paper cuts ii

PAPER CUTS II @ COLLAPSE

Marty Gordon

The Pacific Northwest Collage Collective (PNWCC) is hosting its second regional art exhibit at Collapse Gallery in Wenatchee, April 15-30, 2022.

An open call on Instagram was announced in March to artists residing in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, British Columbia and Idaho looking for their finest collage work (analog or digital) to go on exhibit. 45 artists were accepted into the open call and will have their work on display at the gallery. All work is priced at $150 or below.

“Last year we had our first Paper Cuts exhibit at Collapse Gallery and it was a very special event. We had artists come in from all over the PNW region to celebrate art, make new friends and the following day we collaged together for hours. We loved having local Wenatchee residents come by and enjoy the art with us and share in the collage meet-up. Both events are open to the public and suitable for all ages. The more the merrier!” Co-organizer Kellette Elliott says.

For the Paper Cuts II exhibit, the only requirements were that the work must be a collage, smaller than 8x8 inches, and that they reside in one of the states mentioned above. Each artist could submit up to two pieces with no specific theme required.

“The artwork this year is astounding. We have artwork ranging in abstract to representational work, complex to minimal. Techniques using embroidery, transfers, printmaking and photography. It’s truly a wonderful breadth of work. We have artists that have been working professionally in collage for years like Clive Knights, Lydia Selk and Kevin Sampsell. We have other artists that sell their work at markets throughout the year like Andrea Lewicki and Lara Rouse. Artists like Tess Ettel, Cheryl Chudyk and Anna Maddox are not only regional collage artists, but are in the International Collage Club as well.”

Co-founders of the Pacific Northwest Collage Collective, Kellette Elliott and Laura Weiler organized this exhibit. Kellette Elliott is an art educator and working artist who has been published in magazines across the world, books and numerous freelance projects. Laura Weiler is a freelance artist with a college degree in the arts. She has used her skill in collage for album covers, books, magazines and large scale public art installations. After meeting at an art show they both had work exhibited in Portland, Oregon, they quickly became friends. They wanted to start a collage collective that highlighted artists of the Pacific Northwest and build a community through art shows and collage meet-ups. In January of 2021, their dream came true. They formed the Pacific Northwest Collage Collective which has over 100 members across 5 states, 2 countries.

There will be an opening reception at Collapse Gallery Friday, April 15 from 4-9pm. Then the following day they will host a collage making session open to all ages at the gallery from Saturday the 16th, 10-3:30pm. Materials will be provided, or you participants may bring their own.

On Instagram: @pnwccollagecollective @collapse_gallery

Collapse Gallery 115 South Wenatchee Ave. in WenatcheeWashington 98801 Open Fridays and Saturday

ARTISTS FEATURED IN THE EXHIBIT

Grayson Schoenbine Laura Weiler

TRAVELING EXHIBIT COMES TO

MOSES LAKE MUSEUM & ART CENTER

By Ron Evans

This Friday The Moses Lake Museum And Art Center will be premiering a collection of WWII era posters with a focus on the relief and recovery eff orts.

“Work, Fight, Give: American Relief Posters of WWII off ers a wide-ranging collection of original relief posters and memorabilia that provides an exciting new window on understanding a watershed event in our nation’s history. Work, Fight, Give is the fi rst exhibition to challenge our traditional memory of World War II, putting relief efforts at the forefront through an array of visually exciting poster art, poster stamps (known as “Cinderellas”), photographs, banners, and programs issued by the various relief agencies and by the National War Fund—an agency created by Franklin Roosevelt in early 1942 to consolidate the hundreds of relief agencies that sprang up to aid those countries and peoples devastated by war.” ~ A synopsis snippet from ExhibitsUSA

The show opens Friday, April 1 with a reception and speaker presentation from 4-7 p.m. I reached out to the museum’s manager Dollie Boyd for more details about the collection.

Tell us what appealed to you about this particular traveling exhibit?

We like to host traveling exhibits that highlight our collective history. This exhibit appealed to us because of the chance to explore a deeper topic of World War II history, namely the eff orts to recover from the devastation of war. Little did we know when we booked the show almost two years ago, it would be such a timely topic.

At the opening this Friday night we will have a speaker delivering a presentation about missionary spies of WWII, there will be food, and a free craft activity for adults.

How many pieces are on display?

There are 41 pieces in the show, 40 original posters and one object, an original donation collection box from the WWII era. Work, Fight, Give was curated by collector, author, and professor Dr. Hall Elliot Wert. It is on loan from ExhibitsUSA, a division of the Mid-America Arts Alliance.

What’s the largest piece on exhibit?

The largest piece is a framed poster depicting Uncle Sam riding into battle - it measures 51 5/16” x 35 5/8” framed. It’s a very dramatic, warrior-like version of Uncle Sam. One of my favorite pieces is for Greek war relief. The graphics are very bold and remind me of B-movie posters from the 50s. Most of the posters are quite dramatic and unfl inching in their portrayal of the eff ects of war.

Is the focus more about the message of the posters, or the art? Both? Strange question maybe but there are certainly multiple facets to a collection of this type.

I think it’s about both. You can tell the posters were designed and illustrated by true artists. The graphics are eye-catching and in many cases, beautiful. There are panels throughout the exhibit that give you historical context to the creation of these posters.

I hope people will appreciate the aesthetics of the collection and gain a bit more knowledge about this pivotal time in our history. I imagine there will be discussions about current relief eff orts for displaced Ukrainian citizens. We intend to have information available to our visitors on how they can donate to current relief eff orts.

What’s coming up down the road for the museum?

Our next show opens May 6. It’s a group show from the Women Painters of Washington, Eastern division. Also, going on right now in the Community Gallery is a show called Honor Thy Father, by Prosser artist James West Nelson.

Any links you wanna share?

Moseslakemuseum.com.

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MANY MOONS WILL RISE THIS APRIL

Bernadine Phillips LoriAylsworth

BrianMunoz

This Friday sees the premiere of a new art exhibit at Lemolo Deli & Cafe in downtown Wenatchee. FEATURING: BERNADINE PHILLIPS, MARTHA FLORES, LORI AYLSWORTH, BRIAN MUNOZ, DAWN KRANZ, JULIE EDWARDS, MARY BIG BULL LEWIS, KASEY KOSKI The show, titled “Many Moons” is a presentation by Dangerous Women - a diverse collective of female (and some male) artists based in the center of Washington State. Here is what Creative Director/Producer for Dangerous Women, Rhona Baron, says MANY MOONS IS HUNG IN ANTICIPATION OF “UNSETTLED,” WITH ORIGINAL about the exhibit and its connectivity to the stage performance. PERFORMANCES BY DANGEROUS WOMEN’S CREATOR/CAST. COMING MAY 20 AND 21 TO “Dangerous Women needed a narrator that could fl oat outside of time

SNOWY OWL THEATER AND NARRATED BY THE MOON, UNSETTLED ILLUMINATES THE for our 2022 theatrical production, Unsettled. The moon is traditionally feminine, recognized as an ancient

HISTORY OF CENTRAL WA THROUGH THE EYES OF INDIGENOUS AND PIONEER WOMEN. by indigenous people and a symbol of feminine power in other traditions. Kathy Smithson will play the moon in Unsettled, with poetic script written Unsettled Tickets: 509- 548- 6347- Icicle Creek Center for the Arts once again by the duo of Rhona Baron

and Ari Gabinet. Because the moon is so visually compelling, we decided to stage our fi rst visual art show, inspired by the moon. Why did we need a narrator who fl oated outside of time? Because the blending of diff erent cultures and their traditions on stage pushed me, as Creative Director, away from conveying a story in linear time. Instead, the audience will experience women’s history through the lens of changing seasons, overseen by many moons. Dangerous Women is thrilled with the quality of work being provided by a variety of image makers, and deeply appreciative of those who are donating all or part of sales to our non profi t group, sponsored by the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center.” MarthaFlores