Whidbey Summer Open Studio Tour: A Belated Recap

Well, I promised a couple of weeks ago that I was going give more details for the artist’s tour I did on Whidbey, but life got a bit maniacal. So, here we are, a bit late, but, well, here we are.

The tour covers the whole island, from the southernmost tip all the way up to Oak Harbor. Check out the map below, giving the studio locations.

We only explored the southern parts of the island, focusing on Freeland and Langley. And we pretty much just went from our first to the next closest, and so forth. For a tour that’s got some geographic spread, this seemed the best way to go.

First we stopped at Sharon Spencer’s studio. Her work combines native American themes and styles, along with some asian influence. What I saw was amazing, but I deeply delighted in the architecture of the studio itself. Allowing plenty of tree filtered light in, I felt at home in this very northwest styled space.

Sharon Spencer's "The Embrace"
Sharon Spencer’s “The Embrace”

Our remaining sites blurred together, order-wise. So I’ll put them here in random order.

I love Codie Carman’s use of color and line. Very bright and cheery. Her paintings make me think of island life at its best.

Painting by Whidbey Island's Codie Carman
Painting by Whidbey Island’s Codie Carman

Christi Shaffer’s pottery delighted me deeply. I love the intersection of functional and elegant her work brings.

Penelope Crittenden’s sculpture’s modern elegance warmed my soul. Oh, and since I love owls, too, her work has a happy place in my heart.

The proverbial last but not least was Gina Michel’s glass art. One piece she had on display (not the one below) charmed the musician in me deeply. An electric guitar, made of glass. Though not playable, it was still rather awesome. She told us about crafting a piece from an old harp. The photos were amazing! Amazing enough that it was bought by a music school to inspire those students.

 

I plan to make the 2019 tour (August 24 & 25, 2019). And, perhaps, budget even more time and explore further. I might even be clever and bring my camera.

Snohomish County Youth Choir Summer Serenade 2018

I’ve been involved with this choir for about two years now. My son sings with them and I’ve known the director for years. I think very highly of them and couldn’t recommend them more.

Do you love to sing? Love being on stage? Need to prep for choir auditions at school? Want to learn how to sing a solo? Would you like to make new friends, try out instruments, learn to sing different styles of music, and have fun?

COME SING OUT LOUD AT SUMMER SERENADE!

Presented by Snohomish County Youth Chorus

WHEN: Monday 7/30 – Friday 8/3 9am – 12pm

WHERE: Trinity Lutheran Church, 6215 196th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036

WHO: Students entering Grades 3-12

WHAT: A fast-paced week of music and fun for kids who love to sing.

No experience necessary!

Group and solo singing, hand percussion, chimes/handbells, and miniperformances/ AMA sessions with local professional musicians! Daily snack. Friday showcase for friends and family.

Instructors: Emily Herivel, Director
Karen Larsen, AccompanistGUEST Artist 1 – Norma Aamodt-Nelson, Piano/Organ/Harpshichord
GUEST Artist 2 – Paul Miranda, Drums
GUEST Artist 3 – Austen Shulyer, GuitarCost per camper: $175 ($140 for additional campers from the same family)

REGISTER NOW!

Food Trucks: Making Festivals Better

One thing I noticed about the Edmonds Arts Festival yesterday: food. Once upon a time portable food vendors were, well, mediocre at best. Often times they were dreadful, to the point of promising almost certain food poisoning. Quality was job two. 

We’ve shifted from food trucks to, um, foodie trucks. Better put, food trucks are evolving. They’re becoming exercises is culinary creative excellence. This change is a beautiful thing, which I welcome. They add a new, positive element to our region’s festivals. 

Does this upscaling come at a cost? Are they more expensive, making living in the region tougher for those earning less than the median! Or just uppity, gentrified fare challenging the more traditional palette? It seems we are able to have a blend of costs, foods and styles. So, I’m not concerned. I often wonder about such things, though. I desire the region to be accessible to all. 

Higher quality food enriches the whole experience. I’m pleased at this change, seeing it as progress. 

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Today was a perfect day to be out and about in Edmonds

It was a fun day down in Edmonds by the Bay. Stunningly beautiful with plenty of sunshine: a perfect day to be outside, with the Saturday Farmer’s Market, the Edmonds Arts Festival and extreme low-tide.

I’ve been dealing, lately, with some foot pain, and my back’s been bugging me, which drug my attitude down some. But it’s hard to be too grumpy when it’s a beautiful, sunny day spent with family and friends.

Highlights:

  • Grabbed groceries and lunch from the Edmonds Farmer’s Market. Today was the first day with the big/full market.
  • Ran into the Bald Fish Guy at Edmonds’ Olympic Beach Visitor Station. I love watching all the folks checking out the touch tank! Oh, he told me there’s a new edition of his podcast, Aquacast,coming out soon. Make sure you check that out.
  • Wandered along the beach from Olympic to Brackett’s Landing, checking out the tide-pools and marine life during our extreme low-tide. You can go tomorrow, too, if you missed today. Or if you just love this! Here’s a tide chart with details.
  • I know it’s kinda silly, but I am very fond of the Edmonds Beach Temperature taker dude (No shirt? No shoes? No problem!). Bill Lindsay is a fascinating guy to talk with. Though I didn’t chat with him today, I have in the past.
  • It’s the Edmonds Arts Festival. Wandered through checking out art, some of the student artists are friends with my son, which is fun. I delight in these person connections. We also had some ideas while exploring the photography exhibit, that we’re looking forward to exploring. It will be going on tomorrow as well.

It was lovely, and I am tired. I took plenty of photos, which I’ll upload tomorrow. Here is my favorite.

I was sitting by this bush with flowers the bees adored. After taking around a dozen photos with my Olympus, but the autofocus hated this. The breeze was bouncing the flowers and the bees were, well, being bees. I gave up on the good camera, pulled out my Samsung S7 and was able to grab this one. I did need to zoom in and crop a bit. A lot of work for this one.

 

IMG_20180616_220411_847.jpg

Celebrate the New Year, Edmonds Style

I was asked earlier today for a list of “what’s going on” New Year’s Eve in Edmonds. I hadn’t put much thought as I’m planning on spending the evening with friends (I’ll be in the Edmonds Bowl, just so you know), but thought I’d dig through my memories and the web and pull together a quick list.

First, I want to point out that Kathy Passage over at My Edmonds News has list of holiday events and such in her most recent article. She’s pretty cool: go check her out!

Anyway, I’ve pulled out a list of specifically New Year’s Eve stuff, focusing on the “ringing in 2018” (aka: out after midnight) stuff.

New Year’s Eve:
Looking for something outside of Edmonds? Well, here are a few other options for you.
Oh, and there’s New Year’s Day:
Polar Plunge! https://www.facebook.com/events/154410931849531/. This event is a long-standing tradition in our community. It took some work, but we managed to keep the event for disappearing. If you’re a fan of freezing your butt off, come join the party! I doubt that you’ll lose any butt-mass, so it’s not a recommended way to start your weight-loss resolution, but, whatever.
If you know of something I missed, please drop it in the comments and I’ll update the post. No offense shall be taken! Actually, there’ll be much rejoicing (yay.).
Wishing each of you a wondrous New Year’s Celebration and productively joyous 2018!

Motivational Thought by Eric Whitacre

I’ve loved Mr. Whitacre for years, ever since discovering his Virtual Choir projects (if you haven’t experienced them, go do so right now…I’ll wait).

I appreciate this post. Music runs deep within me. I find inspiration, focus and energy within the dancing notes. The reminder of its power: important.

What does music mean to you? I’ve talked with folks who feel “music…meh…” That’s something I can’t comprehend. Just so alien to me.

Has music saved you? Brought you focus and drive? Are there any songs that you turn to? I’d love to hear your stories.

Compline at St. Marks Cathedral

Every Sunday night at 9:30, Seattle’s St. Marks Cathedral hosts compline. For those not versed in Anglican church history, compline is sung evening prayer, harkening back to monastic traditions. They’ve been performing this weekly for decades.

It was compline that attracted me to the Episcopal church. After attending the service for several months, a friend of mine and I tried regular worship. And I became a member there, staying for several years. Met several of my dearest friends there, and it’s s key piece of my faith journey.

Many years ago, KING FM started broadcasting the service live. At one point, they shifted to playing a recording of the week prior. I’m listening to that right now.

I’m flooded with memories. Of this massively diverse array of humanity and it’s conditions. There are millionaires sitting eith street people. All are welcome, and all hold the moment holy

Someday soon I hope to introduce my son. Such a deep, powerful and rich part of my life, and Seattle’s. I want it to be part of his experience, too.