The following are Meet the Artist events completed by 2005 Fellowship recipients.

Seattle craft artist Ross Palmer Beecher organized two tile projects for the Adult Day Health program residents of Providence Mt. St. Vincent. Residents tiled individual terra-cotta flower pots, and collaborated on a large tiled fish mural of Beecher’s design for their spa room. During the two days, 30 residents, friends and family members participated, from 60 to 93 years old. Staff also dropped by, as well as a nurse who spent her day off working on the fish mural. There were several participants with poor eyesight, motor skills and slight dementia. They were shy at first, but after some one-on-one aid from Beecher, they, too, were having a ball. They even sang Andrew Sisters’ songs as they tiled! Beecher reported, “It helped me see that sharing my creative talents to a different unexpected audience broadened me as an artist and individual. I now see more opportunity and the importance of spreading art.”

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Lakewood poet Allen Braden met with over 40 Lower Columbia College students, faculty and members of the community to discuss how American poetry defines masculinity in the modern male. That evening, he gave a poetry reading, held at the Longview Public Library as part of the Northwest Voices series, to a crowd of almost 50 people and answered questions afterward.

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For his Meet the Artist event, Olympia filmmaker Devon Damonte visited the NOVA School in Olympia where he showed his 16mm handmade camera-less motion graphics. He projected one film on the stage of the school auditorium (a converted church sanctuary) to show the mechanics in action, and the other at the back of the room for a giant image with surround sound. “It was fun to interact with kids that are more media savvy than any generation in history, with an incredible range of tools at their fingertips, but a generation removed from the ‘old school’ clunky projectors and scratchy film that you can touch.” Putting the technology center-stage helped the students appreciate their place in technological history, and encouraged them to think “outside the box” about using tools in alternative ways to realize new visions. 

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Pullman musician Ryan Hare was the featured guest at the Composer Spotlight series at Jack Straw Productions, sponsored by the Washington Composers' Forum. Hare gave an audience-interactive talk on “Fighting the Imaginary Fight: Impulse and Irrationality in Music,” focused on finding solutions to two problems facing contemporary composers: 1) the conventional thinking that new music is neither accepted nor appreciated by the general concert-going public, and what if anything composers should do differently, and 2) the kinds of non-collegial, polemical sniping that sometimes occurs between groups of composers, and how such disagreements can be made more constructively, with the greater needs of new music in mind. The audience participated with comments and questions throughout. Hare also presented recordings of several of his recent pieces, encouraging further audience interaction via discussion regarding how the broader philosophical solutions Hare expressed have a correlation to the actual music. Eric Rynes performed Educe/Evoke for solo violin, and the event concluded with a reception and one-on-one interaction with audience members.

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Seattle writer Lyanda Lynn Haupt traveled to Jefferson Country Library in Port Hadlock for her Meet the Artist event. 35 people joined in Haupt’s discussion of her recent book, Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent, the writing process, and to learn about Artist Trust. The audience was mainly from Port Hadlock and neighboring Port Townsend, but a few also came from farther afield. Port Hadlock is a community very interested in the arts in general and writing in particular, so there was lots of lively discussion during Haupt’s talk and in more intimate groups afterwards.  

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Seattle milliner Jean Hicks visited Casa Latina’s Grupo de Mujeres and gave two felt-making workshops. Casa Latina is a non-profit organization servicing the Spanish-speaking migrant population in the greater Seattle area that offers a variety of services including a women’s group. During two separate classes in Seattle and Burien, Jean talked about her work accompanied by a quick slide show. The group was made up of women from Mexico, Guatemala and Venezuela who felted beads, bracelets and flowers. Some women in turn, taught and assisted their children making felt. Jean also answered questions about marketing and materials. After class in Burien, Jean, her son Asa and assistant Suzanne, were invited to join the group for dinner. Jean will return in May to teach a mother/child felt making class.

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Seattle writer Rebecca Hoogs and Catherine Wing (author of Enter Invisible) journeyed out to Walla Walla College and spent several hours with students of Professor Dan Lamberton, discussing poems the students had sent the authors in advance of their visit. After the workshop, Rebecca and Catherine were interviewed for the students' literary journal, The Gadfly. That evening they gave a public reading to 50 Walla Walla College students and faculty, Whitman College students and faculty, and community members. They each read and took questions from the audience. For many, it was their first poetry reading, so the authors took pains to talk about the genesis or structures of their poems, being careful to make sure that the audience had a good first experience with poetry. The audience was very attentive. Afterwards, they signed books and talked one-on-one with audience members.

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Musician Bill Horist visited Highline Big Picture High School for at-risk youth in Burien to teach an improvisational music workshop to seven musicians of varied skill levels and interest, and then present a concert for the entire student body. He also discussed his work in the Northwest's rich music community. Horist created a variation on John Zorn's improvised music game, “Cobra,” and, after brief one-on-one sessions with each musician during which they examined techniques both conventional and unconventional with which to improvise, they all spent a few hours together learning the rules of the game. Finally, they performed “Cobra” for the entire school.

“I felt very fortunate to work with such a willing group of musicians, many of whom I don't associate with otherwise, representing music idioms from metal to old-time songs, rap to goth and folk,” Horist reported. “The fact that these kids, completely unfamiliar and decidedly unconvinced about improvisation as a stand-alone art, were willing, not only to spend the day with me, but also to get up in front of the entire school and perform was a big inspiration for me.”

After the concert, students from the audience stepped out of established social circles to offer kudos to the musicians. A mother of one of the band-mates attended and was thrilled, as her son had never even performed for her at home, let alone in front of a whole school!

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For her Meet the Artist event, poet and Whitworth College English professor Laurie Lamon met with Mead High School students (Spokane) for a day of discussion, poetry reading and Q&A. In addition to discussing the students’ evolving work on their own poems, Lamon led a discussion of her own and others’ poems. It was a fascinating discussion as students explored the relation of memory to innocence and experience, and the depths of childhood awareness of the adult world of conflict, as well as the adult source of security and love. They discussed the inner lives of children and young adults, and a quote by Mark Strand from the poem “The Continuous Life” seemed a powerful touchstone for the students’ work and thought: “What of the neighborhood homes awash/in a silver light, of children hunched in the bushes,/watching the grown-ups for signs of surrender…”

Lamon also met with creative writing students and discussed what she believes to be the implicit moral value of creative writing as it articulates language and refines one’s experience with language itself. Lamon discussed poetry as the vehicle for correspondences, the relation of the big idea to the articulate “thing” or image; the students engaged in discussion about the way poetry helps them understand and explore their own sense of self and place in the world. Lamon read some of her own poems, and answered questions from both the students and the teachers about the generation of poems, the joy and complexity of reading poems, and the mysterious process of writing poems and trying to “teach” writing poetry.

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Seattle writer Stacey Levine celebrated the release of her novel Frances Johnson with a Meet the Artist event at Orca Books in Olympia. Levine and two other writers read from their new works, after which Levine led a writing game with the audience. All participants were given cue cards with nouns written on them, words typically seen in tales or myths (“mountain,” “grandfather,” “river,” “hunger”) as well as more contemporary words (“therapist,” “Retinol wrinkle cream”). The audience wrote down a recent dream while changing the narrative to include as many words from the cue cards as they could. They then happily read their new work aloud – as Levine reports, “They enjoyed the game and it contributed to their knowledge of the elements in the writing process.”

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For his Meet the Artist event, Spokane writer Samuel Ligon conducted a three-day poetry workshop with third grade students at Hutton Elementary School, Spokane. The project culminated with the “publication” of a chapbook of poems Ligon edited and assembled, Singing the Moon to Sleep, made up of the best of the student poetry written during the workshop. Workshop activities included discussions about the difference between poetry and prose, and the power of sound and image in poetry; an exploration of poetic language and potential shapes for poetry; readings by Ligon; formal poetry-writing exercises; discussion of each others’ work; and the writing of lots of new poems by the students. They also discussed the role of the poet, the writer, and the artist in society, what purpose the arts might serve, and how we engage the arts, whether as readers, writers, dancers, thinkers, viewers, painters, singers, etc. The last meeting was a poetry reading by the students. As Ligon reports, “Throughout this time in Mrs. Kline’s third grade classroom, the students revealed themselves to be strong readers, poets, and thinkers.”

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Spokane writer Tod Marshall’s Meet the Artist event, “Poetry: I, Too, Dislike It,” was billed as “an evening of music and poetry for poesiaphobes, poetry-haters, and even those who think they might kind of, sort of, like the art.” Marshall brought together literary and musical colleagues to the Cutter Theater in Metaline Falls for a whirlwind tour of English language poetry, accompanied by a live improvised soundtrack on various instruments. Marshall reported that “combining music and poetry made for a compelling outreach program that helped engage the audience with contemporary poetry.”  After an opening reception, during which attendees asked Marshall about poetry and his interest in the art, the readers proceeded through about 1,500 years of poetry in 50 minutes. Some parts of the program were pedagogical (Beowulf was read in Old English, and included commentary on the poem; Marshall read sonnets by Shakespeare and Billy Collins and discussed the differences); other parts of the program were humorous (including a poetic “cage match” between Alexander Pope and Frank O’Hara that pitted poems by each in a sort of “poetry slam,” and a Dorothy Parker reading that elicited lots of laughter). After the event, Marshall and his collaborators answered more questions and several audience members said they wished the event had lasted another hour. Metaline Falls is a mining and timber community of about population 375 in the most distant northeast corner of Washington. Nearly 40 people turned out for the event, about 10% of the town’s population… a stunning turnout!

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Bellingham writer and professor Brenda Miller traveled to Concrete, WA, to lead a workshop called “The Body of Memory: Writing Your Life Through the Senses” at the Upper Skagit Library. Library Director Margaret Studer advertised the event, and within days had a full workshop with a waiting list. Speaking to an eager and receptive group of 12, Miller shared with them the first essay she ever wrote, and they discussed the instinctual use of detail, form and structure inherent in that piece. She then discussed a chapter from her textbook Tell it Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction and led the participants in a four-part writing exercise in which they explored their earliest memories through use of the five senses and intuition. All the participants shared their work, amid tears and laughter, and Miller left with a promise to help them bring other writers to their community in the future. Margaret Studer said, “You gave our community a rare opportunity to learn more of the craft of writing… as you can see, our community is hungry for experiences such as this…. Our thanks, as well goes, to Artist Trust for its support in bringing this workshop here. In our remote little corner of Skagit County it is particularly meaningful to be able to offer such a high quality program. We look forward to more partnerships in the future.”

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Musician and filmmaker Robert Millis screened his documentary film, Phil Ta Khon: Ghosts of Isan, at the University of Washington’s Southeast Asia Center/Jackson School of International Studies. The film documents a traditional Buddhist “ghost festival” held yearly in Thailand’s Isan province that features beautiful handmade masks, ceremony, dancing, and endless live Thai mo lam music. Students and professors attended the free screening and stayed for questions and answers afterwards.

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Guemes Island ceramic artist Allen Moe presented his Meet the Artist event at the Anacortes Arts Festival, where he was the featured artist. The 45th annual Anacortes Arts Festival took place August 4-6, 2006, and this was the first year that the festival highlighted an outstanding Skagit County artist with an exhibit in the John L. Scott Focus Gallery. The festival featured a street block of “working artists” where Allen set up making his pots. He had his kiln (a 5-gallon can), a bag of tea-tanned chicken feet and fish skins, and photographs of him working in the field as well as of his past work. Down the block was the warehouse gallery where Allen had his work on display. According to Allen, “The best part was that EVERYBODY was looking – older people in wheelchairs, teenage girls dressed like Britney Spears, biker guys with tattoos. I’m used to showing my work in museums and art galleries where the audience is pretty much limited to the ‘art crowd’ and this was something entirely different. It was amazing to witness the response.”

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Bainbridge Island filmmaker Lucy Ostrander showed her most recent film, Finding Thea, a documentary on the life of Thea Foss – better known as “Tugboat Annie” – at the Everett Public Library. Ostrander introduced the screening by describing how she became involved in making the film, and afterwards, answered questions from the audience. Ostrander writes, “It has been a tremendous honor for me to have been selected as an Artist Trust Fellow and it has allowed me to continue to pursue making documentary films.”

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Seattle writer Ann Pancake held her Meet the Artist event on the Washington State University campus in Pullman. She first gave a reading from her novel Strange As This Weather Has Been at the Washington State Art Museum. Over 80 people attended, and the reading was followed by a question and answer session at which many enthusiastic audience members participated. The next morning Pancake met with a creative writing class of 20 students and discussed fiction writing. “I’d never even been in that part of the state, and it was a great experience,” Pancake reported.

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Seattle filmmaker David Russo held his Meet the Artist event at Roosevelt High School in Seattle. His films Pan With Us and Populi were used to augment Philosophy and Literature students’ studies of the World War I era, among other general interests. Russo reported, “I was astounded at the impact that poetry can still have on young people despite their being drenched in commercial media,” and was “bowled over by the genuine cascade of applause” that followed his live reading of poetry featured in the films. “I’ve heard about that rare ‘lit-up eye look’ that teachers sometimes speak of and treasure – I think I got a glimpse of it in that moment. It was very uplifting.” Russo also related a little bit of his own troubled history in school (he graduated nearly illiterate) and how his own study of art and literature turned into a saving grace in his life. “The experience turned out to be memorable and invigorating.” A letter Russo received from one of the students afterwards said that the students rated their visit with Russo one of their favorite parts of the course.

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Seattle musician Miho Takekawa held a CD release concert at the Ethnic Cultural Theater in Seattle with her band, the Miho & Diego Duo. The 30 audience members (who braved a major snowstorm to attend) were treated to a program featuring original compositions as well as covers, combining Japanese folk music with Andean and other South American music.

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Nancy Worden taught a jewelry workshop at Toppenish High School for her Meet the Artist event. The art teacher, Laura Wise, had introduced copper enameling and glass bead making, and wanted a jeweler to teach her students to solder and work in silver. Worden wrote a proposal to the Seattle Metals Guild for money to buy enough silver for 28 students to make a ring. The Guild sponsors a statewide exhibition of metalwork made by high school students as part of their educational outreach program; they were enthusiastic about the workshop and generously donated $500 for the silver.

There are about 750 students at Toppenish High School and the population is about 50% Native and 50% Hispanic; 98% of the students receive a free or reduced lunch and breakfast. Many of the students literally come to school to eat, and most of the students come from cultures that revere artists and the arts.

Ms. Wise arranged for her advanced art students to be excused from their other classes so they could spend the whole day focused on Worden’s workshop. Ms. Wise also promoted Worden’s visit to the administration and student council and as a result, other teachers dropped by throughout the day to observe the workshop. The student response was amazing: they sent representatives from the student newspaper and the closed-circuit-student-run-television station to interview me. Worden reported, “The entire school went out of their way to make me feel welcome; in fact, they treated me like a celebrity. I have been teaching workshops around the country for many years to both kids and adults, but I can honestly say I have never been treated as respectfully or as enthusiastically as the way I was treated at Toppenish High School.”

In one day, the students learned to use a jeweler’s saw, a drill press, hand files, pliers, hammers, mallets and stamps. Every student learned to use a torch and successfully soldered a ring. They also had an interesting discussion about the importance of jewelry in human cultures and interpretations of content in contemporary jewelry. At the end of the school day, the kids didn’t want to leave and Ms. Wise finally had to pack up the tools and shoo them out.

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Mark Zirpel visited Wilson High School in Tacoma to meet with the advanced students in the glass blowing workshop headed by Patricia Davidson. Zirpel talked about the challenges he has experienced as a working studio artist and showed slides of his current work, with an emphasis on conceptualization and a mixed-media approach to making art. This was followed by a demonstration in the hot shop of some alternative ways of handling hot glass and concluded with a musical interlude in which Zirpel played a glass saxophone he created. Judging by their rapt attention, this visit proved to be a valuable addition to the students’ regular studio activity. Zirpel talked with the students about the development of technical skills and the role they play in self-expression, the problem of the marketplace, motivation and sustained commitment as essential components in a life dedicated to creative activity.