Locavore Mercantile Cooperative Opens on Steamboat Island

Above: Beth Mathews of Olympia will open a new, local cooperative for artists called Locavore Mercantile on Steamboat Island. Her grand opening is on Saturday.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A new local business will open on Steamboat Island just in time for holiday gift giving, and if all goes well, will continue to stay open in 2017.

Beth Mathews has opened a “pop-up” cooperative, Locavore Mercantile, featuring over 20 artists, located at the Steamboat Island exit just off Highway 101, at Steamboat Square, 6541 Sexton Drive NW, Olympia.

The cooperative features a local Steamboat Island business, Saucy Goodness Company, which makes all-natural hot and spicy chutney and related condiments, metal art by Dan and Landi Dial of Shelton, and many more multi-media artists who use clay, photography, paper, glass, textiles, and more to express their creativity.

Located between Subway and Flowers by Kristil, the shop will officially open on Saturday, October 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Regular hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

For $150, juried artists joined the cooperative for three months. The money pays for rent, utilities, and basic needs.

“I'm still getting a few more vendors in here, so things will fill up a little more this week,” said Mathews, who lives on Steamboat Island, during a tour of the shop on Monday.

Above: Bee Happy Organics of Tumwater has a wide selection of delicious smelling soaps, such as Rosemary Mint, Lemon Lavender, and Yippie Hippie. 

During the tour, jewelry artist Chris Kaitlyn of Olympia popped in to arrange and take pictures of her display.

A former art teacher in Alaska, and science teacher and school counselor in Washington, Kaitlyn described her jewelry as rustic bohemian. She’s looking forward to the grand opening.

“Beth’s done a fabulous job of setting this up! It’s come a long way since last week!” Kaitlyn said enthusiastically, admiring the shop and its new turquoise wall color.

Mathews, an archaeologist in cultural resource management, recently decided to take the plunge - she quit her job, and decided to focus solely on her art and form the cooperative. 

Her homemade jewelry and all-natural body care products and business, Nature Nouveau, is inspired by her scientific training. She has had a booth at the West Olympia Farmers' Market, Love Our Local Fest, and other venues throughout the region.

“About seven years ago, I started using art as a way to balance really intensely dry, scientific work. It became hard to shut down the desire to create things, and eventually, art became my part time job. People say, 'Don't quit your day job,' in the art world a lot, but it turned out that art was more stable than doing contract work in the cultural resource management industry,” laughed Mathews.

“It's always been funny to me that we cry “buy local, local, local,” but art shows, festivals, events, and markets are so temporary and time consuming to set up. I really was thinking, ‘This has to be easier! Can't we all just set up inside somewhere?’ The traditional shop idea seemed like such a novel idea after I'd been moving things around from market to market. And we have so many ultra-local, amazing creators near the shop. It's been really cool to see people coming together,” said Mathews.

As for after the holidays, Mathews says she would like to see the cooperative become permanent. Mathews is optimistic and passionate about the shop’s success. 

“We have a lot of artists who are interested in showing their work here, too many to fit, and a ton of local support, but our success depends on how responsive customers are to this location and what we have to offer as a group of artisans and artists. The reception so far has been really positive, so it seems it will be a joyous shopping season for local buyers and makers,” says Mathews.

Not only is the Steamboat Island area seeing significant new construction with three new 3,500 square foot buildings for retail, services, and office space, over 5,000 people live in the Steamboat Island community and an estimated 30,000 cars drive past Steamboat Square every week.

“We’re a tight community, and I expect there will be a lot of curiosity and word of mouth about the new shop. This project is about a community joining together to make something happen,” said Mathews.

Above: Local artist Ainsley Walden of Go Fish Raku creates sockeye salmon and driftwood art, holiday ornaments, wall art, and magnets.

For more information about Locavore Mercantile, go to http://www.locavoremercantile.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/LocavoreMercantile/

WSECU Proposes Garage Art Wall Installation

Above: The Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU) parking garage as seen from the parking lot of its former credit union site on Union Street. The proposed art would be placed on the southeast corner of the building, seen here on the far right.

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A subcommittee of the City of Olympia’s Design Review Board heard a proposal on Thursday night by Washington State Employee Credit Union (WSECU) staff to create an “art wall” on the southeast corner of WSECU’s parking garage at 410 10^th Avenue SE in downtown Olympia.

WSECU has also submitted a building permit application to the city to replace the tempered glass panels with laminated glass panels. Like the previous panels, the glass will be angled to reflect light in different ways.

While the application does not require design review, the board expressed interest and welcomed the presentation. City of Olympia planner Catherine McCoy explained the project to Design Review subcommittee members Darrell Hoppe, David Goularte, and Joseph LaValle.

Mike Sanders, Vice President of Facilities for WSECU and John Thomas of NBBJ, a Seattle architectural firm, gave presentations.

The intent of the art wall is to display “relevant, local, and community-inspired art” in a variety of formats including three-dimensional artwork. Some artwork could look similar to the images wrapped around transit buses, for example, using opaque, weather resistant material.

Artwork would be mounted to perforated, stainless steel panels with a bolted connection allowing a wide range of flexibility for assorted materials and mounting configurations. It is anticipated that some three-dimensional artwork such as lightweight objects or ceramic tile panels could be used in addition to two-dimensional artwork. Lighting will be provided for nighttime illumination.

The applicant says that no advertisement or signage of any kind is anticipated or intended for the garage.
 

Building History and Recent Flaws

As project manager for WSECU’s corporate buildings, Sanders said WSECU tried to design a building that was more than a parking garage, and feels the glass panels add that design component, blending into the community.

Located across the street from the Olympia post office on 10^th and Jefferson, the block was rezoned in 2006 from urban residential to downtown business to build the $18 million six-story garage. Nearby neighbors were not thrilled with the project at the time, as it appears out of scale with downtown residential housing in the area. The city's Planning Commission at the time made no recommendation to the city council on the project due to a split vote.

A selling point WSECU used at the time of the proposed rezone of the block was that they would consider the garage to be available for neighborhood residents and community use, however, this has yet to occur. Built in 2009, the private, gated garage contains 469 stalls.

The City of Olympia arts, parks and recreation is not involved in the application, and there is no city or state mandate for WSECU to do this project, says Stephanie Johnson, the city’s program manager for the department. In order to learn more about best practices of public art processes, however, Sanders sought Johnson’s professional opinion about the project and various artistic options of what could be done with the space.

Explosion of Glass

Tempered glass panels originally surrounded the brick building to better obscure the sight of vehicles in the garage. Those panels were recently entirely removed when it was discovered that they were secured to the building with faulty components. 

On August 17, one of the glass panels spontaneously exploded, said Sanders.

“After an investigation, it was determined that there were impurities in the glass making process….There are various opinions about what causes glass to explode….The tempered glass was under great tension….and when I say exploded, I mean it exploded with such force that there was glass found above it, outside, and rained glass onto the sidewalk.” There were no injuries.

In an effort to determine existing conditions of the glass before its removal, a 3D laser scan of the building was made. Recently, the public saw huge swaths of blue X’s marking each panel which was needed for that effort. Scaffolding was then put into place and the glass panels were removed.
 

Above: A sample image from a page of the Washington State Employee Credit Union's application to the City of Olympia for garage art wall installation. 

Building Art Proposal

Sanders admitted the garage is pretty ugly right now, so WSECU staff wondered what they could do to “fix the building.” He says WSECU tries to be community-minded, so, staff discussed art projects, such as photography and sculptures.

While many details are in the conceptual stage, a metal, perforated mesh, ¼ inch thick, will cover a space 13 ½ ft. wide x 39 ft. on 10th Avenue, and 23 ft. x 39 ft. on the Jefferson Street side. It will be designed to look attractive whether art is placed on it or not.

Sanders said that while WSECU does not yet have an art program in place, they have experience with the annual calendar featuring photography from around the state. He anticipates staff will use the same kind of deliberation in art for the garage as it does for the calendar, and will voluntarily stay away from controversial pieces. They anticipate changing the art once a quarter or a couple times a year.

City staff and Design Review subcommittee board members asked questions about illumination, weight, wind, earthquake, and pedestrian right of way issues. They also expressed full confidence that WSECU will not violate Olympia’s municipal code regarding signage.

"Subtle illumination will be used to define the artwork but not make it look like a billboard," said Sanders. He said they will use low profile, LED lighting that will blend into the building.

Also, credit to chosen artists will not be displayed or printed on the actual art, but be placed on a small kiosk nearby, under the art, similar to art sculptures currently on display around the city, and through their publication and website. 

Board members asked to see the final ideas when WSECU was ready with more information. Sanders said he hopes to have the metal mesh and glass installed by March or April of 2014.

In a letter received today in response to an inquiry from this reporter, Sharon Whitehead, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer says, in part, "You are certainly right in that art is subjective and yes, we realize that there may be some level of risk inherent in placing visuals on the building for others to view and evaluate. We also believe it can be a great gift to the community to increase the visual appeal of the neighborhood."

According to its website, WSECU is a non-profit, community credit union open to everyone, not just state employees. It was founded by a small group of Washington State employees in 1957. WSECU is overseen by nine volunteer board of directors. To contact the board of directors, write: boardofdirectors@wsecu.org or by mail: Board of Directors, PO BOX WSECU, Olympia, WA 98507.

For more information about the proposal and to see sample designs, go to:http://olympiawa.gov/city-government/advisory-committees/design-review-board/2012%20Design%20Review%20Board%20Agendas or contact Catherine McCoy, lead planner, City of Olympia, (360) 570-3776 or cmccoy@ci.olympia.wa.us and refer to WSECU Art Installation Case Number: 13-3544.

 

Above: The southeast corner of WSECU's parking garage is on the left, as seen from the Olympia United States Post Office on Jefferson Street.

 

Olympia Public Art Along Percival Landing

 

Above: People walking along Percival Landing tonight look at a sculpture titled "Throes," by Willow Wicklund. Cynthia Mitchell, left, and Haneen Aibak, red shirt, both of Olympia, stopped by the exhibits.

by Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The City of Olympia and members of the city Arts Commission tonight hosted a grand opening for a new round of public art currently featured on Percival Landing. Twelve loaned sculptures along Percival Landing, from Bayview Thriftway to Budd Bay Café, are on display.

The public is invited to vote for the 2013 People's Choice Sculpture Award from today through August 31, using ballots located along Percival Landing. The sculpture with the most votes will be purchased by the City of Olympia and installed in another location following the exhibition. Olympia residency is not required to vote, however, it is required that all sculptures be viewed in person before your ballot is turned in.

Tonight, Cynthia Mitchell and Haneen Aibak indicated that they were both impressed with "Throes," a steel and bronze sculpture by Willow Wicklund. The artwork evoked emotion in Aibak.

"I wish I was taller so I could see his face," she said. "The fact that he's looking up means hope, or maybe he's looking for his friend, an alien," Aibak laughed.

"No, hope," she decided after further interpretation. "Hope that the clouds will clear, the sun will shine, and the rays will embrace my face."

Above: Artist Lin Rebolini McJunkin cleans her artwork, "Kelp Totem III: Orca" on Percival Landing tonight.

 

Artist Lin Rebolini McJunkin was seen cleaning her steel and glass sculpture, "Kelp Totem III: Orca" tonight. Rebolini McJunkin, of Conway, says her piece was inspired by her appreciation of  Coastal Salish Native American art.

 

"This is my interpretation of an orca," she said. The piece uses green and purple powder mixed together with recycled chunks of broken glass, which Rebolini McJunkin then mixed up, put into a mold, and into a kiln. The process is called pate de verre, meaning paste of glass.

 

The bladder of the kelp shown a brilliant green and purple against the setting sun. She said she is very pleased with where her piece was located by the city, near the bridge.

 

"I couldn't have picked a better place," she said. Rebolini McJunkin's work is also featured in several other cities in Washington and Idaho. One of her pieces just won the People's Choice award in Auburn, she said. Her smaller, more intimate pieces are featured at Childhood's End Gallery in Olympia.

 

The People's Choice winner will be announced at the Olympia City Council meeting on October 1, 2013. Sculptures not awarded the award may be purchased after July 2014.

For more information, contact Stephanie Johnson, City of Olympia Arts & Events Program Manager, Park, Arts and Recreation Department, at (360) 709-2678 or go to www.olympiawa.gov/plinth.