Ring in New Year with art walk, mystery game

First Friday Art Walk Sequim

When: 5-8 p.m. Jan. 3

Location: Various venues near downtown Sequim

Sequim’s First Friday Art Walk celebrates the New Year with color themes of silver, black and white, along with the seventh-annual “Whodunnit Downtown?”mystery game.

The Jan. 3 Art Walk color theme is silver with hints of black and white to celebrate the New Year filled with idealistic goals for the future, optimistic hope and civic reflection. The sparkly color of silver represents shimmering thoughtfulness, honorable dedication, shiny aloft ideals, confident inclusion and equity, untarnished resilience, imaginative aspirations, and revolutionary receptiveness.

You can also solve the “Case of the Disco Trophy Hustle” at the seventh-annual “Whodunnit Downtown?” game for a prize.

First Friday Art Walk Sequim is a fun, free, self-guided tour of local art venues in Sequim from 5-8 p.m. the first Friday of every month. Visit SequimArtWalk.com to download and print your own map, find special events, links and how to be part of art.

Initiated in 2006, the Art Walk is an encouraging and educational arts event sponsored and produced by Renne Emiko Brock with a mission to create approachable, accessible art and cultural venues that encourage the community to connect and celebrate expression and diversity.

To create inclusion between venues, artists, and audience, everyone is encouraged to participate in the Art Walk’s monthly color themes as a fun community activity in any creative form they wish to express it.

Special events

The seventh-annual “Whodunnit Downtown? — The Case of the Disco Trophy Hustle” Mystery Game, a fun-filled evening with visitors engaging with “suspects” and collecting the clues at various venues to solve the “crime” and angling for a grand prize, is set for 5- 7:30 p.m. (see story, top right)

The City Arts Advisory Commission (CAAC) invites the communiuty to the opening of the “Illuminations” exhibit and artists’ reception at the Karen Kuznek-Reese Gallery from 5-8 p.m. at the Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St. Artists represented include: Suzanne Anaya, Anna Blanchard, James Bowie, David Brownell, Kelcie Byrd, Diane Clementi, Sharon DelaBarre, Ines Epperson, Caryl Fallert-Gentry, Sally Franz, Rich Madeo, Melissa Mann, Mary Marsh, Bob Martinson, Evan Miller, Derek Moose, Vicki Naumann, Suzan Noyes-Mangold, Priscilla Patterson, Sally Raddock, Michael Reece, Melinda Reed, Morgan Stephenson, Ryoko Toyama, Anna Waldron, Nancy Wilcox, Sandy Wolf, and Igor Zusev.

In the council chambers, check out an Art Talk on the Art Walk from 5-5:45 p.m. when artist Ross Brown will present “What is light and how it has become the subject in current art forms.”

Following that is an Open Jam session from 6-8. This is an informal gathering of people who like to make music. Participants will be playing the same song as a group; music with lyrics and chords will be provided. Any acoustical instruments are welcome along with voices.

Design2Scan3D and Dungeness Chestnuts are teaming up at the Spruce Building, 207 W. Spruce St. for the art walk. Design2Scan3D will demonstrate how to create a stoneware platter using press molds and stamps created and printed in-house. Tools, stamps and ceramics will be available for sale in the studio as well. Dungeness Chestnuts will welcome the New Year by hosting a chestnut roasting demonstration followed by chestnut sampling for those who’d like to try a roasted chestnut. There is a limited quantity of fresh and frozen chestnuts available for sale.

The Blue Whole Gallery at 129 W. Washington St. presents the gallery’s second juried show and this time the show is focused on three dimensional art. (See story, B-3)

The gallery had Mike McCollum, distinguished artist and art educator, as the juror. Mike McCollum stated, “The sculptures that were submitted were interesting, and in some cases very exciting. There was an overall sense of good craftsmanship and attention to detail. There was a wide selection of motifs and subject matter, ranging from figurative to abstract. There were varied materials used from wood to glass. All in all the sculptures I chose to be included in the exhibit offered an interesting and personal cross-section of 3-D art.” The artists in the show are John Bertholl, John Blackburn, Dale Blankenship, Ross Brown, Dia Calhoun, Linda Collins Chapman, Kathey Ervin, Susan Gansert Shaw, David Johannessohn, James Klein, Randy Raddock, Claudia Serafin, Chawn Vance, Sidney Westenskow, and Steve Wry.

Wind Rose Cellars at 143 W. Washington St. hosts visual artist and designer Makayla DeScala. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she gains inspiration from the diverse and rugged landscape around her, drawing parallels between events in nature, like storms and seasons with the human experience. Her newest collection of paintings will be featured at Wind Rose Cellars through February and is a focused work on environmental cloudscapes. She explores variations in shape, tone, color and texture with the intent to showcase how they can alter and/or create mood and atmosphere. Primarily a painter working with acrylic paints and mediums, her pieces have been described as colorful and expressive. Simplicity, movement and color remain at the center of her work, making her collections versatile and desirable for various tastes. A graduate of Peninsula College’s Multimedia program, Makayla credits the skills she learned there as well as the relationships she formed, as being crucial to her success as an artist. She currently sits on the Multimedia advisory board as a way to give back and encourage a new generation of creatives.

Rainshadow Cafe at 157 W. Cedar St. is hosting a musical performance by Olympic Generations (OGz).

Olympic Theatre Arts welcomes Patty Davis leading an evening of Karaoke at 5:30 p.m. at 414 N. Sequim Ave. First Friday at OTA is always free to the public, where the snack and beverage bar will be open.

For more

To participate as a venue or artist on the Official First Friday Art Walk Sequim map, listing and website, contact Emiko Brock at 360-460-3023 or renne@uniqueasyou.com. Artists of any media are encouraged to get information to her for publicity and opportunities.

To create inclusion between venues, artists and audience, everyone is encouraged to participate in the Art Walk’s monthly themes as a fun community activity in any creative form they wish to express it. January is silver, February is red, March is green, April is pink, May is aqua, June is white, July is purple, August is yellow, September is blue, October is orange, November is brown and December is gold.

Join the Art Walk Facebook page at facebook.com/sequimartwalk.