Arts Walk cover artist creates image of interconnectedness for reborn spring festival
Artist Rene Westbrook is all about the message.
Westbrook’s “Alma Mater,” commissioned for this spring’s Olympia Arts Walk poster, is a colorful mixed-media portrait of a crowned woman with arms open wide and each hand holding an Earth.
The figure represents universal consciousness, said Westbrook of Lacey.
“The alma mater — the nurturing mother — is the consciousness of everything that’s around her,” she told The Olympian. “She’s a nurturing spirit that’s above everything else and that we’re all connected to. … We are here to nurture. We and she and everything are interrelated.
“I’m a hippie from way back,” she added. “We used to say people are spiritual beings having a human experience, not human beings having a spiritual experience. … I was a flower child — raised on peace, love and happiness.”
But beneath the lightness and playfulness of “Alma Mater,” which incorporates felt, silk, appliqué, metallic paper and more, lies the self-described “conscious crusader’s” concern about the state of the world.
“The only way to stay relevant as a thinking human being is to not close my eyes,” she said. “A lot of people don’t want to watch the news, don’t want to get involved, don’t care about anything but their families. It’s so short sighted to decide that no other person or no other species is important. We are integrally connected.”
Westbrook’s themes, along with her experimental approach, resonated with the jury that chose her as the poster artist, said Arts Walk coordinator Angel Nava of Olympia’s Parks, Arts and Recreation Department.
“Her work explores complex themes and intersections of identity and speaks to human experience in a way that jurors felt relevant to this moment in our community’s history,” Nava told The Olympian. “’Alma Mater’ is about rebirth and overcoming, and I hope that community members find hope and inspiration in the work.”
Inspiring people and reminding them of connections is exactly what Westbrook aimed to do with the piece, which invites the viewer to see, literally, the bigger picture.
“Most people need allegory,” she said. “They need something more than a truck coming straight at them. So instead of just doing depressing work, I try to find the beauty within the beast.”
Other issues Westbrook has explored recently include climate change in a series called “Life on Mars” and racism and resilience, including in work she did for the 2021 Black Lives Matter exhibition at Washington State University’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Pullman.
One of her pieces for that show, “Deliverance,” also was on view last month at South Puget Sound Community College’s “Black Love” exhibition. Also at the college, Westbrook explored the damage caused by fast fashion in a piece created for Janice Arnold’s collaborative “Skin & Bones in the Multiverse.”
Westbrook, whose current work includes painting, fabric art and collage, was trained as a sculptor and also has worked in photography, puppetry, poetry, theater and television.
“I like transitioning between techniques so that the message is not reliant on one art form,” she said. “I like ideas more than I like anything. I construct ideas verbally and then translate those ideas into a visual statement.”
Rene Westbrook
- What: Artist Westbrook of Lacey created “Alma Mater,” which represents universal consciousness. It and other of her recent work will be on view for Arts Walk, and Westbrook will be on hand to talk about her work.
- When: 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 22, and noon-6 p.m. Saturday, April 23
- Where: Ossa Skinworks, 109 Capitol Way N., Olympia
- More information: https://www.instagram.com/spiritspirit/
- Also: Westbrook’s commercial work is available at Gallery Boom, 3959 Martin Way E., Olympia.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.