By Vicki Hillhouse Terry Martin and Ken Melhus spent years between them playing guitars before they combined forces to make them. At their Walla Walla Guitar Company, their expertise in design, manufacturing and a love of music is behind their business’s mission to “create instruments that are visually exciting, unique and play like an old … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse There’s a reason Penny Michel’s ceramic sculptures often look as if they could have been part of an archaeological discovery. The lines, textures, shapes and figures in her pieces are inspired by a childhood among Roman and Phoenician ruins in Carthage, Tunisia. A resident artist at Telander Gallery, she started in ceramics … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse Painter and sculptor Squire Broel isn’t concerned whether people always understand the intent behind his abstract works. “I used to think about making art that people could engage with, and I finally got to a place where I realized I wanted to make work that was a true expression of my feelings,” … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse Tricia Harding works with paper the way other artists might work with paints. She uses different kinds of paper — some collected in her travels, some purchased for her by loved ones and some of it handmade in her studio — to create small, often abstract, works as a recreation or reflection … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse Diego Perez is what you’d get if you crossed Caravaggio with acid humor. His paintings start with real aspects of everyday life and writhe into his humorous or ironic twists — all in an oil paint tradition fused with dramatic light. “I love the classic art,” he says. “I grew up with … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse “There’s only so many ways you can make a scarf.” Fabric artist and weaver Kim Nemeth had made and sold enough of her meticulously crafted neck pieces and other worn items that she wondered what — if anything — to do next with her loom. “I kind of got burned out on making … Read More
The Grouse Mountain Trail in the Blue Mountains above Walla Walla offers an earlier season hiking experience that also celebrates the beauty of wildflowers and pine.
By Vicki Hillhouse Dez’Mon Omega Fair has learned to find harmony in creative mistakes. Immersed in his own world of color and movement when he paints, he finds problems sometimes present themselves in unexpected ways. “Make a mistake and figure out how to navigate that mistake,” he says. “I think it just kind of creates … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse, 2023 It’s time to roll out the red carpet. Walla Walla’s annual festival of short films comes in for a close-up July 5-7, 2024. Walla Walla Movie Crush is a weekend marathon of cinematic shorts. Shown in clusters at Gesa Power House Theatre, the films are meticulously curated into themed blocks. The … Read More
While Washington’s Cascade Range is known internationally as a mountain biking destination, the state’s southeast corner and the town of Walla Walla are becoming popular for a variety of scenic and diverse trails. From the white-knuckle, fall-line single track on Indian Ridge to the undulating terrain at Bennington Lake, there’s something for every level of rider. … Read More
