Mary Anderson, "One week at Port of Tacoma." Photo courtesy Kittredge Gallery.

Skies and ships at Kittredge
Bill Colby’s celestial woodcuts complement Mary Iverson’s down-to-earth abstracts of shipping containers at Kittredge Gallery. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon-5 p.m. Saturdays through Feb. 27. Free. Kittredge Hall, University of Puget Sound, North 15th and North Lawrence Streets, Tacoma. 253-879-2806, www.ups.edu/kittredge.xml

Northwest artists in TAM Biennial
See a roundup of contemporary local art in Tacoma Art Museum’s 9th Northwest Biennial. Opens 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 31, then noon-5 pm. Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. third Thursdays. $7.50 adult/$6.50 student, military, senior/free for five and under and on third Thursdays. 1701 Pacific Ave, Tacoma. 253-272-4258, www.tacomaartmuseum.org

See and hear Charlie Chaplin with Northwest Sinfonietta
The Sinfonietta will play Chaplin’s original score live to two of his silent films, along with a Copland symphony. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31. $45, $35, $28/senior, student, military $38, $30, $21/ticket plus prix fixe dinner at Sea Grill $55. Rialto Theater, 310 S. 9th St., Tacoma. 253-591-5894, www.orchestraexperience.com

D.A.S.H. does “The Wiz”
See a jivin’, singin’ and groovin’ production of musical “The Wiz,” based on “The Wizard of Oz,” by Hilltop’s D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts. 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. $8-$12 advance/$10-$15 general. Mt. Tahoma High School, 4634 S. 74th St., Tacoma. 253-572-3724, www.thedashcenter.org, www.brownpapertickets.com

The seventh annual edition of Tacoma-Pierce County Sister Cities International Film & Food Festival kicks off next Thursday at the Blue Mouse Theatre, 2611 N. Proctor St. Nine films from countries where Tacoma sister cities are located will be shown on consecutive Thursdays through April 2.

Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and ethnic food from the countries will be served before the show.

Tickets are available at the Blue Mouse box office and at the Pacific Northwest Shop, 2702 N. Proctor St.

For information, call: 253-752-9500.

The films in the festival are:

“Maboroshi” Feb. 5 (In honor of Kitakyushu, Japan)
A young mother tries to cope with life after her husband commits suicide in this 1995 Japanese drama.

“Catch A Fire” Feb. 12 (In honor of George, South Africa)
Derek Luke stars as a young black South African accused of terrorism during the apartheid era, and Tim Robbins plays the ruthless white police colonel who interrogates him.

“Ushpizin” Feb. 19 (In honor of Kiryat-Motzkin, Israel)
An Orthodox Jewish couple face a time of trial in Jerusalem.

“Summer's Tail” Feb. 26 (In honor of Taichung, Taiwan)
Four high-school kids laze about during an idyllic summer until a tragedy interrupts their fun.

“King And The Clown” March 5 (In honor of Gunsan, South Korea)
In 16th-century Korea the relationship between a king and a street performer clown leads to tragedy in a period drama that was a huge hit in its native country when it was released in 2005.

“Up To A Certain Point” March 12 (In honor of Cienfuegos, Cuba)
A married filmmaker falls in love with a female dockworker in a social satire from Cuba.

“Just Like Before” March 19 (In honor of Davao, The Philippines)
A popular Filipino rock band is the subject of this 2006 drama.

“Baseball Boys” March 26 (In honor of Fuzhou, China)
An award-winning children’s film from China.

“Bothersome Man” April 2 (In honor of Aalesund, Norway)
A man with amnesia finds himself living a life that is unfamiliar to him in this surreal Norwegian mystery movie.

Team of pianists. Sitting: Marjorie Skreen-Dickerson (left) and David Asplund. Standing: Erica Minneman (left), Timothy Strong and Diana Walker. Photo: Carole Parkhurst.

Ever heard five pianos played at once? Well, this Sunday is your chance. Local piano teachers will be putting on a fund-raising concert featuring three teams of five pianists each on stage at UPS’ Schneebeck Hall.

The performers are members of the Tacoma Chapter Music Teachers Association, including Marjorie Dickerson, who also plays for local groups such as the Northwest Repertory Singers.

“The Gig Harbor Chapter puts a concert on every two years, and they’re wildly popular,” says Dickerson, of the idea to stage a multi-piano-marathon.

The program includes favorites like Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance,” Offenbach’s “Cancan” from “Orpheus in the Underworld,” “The Entertainer” by Scott Jopling and more.
Prosser Pianos will loan two grand pianos, while the UPS provides the other three. The concert will raise funds for the Association’s Orchestra Recital Series, which provides opportunities for local students to play concertos with orchestra backing.

The concert will be held 3 p.m. Feb. 1 in Schneebeck Hall, off Union Avenue at the University of Puget Sound. Tickets: $10 general/$20 family, at the door.

Wanting some opera to cheer up the winter doldrums? Tacoma Opera is presenting its 7th annual Young Artist Showcase this weekend with an evening of scenes from operas based on Shakespeare. Steamy love scenes from “Romeo and Juliet” segue into comic relief from “Merry Wives of Windsor” in a kind of Shakespeare-goes-to-the-opera mix.

Soprano Megan Chenovick. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

Mezzo Stacey Porter. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

As always, the Showcase features up-and-coming local opera stars: this year, mostly recent Tacoma university graduates. Soprano Megan Chenovick is a UPS grad who just made it to the Met Opera regional competition finals last weekend. Mezzo Stacey Porter is a new mom who’s getting back into singing. Tenor Robert McAulay-Barnts and baritone Jeremy Schilley are both PLU grads.

Baritone Jeremy Schilley. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

Tenor Robert McAulay-Barnts. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

Act I of the Showcase focuses on “Romeo and Juliet,”—mostly operas by Gounod and Bellini, plus Leonard Bernstein’s musical “West Side Story”—while Act II turns comic, with operas based on “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (often written as “Falstaff”—Verdi, of course, but also unknown gems by Nikolai and Salieri.)

As usual, the staging will be minimal, the plotline being a troupe of actors who are rehearsing and playing a Shakespeare show. Says TO director Kathryn Smith: “We start with a bare stage and build it as we go, pulling things out of trunks, bringing in scenery, taking it away. It’s definitely going to be creative.”

Part of the fun, of course, is that each composer involved chose to allocate the lead roles to a different voice part. Romeo, for instance, is a tenor in Gounod’s version, a baritone in Bernstein’s, and a mezzo in Bellini’s (yes, a woman—this is called a “pants role,” and was pretty common at the time.) In “Merry Wives,” roles generally stay with the same singers. But making the most of this identity-chaos, the singers and directors have written a dialogue around it, with actors discussing their own role-switching.

The excerpts will be sung in English, French, and Italian, with projected English translation.

Shows are at 8 p.m. Jan. 31 and 2 p.m. Feb. 1 at Theatre on the Square, 915 Broadway, Tacoma. Tickets $32. 253-627-7789, 253-591-5894, www.tacomaopera.com

Ed. note: Laura posted this this morning while Rosemary's blog access was down, but Rosemary wrote the post. here goes:

Well, folks, the wait is over. The Monkeyshines have finally been put out around Tacoma: if you don't know the story, read my post here. This year, the Monkey crew upped the number of floats to just short of 600, and it took two days with 16 glassblowers each day to make them. (Thanks to City of Tacoma, whose grant paid for the glass and hot-shop hire.)

Having been (apparently) stalked, hunted down and otherwise pursued at 4 a.m. on Chinese New Year by savvy Tacomans wanting their glass New Year floats, organizer Ms. Monkey and her crew decided on a different time: 8 p.m. Sunday evening. I was invited to ride along, so I showed up at Ms. Monkey's studio gallery, along with around 25 other artists, glassblowers and general Monkeys, to get the briefing and two boxes of floats per car.

Number 1: Be discreet. Don't be seen. We all chose our Tacoma-wide locations.
Number 2: Be original. Avoid those Easter Egg-hunt spots please, like planters and front steps. Duh.
Number 3: Be nice. Pick a house that needs "a little love," said Ms. Monkey, to receive the Monkeyshine gift.

Because it sure is a gift--the floats are gorgeous this year, swirly oranges, greens and blues, with an elegant ox design on the seal.

So I tagged along with a certain concrete artist who shall remain anonymous (the Monkeys operate under a strict code of secrecy) to the Proctor district, and saw exactly where all those lovely floats got hid.

And guess what? I'm not gonna tell. Except to give hints: if you attend Mason Middle or Hoyt Elementary schools, if you like to look up at trees, if you operate a backhoe up near the electrical substation or if you were having a bang-up party just east of UPS last night, you may get lucky.

I went around at 9am this morning with the camera, and only one of four balls had been found. (The one at Hoyt. Only the woodchip nest remained.) At the top of this post is my favorite. Here's another, near Mason:

And another, with a shot of the house in whose garden it is hidden. Is this your house? Your neighbor's?

And no, we were never seen. In fact, my team have never been seen in all their Monkeying years, they say. Nor have they ever broken a float, which is admirable especially considering they're wandering around in complete darkness with frozen fingers.

It really was a fun thing to do, with that oh-no-are-we-gonna-get-caught thrill I haven't had since I was around 10 years old. Even better, though, would be to see the faces of the people who discover the Monkeyshines: wish we could hide a camera also.

So -- if you find one, let me know!

Red Dancers by Carla Barragan, art by Paula Barragan. Photo: Ron Wurzer.

Local Choreographers Dance Outside the Box
Carla Barragan of BQDance, Indian Orissi master Dr. Ratna Roy and modern dancer Kabby Mitchell create dance that will blow away your expectations. 8 p.m. Jan. 24. $8 advance/$10 at door/$6 each for family of four. Broadway Center Rehearsal Hall (ground level, near Theater on the Square,) 915 Broadway, Tacoma. 253-592-5894, www.broadwaycenter.org

Take the Kids to the Symphony
Hear “Peter and the Wolf” and other wolfish tales played by the Tacoma Youth Symphony in the UPS’ annual children’s orchestra concert. 3 p.m. Jan. 24. $10 general/$5 ages 5-18/free for 4 and under/$30 family of four. Schneebeck Concert Hall, University of Puget Sound, Union Avenue and North 15th Street, Tacoma. 253-879-3419, www.ups.edu/x31594.xml

Tacoma Symphony goes to Broadway
In their second Pops concert, the TSO play Andrew Lloyd Webber, hits from “Mamma Mia” and more with vocalists Teri Hansen and Nat Chandler. 2:30 p.m. Jan. 25. $22-$75. Pantages Theater, 905 Broadway, Tacoma. 253-272-7264, www.tacomasymphony.org

Last Weekend to see “Trace” at Fulcrum
Laura Ward’s layered, chiseled and carved paper architecture closes Sunday. 12-6 p.m. Jan. 24, 25. Next show “Sex and Politics” opens 6-10 p.m. Jan. 29. Free. Fulcrum Gallery, 1380 MLK Jr. Way, Tacoma. 253-250-0520, fulcrum.oliverdoriss.com

Ox ball for 2009 Monkeyshines. Photo courtesy Ms. Monkey.

On January 26 there's a lot to celebrate: Australia Day, India Day (the national equivalents there of Fourth of July) and, this year, Chinese New Year. And for those in the know here in Tacoma, that means Monkeyshines.

Monkeyshines, for the uninitiated, is an annual event spreading joy and unexpected happiness every Chinese New Year. For a week or so beforehand, the Monkey crew of local glassblowers spend hours creating hundreds of glass ball floats, stamped on the seal with a hand-sculpted design of whatever animal is gracing this year's calendar (2009-Year of the Ox, as shown above.) The Monkey crew then creep around downtown Tacoma in the wee hours, braving dark and cold to hide the floats, which are then serendipitously and delightfully discovered by Tacomans as they go about their day. What could be more fun - a free glass float which you yourself stumble across? (But hopefully not onto.)

But this year, folks, it's gonna be different.

From the beginning in 2004 (Year of the Monkey, hence the name) the intent of Monkeyshines was always to be a fun, slightly haphazard treasure hunt. Last year, though, the Monkey crew were stalked by hordes of greedy Tacoma citizens who, hip to the secret, hunted them down to claim floats almost before they had left the trucks.

"It was like we had become the prey," lamented Ms. Monkey, originator of the event and local glass artist in her own right.

So this year, the Monkey crew are picking a different distribution time. And they're not going to tell what it is.

I'll be going along with them and reporting next week, so I'm guarding the secret too. But here's one clue: The floats will definitely be in their hiding places by dawn of January 26. And where, exactly, do you look?
"We generally hide them in public spaces: parks, phone booths, the waterfront, industrial areas, planters...All of our favorite places," says Ms. Monkey.

You can also look around town this weekend for the annual New Year Beautiful Angle posters, wheat-pasted up as per tradition by letterpress artists Tom Llewellyn and Lance Kagey. Ripping one off as a souvenir is all part of the art.

And the other nice difference about this year's Monkeyshines is that the whole enterprise is being assisted by a City of Tacoma Arts Commission grant, which reimburses Ms. Monkey and her primate team of glass blowers, not to mention hot shops Tacoma Glassblowing studio and M-Space, for their dedication to our city's general artistic fun. Thank you, City of Tacoma.

Jill Nordfors Clark, "Desert Journey." Photo: Sayaka Ito.

Every so often I pop into Bellevue Arts Museum, and whenever I do, I realize I should go more often. Don't be fooled by the museum's focus on craft: This is a place that does exactly what good art should do--it blurs the boundaries. Aesthetically-driven craft, sculptural art--it's all there, from Tip Toland's eerie, life-size nudes to Etsuko Ichikawa's gorgeous, ceiling-high slashes of flame.

Just opened this month is "Intertwined," an exhibition of contemporary baskets from the collection of Arizonans Sara and David Lieberman. And it's awesome. Taking up nearly all of the second floor, the show involves artists from all over the world, and in a jaw-dropping array of media. There's embroidered felt, seagrass and rice paper, twine, zippers, pistachio shells, stainless steel mesh, cherry and maple shavings, grapefruit peel, beads, feathers, horsehair--anything and everything can be woven, apparently.

One of the artists is Jill Nordfors Clark, a Tacoma artist whose basketry is inspired by Native Northwest art. Her piece in the show, "Desert Journey" (leftish as you come up the stairs) is built of four-foot-high canes, brittle-thin, which are bound by gut in a honeycomb pattern. Desert-colored, reaching straggling up past their bindings, the canes sway and swim in the formal gut weavings. The minimal neatness is offset by this random rhythm.

Clark's represented in Tacoma by the American Art Company. Here's what she has to say about working with hog gut (also known as sausage casing):

"You can buy natural sausage casing packed in salt from a meat market. When wet, it is white, opaque, and resembles fettuccine. When dry, the casing becomes transformed into a delicate, translucent, parchment-like material."

Mmmm.

Other highlights: a tiny Pomo-style basket in willow and feather that would hold a quarter, maybe; a sculpture of two conjoined "Sisters" in a petticoat of woven twine; a swirling basket of salmon skins (tails flying) from Native Alaskan Fran Reed; and a host of restrained bamboo vessels from Japanese artists.

"Intertwined" is a beautiful, extensive and unusual collection, worth a trip to Bellevue any day.

Bellevue Arts Museum is open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sundays at 510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue (opposite Bellevue Square mall.) Admission is $9 adult/$7 seniors and students/free for under-six and first Fridays.
425.519.0770, www.bellevuearts.org

Bo Bartlett, "Barack Obama." Photo courtesy Tacoma Art Museum.

In the heat of inauguration excitement, you might want to stop in at Tacoma Art Museum, where we have our very own portrait of President Barack Obama. It's an oil by Northwest artist Bo Bartlett, and it's hanging in the event space just off the lobby (next to the cafe.)
According to director Stephanie Stebich, the portrait (which shows an Obama considerably more carefree than he looked on TV this morning) narrowly missed being chosen as the cover on Time magazine.
Here's what Bartlett has to say on the new president.

TAM is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon-5 p.m. Sundays and through 8 p.m. third Thursdays. 1701 Pacific Ave, Tacoma. 253-272-4258, www.tacomaartmuseum.org

The San Francisco Symphony. Photo courtesy Seattle Symphony.

It takes a lot to convince me to drive up to Seattle through evening rush-hour traffic in the kind of fog we're getting these days, especially mid-week. But tonight and tomorrow night there's the kind of reason that would make me go up twice in a row if I had the time:
The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
They're playing Benaroya Hall tonight and tomorrow, and they're playing Brahms, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. But even if they were playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" I'd still go and hear them. They're one of the world's best bands, playing with a sound in which every instrument speaks uniquely. Bernard Holland, reviewing a Carnegie Hall concert last year, called their sound European (rather than brassy American), with "a glow and a weight that begin below the surface of the sound and expand upward and outward."
They also have the best attitude toward younger audiences that I've found--their "Metallica" CD is a great example--with a website that really walks the talk with audio and video.
Tonight they're playing Berg, Copland and Brahms 1; tomorrow it's Prokofiev's 5th concert (Garrick Ohlson) and Tchaikovsky 5, plus a piece by their superb conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas. It's part of the longest West Coast tour they've done yet.
Both shows start at 7:30 p.m. Benaroya Hall is on Second Avenue at Union and University Streets in downtown Seattle. Tickets: 1-866-833-4747, or www.seattlesymphony.org

The past and the present will be on view side-by-side at the Washington State History Museum starting Saturday when a photo exhibit titled “Washington Then and Now” opens to the public.

Among the 100 photos in the exhibit is a yesterday/today pairing of pictures of downtown Tacoma (the older view taken sometime in the 1900s) and shots of a dirt road winding up to Mount Rainier in 1903 and a paved contemporary highway following the same route. The oldest photo was taken sometime in the late 1850s and is an image of the home of pioneering entrepreneur Henry Yesler in the heart of what is now Pioneer Square.

Originated by historian Paul Dorpat, the exhibit is an expansion of his “Then and Now” feature that has been running for years in the Seattle Times. Unlike the Times’ images, which concentrate on Seattle scenes, the photos at the museum are of scenes from throughout the state.

The exhibit will run through June 21.

Chris Sharp, "Activate Your Social Life." Image courtesy Chris Sharp.

Artists in the Round
The fifth in this series where visual, literary and musical artists perform onstage together, tonight’s show features musicians David Bazan, Goldfinch and Kirsten Wenlock; painter Chris Sharp and guests, and poet 6 Deep the Messenger and guests. 8 p.m. Jan. 16. $8, all ages. Club SOTA, 1117 Broadway, Tacoma. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/52485

Trio at TAM
The Northwest Sinfonietta continues its “Music Off the Walls” series at Tacoma Art Museum Saturday with the NS Trio: James Garlick, violin; Mara Finkelstein, cello; and Judith Cohen, piano; playing Shulhoff, Shostakovich and more. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 (5 p.m. dinner.) $28 general/$23 NS subscriber or TAM member/$48 with dinner at Indochine. Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma. 253-591-5894, www.broadwaycenter.org, www.orchestraexperience.com

“Slumdog Millionaire” still at The Grand
This Indian tale of rags-to-riches—hailed as “earthshaking” by the Wall Street Journal—just scooped four Golden Globes, and it’s still running at The Grand. 1 p.m. (weekends), 3:40 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. daily. R-rated. $8.50/$6.50 seniors, military, and shows before 6 p.m. weekdays, 4 p.m. weekends. 606 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma. 253-593-4474, www.grandcinema.com

Kevin Miller reads Old Town poems
McCarver Street, Café Divino, Commencement Bay: it’s all in there, as local poet Kevin Miller reads from and signs his latest book, “Home and Away: The Old Town Poems” at King’s Bookstore. 7 p.m. Jan. 22. Free. King’s Bookstore, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma. 253-272-8801, www.kingsbookstore.com

The Washington State History Museum will be marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an afternoon of special programs beginning at 2 p.m. Monday.

The event, “Dr. MLK: From Slavery, 2 Dreams, 2 Presidency,” will open with an address by former Tacoma Mayor Harold Moss and will include poetry readings, a dance performance by the Brick City Krump Dancers, a musical performance by the Henry Foss Gospel Choir and a video tribute titled “Never Would Have Made It” that links King’s legacy to the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States.

Admission to the museum will be free on the holiday.

The museum is at 1911 Pacific Ave. in downtown Tacoma.

Carson Murdach, "Mesa." Photo courtesy The Gallery, TCC.

Group shows are usually fairly lacking in the coherence department: big on quantity and small on voice. Not so the Environmental Art Exhibition now up at The Gallery at Tacoma Community College. With some 25 participating artists (students, staff, community) it's certainly varied. But curator Jennifer Olson-Rudenko's overarching theme attracts a general irony of beauty amid destruction, binding the show into a meaning all group shows should aspire to.

That said, it's a fairly uneven show. There's the highly provocative, like Carson Murdach's intricate apocalyptic ink-and-wash drawings of mutating cities, the identical box houses expanding infinitely over themselves and their burnt-out landscapes in fiercely soul-destroying symmetry. Then there's the placidly bland: Sarah Kemp Waldo's coast-scene acrylics, looking like they'd sell better at Cannon Beach.

Kyle Dillehay, "Global Warming." Photo courtesy The Gallery, TCC.

Kyle Dillehay's intriguing, walnut-like pods of dirt-filled iron make a far bolder statement than Bret Lyon's chunky sphere of recycled wood. Julia Haack does better with that material, her sinuous curves sit as stylish as a Frank Gehry chair on the wall.

There's Jason Sobottka's usual eloquence, his wood-and-print environment subtle on the topic of habitat encroachment, a complete contrast to the blinding obviousness (and ill-proportion) of Dorothy McCuistion's acrylics on the same topic. Jenni Denekas' food-tray of plastic cows also gets too preachy.

Zachary Mazur, "Columbia River, beneath Vernita Bridge". Photo courtesy The Gallery, TCC.

Best marks go to the photographers. Kirsten Marie Lawson brings beautifully twisted bark into almost 3-D focus, and Zachary Mazur's mediations on the stunning emptiness of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation hit a pinnacle of surreal realism: a school-desk in a river, a toxic sunset.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays through February 27. Enter off South 12th Street between Pearl and Mildred Streets. Free. 253-460-4306, www.tacomacc.edu/thegallery/

The Grand Cinema has been having an identity problem. The problem, said executive director Philip Cowan, is that the Tacoma's three-screen arthouse has had all kinds of logos in its 12-year history. “We have six logos on things right now,” he says. Business card logos are different from stationery logos, and so on. There is no consistency. The theater’s brand identity has been muddled.

That all changes next week. On Jan. 21 the theater will be rolling out a new logo and will be throwing a coming-out party to mark the occasion. Cake and cookies will be served, and replicas of the emblem will be handed out. The event will begin at 2:45 p.m.

The logo, which is being kept under wraps until the 21st, was created by Rusty George Creative, a Tacoma design studio.

Alexis St. John, "Vantage."

Proctor residents would have been wondering lately what's going to fill the space left by Huff's Jewelers on North 26th Street, near Il Pomodoro. Huff's closed on New Year's Eve, after the owner died and none was prepared to take over. Being a local, I was all prepared to root for an alternative to Starbucks but this is even better: a new art gallery!

Proctor Art Gallery (3811 N. 26th St.) will be a mixed-media space, owned and run by painter Carolyn Burt. It will run as a sort-of co-op, each of the members of the Association working days in the space and having a say in management.

Who's in it? Some of my favorite muralists in town, for a start: Mary Mann, Joannie Joachims, Alexis St. John--only here they'll get to display their fine art work in other media. Some other painters like Sharon Carr, Sally Tjostelson, Bonnie Cargol, Andrea Greenfield, Sharon Crocetti; plus jewelers Karen and Norman Geiger, and Nancy Corey, who works in fused glass. All but two live close to the gallery. Burt is hoping to add more, and display the lot in a "home decorator" setting.

Here's how Burt describes it:

"Our goal is to have an inviting gallery with high quality professional fine art in a variety of media and styles which will appeal to a mix of tastes. Rather than hang each artist's work from floor to ceiling in a designated space, we hope to create a more "home decorator" effect by interspersing 3-d creations with 2-d art and clusters of an artist's work in various locations in the gallery,
encouraging people to wander through the whole gallery to see it all."

Proctor Art Gallery is set to open at the end of January. Stay tuned.

“Movin’ Out” is Movin’ Into the Pantages
Twyla Tharp’s Broadway hit dance musical links Billy Joel songs with contemporary dance into a Vietnam-era plot. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14. $48/$58/$68/$80. Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma. 253-591-5894, www.broadwaycenter.org

Eastern Europe Chamber Music
Second City Chamber Series presents string trio music from Budapest and Vienna, including Beethoven, Kodaly and Dohnanyi. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9. $35 general/$30 seniors/$15 students. Great Hall, Annie Wright School, 827 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma. 253-572-TUNE, www.scchamberseries.org

A Choral Christmas, Rescheduled
Snow cancelled the Northwest Repertory Singers’ Christmas concert last month, so they’re just singing it again. Includes carols, handbells, cello, brass and piano. 3 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Jan. 10. $18 general/$15 seniors, students/free for under-12. Mason United Methodist Church, 2710 N. Madison St., Tacoma. 253-572-4831, www.nwrs.org

It’s Just Sax in Old Town
Sax-ophones, that is. The local all-female sax quartet Just Sax plays Pachelbel, Preludes and Pollywogs in a free concert, part of the Classical Tuesdays in Old Town series. 7 p.m. Jan. 13. Free. Slavonic Hall, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma. 253-752-2135, classicaltuesdays.blogspot.com

Laura Ward, "Reflection." Photo courtesy Fulcrum Gallery.

At Fulcrum Gallery, Laura Ward's building paper houses. Her show "Trace" takes fragments of architecture and interior patterns and reconstructs them with layers and layers of paper, carved like wood and painted like ghostly memories.

An East Coast native who moved to Seattle for the glass, Wardgrew up, she says, in a "haunted house" in New Hampshire, full of layers and secrets, with two woodworking parents and an inherited love of tools. Since then, she's traveled west, exploring abandoned buildings and creating virtual houses of chalk, wallpaper, grass, backless facades, plastic siding, glass frit and pretty much anything she can get her hands on. Her art changes medium like Madonna changes images, but one thing's constant: an exploration of impermanence, possession, appearance, and the human desire to make a home.

In "Reflection," for instance, seven sculptures project from Fulcrum's north wall like white wrought iron. Filigree and ornate, they cast candle-lit shadows. Go closer, though, and you spot the asymmetries: one tendril ends in a fleur-de-lis, the other side in a flush line. One side arabesques into space, the other is empty. It's subtle: Ward gently mocks our desire for sameness and reminds us of the imperfection of our memories. And of course, it's not wrought iron, it's paper. Layer upon layer, glued into wood-like strength and carved and painted into a sculptural softness.

Laura Ward, "Portion." Photo courtesy Fulcrum Gallery.

On the opposite wall, "Flake" takes the same paper-mass and combines pristine white snowflake-shapes into a semi-globe. The blanks speak of collective memory loss, or bombed-out cities.
"Portion" and "Boundary", also white but in cast cement and cast rubber, are more architectural, fragments of pattern like relics of an abandoned life, still warm with the heat of the departed inhabitant.

Ward's craftsmanship is immaculate, her vision wistful. It's as if she's searching for the very soul of a house, and finding it in these gentle reconstructions of visual memory.

"Trace" is up at Fulcrum through January 25. 6-9 p.m. Thursdays, 12-6 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays, and by appointment. 1308 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma. 253-520-0520, fulcrum.oliverdoriss.com

Laura's also in a group show opening 6-8 p.m. Jan. 13 through Feb. 28 at Winston Wachter Fine Art, 203 Dexter Ave., North Seattle. 206- 652-5855

“Pappy Boyington Field,” a documentary about a campaign to rename the airport at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after World War II air ace and Medal of Honor recipient Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, will be returning to the area this weekend.

The film, which played at last year’s Tacoma Film Festival, will be screened twice at the Museum of Flight, at 2 p.m. Saturday and again Sunday at the same time.

Sunday’s screening will mark the 21st anniversary of Boyington’s death from cancer at age 75 on Jan. 11, 1988.

The film was written and directed by Gonzalez, like Boyington a former Marine. In an interview with the News Tribune, he said the effort of local citizens to change the airport name to honor the war hero, who was born in Coeur d’Alene, “resonated with me as a Marine because the gravity of his legacy kept me focused on doing this film. I tried to capture the essence of what a Medal of Honor recipient means to people."

The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle. For more information, call 206-764-5720.

December's snow and ice did funny things to Tacoma's arts scene. Museums closed, crowds got thinner, and (ironically) Tacoma Art Museum's "Snowbound" festival saw way more real snow outside than fake stuff inside. Even just last night I was one of just three people braving more snow for an artist talk at Fulcrum. (Even the artist came late.)

One of the snow cancellations was the Christmas concert for the Northwest Repertory Singers. But if you still have a yen to hear carols, handbells and the like, fret not--the choir is rescheduling the concert this Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

On the program: Christmas carol classics featuring Gig Harbor's five-octave handbell choir the Chapel Ringers, a solo cello, brass quartet, and four-hand piano (that is, two people playing the same piano.)

If you had a ticket for the December concert, you can:
- use it for admission to this Saturday's one
- use it for admission to the NWRS' March jazz concert or May Northwest concert
- get a refund
- consider it a festive donation to this worthy choir!

“The Bells of Christmas,” under the direction of Dr. Paul W. Schultz, will be performed at Mason United Methodist Church, 2710 N. Madison St., Tacoma. $18 general/$15 seniors and students/under-12 free. Reservation/information: 253-572-4381, www.nwrs.org.

Scott Campbell, left, and Marcus Walker star in "Greater Tuna" at the Lakewood Playhouse next week.

The plays about Tuna, Texas have been around for over 25 years now, and finally one of them's coming to Lakewood--"Greater Tuna," opening at Lakewood Playhouse next Thursday.

Tuna, Texas?

You betcha. The series written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard revolve around life in the mythical Texas hamlet of Tuna, where the Lions' Club is liberal and Patsy Cline never dies, as the press release puts it. In "Greater Tuna," "A Tuna Christmas," "Red, White and Tuna" and "Tuna Does Vegas," the 20-plus eccentric characters are played by just two guys, the jabs at small-town American life never stop, and the whole thing is hilarious. ("Greater Tuna" was the most-produced play in America in 1985, according to its website, and President Bush even requested a command performance. Which says a lot, really.)

The Lakewood production is the first-ever trip to Tuna for the 90-year-old theater, and artistic director Marcus Walker (who co-stars with fellow director Scott Campbell) is looking forward to it. "It is fun to be acting opposite Scott Campbell, my associate, as we seldom are able to work the same show." But, points out Walker, "it is very challenging to keep all the characters straight...and remembering which voice to use."

If y'all are just itchin' for a chance to have some righteous laughs at Texas, this is it.

"Greater Tuna" opens 8 p.m. Jan. 8, then 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 18. 253-588-0042, www.lakewoodplayhouse.org

Baroque/classical flautist Jeffrey Cohan will play with Concert Spirituel on Vashon Jan. 6. Photo: Tate Cohan.

Concert Spirituel in Vashon
It’s not often you get period instruments playing on Vashon Island, so the New Year’s performance of 18th century chamber music by Seattle’s Concert Spirituel is a great way to take the edge off the winter darkness. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6. Suggested donation $15, free for under-18. Vashon United Methodist Church, 17928 Vashon Hwy SW, Vashon. 206-463-9804, 800-281-8026.

Catherine Grisez’ metal roots at Traver
Traver Gallery’s December show features Seattle artist Catherine Grisez, whose metal/mixed media sculptures and window installations are inspired by the root systems of plants. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 12-5 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 8. Free.1821 E. Dock Street #100, Tacoma. 253-383-3685, www.travergallery.com

Treasures still up at Grand Impromptu Gallery
The Impromptu’s December show is still up, if you’re looking for small treasures to buy (or just looking)—members’ works include miniatures by Bill Colby, knits by Trinda Love and paintings by Becky Frehse, plus guest ceramicists and jewelers. 4-9 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays, 2-4 p.m. Saturdays, 2-6 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 24. Free. 608 South Fawcett Ave., Tacoma. 253-572-9232, grandimpromptugallery.com

“Greater Tuna” comes to Greater Tacoma (a.k.a. Lakewood)
Since 1981, the “Tuna” series of plays have worked their way into the staples list of American theater, and now the first of these two-man comedic satires on small-town Southern life is coming to Lakewood Playhouse. Opens 8 p.m. Jan. 8, then 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 18. $14-$22, discounts for seniors, under-25, military. 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd, Lakewood. 253-588-0042, www.lakewoodplayhouse.org

Marc Dombrosky and Shannon Eakins, "Snow Job," at Tacoma Art Museum. Photo: Tacoma Art Museum.

Happy New Year!!

The snow may be gone, but Tacoma Art Museum still has a "Snow Job" going. The central installation of TAM's annual Snow Bound festival on Dec. 14 is still up through this weekend: a time-consuming effort by Tacoma's Marc Dombrosky and Shannon Eakins of individually wrapping each of the 600-plus stones in Richard Rhodes' courtyard sculpture, "Wave."

Since I missed the festival while swimming and surfing in sunny Australia, I thought I'd pop along to see how "Snow Job" looks. It must have looked awesome with a foot of actual snow piled up (bet TAM never thought they'd actually have real snow for the festival, let alone to be snowed in for several days!), but even without the white stuff this is a fun installation.

Each sweater is perfectly laid out, neck showing but waists and sides neatly tucked under the stones. The occasional arm shows--reaching Napoleonically across a tummy, or holding hands rather demurely with a neighboring arm--but the overall look is tidy, a sweeping checkerboard of colors. It's Grandma's bedspread, rather than Rhodes' austerity. Apparently, Dombrosky and Eakins will be laundering the sweaters after unwrapping them this Sunday, to give to charity (all part of the general theme of taking care of community.) Not sure how they'll be after several weeks in deep-freeze, but it's a nice thought.

What's even more fun is the guerilla-like knitting hidden slyly around the rest of the museum. Knitted sleeves pop up on door handles, bench legs and so on, provided by the Feisty Knitters' Association. Not heard of these folk? Their myspace page is pretty enigmatic, but Hello Knitty, Professor Purl et al are the smarties behind those knitted cupcakes that were around Tacoma for awhile.

According to TAM director Stephanie Stebich, it's all part of the festival. On her tip, I spotted the cutest items--a miniature black and miniature white sweater. See if you can find them too.

Oh, and in case you were thinking that $7.50 ($6.50 senior/student/military, free for under-five) is a lot to pay to see old sweaters, there's some more art in the galleries--Ottoman Empire paintings, Donald Fels signboards, and some exhibits from the collection including some thought-provoking Surrealist comparisons. And for Bank of America cardholders, this weekend is FREE.

Tacoma Art Museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, at 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma (closed New Year's Day). 253-272-4258, www.tacomaartmuseum.org