to apply for the endless parade of grants, we will have a small coffee bar. There will be plenty of comfy seating, and snacks. This space will be the central point from which White Center for the Arts conducts its arts programming.

We are a community organization. We are reaching out right now to the community for a show of support. Please support this beautiful project with a tax-deductible donation of any size.

We are also looking for arts/business-minded people to sit on the Board of Directors. We need a solid infrastructure directed by people from the community.

WCFTA is here with a vision of healthy community, and a goal of being a part of a healthy White Center. We are partnering with other organizations in the area to help realize this vision. Will you be a part of this?

If you have any questions, want to volunteer ( a list of opportunities is ready to be put up on the site), and/or want to donate, please contact me:

Shelli Park
crimsonpark@whitecenterforthearts.org

Highlights, shared by Shelli from White Center for the Arts:

Proletariat Pizza: Lonjina Verdugo, collage

Salvadorean Bakery: Julio Castro: Beautiful photography from San Salvador.

Cafe Rozella: Rasta Rich: Jewelry.

Big Al Brewing: Raina Anderson: Photography from Raina’s personal collection. New Start High Photography: These students have vision. Support these burgeoning artists.

Full Tilt Ice Cream: Julie Luke: Rockin’ outsider beauty. Acrylic. Megan Jane Pickerel: Haunting and lovely acrylics.

DZul Tattoo: Airbrush and Tattoo Art, Custom clothes. Hometown heroes.

DubSea Coffee: ASARO ” The Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaca ”
Photographical documentation by Courtney Anderson, with musical ambiance courtesy of DJ Michael J. Olsen.

On the street! 16th Ave SW across from Full Tilt at 6:30: Evergreen Dance Crew: Fusion!!!

One week from this Saturday …

The announcement accompanying the flyer:

Dubsea Coffee
March 20 2010
7-9 pm
9910 8th Ave. SW

www.dubseacoffee.com
www.myspace.com/asaroaxaca
www.asar-oaxaca.blogspot.com

ASARO ” The Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaca ” is a collective of about 20 members who specialize in a variety of artistic communications, including stenciling, grabados ,murals , engraving , theater and fine arts.The collective was formed in 2006 in response to a call fromAPPO ” Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca “,[ a group formed as a teachers union, but whose makeup also includes general citizens and representatives from surrounding communities ] during their occupation of Oaxaca City . APPO made a call to artists of Oaxaca to discuss the possible responses to the violence and oppressive actions from the police and military during their public demonstrations. Ever since ASARO has been partaking in one of the most prolific visual Resistance projects in the state of Oaxaca. ASARO believes that public art in all it’s diverse disciplines is a form of communication that allows a dialogue with all sectors of society and which makes possible the visualization of the real conditions of existence.ASARO states” We summon all the artists who authentically look for the social transformation to be united to ASARO, to extend our creative front of resistance and to approach the art in all the sectors of society. The creative capacity is a strategy that historically the city of Oaxaca has used, to survive and to revitalize themselves… We propose to initiate an artistic movement, where the aim is the direct bonding with people in the streets and in public spaces.

From Shelli at White Center for the Arts – one week from tomorrow!:

Community Artist Meeting
Facilitated by White Center for the Arts
Tuesday, March 16th at 7:00 PM

Proletariat Pizza
9622-A 16th Ave SW, Seattle –
(206) 432-9765

Who is invited? Artists who live in and those who love the GREATER White Center Area/ Unincorporated King County, and a little bit outside that line. That means ALL artists. Music, dance, film, theatre, visual, 3-D, photography, written, mixed-media, young, old, in-between, student, emerging, established, etc.

What is this about? This is about continuing the conversation about art and it’s impact in White Center. About creating your opportunities. What do you want/need from your community in order to further your work/goals? What can you give to your community to help strengthen it? White Center for the Arts is opening the line of communication. This is not a formal, stuffy meeting, but the third meeting of many where your voice can be heard, where new connections can be created, and we can figure out how to best accommodate you, the artist, in our own neighborhood.

If you can, please RSVP so that we know how much pizza to order for you!

Shelli:
crimsonpark@whitecenterforthearts.org

That’s one of our personal favorite “Monty Python” TV clips. You got one? Or more? Mosey to Big Al Brewing noon-8 pm Sunday, where they’re promising to play as many classic “Monty Python and the Flying Circus” episodes as possible – and accepting donations for White Center for the Arts.

The best “art walks” are full of performance art as well as displayed, completed visual art, and last night, that was the case in White Center. A clear night, not too cold, so the White Center Art Walk excitement spilled onto the sidewalk – Dina Johnson shared her photos, including the Fusion Dance Crew outside the new Dream Community Gallery at 9640 16th SW. On the other side of 16th, Full Tilt Ice Cream filled with music fans:

Art Walk-ers also were serenaded inside Cafe Rozella – that’s proprietor Leticia, applauded by Blair Johnson:

You can see Dina’s full WC Art Walk photo set on Flickr by going here. Watch whitecenterforthearts.org for details on the next Third Saturday Art Walk as soon as they’re available; this edition of the WC Art Walk marks WCFTA’s first “birthday.”

Just a quick reminder; lots of info at the White Center for the Arts website.

White Center for the Arts celebrates its 1st anniversary/birthday next Saturday, with the Third Saturday Art Walk, including the debut of Dream Community Gallery (9640 16th SW). Here are the highlights, as forwarded by WCFTA:

WHITE CENTER ART WALK
February 20th, 2010 6 PM until 9 PM
Featuring:

Salvadorean Bakery:: Chuck Northcutt – photography on canvas

Café Rozella: Carole Ellis – photography

Triangle Tavern: Chase Evans – Spoken Word @ 6:15
DJ sets @ 7:00

Full Tilt Ice Cream: Julie Luke – Acrylic on Canvas

Proletariat Pizza: Baso – photography

Dzul Tattoo: Urban and Tattoo Art

Dream Community Gallery: Fusion Dance Crew @ 6:30
Brian Barr – Portraits of White Center, Amanda Helmick – Mixed Media,
Amanda Pickerel-Winer – paintings

Big Al Brewing: Raina Anderson – photography

DubSea Café: Hye Young Kim – dyed yarn and acrylic,
Micheal Olson – DJ –reggae/dub plus more!

Dubsea’s Joerael Elliott shares the poster:

(click lower left of image to play slideshow, which includes audio)
By NICK FELDMAN
UW News Lab

“It’s a picture of my son,” the man in the chair said in Spanish. “Enrique is his name. When I came to the United States, I left him when he was 2 months old. It’s to have him with me all the time, to have a memory of him, because I don’t know if I’ll be able to see him again.”

Francisco Antonio Flores-Renteria came to the U.S. three years ago. When looking for a place to have the portrait done — his second tattoo — he looked no further than Dzul Studio — a place that was clean, where he trusted the quality of the art, and where he was able to converse in his own language.

The studio, run by brothers Alejandro (“Alex”) and Jacob (“Smiley”) as well as piercing-artist sisters Catalina and Elizabeth, takes the family name to heart: Dzul is a Mayan word meaning master or leader, one who stands above others in character or reputation. And that reputation has been built up over the last decade.

“I started to draw at an early age,” said Smiley, “and my friends from my neighborhood knew that I knew how to draw, so they were the ones who actually got me into it.” He sports seven tattoos himself: on his legs, right arm, collarbone, each shoulder, and his mother’s name on his back — his first, at age 16. “That’s how I started, just doing names for (friends) and their mom’s names and initials.”

After four years of doing airbrush art at weekend swap meets and homemade tattoos for friends on the side — and discovering fairs like Bite of Seattle, Bumbershoot, Hempfest and Portland’s Cinco de Mayo celebration — the brothers had amassed enough capital to open a studio.

“When we first moved out to the Northwest, there wasn’t a lot of art put out with our perspective or flavor,” said Alex. “We’re from the Southwest, and when we came in there were a lot of people who wanted art but they weren’t getting it. That’s one of the places where we come in and really shine, because we have a very unique style.”

Smiley, the studio’s resident tattoo expert, is a master of the more urban black-and-gray tattoo style, but is also a talented tribal and color artist. About 80 percent of the art done at Dzul is original, and while the brothers have “flash” designs premade — reusable and template art — they’ve found that people are more interested in art that speaks directly to them, and that both parties are often more excited to do unique work.

While the Dzuls cater to their culture, only 30 percent to 40 percent of their clientele is Hispanic. Instead, they draw on the many ethnic and age demographics that tattoo culture has infiltrated, as well as their clients from places as far away as Everett and Vancouver, B.C., who travel specifically to visit the White Center studio.

“A lot of people who speak Spanish feel good to be understood, but the population in Seattle is not heavily Hispanic,” said Alex. “We’re really pretty diverse when it comes to who walks through our doors. “

The siblings, all Queen Anne residents, are currently looking to either move or expand to a location somewhere closer to the center of Seattle. One of their main reasons for originally choosing the shop’s location was its affordability for young artist-entrepreneurs.

In addition to massive updates to the studio’s Web site — including an education-focused FAQ section — within the next year, Dzul also plans to launch a clothing line and sponsor an art exhibition with a Day of the Dead theme featuring original art, tattooing and photography.

“People come through, they get their work, it’s original,” said Alex. “They have a perspective and we just help them to make it look good. I thought it would be good to do portraits of them and their tattoos to tell their stories.”

In the words of Alex, who studied graphic design at the Art Institute of Seattle, artists always need a community of other people who share their passion. And, luckily for these four siblings, that artistic community is also blood.

“If there’s anyone you can trust the most,” Smiley said, “it’s your family.”

——————————————————————————————–
(NICK FELDMAN is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.)

Reminder of two events we mentioned here earlier: Saturday night, it’s the artist reception at Dubsea Coffee (full story here), 7-9 pm, and then you can move over to Full Tilt Ice Cream for the Steel Tigers of Death performance.

Greenbridge’s new Dubsea Coffee has announced its second art show, with a reception for artist Kelda Martensen coming up January 16th.

From White Center for the Arts — First: Rat City Rummage will be at Big Al Brewing from 2 PM until 6 PM, with 12 arts/crafts vendors:

Then it’s the White Center Art Walk, 6-9 pm, including these venues and artists:

The Salvadorean Bakery: Photography Students of New Start High!
1719 Southwest Roxbury Street

Café Rozella: Fabulous Artist!!
9434 Delridge Way SW

Full Tilt Ice Cream: Youth in Focus “Fear: Advanced Digital Summer 2009”
Music by Damien Jurado!!
9629 16th Ave S Seattle

Proletariat Pizza: Alexander King – photography
9622 16th Ave SW

Big Al Brewing: Photography Students of New Start High School!
Music by Ryan Burns and Crew!!
9832 14th Ave. SW

Dubsea Coffee: Joerael Elliot –
“Fractured Parables” 9910 8th Ave SW

(Also at Dubsea)

{ Hi Touch Art Show } JOERAEL ELLIOTT / Saturday Dec.19.2009. 7:00-9:00 pm

SPOKEN WORD & OPEN MIC
by Youngstown Cultural Arts Center youth with Amos Miller
DJ MURDOC will be laying down the beats!