Since our last entry, our noses have been snug to the grindstone preparing for winter (a.k.a. the end of summer). It's already raining, which is good, because we can't get the stupid sprinklers working, and bad, because the stucco needs fixing, and therefore the house needs repainting and all that implies. Good night! But we've had fun too!
Two weekends ago we had a splendid time with Dan and Marilyn Wilshin (Dave's brother) in Issaquah and on Lake Washington in their boat. They're repainting their house too, so we spent a lot of time searching for color inspirations along the lake's shoreline, which is a lot like mansion-spotting in Newport Harbor (yeah, yeah, we passed Bill Gates's compound), except there are boat houses and a provable absence of palm trees.
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We've happily discovered that Anacortesans are a bunch of party animals who don't blink at the chance to shut down part of their main drag and invite thousands of people to come party with them for a weekend. Typically, every few blocks there'll be a band playing and folks out dancing, some with each other, some soloing it. Even the wheel-chair bound get out and boogie. One whole block is devoted to food, from ribs to crepes, and of course salmon, salmon, salmon. And as far as the eye can see there are well-behaved dogs, even though the party planners keep insisting people not bring their pups.
On Friday we visited the juried show in the Port of Anacortes Warehouse Transit Shed, which is a crazy-smart venue because you can see and hear the surf breaking under the floorboards, while also listening to Corbin Keep and Mel Watson on the cello and guitar. Listen!!
Upon entering the warehouse, we were given a ballot because there would be a prize for the popular favorite, which I'm guessing they thought might be different from the jury's (headed by Esther Luttikhuizen of 4Culture).
Here's how we voted:
I liked Rex Silvernail (loved his use of prehistoric joinery to express imagined organics), with Michael Berman's Open Oceans being a close second (his huge, oceanic photographs lack a middle ground, which unsettled my physical sense of balance, as it should have).
David liked Berman too, but ultimately voted for Peregrine O'Gormley.
There were, of course, other fabulous pieces, like Natalie Niblack's mindscapes, Kathryn Glowen's silk ties on canvas (Pollock tamed!), and Carol Milne's knit glass.
With time to spare, we headed south on Commercial Ave. to catch the twelve blocks of art, craft, and food vendors. What a hoot! Our favorites:
Anchor Art Space (as usual), which is Anacortes's only contemporary-art gallery. We took time to watch a Julia Oldham video. (Here are other Julia videos for your viewing pleasure.)
Red Oak Glass's pendant lights. I'm putting this on my Christmas list. Gotta have one in the entry way.
Paddy McNeely's Asian-inspired, black-glazed porcelin pieces.
Stan O'Neil's hand-blown plates.
On Sunday we went back to the festival to listen to music with our friends Carl Bergan and Linda Page. We hit the warehouse first to hear fabulous pan-piper Paul Nyenhuis, who, alas, records nothing he plays, which is too darned bad for the world, because his music is heavenly. And so are his pipes, which he makes himself and decks with swans, eagles, ducks, you name it. Alas.
In the Majestic Inn's courtyard, we heard the jazz trio Trish Hans and Phil, who turned out to be quite entertaining and lovely to the ears. Trish looks like a princess, but for the music, she'll do anything with her voice: whistle, trombone (I kid you not), and cheek-thump. What a scream! For some of their new oldies, listen here and here.
Next, at the main stage, we heard Little Bill and the Blue Notes (yeah, that Little Bill) followed by The Bad Apples, a (mostly) girl band who are teachers hailing from Bellingham. They even looked like teachers! Funny how some things change, and some things never do.
Tonight we're off to La Conner to have dinner with Brent and Bobbie Johanson, whom I taught with for years. More on that later!
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