Free Sheep Foundation Has October On Lockdown

We wrote about the Free Sheep Foundation months ago, but their music and art combining antics just keep getting more frequent, more relevant, and more unpredictable.

Here’s what their upcoming October calendar looks like… just to give you a wee little taste of what is to come (not to mention the October 1 and 2 events that have already passed).

OCT 3 – GUTTER DANDY GALA, 9PM – 2AM, $5-$10 SUGGESTED
(Girl punk bands and window installations!)
MUSIC: Orkestar Zirconium, Hot Grits!, Scratchmaster Joe, motrecraft
ART INSTALLATIONS: Garek Druss, Static Invasion, scntfc, NKO, No Touching Ground, dk pan, Karn Junkinsmith, Wen Marcoux

OCT 10 – GALLERY OPENING, FT. FORT
(Video projections, new window installations, and a blanket/chair/sofa fort!!!)
ART INSTALLATIONS: Gretchen Bennet, Laura Corsiglia, Sirkullay, Mark Johnson
VIDEO: Mike Min

OCT 10 & 11 – SILVERING PATH
(3 dance/visual/art collabos, featuring… way too much stuff…)
MUSIC: Jeffrey Huston, Joshua Kohl
DANCE: Haruko Nishimura (Degenerate Art Ensemble)
ART/SCULPTURE: Mandy Greer, Colin Ernst
FILM: Ian Lucero
DRESS: Anna Lange

Just one amazing crochet sculpture piece by Mandy Greer!

* BRAIN EXPLOSION *
Be there or be square. These are some exciting times in the Seattle arts scenes.

Free Sheep Foundation Breathes Life Into Belltown

I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a huge fan of Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Sure, there are a few cool things like Shorty’s, Roq La Rue, and The Big Picture, and it was once (or perhaps soon again) the home of the legendary Crocodile Cafe. Sure, sure. But for every one of those cool things comes one annoying, expensive, hoity-toity club or restaurant. It’s probably one of the places in Seattle I’d least like to spend my time in.

Nonetheless, Free Sheep Foundation has opened up a new gallery in the husk of an abandoned building in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. The location is just a couple blocks from the Roq La Rue / BLVD Gallery section of Belltown, and they are [temporarily?] doing some pretty amazing things in this stripped down space.

I’ve been sitting on these pictures forever and this opening was earlier this month, but I hope you enjoy them, weeks later.

Static Invasion / Scntfc installation, commenting on the ‘progress’ of Seattle’s new crazy building expansion projects. Static Invasion is a group of artists that use vinyl clings to promote street art as opposed to permanent methods. Pretty amazing.

No Touching Ground installation.

D.K. Pan installation.

Experimental music takes the stage in one of the back rooms.

Click here to view more about the gallery. Hollar.

Artopia in Georgetown Strikes Again, Part 1

I’m sad to say that this was my first year attending Artopia in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, but I now wholeheartedly back the event, which is full of shenanigans, music, and of course, art. And to my pleasant surprise, a lot of installation art — which is relatively lacking in Seattle.

To the unacquainted, Georgetown is a relatively “rundown” part of the city, but in a good way. It’s chock full of antiques and old-school personality. With portions of an old brewery and malt plant still intact, the neighborhood has established itself as a pretty good art niche as of late.

Upon first getting there, we were met with crafts to do. Carve your own clay tile, they said. Partake in our creature swaps, they said. Eat free popcorn, they said. Play in our strongman competitions, they said. But that was just the beginning!

Sand painting, with powdered paint. Powdered paint?!!

Yoga ball alley does a body good. How do they come up with this stuff?

Power tool racing. This was all the rage for some reason. In this particular race, the new generation tool beat the old generation tool. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what tool it was…

Numerous colored paints, one record, and one centrifuge = spin art.

An experimental film setup of sorts.

A contraption that’s a little like a seesaw, but when you stand on the end, it’s similar to a flipbook. You think about that.

Jethaniel “Spyder” Peterka’s Anatomical Icons. Oil on panel and what looks like gold leaf. He was a former (or current?) Gage Academy of Art student. I know nothing more.

Sarah Fansler Lavin – Bite, Tear, Chew, Gnaw #2, made of cast plaster and steel. Here is her artist statement:

“My work is a response to where we have been and where we are going. For me, Blacksmithing is the connection between the worlds. It reflects the physical effort and human struggle in the confrontation with matter. It is an ironic nod to tradition and the labor intensity eschewed today. My work explores the issues of human fragility/natures tenacity. This imbalance is the subject of my recurring dream: Teeth falling out. This common dream represents fear of losing control, not being heard and our caged instinctual and primal instincts.”