“Light Up the Night - Winter Wonders” Now on Display in Goldberg Building

We are pleased to announce “Light up the Night – Winter Wonders” – a new exhibition of artworks by local artists that will be on view through March 2024, in the windows of the Goldberg Building at Capitol Way at Fourth Avenue, downtown Olympia.

The exhibition features work from Graeme Smith, Lakes Elementary, Josh Everson and Courtney Warnick, Olympia High School, Cyrra Robinson, Fine Arts Club Preschool at South Sound Dance and Meredith Ehlers, Tumwater Hill Elementary.

The Olympia Artspace Alliance invited Olympia-area teachers to propose artwork by students that celebrate the winter and its wonders by lighting up the night.  

Graeme Smith and Lake Elementary Exhibit—”Winter Observer”. Here’s their artist statement: Observe the marvels of nature through the eyes of our third-grade artists at Lakes Elementary. Their observational sketches not only portray the essence of these plants but also serve as a gateway to mastering plant identification. Learning to identify plants connects us with our geography and the natural history of the Northwest. These observational drawings had no rough drafts or planning; they are simply a record of what the artist observed in the moment. We hope this exhibit encourages you to go outside this Winter to look at plants and draw the things you see.

Josh Everson and Courtney Warnick with Olympia High School and National Art Honor Society’s Exhibit— “Magical Natural Spectacle Festival”. He said, “This piece is a celebration of our future, and our mysteriously beautiful relationship with the natural world as we have yet to know it.”

Cyrra Robinson and Alice Grendon with the Fine Arts Club Preschool at South Sound Dance’s Exhibit —“Enchanted Forest Dwellings”. “Enchanted Forest Dwellings” was created by thirty 3-5-year-old students under the guidance of teacher and fine arts director Cyrra Robinson and teacher Alice Grendon from Fine Arts Club. Fine Arts Club is an arts-enriched preschool program at South Sound Dance in Tumwater. Each student made a diorama featuring painted mushrooms, moss, rocks, found objects, and a painted home for a chosen forest creature. They also painted and decorated a wooden house for living animals and imagined ones such as birds, squirrels, foxes, gnomes, fairies, and nymphs. These young artists' works are connected by trees, lights, parachutes, and large

collaborative pieces to create an enchanted forest. This project instigated meaningful conversations about the importance of having a home and a place of belonging. This installation celebrates light, joy, and childlike wonder.

Meredith Ehlers, Ms. Merry, Ms Wilson and Mrs. Taylor with Tumwater Hill Elementary Kindergarten Exhibit— “A Rainbow of Feelings.” “Colors are a useful tool to help young children distinguish the basic emotions of confusion, anger, sadness, fear, happiness, calm, and love. We guide children to identify their emotions and validate the spectrum of emotions. We also teach them how to express their emotions safely and work through difficult moments. This student artwork is inspired by the book The Color Monster, by Anna Llenas, and the A Little SPOT of Emotion series, by Diane Alber.”