West Olympia artist will turn his driveway and alley into an art gallery on Saturday

Under normal circumstances, going to an art show might not be a top priority for an August afternoon. After all, if the weather is good, you’d probably want to be outside.

But Saturday’s Art ’N the Alley is an outdoor art show — and current circumstances are definitely not normal.

Olympia artist Taylor Clinton is hosting the show of two-dimensional work by a half-dozen local artists in his west side driveway and the adjacent alley.

“I’d been trying to come up with something ever since Arts Walk was canceled,” Clinton told The Olympian. “I’d been showing at Arts Walk for 14 years.

“I was looking at my driveway, and I thought, ‘This is a pretty open space. I think I could make this work.’ ”

He’ll hang his own colorful mixed-media paintings in his garage, and he’s put up pegboard walls in the driveway and alley to create space for other artists and accommodate the need for physical distancing.

The show also features paintings by Carlos Barría-Navarro (also known as Barnav), whose work focuses on the animals and people of his native Chile; organic mixed-media paintings and prints by Susie Engelstad, who takes inspiration from the landscapes of the Northwest and her native Norway; colored-pencil drawings of birds by Mariana Vera; mosaics by Maggie Jekel-Penn; and paintings by Rose Nicholas, whose work expresses her emotional experience.

“It’s really a diverse group of people in terms of the type of art that we do, which is really cool,” Engelstad told The Olympian.

As the owner of Art House Designs in downtown Olympia, Engelstad is more accustomed to showing other artists’ work than preparing her own paintings for a show.

About being in an outdoor exhibit, she said, “It’s a first-time thing for me.

“Part of me was like, ‘What am I doing? I’ve got so much going on here,’ ” she added “But I think it will be fun.”

Though it was the realities of life in a pandemic that inspired him to create an outdoor show, Clinton is already thinking about how the event could evolve in future summers.

“I really would love to have live performances and music and theater and fun things for kids,” he said. “I’d like to make it an all-around experience.

“We can’t do it this year because of the COVID thing, but maybe in the future, it can grow,” he added. “I feel like Olympia needs a summer time arts walk.”

Art ’N the Alley

• What: This open-air art show features work by a half-dozen Olympia artists. Masks are required.
• When: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15
• Where: 509 Decatur St. SW, Olympia
• Cost: Free
• More information: Facebook

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 5:45 AM.