Artists make their mark in SPSCC’s ‘Leave No Trace’ postcard show

South Puget Sound Community College’s 10th annual Fine Art Postcard Exhibition is small but mighty.

With the theme “Leave No Trace,” the exhibition — available to view online as well as by appointment at the college’s Leonor R. Fuller Gallery — includes 139 small-scale works from collage to stained glass and from embroidery to clay. Though that’s fewer than half of the number of entries the exhibition normally gets, it’s more than enough to allow a thorough exploration of the many possible meanings of the phrase, well-known to outdoor enthusiasts.

Unsurprisingly, environmental themes dominate the show. Cards by C.J. Dosch, a beekeeper and teacher at the college, incorporate not only honeycombs but also dead bees. Gerda Randolph’s three-dimensional wool felt dodo bird points out that the last trace of the extinct bird was in 1662. Unlikely animals invade urban environments in clever collages by Sharon Styer of Tacoma.

A photograph by Silvija Salai takes the theme literally, showing water rushing in to erase a pawprint in the sand. A pencil drawing by Lori Ohman Heckman depicts a dog walker left holding the bag so her charge leaves no trace.

Some artists went for the macabre with images that suggest getting away with crimes up to and including murder. Karlotte Meuse’s card depicts a murder in progress, while Grace Romero’s three-dimensional collage includes a handmade eyeball, teeth, hair and a match with which, presumably, someone plans to burn the evidence.

“We always have some wacky ones,” said gallery coordinator Sean Barnes.

This year, his own entries are among them. All three of his postcards put a disturbing twist on the idea of animals taking over, depicting a delicate deer chewing on human bones and suggesting, like Styer’s collages, a post-human world.

Other artists played with the notion that 2020 will itself leave no trace. A watercolor by Janet Hanson shows a woman holding her nose as she takes out a garbage bag labeled with the year, and another of Heckman’s pieces shows someone sweeping 2020 out the door. April Works’ fabric “card” is embroidered with 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021, along with the words “leave no trace.”

And then there are the three-dimensional stained-glass pieces by Britt Nederhood. Each depicts a classic Pearl eraser — an important tool for those who want to leave no trace of their mistakes.

The exhibition is a fundraiser for gallery programs. All of the cards are available for purchase in a silent auction, which this year is online and includes a dozen larger works donated by noted local artists in support of the gallery’s 2021 programs.

“They’re an extra-special bonus,” Barnes told The Olympian. “I anticipated there might be fewer pieces donated this year.” And there were: Past exhibits have attracted an average of about 300 cards.

“It’s just COVID,” he said. “It’s changed everything.”

That’s true for painter Susan Christian, who has submitted postcards to every show but this one. She missed the deadline this year but donated “Ari,” a painting on lath, to the auction.

“It was made in response to the murder of a friend’s daughter not long before the pandemic,” Christian told The Olympian. “It seemed like a good image for the pandemic, too: snapping in half, a loose end.”

While Barnes didn’t ask that larger works fit the theme, some of them seem to, Barnes said.

In a clay piece by sculptor and college professor Joe Batt, a rabbit pumps gas at a Shell station, while wooden vessels by Jay Shepard are intended to serve as urns for the ashes of deceased pets.

“ ’Leave No Trace’ doesn’t always mean that things are completely vanished and gone,” Barnes said.

Fine Art Postcard Exhibition

• What: “Leave No Trace,” South Puget Sound Community College’s 10th annual postcard show, showcases the work of both well-known artists and novices. All of the works — plus larger pieces — will be offered in an online auction.
• When: Through Feb. 5, with online receptions from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8 and from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5, with appointments available for in-person viewing from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Where: Online and by appointment at the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery at the Minnaert Center for the Arts, South Puget Sound Community College, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia
• Admission: Free
• More information: 360-596-5527, sbarnes2@spscc.edu, https://spscc.edu/gallery