“As far as I am concerned, a painting speaks for itself. What is the use of giving explanations, when all is said and done? A painter has only one language.” ~Pablo Picasso

Picasso may have it right, but meeting the artist AND seeing the art makes for a rich evening. Vancouver’s First Friday Art Walk always proves that point.

The evening was definitely worth enduring the Niagara-like rain storm. A sampling of the art and artists:

Gallery 360, in its spacious new location at 111 W. Ninth Street, featured a “Cut and Paste” exhibit of mixed media as well as oils and other art from members.

DaBat at Gallery 360

Connie Cleaton at Gallery 360

Dorene Steggell at Gallery 360

Skip Enge’s bright-hued floral portraits gave energy and a longing for spring to the wet March evening at Aurora Gallery at 1004 Main Street.

Skip Enge at Aurora Gallery

North Bank Artists Gallery at 1005 Main Street showcased The Seven Deadly Sins Exhibition. Kaori Freda illustrated “Gluttony” with her Cupcake Diet drawing.

Kaori Freda at North Bank Artists Gallery

Up the street, Angst Gallery at 1015 Main Street celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Inner Light Photographic Society with a group exhibit.

Photographers Chris Eagon, Al Flory and Linda Freeland in front of photos by Chris at Angst Gallery

Last stop was Art on the Boulevard, 210 W. Evergreen Blvd. for the rich oils by Ridgefield artist Oleg Ulitskiy. The exhibit included work produced during a recent trip to his hometown of Odessa, Ukraine and from Northwest locations.

Oleg Ulitskiy with his favorite painting at Art on the Boulevard

As always, the First Friday crowd was patronizing downtown restaurants and bars. We chose Woody’s for margaritas and excellent seasonal quesadillas just steps away from Art on the Boulevard.

The exhibits will be up through March 26. Plan a personal Art Walk to see the creative work of our local artists!

Alan Rose of Woodland is the author of two published novels, The Legacy of Emily Hargraves (2007), a paranormal mystery, and Tales of Tokyo (2010), a modern quest novel based on his years of living and working in Japan.

He organizes WordFest, the monthly gathering of writers and readers in SW Washington and is the host of the KLTV program, “Book Chat.” He is also one of the organizers of Word Catcher, the annual literary festival in Kalama.

Alan is also the Director of Community Relations and Development at Lower Columbia Community Action Program (CAP), the largest private non-profit social service organization serving Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he has lived in Tokyo and Melbourne, Australia.

We spoke at Lava Java, coffee house at the I-5 Ridgefield Junction.

How did you come to the Pacific Northwest?

I lived the first 18 years of my life in Vancouver, then did my undergraduate work at Willamette University in Salem and from there I went to the School of Theology at Claremont, California, for my post-graduate work and where I also worked with two churches.

I returned to the Pacific Northwest and spent a year by myself in my parents’ trailer up on Lake Merwin, where I began writing fiction.

After emerging from the wilderness back into the world (I much prefer the wilderness), I served a church outside of Seattle and from there had the opportunity to teach English as a Second Language in Tokyo. From there I went to Australia and traveled around the Pacific Rim, finally returning to the Pacific Northwest 12 years later.

If you didn’t live here, where would you like to live?

Three of my favorite places I have visited and could live are Niigata Japan (in the Japan Alps), the south island of New Zealand and Tasmania. All remind me of the Northwest — lots of mists and mountains.

What’s special about the Pacific Northwest?

Its mystical quality–clouds, mists and mountains. I expressed this in my novel, Tales of Tokyo, where after months of the extreme heat and humidity of the Tokyo summer, the refreshing rains of autumn arrive:

He walked back through the soft rains to his aparto. Leaving the light off, he fixed himself some Market Spice Tea and sat by his open window, inhaling the freshness of the air. A reflective hush and quiet contentment settled over his little world of Fudo-Mae, and he sat a long time in the dark, drinking his tea and listening to the rains. For a native of the Pacific Northwest, rain possesses an almost mystical quality: listening to it, you learn to go deep; when you were a child, it put you to sleep, its soft patter on the roof lulling you; its misty curtain hung over your world transforming it into a magical realm of friendly spirits cloaked in clouds.

The gentle sound shushed, calmed and quieted his soul. For the first time in months he felt refreshed, at peace, and whole. unrolling his futon, he went to sleep to the whispering rain, dreaming of home.

What is your favorite place to relax in SW Washington?

My hillside five acres overlooking the Lewis River Valley, 10 miles upriver out of Woodland. It is my sanctuary. It is my retreat.

What is one thing that would surprise people about you?

That I am an introvert by nature. My job and my community organizing require me to be an extrovert, but I really am a loner, much more comfortable in my own solitude.

What is coming up that you are excited about?

Greg Mortenson. (Lower Columbia Community Action Program is bringing the author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools to Longview on March 1st. Details and tickets here.) He has been an inspiration to me and a number of people I know. I think that at this time in our history, we are in need of inspiration and certainly Greg Mortenson can be an inspiration to us with the idea of what one person can accomplish.

Question: What do deer, snowmen, butterflies and angels have in common?

Answer: They are all featured at this year’s Festival of Trees. And they all make stunning decorations for the holidays.

I just previewed the trees from the Vancouver Rotary Foundation’s 15th Annual Festival of Trees, which kicks off at noon on Friday, November 26 at Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver. Placed among the vintage airplanes, the trees look great! (Full disclosure, I’m a member of the Vancouver Rotary Foundation Board of Directors so I’m a little unobjective about the event!)

Watching the decorators work their magic on their trees (some fresh, some artificial, some flocked, some not), I learned a lot about how to create a beautiful tree or other holiday decor.

Here are a few of the many lessons I learned:

1. Start with a theme.

One tree has a charming “birds of a feather” theme. Another features snowmen. A third is covered with charming ornaments related to deer. Could I come up with a theme from my mishmash of ornaments? Possibly.

A theme can start with a snowman.

2. Work with a color scheme.

Each Festival tree has a definite color scheme. I love warm colors and copper is a great base color to start with like the tree “Sylvan Revelry.” Reds and blacks can make a dramatic statement.

Copper, olive green and off white make a beautiful color scheme.

Red and black add drama and elegance to a tree.

3. Get your decorations in a row before starting.
All Festival decorators seem to be very organized, with their lights and ornaments spread out on long tables. Maybe it’s time to cover a table with my decorations to inventory what I own, what I should toss, what might look better on a gift package than on a tree and which ornaments could be fun to add to a wreath or garland.

Don't hang one ornament until you are organized!

Do an inventory of your ornaments before you start.

4. Put the lights on first and feel free to mix them.

I knew that lights should go on the tree first. But it never occurred to me that you could mix different kinds of lights. One Festival tree has mixed strands of small white lights with blue snowflake lights for a charming look.

A mix of white lights and blue snowflakes illuminate this tree.

5. Go elegant.

Flowers. Butterflies. Birds. Ribbon. Words. All can bring an elegance to your tree.

Bejeweled butterfly ornaments can help create a stunningtree.

Joy is what your holiday decor should be about!

6. Go whimsical.

There are some very silly and fun decorations out there. One of the Festival trees is covered with hilarious deer ornaments.

A charming deer ornament.

Yet another deer!

A matching deer top completes the tree.

7. Make your own tree topper.

The days of a lone star on top of the tree are gone. Make something fun or unusual to crown your creation.

The decorator made this top for her snowman-themed tree.

Add vertical elegance to the top of your tree.

8. You can’t go wrong with birds.

Okay, it goes without saying that birds and trees belong together. So why not do a tree that focuses on our feathered friends like one of the Festival creations?

A charming feathered ornament.

Another feathered friend.

Owlet ornaments.

Every bird-themed tree needs a bird house.

9. Pull it all together.

Think about your complete picture. Do you want a matching wreath and gift wrap to go with your tree? Check out this Zebra-themed design.

A fully coordinated theme and look for your tree.

10. For more ideas, you need to visit Vancouver Rotary Foundation Festival of Trees!

The trees will be on display at Pearson Air Museum on Friday, November 26, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday, November 27, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, November 28, Noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Other events include the Community Tree Lighting on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. at Esther Short Park followed by the Vancouver Pops Concert at the Hilton at 7 p.m. Runners and walkers will enjoy Hot Buttered Run and Kids Kandy Kane Race on Sunday at Pearson Air Museum at 10 a.m. (Fees, registration and details at Energy Events)

See you at Vancouver Rotary Foundation Festival of Trees!

From caves to churches, public building interiors to downtown walls, murals have made social and political statements throughout the ages. Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Diego Rivera and José Orozco, Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, all shared their art through public murals. The list of muralists is long. So how do these esteemed artists connect to Southwest Washington?

In the tradition of these painters, Daybreak Youth Services volunteers created a massive outdoor mural in downtown Vancouver in 2008. “A group of us sat in the shade of the wall one Saturday morning in 2008 and talked about addiction and recovery,” says Donna Wiench, Daybreak Youth Services Development Director. “We discussed the darkness, the constant dissatisfaction and restlessness of addiction and how recovery is like coming into the light and peace.” The teens started drawing and art teacher Heather Fukuchi “put the images together to illustrate the story of going from darkness to light, with the help of community, responsibility, family and love.”

The theme, From Addition to Freedom, depicted the struggles of addiction, along with words like “pain,” “crime” and “hate” and then colorfully morphed into a rainbow and sun, along with words like “responsibility,” “recovery” and “love.” It was a massive act of creativity, which involved more than 30 staff, volunteers, youth ranging from grade school through high school, and teens in recovery.

Imagine how they felt when, even after “offending words” were removed, a building owner completely painted over the mural in the middle of a summer night in 2009. Personally, I was extremely offended by that act, as were many, many other community members.

The good news? The mural lives!

Bookmark © Daybreak Youth Services. Reproduced with permission.

The message of the mural has made the transition from a half-block wide downtown wall to a 3” x 8” bookmark. “Where are you in the mural?” it asks. It’s a fine reminder about the road from addiction to recovery, the drug and alcohol treatment provided to more than 1,100 teens annually by Daybreak Youth Services in Vancouver and Spokane, and power of words, art and paint on the side of a downtown wall. Welcome back, Daybreak mural and thank you, artists!

For more information:
Where to find the bookmark:
Fort Vancouver Regional Library branches, Vintage Books, the law firms of Scott Horenstein (900 Washington #1020) and Miller Nash (500 E. Broadway, #400), among other locations.

Mural Information: Daybreak Mural

Clark County Mural Information: Clark County Mural Society

Rebecca Weaver is a “repurposer.” Each week, at the Vancouver Farmers Market, she sells luscious rugs and woolen scarves she creates from recycled Pendleton yarns and fabric mill ends. She also creates table runners and placemats.

Rebecca Weaver at the Vancouver Farmers Market

I recently bought multiple scarves to share as gifts. You can give them as individual gifts or wrap them around other objects like soaps or candles — perfect for Made-in-the-Northwest presents. You’ll find Rebecca at the Vancouver Farmers Market throughout the fall season.

Rebecca's scarves with traditional Pendleton patterns

Breven Angaelica Warren is the founder and producer of the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival. Formerly known as the Washougal Film Festival, the newly-named event will move to the downtown Vancouver Hilton and Convention Center this month. It will open on Wednesday, August 18 and close on Sunday night, August 22.

Breven Angaelica Warren, Producer, Columbia Gorge International Film Festival

The opening night starts with a reception followed by a screening of Earthwork, directed by Chris Ordal. In addition a film designed to be projected onto ice will be shown – on ice, with music.

Films will be shown throughout the day and evening on Thursday, Friday and during the day on Saturday – in four different theaters at the Convention Center. An awards ceremony will be held on Saturday night and prize-winning films will be re-screened on Sunday.

A filmmaker and producer who also works at other festivals like Sundance, Breven has scheduled more than 300 films, ranging in length from 1 minute to 2.5 hours. Numerous filmmakers are coming to Vancouver for the event. Admission to view the films is free! Trailers for some of the films are available at Trailer Addict . The complete film list is posted here.

What brought you to SW Washington?

My mother graduated from Washougal and my dad graduated from Camas so I was made here. They had me in Florida and I grew up in Florida and Jamaica. My family moved back here quite a few years ago and I came here to help them with what they were doing and I am a filmmaker so I brought my film projects with me.

I was living in Washougal and the community was so amazingly supportive of my filmmaking. A lot of times I would get the question, “Where can we see your films?” Unless you were on the film festival circuit I don’t know where you would see them. So I had the idea of starting a festival to share with the community what they were helping me make and to bring independent film to the community.

That is how I started the festival in 2008, largely to give back to the community as well as to offer another opportunity to filmmakers because the film circuit is very tricky to get into and it took me a long time to get my films on the festival circuit. In 2008 we screened over 300 films. Part of my mission is to have it free to everyone. It’s a terrible business model but I want to stick to that.

In 2009 we grew a little and had more films and more filmmakers come. We are in our third year and the Convention Center was available and we could have everything under one roof. So many filmmakers come in from out of town as well as out of country and we can offer them all the amenities.

What is the best kept secret about SW Washington?

Is it a secret that we have the most amazing nature opportunities here? I’m obsessed with the gardening here.

If you didn’t live here, where would you live?

Somewhere where I can create. I am more interested in my community, the people around me, than the location.

What’s coming up that you are excited about?

Absolutely the Film Festival and getting to share so many amazing films with so many people. And especially the quality of filmmaking. We have amazing films from all over the world. We represent about 40 countries and really breathtaking storytelling, creative art films, great narratives and wonderful documentaries.

What would surprise people to know about you?

I started working in the industry as a child. Got my SAG card at age nine. Also, I make installations. I construct things. I like to make large pieces of art. I love glue and tape.