Category Archives: Arts

Arts

Beacon Hill animator tells a “whale of a tale”

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Beacon Hill animator Tess Martin.
Tess Martin, animator, resident of North Beacon Hill, and world traveler, decided to put visuals to a whale of a tale she initially heard over a podcast called “Animal Minds.” The story involving a whale first trapped, then freed by a caring fisherman, “It raises a lot of questions about animal consciousness,” she says. “How much do we know about it, how will we ever know? That sort of thing. The story stuck with me, and when I got the chance to work at such a large scale I thought the whale story would be perfect.”

The “large scale” turned out to be part of the large red wall around the construction for Capitol Hill’s light rail —- which became the shifting canvas for the animated images in her three-minute finished film, The Whale Story. Working in public did have its challenges, she relates: “The film was animated mainly over two days — we accomplished all of the wide shots and mid-shots then. I later went back to the wall with the actor to re-shoot some close-ups. The second day it started raining really hard and that pretty much stopped the shoot. The rain was streaking the paint as we were trying to apply it. If you look closely during the film you can tell where this starts happening. But I decided to re-shoot some of these scenes in close-up later because it was just too messy.”

She also “learned to have a confirmed ride at the end of the shoot to schlep all your equipment back to storage. I ended up with way more equipment than I could carry and hadn’t properly arranged a car to transport it, and had to scramble at the last minute. Especially if it’s raining, this is no fun!”

Always busy, Martin next plans “Some animated segments for a documentary called Barzan about an Iraqi immigrant who was accused of terrorism and deported. It’s all in sand and I’ll be working on that for a while yet. Next up I will be going away on an artist residency in August to work on my next short about human-animal relationships. It’s a similar theme as The Whale Story, except a more personal look at pets.”

(The Whale Story plays at the Seattle International Film Festival as part of the “Animations For Adults” package of animated shorts on Saturday, May 26, 9:30 p.m. at SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N. Another short by Martin, Hula Hoop, plays for free on Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m. at SIFF Uptown as one of 11 winners of the Seattle Times and SIFF 3 Minute Masterpiece contest. For more information on Tess Martin and her work, visit http://www.filmandscissors.com/.)

(Photos courtesy of Tess Martin.)

A still from The Whale Story.
Arts, Local Events

Swingin’ sounds coming to Beacon Hill

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Photo by Reed George via Creative Commons/Flickr.
Music fans will want to swing on over to the Garden House over the next couple of weekends to enjoy two musical events presented by ROCKiT Community Arts.

This Sunday, May 6, at 6 p.m. the Sunday Folk Club brings Charlie Beck to the Hill to perform acoustic American roots music, traditional old-time country, and blues. Hear some examples of Beck’s music here. This show is a release party for Beck’s new CD, Leave on the Light.

HopSkipJump will open with new and old fiddle tunes. Admission is $5, free to ROCKiT members and kids 12 and under.

The following Saturday, May 12, at 7 p.m., it’s swing time for everyone with the 2012 Beacon Rocks! Swing Dance Fundraiser. Savoy Swing Club Performance Troupe will put on a demo, followed by a short swing dance lesson. Then the rest of the evening will be your chance to show off your moves to lots of swing music. There will be refreshments and raffles, and all funds raised will go to support the 2012 Beacon Rocks! music series.

All ages are welcome. Admission is $15; kids 12 and under by donation.

Arts, Education

BHIS tile mosaic to be unveiled Friday

Everyone is invited to Beacon Hill International School this Friday, April 27 for the unveiling of the new community tile mosaic mural. The unveiling celebration will take place from 1-2 p.m., starting with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the fifth graders, followed by a school-wide assembly.

The mural was designed by artist-in-residence Julie Maher from concepts created by students, parents, and community members, with the theme “We All Belong, A World of Learners.” (See previous local mural work by Maher here in this slide show.) A full year of work by the community went in to the creation of the mural, supported by a grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.

Beacon Hill International School is located at 2025 14th Ave. S. For more information about the project, see the website.

This was the basic design outline for the mural. This week, we'll get to see the finished work in full living color.
Arts, Volunteering and Giving

Beacon Hill contributes to “Spiral of Hope” in Lake Union Park

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Part of Beacon Hill will become a new temporary sculpture in Lake Union Park: “Spiral of Hope.” Thousands of tree branches from Dr. Jose Rizal Park and the greenbelt on the northwest side of Beacon Hill will be gathered and assembled by community volunteers to build the spiral, which will remain at Lake Union Park until June 17. The work is intended to give a diverse group of community members a chance to work together, as well as to stimulate thought and discussions about the issue of family homelessness.

Kiersten Throndsen of BHB news partner KOMO Communities recently posted about the project:

“Hope, opportunity, community – these are the words used to describe a new sculpture coming to Lake Union Park.

“‘We think art is an inspiring process,’ said Bryan Ohno, president of Urban Art Concept.

“Last fall, Ohno was approached by several students from Seattle University who shared a vision.

“‘They came to us and were wondering if we could use art as a tool to bring more awareness to family homelessness throughout the state of Washington,’ he said.

“Their idea sparked the ‘Spiral of Hope’ project.

“‘Usually someone is spiraling down, out of control but we are going to do the opposite, our spiral will soar up,’ said Ohno.”

Ohno worked with Beacon Hill resident Craig Thompson to organize the branch collection. Volunteers gathered branches at Rizal Park last weekend, but the project continues at the park this coming weekend as well (April 21-22). To join the volunteer project, sign up at the Facebook page, send an email to info@urbanartconcept.com with “Spiral Project Volunteer” in the subject line, or call 206-459-6857.

Volunteers are also needed to help build the sculpture on weekends starting on Friday, April 27 at Lake Union Park, 860 Terry Avenue North. The sculpture opens with a reception on Friday, May 18.

Arts, Local Events

Hot jazz and a swinging barn dance coming to ROCKiT’s Folk Club

Photo by Michelle Tribe via Creative Commons/Flickr.
The ROCKiT Community Arts Tuesday Folk Club is holding its last Tuesday show this coming Tuesday, March 27. Have no fear, the folk is not going away — instead, it’s moving to First Sundays, with the first show just a few days later on April 1. No foolin’.

Tuesday’s show features the Chicago 7, playing jazz of the 1920s and ’30s. According to their website, the group, organized by trombonist Marc Smason, is “a salute to, and extension of, the polyphonic early hot jazz styles of New Orleans, Chicago and New York.” Here’s an audio clip: “More Than You Know.”

The show will open with a performance by Washington Middle School Alternative Strings. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the cover charge is $5 for adults, free for kids.

The following Sunday the Folk Club debuts on Sunday nights with a Garden House barn dance featuruing fiddler Tony Mates and caller Charmaine Slaven. Cover for this one is $7 for adults, and free for kids. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

Both shows are, as always, in the Garden House, 2336 15th Ave. S.

Arts, Education, Local Events

Kimball Art Walk comes to Beacon Avenue 3/22

The first annual Kimball Art Walk is next Thursday, March 22 from 3 – 6 p.m. Beacon Hill businesses will display artwork by Kimball Elementary School students, and there will also be performances by the Kimball Elementary Ukulele Band, bead-making demonstrations, and more.

The art walk starts at Victrola Coffee and will continue to El Quetzal, Hello Bicycle, Bar Del Corso and beyond on Beacon Avenue South. Each site will host examples of Kimball kids exploring science, social studies, history, etc. through the arts.

Victrola Coffee is located at 3215 Beacon Ave. S.

Arts, Education, Local Events, Volunteering and Giving

Family films, music, and auction to benefit Rainier Valley Co-op Preschool

Click to see a larger copy of the event flyer.
Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool, located in the Beacon Hill Lutheran Church building on South Forest Street, is hosting a movie matinee, music party, and auction fundraiser on Saturday, March 24 from 10 a.m. until noon. The event will take place at the Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill (1515 12th Avenue). All proceeds go to support this community preschool.

The day will include two showings of Touch My Heart: Gentle Films on the Big Screen, a collection of film shorts from this year’s Children’s Film Festival, live music by Eli Rosenblatt, and a silent auction. Highlights of the auction will include desserts of the month, a handmade quilt, single-malt scotch whiskey tasting, landscape architectural consultation, bike tuneups, a watercolor and ink portrait commission of your child, a birthday party for 15 at Southgate Roller Rink, gift cards to local businesses, and a guided mushroom identification walk.

Tickets are $6 in advance, and $8 at the door. You can buy tickets for a 10:00 a.m. movie showing with the auction afterward, or for the 10:30 auction with a movie showing afterward at 11:30. The auction will run from 10:30-11:15. Please bring cash or checks for your tickets, concessions, and the silent auction.

For information about tickets, contact: rvcpmovies@gmail.com.

Arts, Local Events

Beacon Rocks! needs performers for 2012

Ichi Bichi performed at Beacon Rocks! last summer. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

The Beacon Rocks! summer music series will be back for its third season on Roberto Maestas Festival Street this summer, and performers are needed. This year’s family-friendly events will be June 24, July 29, and August 26, from 1-5 p.m.

Though the festival “Rocks!”, all styles of music and performance are welcome. Previous performers in the series have brought us trip-hop, blues, jazz, marimba, folk, and various kinds of rock, along with belly dancing, martial arts, modern dance, and more.

Performers may audition by sending links to music samples or descriptions of their performances to beaconrocks@gmail.com.

Beacon Rocks! is presented by ROCKiT Community Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to making music and art available to everyone.

Arts, Local Events, Neighborhood Pride

Community “sit in” to recognize volunteers and display art chairs

Art Chair #1, painted by Kathleen McHugh. Photo courtesy of ROCKiT space.
As we mentioned in the last Beacon Bits, ROCKiT is hosting a community “sit-in” on Saturday, February 4 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library to celebrate the completion of their art chair “fleet.” The chairs were decorated by more than 40 local artists and neighbors who volunteered their time to paint or collage chairs to be used at community events. The public is invited to this reception to view the finished chairs, enjoy free snacks, and celebrate all of the volunteers to took part in this and other ROCKit projects in 2011.

Among the festivities will be a singalong of an original song, “This Chair is My Chair”; a haiku treasure hunt, a game of musical chairs, and much more.

For more information, call 206-658-0187.