Curious about what the new year holds for you? Come to the intuitive arts fair and have a reading through the intuitive arts. Bring your pets to see the animal communicator. Wonderful fine arts available as well.

~ Free Admittance ~

Cove Crystals is a rock shop full of gems from pocket size to museum specimens, a gallery of drift wood and fine arts by locals, a gift shop filled with unique items, a flooring shop with magic carpets, and a meeting place for energy workers, native arts classes and more.

Cove Crystal Rock Shop Intuitive Arts Fair (360) 426-8111

Driving directions from I-5 (mileage is approximate) Take exit 104 (go 6 miles) Take Shelton exit Hwy 101 N. (go 11 miles) Take exit-only lane to Hwy 3 N. (veer right at exit, drive 1 ½ miles) (At 1st stop-light) go Right on Arcadia Rd (drive 2 miles) Turn Left at Cove Crystals sign drive to second building on Left

Vendor offerings include:
Reiki
Shamanism
Palmistry
Tarot
Aura Photos
Dream Interpretation
Mediums
Animal Communication
Talismanic Jewelry

Embedding is turned off, but Bridget Irish (and here) posted a sweet movie of the creation of a "I Love Olympia" banner downtown.

Go here for the silent version, here for the organ version.

We will have a new display of work from Seattle artist Kate Endle beginning on November 7, 2008. Join us for your first peek during First Friday from 5-9pm.

Her collages and illustrations have made their way into a variety of publications, books and media including The Utne Reader, Sesame Street Workshop, Macy's & Yamaha to name a few. Her work could be seen most recently hanging at Anthropologie in Seattle.

Original work as well as prints will be available for purchase at Home Body, Eco-Luxe Living through December 2008.

From The Olympian:

Work-living space project would provide affordable units

By Matt Batcheldor | The Olympian • Published October 28, 2008

OLYMPIA – City officials are considering trying to attract an affordable-housing project for artists to downtown.

Officials have spoken with Artspace, a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, that develops buildings with artists' workspaces and living quarters in the same complex.

The Olympia City Council will consider tonight whether to invite Artspace to tour the city. Council Member Jeff Kingsbury said he supports the idea.

A city delegation including Kingsbury and Councilwoman Rhenda Strub visited two housing developments the organization has built in Seattle. The organization also has projects in Everett and Portland.

The idea behind such a development is that rising rents can otherwise price out artists, particularly in places such as Seattle, which saw its downtown gentrify in the 1990s.

Moving Forward: Resources for Artists
Saturday, November 8, 2008, 2-4pm
Olympia City Council Chambers, 900 Plum Street SE

Miguel Guillen, Information Services Manager for Artist Trust, will discuss the essentials of presenting your work; how to get informed about the funding and exhibition possibilities available to Washington State artists; and information on professional resources, health care, insurance, emergency assistance, and legal services available to artists. Miguel will also present information about Artist Trust's grant programs, information services, and the EDGE Professional Development Training Program for visual artists. NOTE: this year’s workshop has an extended section on new trends on using the internet as a promotional tool. The workshop is free but pre-registration is required. Please contact Miguel Guillen at 206/467-8734 x11, 866/218-7878 x11 or miguel@artisttrust.org to register. Please include your discipline when registering.

Contact:
Stephanie Johnson
Arts & Events Manager
Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation
(360) 709-2678
sjohnso1@ci.olympia.wa.us

Now accepting Applications for Local Artisans APPLICATION DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 1, 2008

DUCK THE MALLS
6th Annual Arts and Crafts Sale at the Capitol Theater
Saturday, December 13, 2008, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 1, 2008

What is it?
An awesome local craft fair taking place inside the historic downtown Olympia Capitol Theater. The sale was created to support local and independent artisans and artists in the South Sound and visual art programming at the Olympia Film Society. Duck the Malls gives the community another great opportunity to shop locally, creatively, and alternatively for the holidays and support true craftsmanship!

When is it?
Saturday December 13th at the Capitol Theater from 11 am-4 pm. What are the requirements? To participate in Duck the Malls you must be selling LOCAL and HANDMADE ORIGINAL objects. Those wishing to sell cds, imports, food items, cosmetic products or services need not apply. No store bought or mass- produced items. We want to see what our brilliant local independent artists/crafters are making, not what is being churned out in the supermalls these days.

How much does it cost?
The booth fee will be $30 dollars for Olympia Film Society members and $40 dollars for non-members. Another great reason, besides all the wonderful movies and events, to become an OFS member.

How do I apply?
Simply send us an e-mail at artgallery@olympiafilmsociety.org with the following information…

• A couple JPGS of your work.
• A description of your work and how you make it.
• Your name and business name if you have one.
• Have you participated in previous Duck the Malls sales? If yes, please list years of participation.

For more information visit online at www.washingtoncenter.org or call us at 753-8585 

Main Gallery September 15 – October 10
Jeffree Stewart, oils
For the Love of Art 25 Years of Painting, Drawing & Printmaking

Mezzanine Lobby September ‘08 – June ‘09
Jeremy Zwiefel, wood
Gordian’s Knot – Site Specific Installation

Black Box ArtsWalk – October 3rd ONLY
Marilyn Freeman, multimedia installation
Communion: The Labyrinth Project
A multimedia installation designed to be “walked,” The Labyrinth Project draws on myth, mysticism, prayer, and ritual. The installation is a sculptural autobiography constructed from the artist’s personal artifacts ranging from 16mm film reels to platform shoes and integrates video and sonic art. It is an offering that invites others to engage with the work in a meditative way.

Main Stage ArtsWalk – October 3rd ONLY
From Nova Scotia to South Puget Sound: Images of Celtic Immigrants
Photographs of early settlers to Puget Sound from Scotland and Nova Scotia are choreographed to the music of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island fiddler Natalie MacMaster (performing October 4th at the Center). Photographs are courtesy of the City of Tumwater's Henderson House Museum

Photo from Arlington Northwest
Poetry by Iraq Soldier, Brian Turner

More information about Turner's collection of poems on the publisher, Alice James Books' website: Here, Bullet, a collection of Iraq war poems by soldier-poet Brian Turner.

Ashbah
by Brian Turner

The ghosts of American soldiers
wander the streets of Balad by night,
unsure of their way home, exhausted,
the desert wind blowing trash
down the narrow alleys as a voice
sounds from the minaret, a soulfull call
reminding them how alone they are,
how lost. And the Iraqi dead,
they watch in silence from rooftops
as date palms line the shore in silhouette,
leaning toward Mecca when the dawn wind blows.

Join us for a night of comic drawing fun at Danger Room Comics (corner of 4th and Columbia downtown). Show up at 6:00 for an instructional comic drawing workshop then stick around for comics jams. No artistic skill is necessary and guests are welcome to bring sketchbooks and current projects to be critiqued.

Questions? Email olympiacomicsfestival@gmail.com

There will be a film showing at 8 PM.

Project artists and leaders will be on-site at the wall this Saturday. We encourage community members to stop by and join us for conversation, paint a tile leaf, and attend an 8pm film screening at the wall of Bil’in Habibti (Bil’in, My Love), a documentary about the town of Bil’in in the West Bank. The villagers of Bil’in, and those who stand in solidarity with them, have for years engaged in weekly non-violent demonstrations to alter the course of the separation wall through their farmlands. Work on the mural will continue throughout the weekend, when the mural’s central image will be completed: an ancient, gnarled olive tree representing life and growth, movement upwards from strong roots, and a traditional aspect of the Palestinian landscape, culture, and economy. Over a million olive trees have been uprooted to build settlements and the separation wall; the International Court of Justice has ruled that the separation wall illegally appropriates Palestinian land within the 1967 Green Line.

For more information: Official Launch of the Olympia-Rafah Mural Project