52nd Arts Walk embraces Olympia’s weird and beautiful sides

The beauty of the twice-annual Arts Walk is that there’s something for everybody.

Downtown Olympia’s beloved cultural festival kicked off Friday and continues all day Saturday with plenty of visual and audio excitement.

This year’s spring Arts Walk includes 122 participating downtown businesses hosting works by local artists including Lisa Hall. Over at Urban Upholstery on Capitol Way, Hall will show people another side of her craft — one that’s inspired by her Native American heritage.

In a piece called “Spirit,” she painted a surfboard with the likeness of a bear that was first carved onto a wooden door by her late grandmother. Of course, she will also display some “weird mixed-media assembly” pieces.

“The weirder, the better,” she said Friday.

Hall praised the inclusivity of the event, where one can find art ranging from student projects to sophisticated emotional expressions.

“It’s one of my favorite things about Olympia,” said Hall, who has participated in Arts Walk for more than a decade. “It brings the community together on a positive note.”

Olympia resident Barbara Blacker is among a handful of artists sharing their work at the Focus Northwest Gallery, which recently celebrated its first year of existence at Digital Imaging Northwest (formerly Don’s Camera shop) on Capitol Way.

Blacker’s photography specializes in finding the extraordinary within the ordinary, such as an icicle-covered bicycle in front of an octopus mural at Fish Tale Brew Pub. Another photo shows a cluster of rustic mailboxes that evoke a rural tranquility, which is why Blacker captured the image while walking through her Bigelow Highlands neighborhood.

“I like the details on things,” she said. “One petal, one rock — it’s amazing how different they can look when you take the time to look at them.”

Students from Nova School embraced their literary side with 108 entries inspired by Pablo Neruda, a prize-winning Chilean poet. The students wrote poems about their favorite things, then translated the poems to Spanish. Each piece is accompanied by a poem in both languages, along with a paper cutout of a scene.

Ella Hubbard, 12, made an ode to art with a paper cutout that depicts a hand drawing a girl on a swing. She was excited to participate in her first Arts Walk.

“It’s my favorite Olympia event,” she said.

The festivities continue all day Saturday — including the one-of-a-kind Procession of the Species, a beautifully strange all-ages parade where thousands of participants don homemade costumes and create puppet animals in a tribute to the natural world.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 12:04 PM with the headline "52nd Arts Walk embraces Olympia’s weird and beautiful sides."