/Arts & Entertainment
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
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
By Vicki Hillhouse There’s a running joke with the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival about its open public rehearsals: A violinist and cellist are sitting in a bar. One says to the other, “You were late.” The other responds, “You were early.” The gag is that there’s no punchline. It’s a conversation you might actually … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse In the woodshop of Walla Walla artist Zac Merten, making furniture is a spiritual experience. The proprietor behind Zac Merten Design traces his woodworking roots all the way back to work as a National Park Service employee. On the backcountry trails, surrounded by mountains and solitude, he developed an interest in the … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse A typewriter. A lawn chair. A squirt gun. Seemingly common, often nostalgic, items are celebrated on the canvases of artist Matthew Pierce. “I think my paintings are an attempt to preserve things that kind of divorce from the digital realm — an attention to things that are temporary,” he says. Pierce came … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse There was a period when fabric artist Jessica Cook was so captivated by the process of hand-dying textiles that she almost forgot to make anything out of them. “I just kept dying more and more fabric, until finally I said to myself, ‘I need to do something with all of these beautiful … Read More
By Vicki Hillhouse A lot of people don’t consider themselves artists when they visit The Refinery for the first time. Put some clay in their hands, though, and you can witness a shift, says potter, artist and founder Jess Portas. Located at 205 S. Second Ave., The Refinery is a community pottery and art studio … Read More
