First Thursday

As an artist, First Thursday is the best party around. Mainly in Pioneer Square, but also in many, many other locations, galleries and studios stay open late to bring some art to Thursday nights. First Thursday has been part of my life since I was in college, but I've taken long breaks from going out on First Thursday to view art.

But now I have a studio in Pioneer Square, so on Thursday, I had my studio open. For the first time since we moved in, I felt pretty good about the art I was showing. I had a few new things, some older pieces that I'd revised and reframed, and copies of some of my editions that I hadn't offered at First Thursday before, like The Grandma Deck.

I always say that artists are artists because we didn't get enough show and tell time in kindergarten, and for sure First Thursday makes me feel all exposed and show-and-telly. There were some good comments, actually quite a few attendees I felt really "got it," and there were a couple ambiguous comments (um, "nice birds?"). I did make a little bit of $ too, which was VERY helpful given our current state of economics here at the Taylor-Carbary household.

The First Thursday star of the Tashiro-Kaplan Building had to be our neighbor David Weed. He was showing his MFA thesis in his studio. His showing was amazing. He filled the space with his installation, "18 Signs," which were all pieces made up of light bulbs mounted on wood. They flashed at different rates, which made for a very effective emotional and physical response. The entire studio felt warm from the signs, actually! The glow could be seen coming out his door from down the hall. The titles made the pieces, though. One was titled, Made in USA, and was a checkmark created out of red, white, and blue bulbs. Very cool. My favorite piece was the series about terror alert levels. I tried to find some images to link to online, but haven't been able to find any. I'll keep looking and update if I find an article or review of David's show.