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!
(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.
December 6th, 2009 Tracy Posted in Arts, White Center for the ArtsComments Off on Date change for White Center for the Arts meeting
Shelli Park sends word that the White Center for the Arts meeting’s been changed to December 16, still at 7 pm at Dubsea Coffee, and invites those with interests in culture and history to join, as well as those with interest in art.
We caught up with Rat City Rags during the West Seattle Art Walk in September, when their work was featured atVentana Construction. Tonight, you can see, buy, mingle and drink during RCR’s first holiday party, happening 5-10 pm at Big Al Brewing!
White Center for the Arts is looking for artists of all media for the White Center Art Walk. We are scheduling for the next year, and would like to get as many White Center artists involved, and exhibiting/performing, as possible. Also, in the more fine weather, outdoor performances will be an option. Please contact me with your interest and pass this along to other artists.
We still need artists for the December Art Walk!!!!! Any takers?
Also, Dubsea Coffee will be the site of our next Community Artist meeting, which is open to artists of all medium, experience and age in the Greater White Center area, and to anyone interested in cultivating the arts here in White Center.
The last meeting was enlightening and productive. There is a great community of arts supporters here. When we come together, we support the work that is vital to a healthy community.
The goal is to break down the barriers that create a feeling of isolation within the community.
What, as an artist, do you need from the community in order to further your creative goals?
What, as a member of the community, can you give, no matter how small?
What would you like to see in White Center that would help you feel validated as an artist, or part of a healthy, diverse community?
Too much to think about? We also just want to have a good time talking and laughing! Come see what’s up in White Center…
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 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 first meeting of many where your voice can be heard, new alliances can be created, and we can figure out how to best accommodate you, the artist, in our own neighborhood.
October 14th, 2009 Tracy Posted in Arts, history, White Center newsComments Off on Richard Hugo was here – but evidence of that is where?
Got a note from local writer Brian Barr. He lives in White Center, just two blocks away from the former home of local poet legend Richard Hugo. While there’s the Hugo House in another part of the area, in White Center, Barr was sad to discover, there’s little evidence of his existence. Read what he wrote on his own website, and see if you’d like to join his quest to change that.
White Center for the Arts has announced it’s set the date for its next Third Saturday Art Walk – October 17, 5-9 pm, more details to come. WCFTA is on Twitter, too – @WCFTA.
October 7th, 2009 Ricardo Posted in Arts, cafe rozella, Fun, Music, White CenterComments Off on Blues Night at Cafe Rozella as Chris Stevens and the Surf Monkeys Rock on Saturday at 7 p.m.
October 3rd, 2009 Tracy Posted in Arts, Burien, FunComments Off on Looking for fun? Burien Little Theatre extends an invitation
That’s a photo from “Psycho Beach Party,” in its first weekend at Burien Little Theatre. The folks at BLT e-mailed WCN to say that since part of North Highline is becoming part of Burien, they thought it a good idea to start expanding their horizons. So here’s their invitation to you to come see what their website calls “‘Gidget’ meets ‘The Three Faces of Eve’ …” Find out more here; there are shows tonight and tomorrow afternoon ($7 matinee!), and the run continues weekends through November 1st.
September 19th, 2009 Ricardo Posted in Arts, cafe rozella, Fun, Music, White CenterComments Off on Happening Tonight: Correo Aereo Plays Cafe Rozella
Head on over to Cafe Rozella for some beautiful music. Correo Aereo rarely plays and this is an opportunity to hear some excellent Latin American music.
August 4th, 2009 Ricardo Posted in Arts, cafe rozella, Music, White CenterComments Off on Sin Fronteras to Play Cafe Rozella Friday (Aug. 7th) at 7 p.m. FREE
SIN FRONTERAS
“Without Borders“,
Playing at Café Rozella
August 7, 2009
7PM-9:30
is a 4 member, Seattle based ensemble that interprets songs from across Central & South America and the Caribbean. Founded in 2002, the group draws heavily from the Nueva Cancion song movement, with an emphasis on Andean instrumentation, three-part vocal harmony, Chilean and Argentinean composers. Sin Fronteras is committed to unity among all peoples of the Americas and beyond. > Sin Fronteras has performed at Seattle Center Festal Festivals (Fiestas Patrias), Dia de Muertos festivals, the Fremont Summer Solstice Festival and the the NW Folklife Festival. They have perfomed in collaboration with the The Seattle Peace Chorus, Correo Aereo and many other local music ensembles; in support of Casa Latina, Jobs With Justice, CISPES, Centro Cultural Chileno and other local non-profit organizations; at The Northwest School, The Little School, at the Seattle Folklore Society’s spring concert series, and at Town Hall Seattle with the Persian ensemble Kamand, in celebration of the Iranian New Year festival of Norooz; at Cafe Traditions in Olympia and at the spanish-indigenous play “Arauco” at Seattle Central Community College, at Haller Lake Community Center and local poets from Chile and the US. > Their members hail from the U.S., Colombia, Mexico and Chile.
White Center for the Arts has announced it’s set the date for its next Third Saturday Art Walk – October 17, 5-9 pm, more details to come. WCFTA is on Twitter, too – 
