“Impoverished artists are nothing new.It’s penniless patrons who are taking to the streets these days – with more places than ever to go.Art can be for everyone, says Meri-Michael Collins, coordinator of this weekend’s Arts Walk. It’s fun, informal and of course, it’s free. The quarterly event, which takes place 12-4:30 p.m. Sunday, features art in 30 venues, twice as many as events last year. Highlights will include poetry in the Pavilion, gallery and artist receptions, and musical performances throughout WInslow, all at no charge. More restaurants than in past years are also getting involved, by offering tastings and culinary demonstrations. Collins is excited by the event’s increasing popularity. Participating businesses and establishments have spread from Winslow Way up past city hall to the library, and Collins said she anticipates a mixed crown turn-out. Like Spring, the Arts Walk just keeps growing, she says.’Surround yourself with art is the Arts Walk motto. Restaurant-owner Laura Ramadan takes the maxim literally. This could be a gallery, she says, gesturing around the four walls of Bistro Pleasant Beach on Winslow Way, participating for the first time in the Arts Walk. The paintings on the wall are by Bainbridge artists whose colorful and lively work complements the Mediterranean ambience her establishment, and she warms particularly to two depictions of European city scenes.”
“Whether men write with phallic pens or women conceive of fetal art remains a matter for academic debate.But gallery owner Beverly Thetford is nurturing women artists with maternal care – and you needn’t be a feminist theorist to appreciate the results.I’m just one of the lucky ones, says paper artist Wade Garretson, among many who blossomed because of Thetford’s eye for talent and heart for praise. Standing in Pastiche Antiques on Winslow Way, her haven for artists of more than one X chromosome, Thetford is at ease describing the subtle intricacies of the works she displays. So many of my girls just don’t realize their talent, she says.Six years ago, Thetford began to promote the work of female friends who were apprehensive about their artistic gifts.Charging no commission and fuelled by her mother’s love of museums, she began displaying friends’ work in her antiques store. Within three weeks she had a year’s worth of exhibitions planned. She has found that many of her artists went on to exhibit in galleries or to work on larger projects.”
“Vowing to streamline government regulations, fully fund the ferry system and cap property taxes, Republican Dan Murphy has launched a campaign for the state senate.Murphy, a Bainbridge Island attorney, has launched a campaign to unseat Democrat Betti Sheldon, 23rd District incumbent.”
“The Bainbridge Island Comprehensive Plan, a colleague recently mused, is much like the Old Testament of the Bible. You can, he suggested, use it to justify any opinion you like.Indeed, just as the biblical deity can be portrayed as vengeful or forgiving, capricious or stoic, so it seems does our comp-plan offer conflicting guideposts for island living.”
“Art is where the heart is, if the work of some talented students is anything to go by. Aspiring sculptors at Bainbridge High School are doing it for the joy – and have volunteered to give their work to the school. I had no concept – I just designed what looked cool, said artist and designer Jon Kellog.BHS art teacher Sissel Feroy said she is excited because art has never before been donated to the school. An 8-1/2-foot-tall sculpture now being created is subject to interpretation, but is sure to make an impression on any viewer.”
“Last week’s announcement that Bainbridge ferry service won’t be cut this summer doesn’t mean that the funding problems caused by Initiative 695 are over. To the contrary, the Legislature’s fix was more akin to a terminally ill patient’s being hooked to life-support systems – life may be prolonged, but the underlying ailment is untreated and will prove fatal.That grim assessment came from Paul Green, chief executive officer of Washington State Ferries, who spoke Monday at the Bainbridge Island Economic Vitality Conference.”
“Whether we like to admit it or not, much of Bainbridge is, shall we say, establishment. And much of it is high budget.But a new gift and craft store at 578 Winslow Way East runs counter to those trends. As its name implies, Barefoot on Bainbridge is decidedly relaxed.And its owners will be happy to make a living, not a fortune. The existing outlets are for very expensive artwork or well-established artists, said co-owner Jay Ekstrom. We’re trying to go more for the craftsperson, providing something affordable and usable.”
“Bainbridge Island ferry service won’t be cut this summer – with the exception of the third boat introduced during peak tourist season last year.But the prospect for rolling back city taxes don’t look as bright as they did a month ago. Those are among the results of the stop-gap state budget that the Legislature passed Thursday, after the close of second special session in Olympia.”
“Woodland Village is out of the woods.The city council Wednesday gave preliminary plat approval to the 27-home project on Ferncliff Avenue north of High School Road.I feel like I just got finished with a 3-1/2 year pregnancy, project developer Doug Nelson said, and Wednesday evening was two-hours of labor.The project was approved by a 5-1 count, with Councilwoman Christine Nasser casting the sole dissenting vote.”
“Sometimes even places of worship need a face lift. This week, a new set of windows has left Port Madison Lutheran Church feeling bigger, better and full of light. The sanctuary has a brand new look, Pastor Ron Hoyum said.When the cracks in the sanctuary’s 40-year-old windows suggested that replacement was necessary, Hoyum welcomed the opportunity to enhance the building.The glass design is both biblical and Bainbridge, he said.The natural images selected to adorn the 10 new opaque, fused-glass windows were chosen either for their religious significance or because they grow on the island. Committee members and Bainbridge Island’s Messolini Glass Studio collaborated with the congregation to select plants like Narcissus, holly, blackberries and grape for the windows’ motifs.”
“With its radical stylings, the Honda Insight looks like a car Jack Kerouac might love. But a local Buddhist – who, it seems, is on the road even more frequently than the late dharma bum himself – says her car’s attraction drives deeper than the beatnik allure of, say, Dean Moriarty’s Cadillac.It has to do with not hurting plants and people and the earth, said the Rev. Anne Heller, making the Insight a rolling reflection of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.The Insight definitely fits that bill, the national Sierra Club organization decided, when the it gave the fuel-efficient two-seater an award for Excellence in Environmental Engineering this year.”
“The Columbine shooting cast a shadow over Bainbridge schools this week, as a bomb scare closed Ordway Elementary School Monday. Parents and school buses were called to escort some 400 students home as police searched the building throughout the afternoon.We have decided to respond as if this were an imminent threat, said Steve Rowley, superintendent of Bainbridge Island schools.The threat had actually been made five days earlier – left on a staff member’s voicemail – but the instructor reportedly was away at a conference and the message went unchecked until Monday.”
“Buying the statistically average home on Bainbridge Island today requires either a six-figure income or a six-figure down payment.According to information supplied by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the average selling price for an island home in the first quarter of 2000 was $412,870. That compares to an average of $355,191 for the first quarter of 1999.”
