Art festival to feature poetry, painting, music and more

Tsuga Gallery of Cathlamet has announced its first-ever Cathlamet art festival lineup.

The festival, named A River of Art, will take place on September 15 and 16 in a variety of venues in Cathlamet.

Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall will headline the festival, which will include music, demonstrations and an art walk.

The festival will open Sept. 15 with a reception at the Tsuga Gallery featuring an open mike for artistic reminiscing. There will be live music, snacks and beverages at the reception.

Music at the historic Pioneer Church, the Cathlamet Hotel and the Julia Butler Hansen House Garden (weather permitting) will be scheduled on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Saturday will feature art vendors, demonstrations, an art walk and more music.

There will be a featured two-hour workshop on poetry by Poet Laureate Tod Marshall. Also offered are workshops by Debbie Neely (print making), Dan Westlind (steampunk art), Debbi Littlefield (colored pencils) and Bob Kizziar (art appreciation).

Marshall will read his poetry on Friday evening and teach a workshop Saturday morning on writing poetry. The workshop is free with a maximum size of 20 people; bring paper and a pen.

Neeley will present a selection of her original woodcuts and read the haiku she wrote that has been inspired by them, and explain how they were created. She will also do a free woodblock demo 3-5 p.m. Saturday. She will be carving blocks and showing how she prints them. She will have pre-carved blocks that anyone may use to make a print. It is free to watch, but there will be a cost of $1.25 per print to cover supplies and Tsuga commission.

Since the mid 1970’s Kizziar has dedicated a great part of his life to clay. It is the finishes of his work, however, that bring him distinction. Bob’s pottery surfaces have a design derived from a balance of chance and control in the firing process and his pieces have a presence that is enhanced by the contrast of their rough-hewn forms while the process and the artist’s hand are evident in the elegant finishes. Kizziar has had his work accepted in exhibitions across the nation and internationally, and enjoys an extensive national list of collectors. Bob and his wife, Jenny, have conducted and participated as experts in workshops throughout the west and in Ireland and Germany.

Westlind brings 37 years of knife making experience with numerous awards over the years for his knives. He has been teaching knife making for nearly 30 years and has started taking objects and making unique designs of repurposing that he calls Steam Punk Sculpture. Westlind’s demonstration on steampunk will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Pharmacy parking lot on Main Street.

Tschozewski finds the hidden beauty of grains in burls in driftwood sculptures. He will demonstrate will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Pharmacy parking lot.

Littlefield’s Introduction to Colored Pencil will be in the Tsuga Gallery classroom. Due to this, there is limited space, and reservations are encouraged. There is a $20 class fee to cover materials.

The Wahkiakum High School Artists will demontrate Line Drawing at the Tsuga Gallery on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The kickoff for the Cathlamet Art Festival will begin with a reception at Tsuga Ggallery followed by a poetry reading by Marshall in the Pioneer Community Center at 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited, and tickets are required. Free tickets are available at Tsuga Gallery beginning Sept. 14. Following the reading will be music by Andrew Emlen and Kyleen Austin from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

On Saturday, the festival features an Artist’s Market from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Bank of the Pacific parking lot.

There will also be a Tsuga Gallery Art Walk from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People may view artwork in 10 different venues, collect punches on an Art Card for a chance to win $100 cash or gift cards in the amount of $50 and $75.

There will be readings and music at several venues, including the Julia Butler-Hansen garden: Kaden Moeller, poetry reading, Butler House, 12-12:45 p.m .; Debbie Neely, haiku with prints, Pioneer Community Center (PCC), 1-1:45 p.m .; Bob Pyle and Florence Sage, poetry reading, PCC, 2-3:30 p.m; John Cimonello, poetry reading, PCC, 4-5 p.m .; Irene Martin, reading, Hotel Cathlamet lobby, 5-6 p.m.

On Saturday, music starts at 1 p.m. in the Hotel Cathlamet with Rick Nelson followed by Kerrie McNally, 2 p.m .; Jerry and Becky Ledtke, Butler House garden, 3 p.m .; David Johnson, Butler House garden, 4 p.m .; Sylvia and Dale Costich, PCC, 5 p.m., and John Crocker, PCC, 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday night, the festival will conclude with a program at the PCC with music and poetry by Butterfly Launches from the Spar Pole, featuring Bob Pyle, Krist Novoselic and Ray Prestegard. This is a ticketed event due to limited seating. Free tickets will be available at the Tsuga Gallery Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.

Tsuga Gallery was formed in 2011, by benefactor Janet Cimino in a century old building on Main Street of Cathlamet. Her goal was to bring artists and locals together to make, learn and participate in a community based art program. Tsuga Gallery’s goals are to continue Cimino’s dream, bringing artwork to the northwest. Further information about the Tsuga Gallery and the Cathlamet Art Festival can be found at http://www.tsugagallery.org.