Events for Fall Arts Walk

Olympia’s newest gallery is a whopper. Gallery Boom, previously located in a tiny building in Tumwater, opened last week in a 5,200-square-foot space at 502 Adams St. SE. There’s room for a classroom, rentable galleries and pop-up shops and space for AntiMatter Gallery, the successor to Matter. “The structure is like an antique mall,” said Boom owner Christine Malek of Olympia. For Arts Walk, Boom is spotlighting a ceramic installation by Shilo De La Cruz, mixed-media mashups by Jessica Wachtman and textiles and masks by Colleen Weston, while AntiMatter will show mixed-media pieces by Roxanna Groves and Chris Hyde. For information on Boom, call 360-584-9091 or go to galleryboom.squarespace.com. For details on AntiMatter, call 360-890-1594.

Olympia artist Skie Bender’s new flower paintings are blooming, appropriately, at Capitol Florist, 515 Capitol Way S. These more-or-less abstract flowers are big, textured and boldly colored. Bender is pretty colorful herself. She’s the author of nine novellas, a musician and singer-songwriter (playing with The Fire Ants). She works at Wolf Haven International, and one of her wolf paintings appears on the 2015 Mexican Wolf Conservation Stamp. For information, send an email to skiebend@gmail.com.

Painter Kathy Gore Fuss of Olympia has gone into the woods and onto ships at the Port of Olympia to capture the journey of the trees from the forest to what she calls “the industrial forest.” “We Call This Home,” on view this month at Salon Refu, 114 Capitol Way N., is a collection of Gore Fuss’ paintings and drawings. For information, call 360-280-3540, or go to salonrefugallery.com or kathygorefuss.com.

Birds make their way through a post-industrial landscape in Mike Lindenmeyer’s “Birdland” pastels, on view through Nov. 20 at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE. “Ospreys are known to build nests on steel cranes or electric towers,” the artist wrote in a statement about the show. “I find this to be a sign of hopefulness. Given the chance, nature can heal wounds, and life goes on regardless.” The exhibition is open during Arts Walk, by appointment noon-4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and to ticketholders during center events. For information, go to washingtoncenter.org or dogboneart.com.

These days, animal lovers can find a seemingly infinite supply of aww-worthy photos. But how many of those are of Olympia’s furry friends? If you’re looking for some local cuties (of the four-legged variety), stop by Olympia Federal Savings, 421 Capitol Way S., which will be open 6-7 p.m. Friday (Oct. 7) to showcase prints of the winners of the bank’s first pet calendar competition. Works created at Kokua Services’ studio for developmentally disabled artists will be on view, too. The bank will be accepting donations of pet food for Concern for Animals, which assists low-income pet owners. The adorable animals, chosen from more than 200 submissions, will grace the bank’s 2017 calendar, available later this month at Olympia Federal locations. For details, call 360-754-3400.

Olympia’s venerable Childhood’s End Gallery is known for its large and diverse exhibits for Arts Walk, and this fall’s offering — celebrating the gallery’s 45 years in business — follows the tradition. Among the works featured will be mixed-media assemblages by Tom Anderson, nature-inspired woodblock prints by Kristen Etmund, pastel landscapes by Sheila Evans, embroidery and mixed media wall pieces by Marie Hassett, turned wooden bowls and kaleidoscopes from Earle McNeil, figurative and landscape oils by Carla Louise Paine, encaustic miniatures by Jiji Sanders and pastel landscapes by Randena Walsh. Check it out at the gallery at 222 Fourth Ave. W. To find out more, call 943-3724 or see childhoods-end-gallery.com.

“The Masks We Wear,” on view at SafePlace, 521 East Legion Way, gives insight into the impact of domestic and sexual violence. Survivors were invited to create two masks each — one expressing “what you see” and a second revealing “what you don’t see.” They also wrote responses to the prompts. Many of the masks tell the story of survivors hiding their pain, but at least one set shows “what you see” as “often my tears, so stressed and forgetful” and “what you don’t see” as a colorful, flower-bedecked mask showing “what I will become.” Learn more about the project by watching the video at facebook.com/safeplace.olympia. For information, call 360-786-8754.

To the dance, that is. Radco, the Random Acts of Dance Collective, is performing 7:30-8:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 7) at Motion in Balance Studio, 219 Legion Way SW. Radco, as dance fans know, is a loose-knit group of dancers, choreographers and improvisers united by a passion for modern dance. The collective’s concerts include an array of styles, and there’s always some witty work included. After the show, audience members are invited to join in the dancing. For information, go to facebook.com/RADCo-125518990852076.

Raise a glass to the sound of a Seattle’s Kyros Quartet, a young ensemble brought to town by Emerald City Music, which produces chamber concerts from here to Seattle. The music and tasting happen 5-7 p.m. Friday (Oct. 7) at Grand Vin, 1003 Fourth Ave. E. For details, see grandvinwinemerchants.com or emeraldcitymusic.com.

You know the loud music you hear at every ArtsWalk, the kind that makes the sensitive cross the street? That’s coming from Capital City Guitars, 108 Fourth Ave. E. The rest of the year, it’s a guitar store, but twice a year, the sidewalk in front of the store becomes an outdoor concert venue. “When we do ArtsWalk, it makes it so no one can actually come into the store,” said Todd Connell, who works at the shop. “We throw everything out onto the sidewalk there. It’s not a good business day for us. We do it because it’s fun.” For information on Friday’s show, call 360-956-7097.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 8:35 PM with the headline "Events for Fall Arts Walk."