Welcome to the newsletter for artists and the people who love their work. Always free. Always full of cool shit.

Shows worth seeing

1. Tacoma Art Museum (Tacoma, WA)

art-collecting.com

• Exhibition: Project NW: Epiphany Couch, č’adac (Inheritance)

  www.tacomaartmuseum.org

• Dates: On view through August 30, 2026

  www.tacomaartmuseum.org

• Location: 1701 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA

• Overview: Features interdisciplinary works by artist Epiphany Couch, exploring Coast Salish lineage, family history, beadwork, and material culture through reclaimed textiles, archival imagery, and mixed-media sculpture.

  www.tacomaartmuseum.org

2. Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR)

• Exhibition: Yinka Ilori: Mountains Full of Blessings

• Dates: Opens August 8, 2026

• Location: 1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR

  portlandartmuseum.org

• Overview: A vibrant, large-scale installation by British-Nigerian designer and artist Yinka Ilori, combining playful architectural forms and color theory inspired by traditional Nigerian parables.

3. Frye Art Museum (Seattle, WA)

• Exhibition: Tom Lloyd

  fryemuseum.org

• Dates: On view through September 20, 2026

  fryemuseum.org

• Location: 704 Terry Ave, Seattle, WA

• Overview: Highlights the kinetic light sculptures and electronic wall assemblages of late-1960s pioneer and activist Tom Lloyd, exploring rhythm, technology, and Black representation in the art world.

  fryemuseum.org

4. The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho (Idaho Falls, ID)

• Exhibition: Walking the Divide: Joshua Graham

  www.theartmuseum.org

• Dates: On view through October 3, 2026

• Location: 300 S Capital Ave, Idaho Falls, ID

• Overview: Features visual works inspired by ecological boundary regions, high desert terrain, and the surrounding natural environment of Eastern Idaho and the northern edge of the Basin and Range Desert.

  www.theartmuseum.org

5. Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (Spokane, WA)

www.prestonsingletary.com

• Exhibition: An Eye for Detail: European Paintings 1500–1900

  www.northwestmuseum.org

• Dates: On view through August 23, 2026

• Location: 2316 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA

• Overview: Drawn from a regional private collection, this exhibition brings together historical European paintings and portraits—featuring works attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder and Jan Steen—focusing on intricate visual details and narrative symbolism.

  www.northwestmuseum.org

6. Gallery One Visual Arts Center (Ellensburg, WA)

• Exhibition: Kirsten Furlong: To Talk About Trees

  www.gallery-one.org

• Dates: August 7 – August 29, 2026

• Location: 408 N Pearl St, Ellensburg, WA

• Overview: Multidisciplinary installations, detailed works on paper, and hand-stitched felt pieces addressing ecological bonds, native flora/fauna, and human environmental impact across Western landscapes.

  www.gallery-one.org

7. Russo Lee Gallery (Portland, OR)

online.flippingbook.com

• Exhibition: A EYE — Curated by Guest Curator John Hoke III

  online.flippingbook.com

• Dates: August 6 – August 29, 2026

• Location: 805 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR

  online.flippingbook.com

• Overview: A curated group exhibition investigating the intersection of contemporary visual art, design, and artificial intelligence, featuring work by Sherrie Wolf, Michael Brophy, Sally Haley, Heather Lee Birdsong, and Ka’ila Farrell-Smith.

  online.flippingbook.com

8. Gallery Onyx (Seattle, WA)

• Exhibition: 21st Annual Juried Art Exhibit

  www.onyxarts.org

• Dates: On view through August 28, 2026

• Location: 600 Pine St (3rd Floor), Seattle, WA

  www.onyxarts.org

• Overview: Showcases 60 works across painting, sculpture, and mixed media celebrating the creative output and diverse perspectives of Pacific Northwest artists of African descent.

9. Blackfish Gallery (Portland, OR)

online.flippingbook.com

• Exhibition: Amy Turnbull: Portraits of Perception

  online.flippingbook.com

• Dates: August 5 – August 29, 2026

• Location: 938 NW Everett St, Portland, OR

  online.flippingbook.com

• Overview: Large-scale oil paintings by Amy Turnbull exploring internal human narrative, identity, and truth through a contemporary lens on portraiture.

10. Waterstone Gallery (Portland, OR)

• Exhibition: Roberta Lampert & Anne Dosskey: Complicated Relationships

  online.flippingbook.com

• Dates: August 5 – August 30, 2026

• Location: 124 NW 9th Ave, Portland, OR

  online.flippingbook.com

• Overview: Tactile polychrome stoneware sculptures by Roberta Lampert presented alongside delicate ink-on-paper botanical studies by Anne Dosskey, exploring organic form and structural tension.

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DREAM JOBS

Thirty-five years ago, I was sitting in one of my very first ceramics classes at Whatcom Community College down at Boulevard Park, getting my hands dirty, falling head-over-heels for the Northwest creative landscape, and realizing that art is something we live, breathe, and build in community. Today, I am beyond thrilled (and genuinely humbled) to share some news that feels like a full-circle homecoming: I am officially taking on the role of MoNA Store Manager and Manager of Visitor Experience at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner. To call this a dream job would be an understatement. It’s a chance to step into a hall that has championed the heart and soul of PNW art for decades, and I couldn’t be more honored to pull up a chair at this table.

My path through this region’s art scene has never been a straight line, but it’s always been driven by grit, community, and an unshakeable belief in the power of hands-on creativity. From those early days in Whatcom, through more than three decades of teaching, hauling clay, organizing community installations, and building spaces grounded in real-world human connection, every single step has taught me something vital about what makes Northwest art so uniquely raw and resilient. Working in spaces like The Lucky Dumpster was never just about selling objects; it was about honoring the regional makers, celebrating upcycled resourcefulness, and creating a space where anyone who walked through the door felt an immediate sense of belonging.

That same ethos is exactly what I’m bringing to MoNA. The museum store and the visitor experience shouldn’t just be a pitstop at the end of an exhibit—they ought to be the front porch of the institution. They are where visitors digest what they’ve seen, where regional working artists find real support, and where the creative pulse of our community actually meets the public. I want every person who steps through those doors in La Conner—whether they’re a seasoned collector, an aspiring student, or someone who just wandered in off First Street on a rainy afternoon—to feel welcomed, inspired, and deeply connected to the stories being told here.

I step into this new chapter with deep gratitude for every single one of you who has followed this journey, supported independent art, and reminded me why we do this work in the first place. This isn’t just a new title for me; it’s an invitation to keep doing what we’ve always done—building real community around real art, right here in the Pacific Northwest. Come down to La Conner, wander through the galleries, stop by the store to say hello, and let’s talk art. I can’t wait to welcome you.

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Artist Opportunities

• Artist Trust Fellowship Awards

  • Details: Unrestricted $10,000 awards recognizing artistic excellence and dedication for practicing professional artists in Washington State.

  • Deadline: November 2, 2026

  • Application Link: Artist Trust Fellowship

• Innovate Artist Grant

  • Details: Grants of $1,250 awarded to visual artists and photographers to support dedicated studio time and creative projects.

  • Deadline: September 17, 2026

  • Application Link: Innovate Artist Grants

• MusicOregon Echo Fund

  • Details: $1,000 to $5,000 project and career expansion grants for independent musicians and music creators based in Portland.

  • Deadline: September 8, 2026

  • Application Link: City of Portland Small Grants Program

• MacDowell Residency Fellowship

  • Details: Fellowship providing 2- to 6-week studio residencies, housing, and meals in Peterborough, New Hampshire for visual and interdisciplinary artists.

  • Deadline: September 10, 2026

  • Application Link: MacDowell Residencies

• Jentel Artist Residency

  • Details: A one-month residency providing private accommodation, studio space, and a stipend in Banner, Wyoming for visual artists and writers.

  • Deadline: September 15, 2026

  • Application Link: Jentel Arts

• Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) Residency

  • Details: Retreat residencies providing private studio, room, and meals in Amherst, Virginia for visual artists, writers, and composers.

  • Deadline: September 15, 2026

  • Application Link: VCCA Application Portal

• City of Auburn Gallery Exhibition Open Call

  • Details: Call for 2D and small 3D artists/artist teams residing in WA, OR, or ID to exhibit work in Auburn municipal gallery spaces for 2027.

  • Deadline: September 2, 2026

  • Application Link: City of Auburn Calls to Artists

• City of Auburn Artist Project Support Call

  • Details: Funding ($500–$1,000) for Pacific Northwest artists to develop public-facing art projects and community programs in Auburn, WA.

  • Deadline: September 30, 2026

  • Application Link: City of Auburn Arts Opportunities

• The Creative Advantage Community Arts Partner Roster

  • Details: Open call by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture for teaching artists and arts organizations to join the approved roster for school residencies and workshops.

  • Deadline: September 30, 2026

  • Application Link: Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Submittable

• Gasworks International Artist Residency

  • Details: Fully funded 11-week residency in London, UK, including studio space, accommodation, travel, and living expenses for international visual artists.

  • Deadline: September 14, 2026

  • Application Link: Gasworks Residencies

Thank you for reading, sharing, participating in and supporting the arts.

Follow this link for your moment of Zen.

All my love,

Sara Young

THE FIELD GUIDE // 6 Must-See PNW Exhibitions Right Now

Art isn’t here to decorate your living room—it’s here to rearrange your mind. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to get off your screen, hit the road, and feel something real, here are six heavy-hitting exhibitions happening across the Pacific Northwest right now.

Grab your coffee, fire up the car (or hop on your bicycle), and go drink this in.

1. Dorothy Bird: A Retrospective

Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum | La Conner, WA On View: Through September 13, 2026

Dorothy Bird spent a lifetime proving that fiber is anything but soft work. This retrospective honors a fiercely independent Pacific Northwest trailblazer through multimedia sculpture, avant-garde wearable art, and innovative knitwear. It’s an uncompromising look at what happens when an artist refuses to put creativity on the back burner for a single second of her life. Go see what total creative autonomy looks like in stitch and form.

2. Carrying Tradition: Basketry of the Columbia Plateau

Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) | Spokane, WA On View: July 11, 2026 – May 30, 2027

Forget nostalgia; this is living, breathing continuity. Carrying Tradition brings you into the ongoing, active practice of Columbia River Plateau basket weaving, featuring historic and contemporary works (including recent pieces by master weaver Joey Lavadour). These woven forms carry food, knowledge, responsibility, and deep relationships to land and family. It centers weaving as a vibrant, resilient assertion of identity, care, and future-building—a masterclass in how hands and materials hold memory across generations.

3. Sacred & Contemporary Visions

Seattle Asian Art Museum | Volunteer Park, Seattle, WA On View: Ongoing / Rotating Galleries

Housed in its iconic Art Deco jewel box in Volunteer Park, SAAM offers an incredible masterclass in tactile precision, spiritual depth, and visual weight. From ancient Chinese Buddhist sculptures to contemporary explorations across the Pacific Rim, this collection forces you to slow down and consider how material culture mediates the sacred, the political, and the personal.

4. David Hockney: Works from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer

Portland Art Museum | Portland, OR On View: Through July 26, 2026

Six decades of relentless curiosity on full blast. Spanning over 200 works—from vivid California pool prints to monumental iPad drawings and photographic collages—this massive survey captures Hockney’s unquenchable obsession with perspective, technology, and human intimacy. It’s vibrant, topsy-turvy, and unapologetically alive. Catch it before it closes at the end of the month.

5. Lotus L. Kang: I hear the hollow boom of time

Frye Art Museum | Seattle, WA On View: Through September 27, 2026

Lotus L. Kang’s site-responsive installations explore impermanence, vulnerability, and the porous nature of bodies and environments. Utilizing unfixed photographic film, light, and delicate organic materials, Kang captures the eerie, poetic weight of time passing in real space. It’s subtle, unsettling, and undeniably gorgeous. (Bonus: Admission at the Frye is always free).

6. Decades in the Making: 10 Years of SOLA Awardees

Tacoma Art Museum | Tacoma, WA On View: Opens July 18, 2026

Founded to uplift mature women artists across Washington State whose work has consistently shaped our cultural landscape, SOLA (Support of Old Lady Artists) marks its 10th anniversary with a knockout group show. Celebrating mastery, endurance, and uncompromising vision, this exhibition is a testament to artists who keep creating through every decade, noise, and obstacle.

7. Ross Palmer Beecher: Speaking in the Vernacular

Museum of Northwest Art (MoNA) | La Conner, WA On View: Through September 20, 2026

Scavenged tin cans, wired metal, bottle caps, silk neckties, and old cigar boxes—Ross Palmer Beecher takes the debris of consumer culture and stitches it into raw, poignant Americana. Spanning three decades of her work, this survey exhibition draws on New England funerary art, offbeat folk traditions, and pure assemblage grit. It’s biting satire mixed with deep empathy for the human condition, proving that trash, when handled with enough obsession and craft, becomes immortal.

A RARE TREAT: This Saturday, July 18, the artist will be in the museum from 2-3 speaking about her work. Don’t miss this. She is an icon in the making.

Now stop scrolling and go make something—or go look at something that makes you want to.

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A Delightful Interlude- The Wabash Project

While passing out flyers for the upcoming MoNA programming, I happened into the WABASH project in Mount Vernon and had the opportunity to speak at length with owner Christine Chaney. This shop contains collected minutia, well crafted and executed pieces of art, as well as a feeling that everything in the space is worthy of consideration. This little shop is a part of what is making Mount Vernon a great place for artists and makers. If you haven’t gotten in to see this little gem, GO.

theWABASHproject

512 South 1st Street, Mount Vernon, WA 98273

For current hours go to google maps or @thewabashproject on Instagram.

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OPPORTUNITIES // Grants, Residencies & Calls for Art

Stop making excuses and start putting your work out there. Whether you need funding, uninterrupted time in a studio, or wall space, here are 10 legit opportunities across the PNW, nationally, and internationally.

Get your portfolio together and hit these deadlines.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

1. ARTS at King Street Station Exhibition Call

• Type: Exhibition / Gallery Call

• Location: Seattle, WA

• Deadline: September 29, 2026

• The Deal: The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture is seeking proposals for exhibitions, public programs, and installations at King Street Station. They provide venue space, administrative support, and funding to bring bold, community-centered ideas to life, with a strong focus on centering artists of color.

• Apply: Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

2. 2026 Ten By Ten Show

• Type: Juried Exhibition Call

• Location: Sequim, WA

• Deadline: August 31, 2026

• The Deal: Hosted by Blue Whole Gallery, this annual call invites artists of all mediums to submit small-format works (10x10 inches). It’s a great regional opportunity to showcase tight, refined work to a wide Pacific Northwest audience.

• Apply: Port Angeles Fine Art Center / Blue Whole Gallery

3. smART Ventures Grant

• Type: Micro-Grant

• Location: Seattle, WA

• Deadline: Rolling Monthly (Next review: August / September 2026)

• The Deal: Need quick, flexible funding for an upcoming art event, community project, or installation? Seattle’s smART Ventures awards up to $1,500 with a low-barrier application process designed to seed small-scale creative ideas quickly.

• Apply: Seattle.gov smART Ventures

NATIONAL

4. Golden Foundation Artist Residency 2027

• Type: Residency

• Location: New Berlin, NY

• Deadline: August 12, 2026

• The Deal: Designed specifically for artists working in paint and mixed media, this four-week residency provides dedicated studio space, private apartments, and access to the technical expertise of the Golden Paint factory. You get to test, push, and experiment with materials like nowhere else on earth.

• Apply: Golden Foundation Residency

5. Buckham Fine Arts Project Season 44 Call

• Type: Solo & Group Exhibition Call

• Location: Flint, MI

• Deadline: August 8, 2026

• The Deal: Buckham Gallery is taking submissions for its 44th exhibition season. Open to artists nationwide working in any media, this call accepts proposals for full solo shows, small group exhibitions, or curated concepts.

• Apply: Buckham Gallery / ArtDeadline

6. 2026 Artist Projects Grant (Round 2)

• Type: Project Grant

• Location: Columbus, OH / Open Regionally & Nationally for Collaborators

• Deadline: August 24, 2026

• The Deal: The Greater Columbus Arts Council awards grants for artists creating independent projects, performances, or temporary public works. If you’re partnering with venues or artists in the region, it’s a direct shot at funding active execution.

• Apply: Greater Columbus Arts Council

7. Dora Maar House Residency Fellowships

• Type: International Residency (US-Administered)

• Location: Ménerbes, France

• Deadline: October 15, 2026

• The Deal: Fully funded residencies ranging from one to two months for mid-career visual artists, writers, and scholars. Fellows receive private living space, a studio in the historic home of surrealist artist Dora Maar, and a daily stipend to focus completely on their work.

• Apply: La Maison Dora Maar

INTERNATIONAL

8. Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards 2026

• Type: Award / Publication Competition

• Location: Paris, France / Global

• Deadline: September 4, 2026

• The Deal: The premier international prize for photobooks. Open to artists, photographers, and self-publishers worldwide. Winning and shortlisted books are exhibited at Paris Photo and travel globally, offering massive exposure for print-based visual narratives.

• Apply: Aperture Foundation

9. BBA One Shot Award (Winter 2026)

• Type: Single Image Competition / Group Show

• Location: Berlin, Germany

• Deadline: August 3, 2026

• The Deal: One image, no filler. BBA Gallery in Berlin invites photographers and visual artists worldwide to submit a single defining image. Winners receive cash prizes, digital showcase features, and inclusion in an international group exhibition in Berlin.

• Apply: BBA Gallery Berlin

10. British Art Prize 2026

• Type: International Art Competition

• Location: London, UK

• Deadline: August 7, 2026

• The Deal: Open to artists of all levels worldwide, this major competition accepts works across traditional and contemporary media. Winners receive cash awards, national press coverage, and physical exhibition space in London.

• Apply: Artists & Illustrators / British Art Prize

Thanks for reading and supporting this newsletter. As always, subscriptions are completely free. Share with anyone who might be interested in solid art information from around the PNW.

Sara

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Shows around the West

1. Handmade Revolution: Craft in the Pacific Northwest | Salem, OR

• Where: Hallie Ford Museum of Art (Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery)

• When: June 13, 2026 – March 13, 2027

• Focus: Craft (Ceramics, Textiles, Glass, Wood, Metal)

• What: A massive institutional exhibition drawing from the museum’s core collection to map the history and lineage of studio craft in the region. Features over 60 pivotal works from iconic NW master makers, including Rudy Autio, Patti Warashina, Ken Shores, and Marie Watt.

• Link: Hallie Ford Museum of Art

2. Confluence: Where Forms Converge | Salem, OR

• Where: Salem Art Association (Bush Barn Art Center)

• When: Running through June 2026

• Focus: Craft (Woodcarving & Acrylics)

• What: A stunning collaborative group exhibition putting the hand-carved woodwork of Monica Setziol-Phillips and her Carvers Collective into a direct, textural conversation with the layered, atmospheric landscape paintings of Jude Morales.

• Link: Salem Art Association

3. The Educator’s Palette | Baker City, OR

• Where: Crossroads Carnegie Art Center

• When: July 3 – August 1, 2026

• Focus: Craft & Fine Art Mixed Media (Group Show)

• What: A regional group exhibition celebrating active and retired art educators from across Eastern Oregon. The showcase highlights the dual lives of these instructors as working studio artists, featuring an array of traditional ceramics, fiber art, egg tempera, and raw mixed media.

• Link: Crossroads Carnegie Art Center

4. Ellen George: seeds petals stones | Portland, OR

• Where: PDX Contemporary Art

• When: June 3 – 27, 2026

• Focus: Craft (Whittled Wood, Polymer, and Textile Reliefs)

• What: A delicate solo exhibition of intimately scaled tactile forms that mimic elemental shapes found in nature. George fills the gallery with wall sculptures built from whittled wood rods, hand-formed polymer, and button-thread drawings veiled under ultra-thin painted fabric.

• Link: PDX Contemporary Art

5. Art in the West | Bend, OR

• Where: High Desert Museum

• When: Opening July 18, 2026

• Focus: Fine Art & Craft (Group Show)

• What: A highly anticipated annual juried exhibition of over 130 contemporary and traditional works inspired by the High Desert region. Features a robust presence of high-end craft, including award-winning tribal basketry by Natalie Kirk (Warm Springs) constructed of yarn, seed beads, and smoked elk hide.

• Link: High Desert Museum

6. Matthew Picton: A Deeper Picture | Portland, OR

• Where: Elizabeth Leach Gallery

• When: June 4 – 27, 2026

• Focus: Fine Art (Sculptural Paper & Mixed Media)

• What: A solo exhibition of complex, highly intricate architectural and cartographic sculptures. Picton utilizes hand-cut paper, vintage maps, and archival texts to build three-dimensional topographies that investigate history, politics, and collective memory.

• Link: Elizabeth Leach Gallery

7. Refigured: Clay, Figuration, and Fragmented Bodies | Missoula, MT

• Where: The Clay Studio of Missoula

• When: June 2026 (Running Mid-Summer)

• Focus: Craft (Ceramics)

• What: A curated, contemporary group exhibition examining the human form through modern ceramic sculpture. The show highlights how independent clay artists manipulate figuration, gesture, and fragmented anatomical structures to explore modern identity and raw materiality.

• Link: The Clay Studio of Missoula

8. Cyril Hatt: Domestic Glitch | Seattle, WA

• Where: Greg Kucera Gallery

• When: June 4 – 27, 2026

• Focus: Fine Art (Sculptural Photography)

• What: An innovative solo show featuring Hatt’s “sculptural photographs.” The artist documents common household objects from every conceivable angle, prints the images onto paper, and manually staples them together over simple structures to re-engineer everyday reality.

• Link: Greg Kucera Gallery

9. Excellence in Fibers XI | Los Angeles, CA

• Where: Craft Contemporary

• When: Running through June 27, 2026

• Focus: Craft (Fiber & Textiles / Group Show)

• What: A major international survey landing on the West Coast that deeply investigates the expanding boundaries of contemporary textile and fiber art. The exhibition charts everything from centuries-old traditional weaving and quilting methodologies to radical, large-scale structural installations.

• Link: Craft Contemporary via American Craft Council

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  Thanks for reading PNW Artist Support!

Maybe You Were Meant to be a Musician

Sometimes you wonder. You wonder if you are on the right path. You question how you came to be the person sitting behind the desk, looking at graphs, charts, and columns of numbers. You wonder if you missed something. These are not just idle thoughts that float through the transom of your mind. These are the thoughts that wake you up at 2 am for no reason. It’s the strange ache inside you that you can’t explain or even locate. It’s the possible universe three over from this one where you are fully enmeshed in some type of creative project at least six months out of the year. It whispers to you. The echoes of this alternate universe fill your head- you believe you hear it calling to you from behind, but when you turn around all you see is the path you have chosen to walk in this one. Predictable. Safe. Steady.

You have done everything you thought you were supposed to do. You are by all accounts a “successful” human. Family, kids, job, housing. You live what some people call “The Dream”, except that it feels a bit empty to you, and there are moments when you wonder if it wasn’t your dream after all.

Or maybe, you love your life. You have everything you wanted. You have attained every goal you set your sights on in life. I mean, an extremely small fraction of people have this, but maybe you are one of them. Still, you have always wondered, what if you had stuck with piano? Or painting? Or writing? Or dance? Or comedy? Where would you be? Would you be happier? More whole?

I know it feels like you have all the time in the world, but you don’t. This might come as a shock to you, but some people die before they actually begin to live. It sounds crazy, I know. Or maybe it doesn’t. Maybe, you know people personally who died before they ever got a chance to live.

What’s holding you back? Doubt? Fear? The suspicion that you will try that thing you have always wanted to try, and find that you are no good? No good at all at that thing. That doing that thing you have always wondered about will not change anything.

But it will change everything. I know. I have seen it. I have taught hundreds of young to middle aged to very old-ish people different forms of art making, and most of them have walked away significantly changed. That’s because the object of any creative endeavor is not to be great at doing the thing. The real goal, the gift, is that this effort will make you even better at being you. While you are doing that creative thing, either well or badly, stuff will come out of you that you never knew was there. It might scare you at first. It might delight you. But the whole point of doing it is so that that ache inside you, the one you can’t name or locate, can be expressed, even if badly.

When you put yourself into an activity so much that you forget who you are supposed to be, who you are comes out naturally. That’s because that person has been waiting. Ever since you decided that you had to do the responsible, adult, expected thing, they have been waiting for an opportunity.

Humans are born creators, but due to our society’s blind drive to accumulate, and then measure that accumulation year after year, more of us are directed toward consumption than we are toward creation. We are trained to compete rather than build community.

Most of us have been advised to be practical because being an artist pays so little. When I told my dad I wanted to be an artist, he told me that going into the arts would keep me poor. But there is also poverty in a life half-lived, and it doesn’t have to be one or the other. It can be, has been, and will be, both. It is both for many people who give themselves the chance to follow their curiosity into the dance studio, the improv class, or the life drawing session.

Don’t wait to start. I know it’s scary. But creating something, anything, will show you sides of yourself that you will not believe. It will pull out stuff that will dazzle you.

Don’t wait. You can’t afford to be another person who has died before they had the chance to live.

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ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

July Deadlines

• NEA Grants for Arts Projects (GAP 2)

  • Deadline: July 9, 2026

  • What: The National Endowment for the Arts’ primary funding framework for organizations, collaborative art groups, and social practice collectives. It supports public-facing studio projects, community exhibitions, and visual arts installations that strengthen regional cultural landscapes.

  • Link: National Endowment for the Arts GAP Program

• “Trees and Water” Juried Exhibition

  • Deadline: July 10, 2026

  • What: Hosted by Black Box Gallery in Portland, OR, this international juried exhibition seeks photography and contemporary lens-based work exploring the interplay of nature, texturing, and environmental forms. Selected works will be featured in a gallery group show and publication.

  • Link: Black Box Gallery Calls via ArtDeadline

• Pioneer Works Visual Arts Residency

  • Deadline: July 13, 2026

  • What: A highly coveted residency in Brooklyn, NY, offering visual artists, makers, and multi-disciplinary creators free studio space, a significant financial stipend, and access to material fabrication labs (including 3D printing and wood/metal shops) to produce radical new bodies of work.

  • Link: Pioneer Works Residencies

• Loghaven Artist Residency

  • Deadline: July 15, 2026

  • What: Located on 90 forested acres in Knoxville, TN, this retreat is open to visual artists, sculptors, and makers. Residents receive a living stipend of $850 per week, travel reimbursement, and private live-work studio sanctuaries to foster uninterrupted creation.

  • Link: Loghaven Artist Residency via Creative Capital

• 2026 Capitola Plein Air & Exhibition

  • Deadline: July 17, 2026

  • What: A major California regional competition, exhibition, and art sale. Artists spend a dedicated week creating site-responsive studio work along the coast, culminating in a juried physical gallery exhibition with cash awards.

  • Link: Capitola Plein Air via ArtCall

August Deadlines

• Surel’s Place Artist-in-Residence

  • Deadline: August 1, 2026

  • What: Located in the Garden City/Boise, ID art district, this month-long residency provides steps-from-the-river housing, a dedicated fine art studio, and a living stipend. It is highly valued by independent creators who want to wrap up their time with a public workshop or gallery show.

  • Link: Surel’s Place Residencies

• PENTIMENTI Open Call: Contemporary Clay

  • Deadline: August 6, 2026 (Submissions open through mid-summer)

  • What: A dedicated contemporary group gallery exhibition celebrating innovations in modern ceramic art, studio pottery, and sculptural clay. Open to regional and national artists pushing the boundaries of raw material expression.

  • Link: Contemporary Clay via InLiquid

• NEA Challenge America Research Grants

  • Deadline: August 7, 2026

  • What: This special branch of the NEA offers project-based grants focusing on underserved community arts programming, public craft interventions, and collaborative folk/traditional arts preservation projects.

  • Link: NEA Grants

• 2026 Liu Shiming Artist Grants

  • Deadline: August 31, 2026

  • What: A global grant program created to fund visual artists, sculptors, and three-dimensional makers. It awards project funds to create new works that explore the rich friction between traditional craft methodologies and modern, contemporary artistic practice.

  • Link: Liu Shiming Art Foundation via ArtRabbit

• Quilt National ‘27 International Biennial

  • Deadline: August 30, 2026

  • What: Hosted by the Dairy Barn Arts Center, this is one of the premier international open calls for contemporary textile art, quilting, and fiber craft. Selected artists are launched into a major traveling museum exhibition showcasing fiber as a fine art medium.

  • Link: Quilt National via ArtDeadline

Thank you so much for reading!!! I will be publishing every two weeks or whenever there is something worthy of note. Have questions? Just reply to this email and ask!

Thanks for your support and readership. This newsletter is growing fast!

Shows around the PNW in June

1. Cyril Hatt: Domestic Glitch | Seattle, WA

• Where: Greg Kucera Gallery (Pioneer Square)

• When: June 4 – 27, 2026

• What: French artist Cyril Hatt presents a solo exhibition of his unique “sculptural photographs.” Hatt photographs everyday household objects from every angle, prints them on paper, and staples them together over simple armatures to reconstruct a distorted, fragile reality.

• Link: Greg Kucera Gallery

2. Drie Chapek: Then is Now | Seattle, WA

• Where: Greg Kucera Gallery (Pioneer Square)

• When: June 4 – 27, 2026

• What: Running concurrently with Hatt’s show, this solo exhibition features the heavily layered, evocative, and texturally rich abstract oil paintings of Pacific Northwest artist Drie Chapek.

• Link: Greg Kucera Gallery

3. Personal to Political: Celebrating African American Artists | Bellingham, WA

• Where: Whatcom Museum (The Lightcatcher Gallery)

• When: On view through June 28, 2026

• What: A powerful collective exhibition highlighting the vital printmaking history and fine art practices of African American artists working with Paulson Fontaine Press, including works by Martin Puryear, Kerry James Marshall, and Radcliff Bailey.

• Link: The Whatcom Museum

4. Summer Exhibition: Part 1 | Seattle, WA

• Where: Roq La Rue Gallery (Belltown / NW Work Lofts)

• When: June 13 – July 30, 2026 (Opening Night Reception: June 12)

• What: A stellar contemporary group show featuring notable new works from independent and pop-surrealist painters and sculptors, including Erika Sanada, Martin Wittfooth, Syd Bee, and Esao Andrews.

• Link: Roq La Rue Gallery

5. Matthew Picton: A Deeper Picture | Portland, OR

• Where: Elizabeth Leach Gallery

• When: June 4 – 27, 2026

• What: In his sixth solo show with the gallery, Picton presents intricate, historically layered sculptural works that utilize paper, maps, and text to explore geography, memory, and political history.

• Link: Elizabeth Leach Gallery

6. Willy Heeks: Intervals | Portland, OR

• Where: Elizabeth Leach Gallery

• When: June 4 – 27, 2026

• What: Running alongside Picton, Rhode Island-based painter Willy Heeks presents his ninth solo exhibition with the gallery, displaying fresh, highly expressive, colorful abstract paintings and fluid works on paper.

• Link: Elizabeth Leach Gallery

7. 2026 Oregon Contemporary Artists’ Biennial | Portland, OR

• Where: Oregon Contemporary

• When: Running throughout June 2026

• What: A massive, institution-wide survey defining the modern visual art landscape of the region. Titled The Price of the Ticket (inspired by James Baldwin), it features site-specific installations, mixed media, and collaborative projects from regional artists like Francesca Capone and the DeepTime Collective.

• Link: Oregon Contemporary

8. Andrew Vallee: Murmuration | Bellingham, WA

• Where: Whatcom Museum (Old City Hall)

• When: On view through June 2026

• What: Northwest sculptor Andrew Vallee utilizes locally sourced, salvaged hardwoods to create organic, fluid forms that comment on the regional landscape, forestry, and nature’s complex patterns.

• Link: The Whatcom Museum

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BACK IN THE PNW

The Pacific Northwest has long fancied itself a gritty, moss-covered sanctuary for the rogue creator, a place where people don’t just buy things—they grow them, forge them, throw them on a wheel, or stitch them out of refuse. The regional maker movement isn’t some quaint, precious hobby born out of aesthetic entitlement; it’s a fiercely protective ecosystem of artists, tinkerers, and studio rats who look at the sanitized, mass-produced drag of modern consumerism and choose the hard, calloused path of self-reliance instead. From hidden warehouse spaces in Seattle to radical backyard ceramic kilns in Bellingham, this subculture has spent decades elevating the act of physical creation into a form of quiet, community-driven rebellion. It’s a culture built on the belief that objects should carry a pulse, a lineage, and a sacred soul.

But let’s stop romanticizing for a hot second and look at the ledger, because the current economic landscape is a meat grinder for independent creative autonomy. The very spaces that allowed this community to experiment, fail, and build are being systematically choked out by predatory real estate speculation, astronomical supply chains, and inflation that treats an artist’s margins like an afterthought. When a studio lease doubles or the raw materials for a single glaze run require a small loan, the barrier to entry becomes a gate keeping out the exact voices who give the movement its teeth. We are operating in a hyper-optimized economy that demands maximum scale for minimum cost—a system designed to turn artisanal grit into corporate content or price it out of the neighborhood entirely, threatening to reduce a vibrant culture of resistance into nothing more than an expensive luxury for the few.

Yet, right at the edge of this dystopian slide, a beautiful, stubborn counter-offensive is taking root. As generative artificial intelligence floods the digital landscape with an infinite, frictionless sludge of perfectly synthesized, hollow garbage, a profound exhaustion is setting in. The more the world is saturated with algorithmic perfection, the more desperate people become for the flawed, the tactile, and the undeniably human. The bright spot for the Pacific Northwest maker is that the fingerprint has suddenly become the ultimate premium. When an object possesses the literal weight of an artist’s time, a visible tool mark, or the unpredictable warp of an open flame, it becomes an irreplaceable artifact of actual existence. In an economy obsessed with the virtual, the handmade isn’t just surviving; it’s being re-radicalized as the ultimate truth.

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ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

Here is a compiled list of 13 distinct professional artist opportunities—including curated gallery shows, studio residencies, and grants—across the West Coast, Pacific Northwest, Idaho, and Nevada, with deadlines hitting in July and August 2026.

July Deadlines

• Exhibition: 2026 PRAx Open (Oregon)

  • Deadline: July 1, 2026

  • What: A major juried fine art exhibition hosted by the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx). The show seeks visual art that deeply engages with the landscapes, histories, cultures, economies, or social dimensions of the places regional artists reside.

  • Link: PRAx Open Call

• Residency: Kala Artist-in-Residence Program (California)

  • Deadline: July 1, 2026

  • What: Located in Berkeley, Kala offers artists working in printmaking, photography, digital media, installation, and book arts 24-hour access to their state-of-the-art print studio and electronic media labs, alongside gallery exhibition opportunities.

  • Link: Kala Artist-in-Residence

• Grant: California Humanities “Connecting California” Grants (California)

  • Deadline: July 13, 2026

  • What: Quick grants designed to fund publicly accessible visual art events, social practice projects, and collaborative community exhibitions that actively strengthen social connection and public dialogue across California.

  • Link: California Humanities Grants

• Grant: The Lilja Family Fund / Oregon Community Foundation (Oregon)

  • Deadline: July 15, 2026

  • What: Project and operational grants supporting regional artists, cultural organizers, and community-centric creative programs aiming to enrich the local community landscape of southern Oregon.

  • Link: Oregon Community Foundation Grants

• Exhibition: 2026 Finley Art Call (Oregon)

  • Deadline: July 15, 2026 (System portal closes August 1 for late processing)

  • What: A regional juried fine art exhibition open to West Coast and Pacific Northwest visual artists looking to showcase new physical works within a dedicated gallery environment.

  • Link: Finley Art Call via ArtCall

August Deadlines

• Exhibition: The Galleries at SCC Solo & Group Submissions (Washington)

  • Deadline: August 1, 2026

  • What: An open call for regional Pacific Northwest contemporary artists to submit exhibition proposals for the upcoming 2026–2027 gallery season. Open to solo artists and curated group proposals across all fine art and sculptural mediums.

  • Link: The Galleries at SCC via EntryThingy

• Residency: Surel’s Place Artist-in-Residence Program (Idaho)

  • Deadline: August 1, 2026 (Submissions open mid-summer)

  • What: Located in the live-work artistic hub of Garden City (Boise), Idaho, this coveted residency offers professional artists a month-long stay with a fully equipped studio, a living stipend, and hosting for a public gallery exhibition or workshop.

  • Link: Surel’s Place Residencies

• Exhibition: Sierra Arts Foundation Gallery Proposals (Nevada)

  • Deadline: August 15, 2026

  • What: Reno’s premier non-profit arts foundation opens its annual call for local and regional West Coast artists. Selected artists are granted a solo or small-group month-long exhibition at the Sierra Arts Gallery, complete with marketing and opening reception support.

  • Link: Sierra Arts Foundation

• Grant: Nevada Arts Council Project Grant for Artists (Nevada)

  • Deadline: August 20, 2026

  • What: A competitive grant providing up to $3,000 to individual Nevada-based fine artists to fund the production, fabrication, framing, or gallery presentation of upcoming visual arts projects.

  • Link: Nevada Arts Council Grants

• Exhibition: “Fresh Off the Easel” Juried Show (West Coast Regional Eligibility)

  • Deadline: August 30, 2026

  • What: A traditional fine art gallery call looking for recent, un-exhibited contemporary studio work. Offers cash awards up to $1,000 and serves as a direct scouting pipeline for independent artists seeking commercial gallery representation.

  • Link: Fresh Off the Easel via ArtDeadline

• Residency: Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency (Bainbridge Island, WA)

  • Deadline: Applications open July 15, 2026 (Closes September 1, 2026)

  • What: A prestigious residency program on a 150-acre forest estate designed to give artists an uninterrupted sanctuary to connect their creative practice with the natural world. Open to visual artists, sculptors, and makers, it provides on-site housing, unlimited access to the reserve grounds, and a quiet space to develop new bodies of work.

  • Link: Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency

August Deadlines

• Exhibition: The Galleries at SCC Solo & Group Submissions (Shoreline, WA)

  • Deadline: August 1, 2026

  • What: An annual call for contemporary Washington artists to submit proposals for the upcoming gallery exhibition season. This opportunity is highly suited for individual fine artists or curated groups looking to secure a professional, month-long physical gallery showcase for two-dimensional or sculptural installations.

  • Link: The Galleries at SCC via EntryThingy

September Deadlines

• Exhibition: 2027 Site-Specific Art Galleries Call (Auburn, WA)

  • Deadline: September 2, 2026

  • What: The City of Auburn is seeking regional Pacific Northwest artists to design and execute three-dimensional, site-responsive, or immersive gallery installations for their public-facing art spaces (including the Art on Main and Vault galleries). Selected artists are awarded a public exhibition slot spanning three months in 2027.

  • Link: City of Auburn Art Galleries via EntryThingy

Thanks for reading! It’s great to be back. This monthly publication will never cost a thing so feel free to share with any artists/collectors you know.

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A strange thing is happening with this newsletter. It’s being shared on an exponential level. The readers, (you, I’m assuming), of this newsletter have been numbering about four times the number of subscribers. This very rarely happens, and I’m happy people are finding value in it.

SHOWS AROUND THE PNW

1. Personal to Political | Whatcom Museum, Bellingham

This isn’t just an exhibition; it’s a masterclass in the intersection of fine art printmaking and social urgency. Featuring works from the Paulson Fontaine Press, you’ll see how African American artists are using the technical precision of intaglio to navigate heavy cultural terrain. For those of us obsessed with the “how” of a piece, the mark-making here is transcendental.

2. Wallflowers | Frye Art Museum, Seattle

If you think floral still lifes are “quaint,” prepare to be corrected. The Frye has paired 19th-century paintings with newly commissioned wallpaper designs from eleven contemporary artists. It’s an immersive study in pattern, repetition, and the subversion of the decorative. It’s exactly the kind of show that makes you want to go home and rethink your entire approach to composition.

3. David Hockney: Works from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer | Portland Art Museum

This is the largest North American survey of Hockney’s work, and for a working artist, it’s a required pilgrimage. From his early prints to those vibrant iPad drawings, it tracks a legendary career through the lens of technological experimentation. It’s a reminder that our tools are only as limited as our curiosity.

4. Tania Willard: Only Available Light | The Polygon Gallery, North Vancouver

Willard is doing something fascinating here—using photography as a technology of both colonization and decolonization. As makers, we often focus on the image, but Willard focuses on the process as a political act. It’s a boundary-pushing look at photographic printing techniques that will make you look at your own medium with fresh, skeptical eyes.

5. Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest | Seattle Art Museum

For those of us living and working in the upper-left corner of the map, this show is a deep dive into the roots of our regional aesthetic. It moves past the “mystic” labels often slapped onto PNW art to look at the structural and modern influences that shaped the 20th-century Northwest. It’s about understanding the lineage we’re all operating within, whether we realize it or not.

6. iWrite the Future | Geheim Gallery, Bellingham

If you want something that feels a bit more immediate and raw, head to Geheim. They consistently curate shows that lean into the “artivism” spirit without sacrificing aesthetic rigor. It’s a smaller, more intimate space where the connection between the artist’s intent and the viewer’s experience feels direct and unvarnished.

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THE FEMALE ARTIST?

The “Female Artist” label isn’t a pat on the back; it’s a filing cabinet. It’s the art world’s favorite way to categorize work before the paint is even dry, ensuring it stays in its lane—safe, “relatable,” and perpetually secondary to the unnamed, universal “Artist” (who we all know is coded male).

The Luxury of the Universal

There is a massive, unspoken irony in being a maker who happens to be a woman. Men get to make art about the human condition. They get to be architects of the soul, explorers of the void, and masters of the material. When we do it, it’s “women’s work.” It’s “intimate.” It’s “personal.”

We don’t get the luxury of the universal. We get the burden of the biographical.

The Curation Trap

True equity isn’t another “All-Woman” group show tucked into a side gallery during Women’s History Month. Those shows don’t break the glass ceiling; they just polish it. By cordoning us off, institutions keep the “main” canon untouched and unchallenged. It’s a convenient way to check a diversity box without actually shifting the power structure of the permanent collection.

True equity looks like:

• Decoupling Gender from Genre: Stop assuming “soft” materials are feminine and “hard” materials are masculine. A weld is a weld; a stitch is a stitch.

• Valuing the Long Game: Acknowledging that thirty years of teaching and community-building is as much a part of an artistic legacy as a blue-chip gallery run.

• Financial Reckoning: Addressing the fact that the “gender discount” in art pricing isn’t a myth—it’s a tax on our existence.

Beyond the Prefix

We’ve spent decades doing the heavy lifting—mentoring the next generation, repurposing the discarded, and sustaining the spaces where art actually happens—only to be met with a prefix that limits our reach.

The goal isn’t to be “included” in a broken system. The goal is to render the prefix obsolete. If the work is rigorous, if the technique is flawless, and if the concept bites, then the gender of the person who held the brush is the least interesting thing about it.

Let’s stop asking for a seat and start demanding the ledger.

The irony of checking out The Butterfly Rebellion on Kickstarter is that it’s doing the exact work the “High Art” world claims to value—community resilience, sustainability, and social intervention—but it’s doing it without waiting for a gallery’s permission.

It’s artivism in its purest, most unvarnished form. While the establishment is busy debating which “Female Artist” to include in their next themed biennial, this project is already on the ground, turning discarded retail waste into tools for non-violent resistance.

The 3,000-Mile Blueprint

The project isn’t just about pretty paper; it’s a 53-day cross-country sprint via Amtrak to teach community college students how to use upcycled origami as a form of community care. It’s the “Pollinator” philosophy scaled up for a national stage.

If you’re looking for why this matters for the equity conversation we just had, look at the mechanics:

• Upcycling vs. Excess: It uses the very waste generated by the systems that exclude us—receipts and packaging—to create something of conceptual value.

• Radical Education: It bypasses the elite MFA circuit to bring high-level social practice directly to community colleges.

• The Funding Reality: At roughly 28% of the $9,000 goal with a few weeks to go, it’s a living example of the “Visibility Labor” I mentioned. We have to crowdfund the revolution because the traditional gatekeepers are still checking the “Women in Art” box instead of funding the actual work.

Why You Should Care

As artists, we’re often told to wait our turn or refine our “brand” until it fits a specific commercial mold. The Butterfly Rebellion is a reminder that we can build our own distribution networks. It’s about taking the 30 years of teaching, the technical rigor of the craft, and the grit of a DIY repair mentality and putting it on rails.

Go look at the campaign. Not because it’s a “woman-led” project, but because the strategy is solid, the technical execution of the origami is flawless, and the intent is sharp enough to cut through the noise.

Let’s help push this past the finish line so the work can speak for itself.

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ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

If you’re planning your next move, don’t let the administrative slog kill your momentum. Here are ten opportunities with deadlines in April and beyond that actually offer some structural weight to back up your work.

1. Creative Capital Grant

For the makers who don’t fit into neat boxes. They fund “catalytic” projects that are adventurous and boundary-pushing.

• Deadline: April 2, 2026

• Award: Up to $50,000 plus career advisory services.

• Link: Creative Capital 2026 Award

2. Lower East Side Printshop: Keyholder Residency

If you need a home base in NYC, this 9-month residency gives you 24-hour access to high-end printmaking facilities.

• Deadline: April 1, 2026

• Award: $1,000 stipend and full studio access.

• Link: LES Printshop Keyholder

3. Canal Convergence 2026

They’re looking for public art that plays with light, water, and interaction. It’s a massive stage for large-scale conceptual work.

• Deadline: April 9, 2026

• Award: Project-specific budget.

• Link: Canal Convergence RFP

4. Women’s Studio Workshop: Artist’s Book Grant

A residency focused on the physical craft of book-making. You get the space and the tech to turn a concept into a limited-edition artist book.

• Deadline: May 15, 2026

• Award: $350/week stipend, housing, and production budget.

• Link: WSW Artist’s Book Grant

5. Halcyon Arts Lab Fellowship

If your work lives at the intersection of civic practice and social impact, this is your tribe. It’s about building the “artivism” infrastructure.

• Deadline: May 2026 (Apply early)

• Award: 5-month residency, living stipend, and studio space in D.C.

• Link: Halcyon Arts Lab

6. Headlands Center for the Arts: Artist in Residence

A live-in residency in the Marin Headlands. It’s the ultimate “unplug and make” opportunity for those who need to get away from the noise.

• Deadline: June 1, 2026

• Award: Residency, meals, and a monthly stipend.

• Link: Headlands AIR

7. National Endowment for the Arts: Grants for Arts Projects

The big one. This requires some serious paperwork, but it’s the bedrock of institutional funding for large-scale public engagement.

• Deadline: July 9, 2026

• Award: $10,000 to $100,000 (requires a 1:1 match).

• Link: NEA Grants

8. Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant

They don’t care about “emerging” status; they care about professional commitment. It’s unrestricted funding for artists with a proven track record.

• Deadline: Rolling

• Award: Up to $50,000.

• Link: Pollock-Krasner Foundation

9. Artadia Awards

Unrestricted funding for artists based in specific cities (including Seattle). Check their regional calendar for when your city’s window opens.

• Deadline: Rolling by region

• Award: $10,000 to $25,000.

• Link: Artadia

10. Guggenheim Fellowship

The heavy-hitting career milestone. This is for those who have already spent decades in the trenches and are ready for a deep-dive research year.

• Deadline: Ongoing research (Applications typically open late summer)

• Award: Variable grant for 6 to 12 months.

• Link: Guggenheim Foundation

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It’s Happening. The Chicken Parade is happening on February 22, 2026, noon. Or, high noon as they used to say in the old west. Hope to see you there!

One more quick thing, I’m going on an adventure. James (my boss at The Lucky Dumpster), has kindly bid me adieu and with his great blessings and well wishes, I’m heading off to spread joy and hope across the US. I am leaving on March 23rd and will return May 16th. The project is called The Butterfly Rebellion, as I will be traveling to community colleges across the country and talking to students about how to use art covertly to communicate and support targeted communities. I will let you know where to follow this if you’re interested in the next email I send. If you happen to be a person who frequents the shop, I will be there in spirit going forward. It’s been my great honor to get to know the lot of you.

Shows Around the PNW

1. “Fired Up”: Apprentice Exhibition

   • Venue: Pottery Northwest (Seattle, WA)

   • Dates: On view through April 17, 2026

   • Highlights: A showcase of work by current and former studio apprentices. This is the best place to see the future of Seattle’s ceramic scene, featuring a variety of styles from functional ware to conceptual sculpture.

2. “The Kondō Family: Storytellers in Clay”

   • Venue: Seattle Asian Art Museum (Volunteer Park, WA)

   • Dates: March – Early 2026

   • Highlights: While focusing on a legendary Japanese lineage, this exhibition is a pilgrimage site for local potters. It showcases world-class technical precision in porcelain and glaze work.

3. “Chip Clawson: Feathers, Squiggles, and Wings”

   • Venue: Missoula Art Museum (Missoula, MT)

   • Dates: Through April 10, 2026

   • Highlights: Clawson is a legendary Montana ceramist (and former manager at the Archie Bray Foundation). This show features his innovative shift into 3D-printed and digitally manipulated sculptural forms.

4. “George & David Lewis: Deeply Rooted”

   • Venue: Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (Bainbridge Island, WA)

   • Dates: Opens March 6, 2026

   • Highlights: Part of the “Handwork 2026” series, this retrospective features the legendary garden sculptures and cast stone/ceramic works of the local “Little and Lewis” duo.

5. “Crafting Futures: Emerging Artists Invitational”

   • Venue: Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (Bainbridge Island, WA)

   • Dates: March 6 – June 11, 2026

   • Highlights: Nominees from groups like the Seattle Metals Guild and Pratt Fine Arts. Expect high-end glass, metalwork, and experimental craft.

Local Gallery & Community Shows

6. “Message & Medium” (Allied Arts of Whatcom County)

   • Venue: Allied Arts Gallery (Bellingham, WA)

   • Dates: March 6 – March 28, 2026

   • Highlights: Features local artists Akiko Victorson and Prentiss Cole. This show blends traditional craft (journal making and calligraphy) with local literary themes.

7. First Friday Guest Artists: Nicole Mowbray & Cynthia Smutny

   • Venue: Pottery Place Plus (Spokane, WA)

   • Dates: March 6, 2026 (Opening reception 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)

   • Highlights: Meet two local artists specializing in functional pottery and handcrafted goods in a historic artisan cooperative.

8. “A Walk on the Beach”

   • Venue: Liberty Gallery (Spokane, WA)

   • Dates: Through March 2026

   • Highlights: Local artist Gay Waldman explores natural forms and textures that influence PNW craft and design.

Markets & Special Events

9. Custer’s 49th Annual Spring Arts & Crafts Show

   • Venue: Spokane Fair & Expo Center (Spokane, WA)

   • Dates: March 6 – 8, 2026

   • Highlights: A massive regional staple with over 250 artisans. This is the “boots on the ground” event for finding local production potters and woodworkers.

10. 33 Artist Market

    • Venue: Woman’s Club of Spokane (Spokane, WA)

    • Dates: Saturday, March 28, 2026 (11:00 AM – 5:00 PM)

    • Highlights: A curated market featuring local talent like ceramicists Colin Hayes and Heidi Barnett. It focuses on the bridge between emerging makers and established professionals.

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Art and Craft in the PNW

In the Pacific Northwest, the line between “Art” and “Craft” isn’t just blurred; it’s been damp-stretched, wood-fired, and hung to dry in a rain-shadowed studio until the distinction becomes entirely irrelevant. We are a region of people who find a deep, almost spiritual sustenance in the tactile—the kind of folks who will spend forty-five minutes debating the “honesty” of a glaze or the specific structural integrity of a hand-spun wool sweater. It’s a beautiful, earnest sort of madness. While the rest of the world is busy digitizing their souls into the cloud, we’re over here trying to find a container for a life of value, usually in the form of a $90 ceramic mug that feels exactly like the moss on a cedar stump.

I’ve often considered the irony of our local obsession with the handmade. We surround ourselves with objects that demand our presence—heavy stoneware, intricate glass, baskets woven from the very roots we trip over on our weekend hikes. These aren’t just things; they are witnesses. They remind us that we are still here, still breathing, still capable of moving through the world with a furious engagement that doesn’t involve a screen. There is a profound freedom in choosing a lopsided, wood-fired bowl over a factory-perfect alternative. It’s a way of saying, “Humanity got it right with me, in all my asymmetrical, unrefined glory,” and I’m going to drink my tea out of something that matches that energy.

The “art vs. craft” debate is a tired ghost we keep inviting to dinner just to watch it starve. In the PNW, we’ve mostly realized that the only real difference is whether you’re allowed to put your soup in it or stare at it until you feel a “pivotal emotion.” Personally, I prefer the soup, only because I happen to be hungry right now. Whether it’s a high-concept installation at the SAM or a local pottery market in Spokane, the goal is the same: to stop the clock, to listen to the breath rattling within us, and to recognize ourselves in the work of someone else’s hands. It’s about the “container” we choose for our time. And if that container happens to be a perfectly weighted piece of porcelain that makes your morning coffee feel like a sacred ritual, then who are we to argue about the labels?

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Residencies & Fellowships

• Deer Lake Artist Residency (Burnaby, BC/Pacific NW)

  • Deadline: March 31, 2026

  • The Goods: Shared and private studio space for regional and international artists.

  • Apply Here

• Sitka Center for Art and Ecology Residency (Otis, OR)

  • Deadline: March 10, 2026 (Early-season cycle)

  • The Goods: A chance to live and work on the Oregon Coast from Oct ‘26–April ‘27.

  • Apply Here

• Hambidge Center Fall Session (Rabun Gap, GA/Western-Friendly)

  • Deadline: April 15, 2026

  • The Goods: 2–8 week residencies for artists across all disciplines.

  • Apply Here

Exhibitions & Competitions

• Malleable Juried Exhibition (Roseburg, OR)

  • Deadline: March 27, 2026

  • The Goods: Seeking sculpture and mixed-media works for a summer exhibition.

  • Apply Here

• 2026 Art in the West (Bend, OR)

  • Deadline: April 10, 2026

  • The Goods: A high-profile juried exhibition and auction at the High Desert Museum.

  • Apply Here

• “Freedom Reframed” Collage Exhibition (Burbank, CA)

  • Deadline: April 2026 (Check site for final date)

  • The Goods: Collage Artists of America juried show with $1,200 in cash awards.

  • Apply Here

• Corvallis Fall Festival (Corvallis, OR)

  • Deadline: May 1, 2026

  • The Goods: A massive outdoor festival looking for makers in ceramics, glass, metal, and more.

  • Apply Here

Public Art & Grants

• LIFT – Early Career Support for Native Artists (Western US/National)

  • Deadline: March 19, 2026

  • The Goods: $10,000 grants and professional development for emerging Native artists.

  • Apply Here

• Artists at the Center (Seattle, WA)

  • Deadline: April 21, 2026

  • The Goods: Up to $6,000 for performance art and community-based projects.

  • Apply Here

• The Creative Advantage Roster (Seattle, WA)

  • Deadline: May 31, 2026

  • The Goods: Rolling deadline to join the partner roster for teaching artists and cultural orgs.

  • Apply Here

Thanks for reading! I hope to see you at the parade! Bok Bok!!!

Sara

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Hello and thanks so much for being here. Before I jump into it, there are a few announcements I’d like to make:

1. This newsletter is always going to be free from here on out. Due to the current socio-political shitstorm we are facing together, I think it right to make this publication free to all.

2. I will be creating content that you can buy, but not on this platform. I will let you know about that as time goes on.

3. This will still be an artist support newsletter. Sometimes that might look like comfort, it might look like resource and information to join the movement, and sometimes it might be some art to look at to fill you with inspiration.

I would also like to apologize for not getting a newsletter out last month. I caught that horrible cold/flu and was down for a couple weeks. Thanks for your patience.

Good News.

1. The No Kings movement had its largest training ever. 200,000 people were on the zoom call last Monday, including yours truly.

2. The No Kings protest now holds the record for the single largest protest in the history of the US.

3. My dream of creating a community center is still moving along. I have started an online community for makers and revolutionaries where people can come to learn how to paint, draw, do clay, make found object sculpture, upcycle and participate in artivism. It is my plan to fund the center with this online platform initially. Within a year I will be pulling in enough for rent on a space. I will give you updates here as they come.

4. Iran: The Rise of “Human Mesh” Networks

   Following the near-total internet blackout that began on January 8, 2026, the Iranian regime deployed military-grade jammers to block satellite services like Starlink. In response, protesters have pivoted to hybrid communication:

   • The Tech: Activists are using peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging apps that don’t require a central internet connection to work. These apps use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi “ad-hoc” signals to jump from phone to phone, creating a localized web within a crowd.

   • The Strategy: To get footage out of the country, “digital couriers” physically transport encrypted thumb drives to border regions or “white-listed” areas (like hospitals or government hubs where some access remains) to upload them via high-end U.S.-supported VPNs that are specifically designed to look like “normal” web traffic to regime monitors.

     5. Myanmar: The “Shadow” Digital State

   In Myanmar, the junta has implemented an AI-powered surveillance system called PSMS (Person Scrutinization and Monitoring System) to track activists via facial recognition.

   • The Tech: The National Unity Government (NUG) and the resistance are building their own parallel internet infrastructure. This includes small-scale, decentralized satellite hubs in “liberated zones” that provide free Wi-Fi to nearby villages.

   • The Strategy: To protect the identities of those in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), activists are using ephemeral IDs and “SIM-swapping” cycles. They frequently discard and rotate SIM cards to prevent their location from being linked to the junta’s new biometric database, effectively staying one step ahead of the facial-recognition grid.

     6. United States: High-Tech “Civic Shields”

   In the U.S., the pro-democracy “No Kings” coalition is focusing on Privacy-as-Defense to protect vulnerable communities from federal data-sharing.

   • The Tech: Activists are training thousands in “Digital Hygiene”—using end-to-end encrypted platforms like Signal and implementing “Surveillance Self-Defense” protocols developed by groups like the EFF.

   • The Strategy: Some “Sanctity Cities” and universities are deploying data-minimization technology. This involves reconfiguring local servers to automatically “scrub” or delete sensitive user data (like GPS coordinates or visitor logs) every 24 hours. This makes it technologically impossible for the institution to comply with future subpoenas for that data, creating a “technical sanctuary” that doesn’t rely on legal arguments alone.

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Artivism and You

A lot of people are wanting some relief from the existential dread that comes from suddenly waking up in a fascist state. I get it. It’s not easy, even if you saw it coming from a mile away.

There are tons of things you can do. What I do, and have always done, is get to work, as Toni Morrison once famously said. I believe that to counter hatred, greed, and general cruelty, it is my job to combat it by putting more love in the world, trusting people, being kind, being patient, generally showing compassion for yourself and those around you.

I have been busy making art to hand out to people, making tools and resources people can use to stick it to the man, and dressing up as a bee and inspiring people with kindness, generosity and community building. Some people think it’s silly, but I see it as soul work.

We live on a planet where people have been shitty. This is not up for debate. Now, the structures of that shittiness are failing. This is what burning down the wretched, stinking, corrupted house looks like. People are rising and pulling away from a system that has kept them down for far too long. There is plenty of news from all over the world about uprisings and protests, even revolts where tyranny and oppression are being challenged and overthrown.

Yes, there is bad news too. But there is far more good news and hope. We are just being force fed the bad news- it’s your job to stop eating it. Start curating a news day for yourself that feels more like hope than doom and you will find the means and the method to join in the way you choose. Do not turn away from the horrors, but make sure you are reacting to events that are actually happening, and if you find yourself worrying, remember that worry, (not anxiety), is creativity doing destruction. Use your creativity to imagine rather than worry. When you imagine, you are able to create a world of love, kindness, equity, and generosity. And it’s better for your skin.

I’m not here to blow smoke up your ass, I’m here to remind you that the world is not as divided as some people would have you believe, and if you look for the helpers, as Mr. Rogers once famously advised, (on advice from his mother), you will always find them. Then, one day, you will look in the mirror and find another. It’s just that simple.

For now, take heart. I am not saying this is going to be easy. But birthing a new world is going to take at least 8 million doulas and you might as well be one of them.

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ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

Residencies

1. Postmark Artist in Residence (Auburn, WA)

   • Deadline: March 19, 2026

   • Details: A two-month summer residency (July–August) at the Postmark Center for the Arts. Open to Washington State artists working in 2D or 3D media.

   • Focus: Studio work and community engagement.

2. BLM Artist-in-Residence (Medford, OR)

   • Deadline: February 28, 2026

   • Details: One- to two-week residencies at the Rogue River Ranch or Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Open to visual artists from OR/WA.

   • Perks: Immersive nature setting; housing provided (including a travel trailer at Hyatt Lake).

3. Tin House “The Break” Residency (Portland, OR)

   • Deadline: Rolling (March 2026 Session)

   • Details: Sponsored by the Alano Club of Portland, this residency is specifically for artists and writers in recovery from addiction.

   • Focus: Focused time for writers working on full-length manuscripts.

4. Sosta House Artist Residency (Willamette Valley, OR)

   • Deadline: Rolling (Applications reviewed as received)

   • Details: A non-traditional residency at a Bed & Breakfast. Residents help with daily chores/projects in exchange for a peaceful space to create.

   • Focus: Process-based “play” rather than a final output.

Grants & Awards

5. SOLA Awards (Washington State)

   • Deadline: March 23, 2026

   • Details: $5,000 unrestricted awards for female-identified visual artists 60 years of age or older.

   • Eligibility: Must have 25+ years of dedication to their discipline.

6. Seattle Youth Arts Grant (Seattle, WA)

   • Deadline: March 10, 2026

   • Details: Grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 for projects that provide equitable arts learning for middle and high school youth.

   • Focus: Teaching artists and organizations.

7. 4Culture Projects Grant (King County, WA)

   • Deadline: March 11, 2026

   • Details: Funding to help individual artists or groups in King County bring specific projects to life.

   • Focus: Broad eligibility across multiple disciplines.

Calls for Art / Exhibitions

8. Umpqua Valley Arts: Soft Sculpture Call (Roseburg, OR)

   • Deadline: March 27, 2026

   • Details: Seeking artwork that utilizes soft materials (paper, cloth, fiber, rubber, etc.) for a summer 2026 exhibition.

   • Eligibility: Open to regional artists.

9. Women Rising: Expanding Visions (Bellingham, WA)

   • Deadline: February 20, 2026

   • Details: A fine art exhibition held at Dakota Arts in conjunction with the Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival.

   • Eligibility: Women artists living in the Pacific Northwest.

10. City of Auburn Site-Specific Arts (Auburn, WA)

    • Deadline: Late March (Opens Spring 2026)

    • Details: Seeking applications for 3D or multi-media installations in downtown gallery spaces (Art on Main and Vault Gallery).

    • Award: $1,000 stipend for selected artists/teams from WA, OR, or ID.

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Hello and welcome.

If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art. I will close out every newsletter with artist opportunities. I have added an additional space for paid subscribers at the end. This contains additional opportunities for artists as well as curious tidbits from around the web.

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This season the collective is shifting away from the consumer-driven model we have been fed ever since Coca Cola decided to commercialize the holidays and toward the community and family experience model that existed for centuries before.

In this spirit, I gently suggest that you overlook the typos in the above image and instead, take its message to heart. Instead of buying at multinational corporations and chain restaurants, this year, and every year after that, support local, support small, and support each other.

Historically, this newsletter has steered clear of political topics, but treating each other with kindness and compassion is decidedly moral in nature, at least to my way of thinking. Stop feeding the machine that has caused so much terror, pain, and torment over the centuries. Start feeding your neighbors. Organize around support.

Art is a threat to fascism because fascism is a failure of imagination. Art is a threat because fascism fears what it can’t control.

Create courageously.

There are many arts markets and pop-ups happening around the US and especially in the PNW. The report I’m getting from most of my maker friends at these markets is that they are well attended and highly spirited. The report I’m getting from a friend who works at Macy’s flagship store in Chicago? Sales are way down and they are in panic mode. Here are a few markets I have attended in the past that are well worth the trip:

Bellingham Holiday Maker’s Market, November 29-30, Dec 20-21 Bham Ferry Terminal

Valley Made Market, Hillcrest Lodge, Dec 6-7 and 20-21

Geekcraft Expo Seattle, Nov 29-30, Hangar 30 Magnuson Park

Of course, there is always great stuff to be found, all year round, in Edison, WA at its many fine shops and galleries. (Especially at The Lucky Dumpster)

15 gifts you can make, buy locally, or find in a drawer this holiday season so you don’t have to give your money to billionaires this holiday season. (The Stranger)

Remember that arts organizations sell memberships, and frankly, there is no better gift than the gift of art. Give your friends memberships to local museums, art studios, and arthouse movie theaters. Give your friends classes at their favorite maker’s space. Give your friends gifts certificates to local art supply stores. Basically, there are millions of ways to give art for the holidays.

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REGIONAL ART

Gallery West in Fairhaven is closing. The owner is retiring.

The final show at Smith and Vallee Gallery will be a group show of the gallery’s artists. Happening in December.

Barbara Sternberger is at the Western Gallery through December 13th

Allen Family Philanthropies, formerly known as the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, announced Wednesday morning that it is giving nearly $7 million to eight arts and cultural organizations on the Seattle Center campus, including the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Pacific Science Center and KEXP

Priscilla Dobler Dzul is at the Frye art museum.

Exquisite Creatures exhibit, Seattle waterfront

The Wandering Womb is at The Lumber Room in Portland through January 31.

ART AS RESISTANCE

The arts are the instruments of liberation and defiance. Art has always been a target because artists are free thinkers, creative imagineers, and soul searchers. Artists distill the thrill and the desperation of humanity in any given moment, and through this expression, define generations. Artists know, better than anyone, what’s at stake when authoritarianism, fascism, and totalitarianism take hold. The arts are where ordinary people create magic from nothing. It’s where humanity explores and finds meaning. It’s the space that is endlessly expanding with possibility, and therefor, infinitely impossible to predict or control.

Art is a threat, a beautiful, dynamic, hyper-conscience threat to fascism.

Support your local art, support your local artist.

OPPORTUNITIES

Creative Districting in WA state

Art in Public Places, WA state, Eastern WA University Science Renovation

A Living Practice, Coast Salish Art Now, Auburn, WA

Salt & Char, photography exhibition for PNW artists

The Percival Plinth Project for loaned sculpture, city of Olympia

Below is the paywall for paid subscribers. It’s chock full of additional artist opportunities and tidbits I found around the WWW this last week.

Read more

If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art.

As I am an employee and head social media coordinator of The Lucky Dumpster, I will always include some new information about what’s going on in The Dumpster as well as art news from around the PNW. I will also close out every newsletter with artist opportunities.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM JAMES

“I had never heard of an “atmospheric river” in my whole life up until just a couple of years ago. This leads me to believe that it’s the same weather as it’s always been, they’re just looking for new ways to get people interested in the weather.”

THE LUCKY DUMPSTER

The halloween parade came and went, and as you will see above, it was sheer delight. Some of us dressed up for the day, others of us didn’t, but a good time was had by all. I have only been living in Edison for a few months, but I have to say that even though I have always dreamed of living here, the reality is so much better than I could have imagined. The Dumpster is still quite busy every weekend, and new people come in from all over the country, and when we are lucky, the world, and share their stories with us. In addition to this great gift, we also have new artists coming in all the time to try the Dumpster out. We have had quite a few new artists join us in the last month, in addition to dazzling restocks by Tin Ventures, Cascadia Jewelry, KA Miller Clay, and Angela Baker pottery. Our new artists include woodworkers, jewelry makers, leather workers, and painters. If you haven’t been to The Dumpster lately, you might want to schedule a trip on your calendar, but make it on a Friday. Weekend days are still quite bonkers. We are also offering shipping now. If you can’t make it in, just give us a call and we will get your purchase into the mail toot suite!

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EDISON

Sad news: Smith and Vallee Gallery will be closing at the end of the year. The cabinet shop is being taken over by some of its employees, but the gallery is closing and the building is going up for sale. Good news: Slough Food has turned the retail space up front into a sweet little cafe, and it’s GORGEOUS. Do yourself a favor and come check it out. It’s quite lovely. i.e. is featuring work by Louise Kikuchi and it’s a stunning show. The artist reception is at 3 pm on November 1st. Smith and Vallee is featuring work by Lolly Shera, Craig Breitbach, and Steve Jensen. There’s an artist talk on November 1st at 2 pm and the reception is at 3 pm the same day.

REGIONAL ART

The Pickford Film Center’s new space is up and running and It Was Just an Accident is playing. On Saturday, November 8th at the Whatcom Museum there is an introduction to weaving class with Lisa Telford. Breakup Shoes is playing at The Wild Buffalo on November 8th, and Phoebe in Winter is playing at The New Prospect Theater in Bellingham on November 8th. Voxel Gallery in Bellingham is offering Wintering: Landscapes of Myth and Midwinter through December 21st. Perry + Carlson is offering Anthony Pellecchia, Fragments of Visibility through the end of November. On November 17th, The Thing is playing at The Lincoln Theater in Mount Vernon. The Wabash Project in Mount Vernon is having a pop up entitled Elemental Outfitting from 3-6 pm on November 8th.

Fogue Studios & Gallery in Seattle is hosting Seattle artist and perfumer Donna Lipowitz, fresh off of a successful run in NYC, brings her interactive installation to Fogue Studios & Gallery in November. Browse 100 unique scents, from single molecules and vintage perfumes. Also, the artist’s own concept scents, such as “Home Garage” or “Pencil Case” and an all-time favorite “God Sweat”.

The Seattle Asian Art Museum is hosting Anil Quayyum Agha’s work: Geometry of Light through April of 2026. It’s also hosting Ai Weiwei, Water Lilies through March of 2026. If you head down to Seattle, don’t miss the Olympic Sculpture park. It’s even great in the rain!

On Art and Teaching

I was recently teaching pottery to a student in a private session. During the session she told me that when she was very young, she knew that a potter dwelled deep within her. When the time came however, her older brother went to Alfred and studied ceramic engineering, and she studied social studies, as her family expected. 40 years later, there she sat across from me at her wheel, tears in her eyes, relieved that she was able to follow the dream she had held within her all her life.

Don’t wait. Don’t listen to the people who don’t know you. Don’t let anything stop you from being who you know yourself to be. It’s never too late.

Opportunities

1. Arts.WA has many opportunities for WA state artists this month.

2. Bellingham Downtown Activation Grant proposals due Dec 10.

3. Artist Trust has a long list of opportunities for artists including gallery shows, grants, and much more.

4. The Hopper Prize Artist Grant application closes on November 11.

5. Alchemy Artist Residencies on San Juan Island application closes on December 8th.

If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art.

As I am an employee and head social media coordinator of The Lucky Dumpster, I will always include some new information about what’s going on in The Dumpster as well as art news from around the PNW. I will also close out every newsletter with artist opportunities.

Going forward, the newsletter will go out at the end of every month. Thanks for your participation in the poll last month. Above are some very recent images of the Lucky D.

WORDS OF WISDOM BY JAMES

“It’s very challenging for me to communicate the entirety of who I am. The only way I feel I can achieve that is through my music.”

As many of you know, James is creative, smart, funny, and musically gifted. He is currently getting back to his music and having fun playing his songs on occasion. Recently, before he played a few songs in the shop, he said the above line. It hit me as vulnerable wisdom that I thought I might share. I of course asked him for permission before including it here.

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THE LUCKY DUMPSTER

With the coming and going of The Oyster Run last Sunday, we can now say Autumn has officially arrived. The Lucky Dumpster is now carrying over 200 artists and will still be taking all who come into the shop wanting to sell. The amount of time given to each artist to sell might be a bit shorter due to the sheer volume of stuff, but the opportunity in a shop that is predictably busy still exists in Edison.

Speaking of which, the holidays are coming. Lots of our artists are starting to bring in holiday-centric work, so if you want to get your shopping out of the way this season, The Lucky D has you covered. Additionally, the Lucky D has gone back to its winter hours, Friday-Sunday, 11-4. If you need to make an appointment outside that time, simply email us at young.spike@gmail.com.

EDISON

A great show is opening the first weekend of October. A well known and respected clay artist, Amy Taub is showing at Smith and Vallee and I for one can’t wait to go to the show and artist talk this Saturday, October 3rd at 2 pm. If you can’t make it to the opening definitely get to the show this next month.

The town is ready for the busy fall season, and while the town is not as crowded with tourists as usual, it is full of the people who come back again and again to our lovely little town and make it so special. We are expecting a busy fall, but if you are hoping to miss the crowds in Edison, I have a couple tips. One, show up on Friday. The crowds are less and the lines for food are shorter. Two, late in the afternoons, (before 4), on Friday and Sunday. Both times often see less people and more parking spaces around town.

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REGIONAL ART

Geheim Gallery’s 5th year anniversary is happening on October 3rd at 5 pm. It should be fun.

Make.Shift has a ton of cool stuff happening in October including a spooky show that runs the length of the month. It’s usually pretty cool.

The national Empty Bowls events have one that happens in Bellingham every year. This year it’s October 11th in Bellingham at Stemma West Beer Garden at 5 pm. I believe there are still tickets available for purchase at the event. Advanced tickets are sold out.

The WACK studio tour is coming in November. You can find out more and see a map here.

The Seattle Asian Art Museum is hosting Anil Quayyum Agha’s work: Geometry of Light through April of 2026. It’s also hosting Ai Weiwei, Water Lilies through March of 2026. If you head down to Seattle, don’t miss the Olympic Sculpture park. It’s even great in the rain!

ART AND COMPETITION

One of the ideas the current system instills in us is that competition is natural and a healthy part of any ecosystem. I would posit that this is an idea fed to the masses in order to create insecurity, fear and in the end, an unending need to be “the best” in areas where this behavior is at best, unnecessary and at worst, destructive.

In order to illustrate, I will point you to the art world. I have been in and out of different art communities over the last 30 or so years, and in every community, I have found that the competitiveness and jealousy within these ecosystems are usually at toxic levels and creates animosity and toxic behavior between artists. This type of competitiveness pulls the artist away from their true work and keeps them focused on something that has very little to do with making: what other artists are doing. In this system, art is considered an asset and is traded like any other. It has become commodified and mutated into something other than what it is in it’s highest form: an accurate mirror of a culture at the time which stimulates thought, discussion, and progress.

In a time when art is more important than ever to discuss the current unpleasantness, there are people and organizations continuously striving to establish gate keeping at every turn for art and artists so just a few people will get a bigger share of the pie and everyone who isn’t in the club is kept out. This is nothing new, but it is something that I hope will change once we fully pull away from the system that has led us down this treacherous path.

In the spirit of cheering on and encouraging artists to show and share their work, here is a list of opportunities I found in the last month or so as I navigated around the WWW.

OPPORTUNITIES

1. The City of Auburn has tons of opportunities for PNW artists. Visit the city website to see if you want to take your shot.

2. WA state self directed art grant application is due tomorrow.

3. Generally operating support grant application for WA state is due tomorrow.

4. Apply to be a vendor at the Pacific Arts Market at Bellis Fair!

5. List of funding opportunities taken from Artlist:
   Creative Capital | New York, NY
   Creative Capital offers individual grants for artists of all disciplines, professional guidance for grantees, professional development workshops and retreats nationwide, and the Artist Toolbox website, a resource-bank for artists with an annotated collection of career-resource sites.

   First Peoples Fund | Rapid City, SD
   First Peoples Fund supports the advancement of American Indian arts by focusing on three funding areas: The Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Awards, a national recognition and fellowship award for American Indian artists; the Artists in Business Leadership Program, which provides artists with technical assistance, access to capital and to new marketing opportunities, and the Cultural Capital Grant Fellowship, designed to further the important cultural work of artists who have previously been honored through the Community Spirit Awards.

   Hatchfund | Los Angeles, CA
   Hatchfund invests in America’s finest artists and illuminate the value of artists to society. Every year, Hatchfund awards fifty artists each $50,000. Hatchfund Fellowships are awarded in the following disciplines: architecture & design, crafts & traditional arts, dance, literature, media, music, theater arts, and visual arts. They support the highest level of excellence in work created by America’s finest artists throughout all stages of their careers.

   National Endowment for the Arts | Washington D.C.
   The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector. In most areas, funding is limited to organizations. Direct awards to individuals are made only through Literature Fellowships, NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, and NEA National Heritage Fellowships in the Folk & Traditional Arts.

   The Puffin Foundation | Teaneck, NJ
   The Puffin Foundation make grants that encourage emerging artists in the fields of art, music, photography, theater, video and literature whose works, due to their genre and/or social philosophy might have difficulty being aired. Average grants are $1000 to $2500.

   For Media Artists

   Northwest Film Center | Portland, OR
   Northwest Film Center offers many services and opportunities for artists, film makers, and media arts professionals including fiscal sponsorship, residencies, film festivals, equipment and theater rental.

   For Performing Artists

   Doris Duke Charitable Foundation | New York, NY
   Provides grants and support to performing artists in legacy of Doris Duke. The Arts Program often awards initiative grants to intermediary nonprofit organizations, which in turn re-grant funding through competitive processes to individual artists in the fields of contemporary dance, jazz, theater, and related interdisciplinary work.

   Foundation For Contemporary Arts | New York, NY
   In keeping with FCA’s mission to encourage, sponsor, and promote work of a contemporary, experimental nature, applicants must demonstrate that their artistic practice falls within this context. Created in 1993, Emergency Grants provides prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists who: Emergency Grants Program is the only active, multi-disciplinary program that offers immediate assistance of this kind to artists living and working anywhere in the United States, for projects occurring in the U.S. and abroad. Grants range in amount from $200 to $2,000.

   MAP Fund | New York
   The MAP Fund is founded on the principle that experimentation drives human progress, no less in art than in science or medicine. MAP supports artists, ensembles, producers and presenters whose work in the disciplines of contemporary performance embodies this spirit of exploration and deep inquiry. MAP is particularly interested in supporting work that examines notions of cultural difference or “the other,” be that in class, gender, generation, race, religion, sexual orientation or other aspects of diversity.

   MAP Open Apps has a searchable public database containing summarized information from hundreds of MAP Fund applications received each year. MAP Open Apps allows you to search applications by region, discipline, artist name or key word. Searches will reveal each proposal’s project summary, lead artists associated with the work, and links for more information about the project or the artists involved. In addition, you can click through to the data charts and see aggregated information about MAP applications going back as far as 2006.

   Musician’s Foundation, Inc. | New York, NY
   Musicians Foundation, Inc. provides financial assistance to deserving musicians who need help in meeting current living, medical and allied expenses.

   For Visual Artists

   Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc | New York, NY
   Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc. offers an Emergency Assistance Program, which is intended to provide interim financial assistance to qualified artists whose needs are the result of an unforeseen, catastrophic incident and who lack the resources to meet that situation. Each grant is given as one-time assistance for a specific emergency, such as fire, flood or emergency medical need. The program does not consider requests for dental work, chronic situations, capital improvements or projects of any kind; nor can it consider situations resulting from general indebtedness or lack of employment. The maximum amount of this grant is $10K; an award of $4K is typical. Process time is 4-6 weeks, faster if situation is critical.

   The Pollock-Krasner Foundation | New York, NY
   The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc. was established in 1985 for the sole purpose of providing financial assistance to individual visual artists of established ability through the generosity of the late Lee Krasner, one of the leading abstract expressionist painters and the widow of Jackson Pollock. Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc. supports artists based on dual criteria of artistic merit and demonstrable financial need. One year grants of between $1K-$30K, targeted to one’s situation. Applications are reviewed 4-5 times a year.

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If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art.

As I am an employee and head social media coordinator of The Lucky Dumpster, I will always include some new information about what’s going on in The Dumpster as well as art news from around the PNW. I will also close out every newsletter with artist opportunities.

WORDS OF WISDOM BY JAMES

“I love arguing with you about things like the meaning of violence. It gives me the opportunity to pull out my dictionary and really dig into the meaning of words as they are supposed to be used.”

James and I rely on facts in books for our philosophical arguments. Preferably very old ones. (Old facts, books, and arguments).

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THE LUCKY DUMPSTER

According to James, the store had its busiest summer ever, and if you ask me and my aching feet, that feels about right. The shop was open today, Labor Day, and while it wasn’t busy like it has been, we did get quite a few new people in to look about the room in awe and wonder. The work in the shop has such heart that the space reverberates with love, attention, and emotion. People come in and meaningful conversations around magnificent discoveries take place. Just the other day, a long time customer came in to say hello. We discussed art, radish butts, and various other topics at the LD counter. The very next day, a friend of hers came into the shop and during a glowing conversation of love and admiration for this customer, this person let us know that it’s her birthday this next Friday. So, James directed me to take the opportunity to express, “from the depths of our grateful hearts, happy birthday, Patrice. We are so lucky to know you.”

The Lucky Dumpster has taken on quite a few new artists- we now carry the work of over 210 makers! We are indeed lucky to have a shop in such a beloved small town and carry the work of so many makers who care deeply about the work they put into the world.

EDISON

There is a new shop in town! Murakami Vintage, owned and operated by Erica Dudrow, is open and already quite busy! It’s located in the space right next to The Book Shucker and across from The Chop Shop. When you’re in Edison, check it out. The shop is having an official opening on September 20th from 4-7pm. Come by and say hi! There are clothes, trinkets and tools to peruse as well as a glorious view of the slough.

Smith and Vallee is showing work by Joanne Bohannon, Will Boswell, and Deby Harvey in September. The show opens on September 4th and the opening will be on the 6th. I peaked in this afternoon on my way to the vintage shop and the show looks amazing.

REGIONAL ART

The Seattle Asian Art Museum is hosting Anil Quayyum Agha’s work: Geometry of Light through April of 2026. It’s also hosting Ai Weiwei, Water Lilies through March of 2026. If you head down to Seattle, don’t miss the Olympic Sculpture park. It’s even great in the rain!

Scenes of the Skagit is showing this month at Rick Leonard Gallery in Mount Vernon, with an artist’s reception happening on Sept. 6th.

Great Odds Celebrate Creative Passion group show is showing at Make.Shift art gallery in September. The artist reception is Sept 5.

The Bellingham Celtic Festival is happening from September 17-20. It will be happening in multiple locations simultaneously so head over to the website if you’re interested in partaking.

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The Arts Matter

If you are reading this newsletter, chances are you are already aware of why the arts matter, especially during dark days. The artists of any culture in any era have unflinchingly and honestly reflected back to society its hypocrisies, triumphs, and challenges it faces. So, as the arts have been so cut back this year due to the present unpleasantness, consider supporting your local artist or arts organization in whatever way you can, be it volunteering at the local school or museum, buying a local artist’s work, or donating to the museum or arts organization of your choice. The arts must survive.

OPPORTUNITIES

1. City of Bellingham Request for Qualifications – Multiple Artwork Opportunities

   Submission Deadline: Before noon (12 p.m. PST) on September 12, 2025

   We are seeking artist(s) or artist team(s) qualified to design, fabricate, and install artwork associated with several capital projects at various locations as part of the Percent for the Arts program. Artists and artist teams may apply to be considered for a roster that will be used to select artists for one or more upcoming projects.

   The budget for current artwork opportunities range between $50,000-$195,000.

2. WA state self-directed art practice grant. Applications open until October 1st.

3. WA state General Operating Support Grant. Applications open until October 1st.

4. HAYAMA International artist residency. Applications open until Sept 31.

5. City of Auburn

   The City of Auburn, Washington, seeks applications from regional artists to install 3-dimensional or multi-media art installations in two site-specific gallery spaces in downtown Auburn: the Art on Main Gallery and the Vault Gallery. Both spaces provide a $1,000 artist stipend to support the creation of new work and site-specific projects, or the installation of existing work. Eligibility: Any individual artist or collaborative artist team in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho) may apply. Past participants of Art on Main are welcome to reapply.

6. The City of Seattle has two open arts positions available. Arts Panel & Operations Data Specialist and Public Art Program Manager.

7. Opportunity to guide the frequency of this newsletter.

   Thanks for reading and let me know if you would like to see more information in these newsletters.

If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art.

As I am an employee and head social media coordinator of The Lucky Dumpster, I will always include some new information about what’s going on in The Dumpster as well as art news from around the PNW. I will also close out every newsletter with artist opportunities.

WORDS OF WISDOM BY JAMES

This month’s words of wisdom are as usual, both unsurprising and a breath of fresh air. James and I were talking about personal growth, loss, grief, and the future. He was discussing his habits and his daily tasks needing to change, and when I asked him why, if he is so comfortable living his life, he feels the need to change, he came back with, “I’ve been the same guy for way too long. I’m too good at it. It’s too easy.”

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THE LUCKY DUMPSTER

Sales are crankin’ at The Lucky Dumpster, so if you’re an artist with work in the shop, you might want to check in on bringing more work in. The crowds are kind, verbose, and very complimentary of the shop and the work in it, for which we feel quite lucky and extremely grateful. As always, if you’re a maker who sells with us, you are welcome to bring in new work or get an accounting during our open hours, Thursday through Sunday. We have recently received new work from The Goat’s Coat, Petra Hernandez, and our newest addition to the shop, Angela Cook. You can see a sample of Goat’s Coat and Angela’s work above in the gallery. As an employee at The Lucky Dumpster, it’s a challenge to not buy everything that comes through the doors.

We are keeping our spirits up and doing what we can to support our community. It’s a challenging era, but if you have been coming to The LD for any amount of time, you know we are flexible, humble, and kind to a fault. We love the people who come through the doors and look for the magic that naturally occurs within the walls of the shop. We thank you for your support and want to offer ours to you.

EDISON, WA and REGIONAL ART

Smith and Vallee is having a group show this month, and it’s delightful. The show runs through the end of August, so you have time to get here and see it. It’s full of a great variety of sculptural and 2-D work, and as always they have a nice assortment of jewelry as well.

i.e. is running Blue by James Brems. It’s a meditation on a very specific shade of blue in different formats, quiet and powerful work that’s worth seeing. The show runs through the end of July.

Geheim gallery is currently showing Night Swimming by Emily Wise and Kristen Diederich. It’s a very sweet show. Lovely use of color in the paintings, lots of movement that creates a dynamic energy to the small space.

The Whatcom Museum is showing, among others, Verdant: French Masterworks, The Exquisite Veil, and Not the Whole Picture, which leaves at the end of July. All these make the museum worthy of at least one visit this month.

Kirkland Arts Center is hosting the 40th anniversary art show. The opening is July 11. I got a sneak peak and it’s pretty fantastic.

Ai, Rebel, is still at SAM. The work there is more pertinent than ever. Go see it if you can.

ART AND REBELLION

In art, we are free. Free to make decisions, free to express, free to be exactly who we are. This is why, now more than ever, we must make. We must express. We must celebrate what it means to be human in a time where our humanity is at stake. Do not belittle the work of the artist. The artist, if they are doing honest work, is a reflection of the times as well as the culture’s moral compass. There is nothing more important than remembering what we are fighting for, and there is no better place to look for those memories than the arts.

OPPORTUNITIES

It’s About Time is looking for artists and makers of all varieties. If you’re interested, contact Hazel at itsabouttime.space@gmail.com.

The Lucky Dumpster is always looking for new work to sell. Summer is here and business is brisk. Come on in with some of your work and let’s see what we can do.

Washington Clay Arts Association’s grants are open. If you are a member, you are eligible to apply.

ART RABBIT a list of opportunities for artists

ART JOBS a list of art jobs and open calls

VISUAL ARTS ASSOCIATION opportunities for artists.

BETTY BOWEN ART AWARD APPLICATION IS OPEN

Thank you so much for reading, following, supporting, and sharing. Let us know what you’re up to and if you would like anything included in this newsletter next time!

Sara and James

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Hello and welcome.

If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art.

As I am a new employee and head social media coordinator of The Lucky Dumpster, I will always include some new information about what’s going on in The Dumpster as well as art news from around the PNW. I will also close out every newsletter with artist opportunities.

WORDS OF WISDOM BY JAMES

The problem is that James is always saying all kinds of wise shit, but I’m usually enjoying it too much to write it down. This week the quote is good, but requires context. It’s been warm in Edison lately, but when the back door of the store is open the breeze that blows through there is heavenly and constant. When I asked James if the building was engineered this way, he got a faraway look in his eye, smiled, and replied: “This building is an accidental passive solar masterpiece.”

The quotes will get better, I promise.

THE LUCKY DUMPSTER

The Lucky D had a pretty typical sales day yesterday, (Friday), though Thursday was somewhat slow. We took the opportunity to move some things around. We do this almost every day, but we really took advantage of down time on Thursday.

We’ve taken in one of our largest pieces in a while by found metal artist Tim Gred. It’s a large abstract animal named Larry Longhorn named after a cowboy the artist used to know. The piece is a delight to behold, though it’s quite heavy and James and I have a heck of a time moving it in and out of the store every day. It stands and watches guard over the place when the store is open so if you’re in the neighborhood, come by and see it. It’s anatomically correct, so there is plenty to see.

We have gotten some new artists in recently, earrings by Wildewire Designs and Tinventures. We are also about to welcome back Goat’s Coat. Pottery and clay things continue to sell well as does jewelry, cards, and soap. We are still carefully considering what we will be doing in the room next door. As soon as I know something, you will know something.

EDISON, WA and REGIONAL ART

Two really great shows are happening in the galleries of Edison. Michel Angela Petersen’s ICON show is at i.e. and if you are a clay sculpture appreciator, do not miss this show. The work is gorgeous and the show is incredibly well arranged. There is an artist reception June 7, (today) and an artist talk on June 21st. Don’t miss it.

David Eisenhour is showing at Smith and Vallee gallery. The pieces are a wonderful mixture of bronze and rock, and represent different varieties of sea plant/creature. There is an opening this evening (Saturday, June 7) for the artist, which is usually a pretty fun event.

There is also a market happening the last Friday of every summer month at Terra Mar so if you are a maker, contact Sara at Terra Mar. Tell her The Lucky Dumpster sent you, she will hook you up.

There is a nice print/clay show at Geheim Gallery this month by artist Amy Simons. I went last night to the opening and was completely charmed. Floor to ceiling quilted prints and delightful smaller pieces too.

Paper Whale is doing an immersive exhibit thing in some of the empty store fronts of Bellingham. Go see it if you’re interested.

Ai Weiwei is still at the Seattle Art Museum. He has long been my art hero and I would go so far as to say that he is one of the most important artists of our time. It’s a great show. Get down to Seattle if you can to see it.

THE MONSTERS IN ART

I’ve been having some pretty interesting conversations with people about great art and the monsters that sometimes make it, and where the responsibility of the culture, society and viewer lie. Is it our responsibility to separate the artist from the horrible things he might have done? (I use the masculine as 99.9% of the time the art monsters represent as male).

I think it’s a personal choice. It’s up to each of us to have our own standards for what we will and will not interact with, and do what we can to be good humans and models as we put our own art into the world. It’s a challenge to be in the art world and watch horrible people get and give funding in order to make art possible, one need look no further than David Syre and the Whatcom Museum or Nick Hartrich of Paper Whale to run into some type of existential conflict around this topic. In the end, it’s important to remember that art is for everyone, and if someone with questionable morals is able to give access to artists who might not otherwise have a voice, then I believe that it’s worth it. Art, after all, should be for everyone, and in that each person’s responsibility to decide what art they will and will not engage with.

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

It’s About Time Gallery in Ferndale will be opening up a gallery shop and is looking for local artists to sell there. I am the point person on this particular project, so if you are interested in getting your work seen by the good people of Ferndale and perhaps being a part of the blooming art scene, email me at young.spike@gmail.com with your contact info and any questions you might have. We will reach out to you when we are set up to start taking in work. The cut for artists is 60%.

The Lucky Dumpster is always looking for new artists. If you’re interested, come on down to Edison and stop into the shop to talk with James or myself. We take all comers. It’s our belief that the world needs art, and whether you’re a maker, a collector, or an appreciator, we are here to support you in your endeavoring.

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2025-2029 Public Artist Roster (Seattle)

DEADLINE: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 5:00 p.m. PST

Application opens Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 12:00 p.m. PST 

Click here to apply on Submittable

GRANTS TO CONSIDER

Harpo Foundation Founded in 2006, this foundation awards 7-10 grants per year as well as offering two artist residencies based in Vermont and Santa Fe. Artists must submit a 200 word artist statement, up to ten samples of work, their full resume, and there is a $15 application fee. Harpo is committed to nurturing emerging artists and encouraging new ways of thinking. Despite the name, Harpo Foundation is in no way affiliated with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios.

Joan Mitchell Foundation Joan Mitchell was a twentieth century abstract and expressionist painter. The Joan Mitchell Foundation was started in 1993 to continue her legacy of supporting young artists. During her lifetime, she personally supported many artists at her home in Vetheuil, France. The foundation awards grants for painting and sculpture as well as grants for emerging artists, emergency grants, and an MFA grant.

Warhol Foundation Although this foundation typically funds organizations that support the work of artists, there are a handful of grants awarded to individuals. Most notably, the Warhol Foundation offers grants for those wishing to further the pursuit of art writing. The grants cover media from articles and blogs to books and new/alternative media. Visit the foundations website for more information about this and other grants offered to organizations and individuals.

National Endowment for the Arts Despite its government status, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has been funding the work of artists since 1965. Grants are awarded across the wide field of artistic disciplines, and there are multiple grants available depending on your medium.

National Parks Artist in Residence Program Strictly speaking, this is a residency and not a grant. But the opportunity to take up residence in one of our glorious national parks is just too good to leave off the list. Artists have been an integral part of shaping the public view of national parks since the 19^th century. Programs vary in length from two to four weeks and typically include lodging. Visit the website for details.

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established after the death of Lee Krasner, an abstract expressionist painter and the widow of famed artist Jackson Pollock. The foundation seeks to financially support working artists who demonstrate both merit and financial need. Artists must be currently exhibiting work in order to apply. Grants are intended for a year and cover expenses ranging from professional to personal including medical expenses. There are rolling applications for grants at Pollock-Krasner.

William H Johnson Prize William H Johnson was a twentieth century African American painter. The William H Johnson Prize is awarded annually to an emerging African American artist in the field of painting, photography, sculpture, installation, or new media.

Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Grant This grant, established through the generosity of Cape Cod artists Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed, is available to under-recognized American painters over the age of 45. Award amounts vary and typically there are four awarded each year.

Creative Capital Grant Grants are available for those working in visual and performing arts, film and video, and emerging fields. Applicants must be at least 25 years old, cannot be full time students, and have been working in the arts for five years.

MacArthur Fellowship Chances are, even if you have no first-hand experience, you are at least aware of the MacArthur Fellowship program. This venerable institution has been supporting people in creative fields, as well as those who work to build “a more just, verdant, and peaceful world” since 1981. John D. and Catharine T MacArthur were philanthropists during their lifetime and sought to continue this legacy long after they were gone.

I think this might be enough for the next two or so weeks. If you have any questions, comments or statements of a revelatory nature, just let me know.

Have a great day. Go see some art, why doncha?

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Hello and welcome.

If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art.

As I am a new employee and head social media coordinator of The Lucky Dumpster, I will always include some new information about what’s going on in The Dumpster as well as news from around the PNW. I will also close out every newsletter with artist opportunities.

A New Section- Words of Wisdom by James Riesen

Every newsletter will now contain a story or quote by James. He is the heart and soul of The Dumpster so I feel it’s only fitting to highlight his insight and wit. This one is short, but powerful.

“No matter how unlucky we are, there’s always a bit of luck in every situation.”

THE LUCKY DUMPSTER

While we are still reeling from the Mother’s Day crush, I’m happy to report that business at The Dumpster continues to be somewhat brisk. Through the rain, we have had a couple of pretty great sales days this weekend and a Thursday that was somewhat mind blowing. Additionally, people continue to come in and find wonderful pieces that inspire and delight. On Friday, we had two separate parties in the shop from Chicago that were both headed to the same wedding in Bellingham. They happened to cross paths in The Dumpster. The conversation that ensued was both a delight and a revelation. But that’s the magic of that space. Every week, people run into each other, find strange coincidental elements of their experience and laugh about what a small world it is. It’s part of what makes the dumpster lucky.

As always, people come in looking for mushroom-type things, and there is a bit of a frenzy for different kinds of animal sculptures/cups/images. Chickens, owls, and the odd crow are all animals people are delighting in right now.

We have upcoming events that are usually busy, graduation and Father’s Day. If you’re a seller in The Dumpster, there is plenty of time to get some work into the shop that might appeal to these crowds.

REGIONAL ART SHOWS

Drie Chapek is currently showing at i.e. Edison. The show is called It’s All Happening and it’s quite delightful. Come on down to Edison and check it out. The show runs through June 1st.

Robert Williamson is showing at Perry + Carlson in Mount Vernon. The show is entitled “Bee Variations”. There is also a group show there called “Artists Unite for the Planet” under the Earthcreative.org banner. Both worth checking out.

If you haven’t seen Ai Weiwei at the Seattle Art Museum, GO. He has made incredibly important work over the last 4 decades and he is still alive and doing the good work.

Voxel Gallery is a new one in Bellingham. Check it out if you haven’t. There is some pretty interesting work in there.

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The Thing About Pottery.

I have been having some pretty interesting conversations lately around pottery and pot making. Pottery used to be the craft made up mostly of blue collar humble people who wanted to carve out a living by either making functional ware, or more recently, sculptural work. The material was cheap and it didn’t take much to get going in this field. If you gave yourself 5-10 years to get good, you might have a halfway decent chance of making a go of it.

Then, COVID hit, and The Great Pottery Throwdown became a household favorite. Suddenly, everyone and their mother was trying their hand at pottery, and if they had any proficiency at it at all, they decided to become potters. Soon after this, clay and energy prices started going up and materials started going away. Now, pottery is fast becoming the refuge of the more wealthy crowd, and due to the manner in which they were introduced to the craft, very little attention is placed on how very hard the practice is on the environment.

In addition to this, now that so many people make pottery, fewer and fewer people need to buy it. Between market forces pushing pottery prices up, materials disappearing, and people not having the expendable income they used to, pottery as we know it is balancing a fine line of feasible and impossible. Where it was usually a great idea to sell pottery, it’s fast becoming a better idea to sell to potters, which is why there are 800 different types of ribs, 452 different variations of carving tool, and all kinds of mechanisms people are using now to take the hand out of pottery, (3D printed pottery comes to mind).

The question I’m going to ask is one I have pondered long and hard: how long until pottery becomes too costly to produce?

OPPORTUNITIES

1. The Lucky Dumpster is always taking in new artists, and the only requirement is that you come into the shop and ask. We will try anything within the space, so don’t be shy, come in and ask!

2. Harpo Foundation offers grants to under recognized artists. To submit you must be at least 21 years of age and there is a $15 fee for entry. Grants of up to $10,000 are awarded to multiple artists dependent on yearly budget. In order to receive further information about deadlines for submission, visit the website and sign up for email notifications.

3. The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation supports representational artists emerging artists who demonstrate a commitment to a lifelong career in the arts. Grants are awarded on an ongoing basis in the amounts of $15,000 and $18,000 Canadian. For more information and to apply, visit the foundation website. Deadlines are rolling.

4. Guggenheim Grant – Next cycle begins August 2024 – Information here.

5. Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture

6. Whitney Museum of Art Independent Study Program

7. The MacDowell Colony

8. National Parks Arts Foundation

9. The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

10. Perry + Carlson (ongoing)

    Perry and Carlson Gallery shows local, national and international artist’s work; focusing on contemporary and conceptual art in all media. The Gallery welcomes submissions from artists seeking group and solo show opportunities.

    ​

    • Artists may email examples of their work to christian@perryandcarlson.com

    • Please include: a link to your website if it contains: images, contact information, curriculum vitae, and artist’s statement.

    • Or, in the body of the email include: artist's statement, curriculum vitae, and images (including title, size, medium and date). We will not open attachments. Note: please check size of email and limit to 10MB

    ​

    Check out the website for more info!

    Deadline : Ongoing

    Thanks for reading The Lucky Dumpster ! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Hello and welcome.

If this is your first newsletter from us, thanks for joining! If not, thanks for sticking with us. This newsletter is a source for PNW artists as well as art collectors for art news around the PNW from which you can mine all kinds of valuable opportunities for collecting, selling, or viewing great art.

As I am a new employee and head social media coordinator of The Lucky Dumpster, I will always include some new information about what’s going on in The Dumpster as well as news from around the PNW. I will also close out every newsletter with artist opportunities.

THE LUCKY DUMPSTER

It’s been a busy couple months at The Dumpster. Aaron Murray dropped off a new load of great clay sculptures, we are up to our elbows in upcycled art by Dean Christensen, and we have several new artists, some of whose work you can see above. The truly wonderful thing about The Dumpster, though, are the conversations that take place around the discoveries that happen hourly in the shop. So many celebratory conversations about craft, art, and the heart that artists put into the work they make. It’s truly an inspiring space in which to work because so many of the artists who bring their work in to the shop put their whole heart into what they’re making. It’s a magical space for makers and collectors alike. It’s been around for over 19 years in its present location, and will most likely be around for at least that many more. We are also working on how to activate the space next door, so stay tuned for news on that.

Regional Art Shows

If you haven’t seen Ai Weiwei at the Seattle Art Museum, GO. He has made incredibly important work over the last 4 decades and he is still alive. I would tell you more, but I think the journey of getting to know his work should be yours to take.

Kat Houseman and Evelyn Woods are showing at Smith and Vallee starting in May. Check it out, both are great artists.

Not the Whole Picture is showing at the Whatcom Museum in the Lightcatcher building through the end of July. It’s a pretty great show.

There is an “immersive art experience” happening in downtown Bellingham in some of the empty store fronts. The first opening is May 2nd, though there is not a ton of other information on this. From what I’ve gleaned, this experience will be created by Ron Smith, or, OctoEyes, and from the look of his work, we might be in for a gigantic lit up jelly fish experience. I might go and do a review of the show next week, and I might not. I’m not a huge fan of The Paper Whale or the limited way in which they have included people in their endeavors in Bellingham. But that shouldn’t keep you from checking it out.

Psychedelic rock posters are on display at The Portland Art Museum. I’m a fan and I can’t wait to go. That’s through June 15.

I will pick 5-10 shows each week to tell you about. If you have/know of a show you would like to see in the newsletter, let me know. I don’t charge and it will reach a small but engaged audience to which you might not have access.

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On Showing Your Work.

As an artist of a certain age, I can tell you from experience that the one thing that gets in the way of most artists getting their work out into the world is themselves. It’s heartbreaking, really, but the reality is that many artists are so afraid of rejection that they take themselves out of the running by simply not trying.

The reality is that it’s never been easier to show your work, and it’s never been easier to get into shows and galleries. It’s not like we need professional photographers, hundreds of slides of our work, and hard copies of artist’s packets ready to send out on our studio shelves when we hear of a show. No. We are able to take our own images, scan the internet for artist opportunities, and keep updated versions of our bios, artist statements, and most recent work all on our computers!

The advice that I give to artists is to keep these updated artist packets handy, and sign up for a few services that will send you opportunities to your inbox. This alone isn’t enough, it is an oversimplification, I know. But, it’s a good first step. The more important work is in knowing where your work belongs. Approaching art markets with work that is probably more appropriate for galleries might end up wasting a lot of time, and trying to get a solo show before you have been in several group shows might also be a challenge. But, that’s the work we do as artists, we are always in a state of getting to know ourselves. In the spirit of helpfulness, here is a list of ways you can get your work out into the world:

• Social media

• Group shows

• Pop-up markets in local businesses/rentable spaces

• Online/magazine articles

• Holiday (any holiday) markets

• Café shows

• Residencies

• Gallery representation

• Joining art co-ops, teaching studios, or community centers where art making is always happening

There are just so many ways to get your art into the world, so if you’re hoping to do that, pick one and do it. Get ready for rejection, and never let success go to your head. Remember that the work is what’s important, and as long as you’re happy making what you’re making, you’re already winning.

OPPORTUNITIES

1. The Lucky Dumpster is always taking in new artists, and the only requirement is that you come into the shop and ask. We will try anything within the space, so don’t be shy, come in and ask!

2. The Looking Glass Gallery in the window of Eyes on Fremont in Bellingham is looking for queer/BIPOC 3-D artists to show small scale work in June and September of 2025. The deadline is the last day of April. Send your artist packet to young.spike@gmail.com. We will let people know by the end of the first week of May.

3. Job: Art Handler, Seattle.

4. Grants for Washington State Artist Projects Application opens May 16th, deadline, June 23rd

5. Art Project Grant (WA state) Deadline, May 12

6. Downtown Bellingham activation grants will open up again at the end of the summer.

7. There are still spaces available to rent a portal container village pop-up shop space. A perfect opportunity to get your work out there.

8. WA Clay arts member show submissions are open until May 2nd.

9. Sign up here to find national and international art opportunities (Artwork Archive)

Thanks very much for reading, sharing, and supporting us! See you soon.

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I haven’t written in a while because so much is still in flux and is still, unfortunately, unclear. The one thing I can tell you is that The Bellingham Center for the Arts is not moving forward due to a number of reasons, but mostly because I didn’t really have enough help in either of the groups that I attempted to gather in order to build something. I blame myself. I’m very sorry to those of you who were hoping this could be a reality in Bellingham. I am heartbroken to report this change.

I have shifted my focus to my new position in Edison at The Lucky Dumpster which is coincidentally registered as a craft school. I am going to continue to provide assistance and support to artists through the Instagram account I started with Burnished Clay Artist Collective. This includes finding spaces for BIPOC and queer artists to show and conduct workshops. I will also be posting opportunities for artists and will be providing free training to artists who are wanting to create a packet to apply for those opportunities.

I truly appreciate those of you who have followed my efforts this far, and invite you to unsubscribe if you’re no longer interested in receiving this newsletter. Starting next week, this will be The Lucky Dumpster/Edison Craft School newsletter. As I said, I will continue to list opportunities and provide services to artists of all varieties. I will also be using the newsletter to inform artists and patrons of The Lucky Dumpster of new developments.

I will see you in the next newsletter if you don’t unsubscribe.

Again, I thank you for your time and energy around my goal to open a community arts center in Bellingham. I learned a lot and will use that information going forward in this next chapter.

Sara

Things seem to be sliding downward rather quickly. While it feels like the world is crashing down around us, there are protests happening all over the country and even all over the world in support of freedom, justice and liberty. This one in particular grabbed our attention on International Women’s Day. Additionally, March 15th is a day many of us across the nation are going to be sending postcards to the White House as a protest of the stank that is emanating from that general area. It just takes a piece of sturdy paper and a 56 cent stamp to send it!

Updates

This week I have a few meetings and will be asking for funding from a few folks. Once it looks like it’s going to happen, we will be able to pull the trigger on one of the spaces we have been looking at over the last few months.

We will be doing a pop-up in April at the Port’s Container Village to raise awareness and funds for the center. More information will be coming out about that in next week’s newsletter.

It looks like Tom Dolese will be offering a day-long basket weaving workshop in support of the center later in the spring. More information on that will also be coming out next week.

We will be putting out a call for entries for small art display in the window of Eyes On Fremont in downtown Bellingham. This year the shows will be in June and September. We will put out the call soon, and soon thereafter put on a free Zoom workshop to help people get their artist packets together. The opportunity is open to artists who identify as BIPOC or queer.

Community Critique Club will resume again at the end of April! This is a chance for people to get together and get feedback on their work. Mark your calendars for the last Wednesday in April!!!

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OPPORTUNITIES

1. Women’s Studio Workshop has many opportunities on their website. Find them HERE.

2. Sitka Center offers residencies and their next deadline is March 17.

3. Northhouse Folk School is accepting applications for their Artisan Development Program. Deadline is March 31.

4. Elf School of the Arts Residency Program is looking for applicants. Deadline is March 31st.

5. The Center for Craft offers mid-career artists who teach a $10,000 grant and a 6 month cohort experience. Deadline is today.

   Bellingham Center for the Arts is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Hello!

How are you hanging in? It’s been rough over the last couple months, and we are here, still working toward the ultimate goal of having a community art center in Bellingham, though we are taking the time to take care of ourselves and each other as the US slowly moves into operating as a fascist state.

The good news is that we will be having a couple of fundraisers coming up, both around workshops. One will be a basket weaving workshop with Tom Dolese, the other will be an open workshop day with several local artists teaching short workshops in a common space over the course of a day.

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We continue to talk to people every week who want to be involved with the community center in one way or another, many of them local teachers and organizers who know how to connect people with opportunity.

We are considering moving off of Instagram onto either YouTube or Bluesky. We haven’t had an opportunity to make a plan for this yet, but as soon as we do, you will know.

We are building online courses to offer to people at a “pay what you can” rate. The strategy is to also create an online community membership program around these courses as well as resources and opportunities for people who need them, which will also be at a a “pay what you can” rate. Our goal is to help anyone who wants into the arts, and this pay what you can strategy is one aspect of that. If you have any ideas for courses you would like to see us offer, just reply to this newsletter.

Otherwise, this has been a pretty slow news week, so we will leave you with this inspiring and hopeful TedX video with Erica Chenowith.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Make.Shift Art Space seeking proposals for outdoor installations. Deadline: March 10

City of Kent Purchase Awards Deadline: March 12

Cannonball Arts, Indigenous Canoe Carving: Deadline, Open

28th Annual Alki Art Fair Vendor: Deadline, March 20

Something New Call for Public Art Bainbridge Island: Deadline, April 1

Community Justice Center Jail Murals, Lynnwood, WA: Deadline, April 13

Birds in Art 50, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Deadline, April 14

Calls for Exhibition Proposals, Nightingale Gallery, Eastern Oregon University, Deadline, April 15

Every week we will post arts opportunities at the bottom of the newsletter. Tell your fellow artisans to subscribe for opportunities. Also, as a membership bonus, all online members of The Bellingham Center for the Arts will have access to monthly grant/artist statement/bio workshops and art critiques. Get personalized help with your art career for less than a dollar a day.

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Hello and thanks for subscribing. Here is what’s happening.

We’re still looking for spaces. It’s a challenge to find an appropriate space in the right location in a market that’s somewhat sparse. It will happen. It might just take a bit more time than we were hoping.

It looks like we’re going forward with our original plan, with printmaking, basket weaving, an arts library, 2-D lab, woodworking, fitness/wellness, and a shop/gallery being central going forward. A couple of the groups who had initially wanted to join dropped out, but this is the type of thing that goes on in the beginning. We are in a “wait and see” phase of development, with the central focus being creating an arts community where everyone is welcome.

We’re considering having a workshop day in Bellingham to raise awareness for the center. The hope is to have 4-5 different instructors from the center teach people how to do small art/craftwork and talk with people about what a community center could do for Bellingham. So far we have button making with Emily Carey and basket weaving with Tom Dolese. Personally, I’ve always wanted to try my hand at weaving a basket or two.

The Kickstarter is on hold for now. We’ll let you know when the ducks line up and we can launch one.

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On Art and Community

In dark times art serves as a beacon of hope, resilience, and transformation. Community art centers have the ability to catalyze the power of art as a unifying force to bring people together regardless of background or circumstance. Through shared creative experiences, people discover universal similarities and celebrate unique strengths. This is what a community art center in Bellingham can do. Communal creation and appreciation of art will foster a sense of solidarity in the community and remind people that they aren’t alone in their struggles.

We believe that when the people of Bellingham gather to engage in artistic endeavoring, the bonds between individuals will grow stronger and fortify their sense of belonging. The vision for a community art center is one of hope and is propelled by the experiences of so many who have been saved by participating in the arts. In working together to build a space for people to create and appreciate art, we want to provide access to opportunity and therefor, hope. We believe that within the creative act lies an ability to transform despair into hope, isolation into unity, and oppression into a powerful, collective voice for change.

This is what we see as possible in Bellingham. By providing a space for artists in Bellingham to teach, mentor, and provide inspiration to people who don’t have access to the arts, we bring community together in a powerful and meaningful way. There is strength in community, and there is no better catalyst than art to pull a community together.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in following, participating, or supporting our efforts, please do pass this newsletter on.

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A few updates: We are still looking at spaces around Bellingham. I recently met with a phenomenal performance art professional who is interested in joining with the community center to create a strong performing arts center within it. I have continued to work on the business plan, and have taken on two advisors, one an economist and one, a retired arts administrator. I am continuing to reach out to people who might be interested in helping to fund the center.

I’m focusing on our Kickstarter as well. I’m working on creating a number of awards for different levels of donation, and if you are reading this and have any ideas, I would love to hear them. The above poster is a work in progress, and once I get it dialed in, I’ll make copies and hang it up all over town with a QR code directly to the Kickstarter. Again, the first hour of the Kickstarter campaign is the most important, and as such, we’re working on getting at least 100 people to pledge at least $20 within that first hour so the campaign will get mailed out to people on Kickstarter’s newsletter list.

February is for fundraising, so let me know if you or anyone you know can help out this small but growing band of community members to build a community center that will serve Bellingham for years to come.

Thanks again for supporting this heartfelt community endeavor. We couldn’t do it without you.

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OPPORTUNITIES

Art Activation in storefronts in Downtown Bellingham

Art in Public Places Job with WA state

Emerging Organization Grant

Creative Start Project Grant