July 2018 - Amy Charbonneau

Amy Charbonneau

This show is a sample of my love for flowers and terrible knack for actually growing them! The vibrant colors of nature inspire me in many ways and stir emotions and memories of days gone by along with hope for the future. Here you will see a few of my acrylic paintings featuring florals as well as a selection of my metal flowers created from reclaimed metal and found objects.

“Treasure Hunting” will never grow old and I enjoy the creative liberty and satisfaction of using something others would throw away to create something that will bring a smile for years to come.

May your interiors and exteriors put a smile on your face and delight in your heart.

Bio

Wonder, nature, color, shapes and textures have captivated my mind for as long as I can remember. Making something that brings a smile to a person’s face or warms their heart is why I do what I do. Through life we grow and change, but along the way we have opportunities to impact people and make their day better.

As an artist, I love painting and creating flowers for the beauty they add to life. Self-taught, my experience with art has been inspired by seeing what others do, by observing nature, and by blasting music and singing my heart out. My preferred medium, for painting, has been acrylic paints and textures. Watercolors have been something I dabble with, however, my hand returns, time and time again to the fun and simplicity of acrylics. Texture pastes offer a fun way to add interest. Those subtle layers that draw you in, yet are hard to express…kind of like people! The hidden beauty in others captivates me and I attempt to incorporate that into my paintings.

I look forward to sharing a bit of me with you, and hope to have the opportunity to bring warmth to your heart.

June 2018 - Anne Blakemore & Liz Montgomery

Anne Blakemore

Handcrafted jewelry, designed to diffuse essential oils. Unique, in that the whole piece is a personal diffuser. Everything from the leather used to string the components to the components themselves. Hand drilled matte gems stones, sea urchin spines, rudraksha seeds, sea shells, artisan clays/leather backed pendants, and so much more. All holding and diffusing oil at varying rates. I do a great amount of research on porosity to find the most unique and beautiful element to adorn each piece. I truly consider each piece of jewelry investment in one's emotional and physical wellbeing.

About a year ago, in an effort to address many health issues, we switch to chemical free and organic products. Eureka! I discovered essential oils. They change our whole world. In search of a way to express, share and benefit from my oils, exponentially. I bought several different necklaces. I was so disappointed. The barley held oil for even a couple of hours. I couldn't adjust the length for the aroma. They were all so generic. Silver chain with a pendant including some cheap felt or even worse, wax covered lava stone. So….I decided to make my own, uniquely expressing me!

LIZ MONTGOMERY

I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,

spent most of my adult life in Barrington,

IL and finally settled down in Southeast,

Florida. I have been retired for many

years now and live on a small island in

the Florida Keys. I was surrounded by so

much natural beauty that I turned to

photography in order to capture some of

it. A substantial part of my family is located

in the Spokane area and as such I vacation

here for four months of the year. I became

attracted to some of the unique photo-

graphic opportunities found only in the

Inland Northwest.

My work has been published in several

newspapers. My photograph was on book

cover. I have held several solo exhibits at the

Marathon, FL Theater. An image of mine

has been on the 2015-2016 brochure for the

Theater. The Shady Palm Art Gallery in

Marathon, Fl is where I have my work.

My Mission: To reveal God's beauty through

my lens for all to enjoy.

I am currently working

in the photo canvas medium. Landscapes

flowers and landmarks dominate my canvases

presently. I also have a sub-specialty in photo

note cards.

email - sealie3@bellsouth.net

website - lizmontgomeryphotos.com

May 2018 - Connie Sustman and Shirley Johnson

Shirley Johnson

For over 35 years Shirley has created high fired hand thrown porcelain pottery with glazes made from ash that fell on Spokane when Mount Saint Helens blew on May 18th, 1980. "The ash that fell in Spokane", she says, "was perfect ~ in CDA it was too fine and in the Tri-Cities it was too coarse". Shirley's pottery has proven to be a popular gift item for visitors wanting Spokane souvenirs and for residents wanting to send a piece of home to friends and family.

Connie Sustman

I taught myself to draw as a teenager. I abandoned art to raise my family returning to it in my early 50's. Now I'm an old lady who loves art and loves exploring different mediums.

April 2018 - Katie Frey

Katie Frey has painted and studied art all over the world, including Australia and South America. She graduated from Walla Walla College in 2007 and has been teaching and creating art in Spokane ever since. Her areas of focus are acrylic painting and mixed media texture art. These paintings range from realistic to abstract, and most paintings include some form of collage, found objects, or texture medium to emphasize depth and create layers of interest. For her, inspiration and texture are synonymous. Inspiration might be on the inside of a coffee sleeve, in the layers of peeling graffiti beneath a Spokane bridge, or found in the erosion lines of a rock.

It’s all about Texture

Katie Frey creates mixed media paintings that stretch from realistic to abstract.

Her abstract work is usually done in acrylic and often with mixed media materials such as found paper, metal foils, and texture mediums. These paintings often take on a geologic or strata inspired appearance.

Katie also loves painting trees and landscapes. Many of her landscapes are done with a palette knife to create bold strokes in an impressionistic style, while others include textures such as sand, sea glass, broken shells, and found objects.

Her third love is whimsical paintings of animals. Whether they live in the forest or in your living room, her cats, bears, and bunnies have a charming storybook quality.

Katie Frey also teaches classes and workshops all over Spokane. You can find her classes through Act2 and the Corbin Art Center, as well as on her blog: artwithkatie.blogspot.com.

March 2018 - Tom Miller

“Purveyor of Piscatorial Pursuits”

While growing up in Spokane, I was fortunate enough to be subjected to all the beauty of our lakes and streams and the beautiful fish they provided. After my education experiences I moved to Alaska and spent a number of years pursuing a passion that was becoming addictive. “Fishing”

After my forever memorable Alaska experience I ended up back in the Northwest again. This time in the Gig Harbor, WA area where I experienced many different fishing opportunities in the 18 years I lived there raising 7 children with my wife Annie.

In 1997 I had that urge to move back to my roots. We built a retirement log home on the Priest River.

After retiring almost 20 years ago now (yes, I retired early) I took up a hobby that would enhance my passion for flyfishing. This hobby included paper and watercolors. I could now catch a fish and then capture its beauty and its surroundings using a medium that is very familiar and essential to the subjects that I paint – water.

The ammunition I use to catch the trout can be found in many of my framed paintings. I tie all my own flies and enjoy that aspect of my hobby as much as the painting. Every once in a while I find myself painting that setting that I enjoyed as well.

Hopefully you will see one of your outdoor experiences in one of my paintings.

February 2018 - Judy Meddaugh

Judy's love of flowers has evolved from gardener and landscape designer to pressed flower artist.  

October 2017 - Alice Nelson

Alice has been creating art from nature for as long as she can remember. Pine Needle Basketry became her main medium around 1980, but she also enjoys creating from wheat, gourds and corn husks. Alice was a member of Pottery Place Plus for many years and is excited to return as the guest artist.

Alice says she will spend some afternoons at the shop working on her baskets and is looking forward to seeing many old and new friends!

June 2017- Test Post

Here is a photo of the full moon

Photo above

April 2017- Toni Spencer

“It’s All About Color”

Batiks 2017

Toni Spencer has been showing her batiks as Guest Artist at PPP for many years.  A resident of the Northwest since1979 and of Idaho since 2001, she has taken part in art shows from Alaska to California for more than 30 years.   All her batiks start with original drawings often inspired by the shapes and colors of nature.  They may start there but sometimes they take on a life of their own and turn out very different than originally planned.  The batiks are created with either silk Broadcloth or a silk Jacquard.  A wax mixture is used as a resist and vats of dye are used to apply the color,  working from the lightest color to the darkest. The distinctive crackle found in batiks is created when the wax cracks and allows the dye to penetrate to the fabric. Some of the crackle happens on it’s own and some are manipulated to add to the design.

Come and meet Toni and some of our member artists at our First Friday reception on Friday, April 7th, 2017.  5-9 p.m.   Fabulous chocolate chip cookies and other goodies will be provided.

New Year's Eve - First Night Spokane

December 2016 - Spokane Jeweler's Guild

The shop is honored to host the Guild again this December. The group is made up of Spokane's premier artisan jewelers working in a wide variety of materials, styles and techniques.

Meet the participating members during the

First Friday Reception

December 2nd 5pm 9pm.

Along with our regular jewelers, Fired Elements, Maille and More Chainworks, Coppermoon Studio, Four Winds Creations and Rainy Summer Designs the addition of the Guild makes The Pottery Place Plus the go-to destination for all your fine jewelry purchases this holiday season.

November 2016 - John Blessent & Hannah Charlton

The Guest Artist Show at the Pottery Place Plus Artisan’s cooperative for the month of November  are:

John Blessent

AND

Hannah Charlton

* * *

Come and meet the artists at our

FIRST FRIDAY RECEPTION

November 4, 2016 from 5-9 PM

Join us, meet the artists and find out how they create their unique pieces of art.

At 203 N. Washington, Adjacent to Aunties Bookstore in the Liberty Building

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John Blessent

Teaching art his entire life, at Mead High School and as adjunct art professor at Whitworth College, John has concentrated on one of a kind jewelry since his retirement from teaching. Using texture and color he creates stunning and unique jewelry.

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Hannah Charlton

Hannah Charlton’s internship at the Grunewald Guild in Plain, WA fueled her interest in traditional art forms and the relationships between art and faith. Hannah then began to study medieval art in earnest, focusing on illuminated manuscripts. She has continued to make commissioned pieces and most recently passages from The Book of the City of Ladies, a 15th-century feminist book on great women in history.

October 2016 - Neil Clemons & Joanne Wissink

The Guest Artist Show at the Pottery Place Plus Artisan’s cooperative for the month of October are:

Neil Clemons

Neil Clemons pairs his photographic artistry with verse to create “those moments” in print.

Joanne Wissink

Joanne Wissink bends leather as if clay to form beautiful images on leather for adornments for any season.

Come and meet the artists at our

First Friday Reception

October 7, 2016 from 5-9 PM

At 203 N. Washington, Adjacent to Aunties Bookstore in the Liberty Building

Neil Clemons 

Think of me as a hyphenated artist--a Writer-Photographer. This isn't a "job" or a "career." Playful art is my passion. Photography in my 70s is fun--whimsical, expressive, explorative. I play when I use my camera and again when I edit images on the computer. As I marry visual images with poems, quotes, and pithy ideas, again I am playing: seeking to amplify and deepen the art of word-image compositions. With photography I celebrate life; each image is meant as an invitation to participate in this spirit-lifting enterprise.

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Joanne Wissink

I have always been a "maker."

Crafting as a child, then sewing, embroidery, crocheting, knitting, and painting as an adult. But my leather adventure began when I met a rancher/ cowboy from Montana. He taught me how to tie rope halters, and as I worked, he made leather and rope items for horsemen. Leftover leather scraps, and a desire to try something new, led to a world of hides, dyes tools hardware and experimentation. He doesn't have enough scraps for me any longer..... I love the smell and the feel of leather, and unrolling a new hide for the first time, revealing it's smooth surface, and ragged edges. I love the way it takes dyes differently with each new hide. It lends itself to individuality, and this quality remains essential to my mission. Each bracelet is cut and beveled, burnished, cased and stamped (or tooled), dyed and waxed, completely by hand. Whether it is tooled or stamped, a cuff or a beveled and burnished double or triple wrap, each step is taken with the goal of bringing out the best in that morsel of le Each cuff makes a statement, and the wraps are versatile, flexible and fun! The way leather softens and warms when worn, or stays curved when you take it off, and the way each person gives it a patina that is unique to the wearer.

August 2016 - Robin Milligan

The Guest Artist Show at the Pottery Place Plus Artisan’s cooperative for the month of August is Robin Milligan.

Come and meet our artist at our

First Friday Reception

Illusions

August 5, 2016 from 5-9 PM

At 203 N. Washington, Adjacent to Aunties Bookstore in the Liberty Building

Robin Milligan

"I've never been bothered by being up to my elbows in mud. The earthy smell of wet clay and the feel of it on my hands remind me of being a kid and playing in the mud. The process of art making is meditation for me. All of the stresses of the week melt away into the piece I'm currently involved with. Each piece is an extension of me, a piece of myself, as I believe most art is for its creator. My art works are the transmutations of my experiences and being into objects, creating a kind of storage space for the old, and making room for the new."

July 2016 - Fran Summerday & Daris Judd

The Guest Artist Show at the Pottery Place Plus Artisan’s cooperative for the month of July are Fran Sommerday and Daris Judd.

Come and meet our artists at our

First Friday Reception

Images and dreams

July 1, 2016 from 5-9 PM

Watery abstract paintings filled with depth and color.

Unique color and images on leather.

at 203 N. Washington, Adjacent to Aunties Bookstore.

Fran Sommerday

Fran creates one-of-a-kind beautiful wearable lightweight jewelry by utilizing leather that has been previously used for various means (clothing attire / upholstered furnishings / bags etc) as well as re-purposing excess leather and jewelry components. Highly fashionable for all ages and clothing styles,Fran's jewelry is affordable and unique.... always an eye catcher and conversation piece!

Daris Judd

Daris is a multi-media artist who draws her inspiration from being

grounded with the earth. As she says, "Nature gives us color, shape and a multitude of design possibilities. I feel my job is to use my intuition to process and present and to ignite the imagination."

June 2016 - Larry Bergman & Staci Schubert

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The Guest Artist Show at the Pottery Place Plus Artisan’s cooperative for the month of June will feature Larry Bergman and Staci Schubert.

Come and meet our artists at our

First Friday Reception

June 3, 2016 from 5-9 PM

Leather and Ink

at 203 N. Washington, Adjacent to Aunties Bookstore.

Artist Larry Bergman creates pen and ink drawings drawings, incorporating geometric lines, random graphics and images drawn with minute pen strokes.

Over a period of fifty plus years, he has dabbled in art using pencil, pastels and ink. Larry was unable to seriously develop what has clearly become a passion until after retirement in 2012. Talent that had lain dormant surfaced and since then he’s dedicated his time to his love of pen and ink drawing. Themes vary and germinate from anything that piques his interest and captures his imagination at the time. Larry’s complex pen and ink drawings incorporate geometric lines, random graphics and images drawn with minute pen strokes. Larry’s background has included serving in the U.S. Navy, being a disc jockey, owning his own radio production company and insurance sales and training, all of which in some form utilized his creativity. He thoroughly has enjoyed bicycle touring and backpacking with his wife and friends and, though he no longer backpacks, he loves hiking in the great outdoors and scrapbooking.

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Staci Schubert’s art is a collaboration of nature and culture, a meeting point between urban-luxe and funky country. Staci was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City and came to age in the grunge-sleek decade that defined her generation. Like her personality, her art is both classic and current, a combination of fast paced sleek meets rural chic. Staci moved west in 1993, to Laguna Beach, after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in graphic design. After a few years in the fast paced fashion industry, collaborating with design houses Roxy and Harley Davidson, Staci developed her rough and sexy approach to accessory design. “I wanted to give the “soft core (not raging, but not popcorn)” girls a venue to express their sexiness,” Schubert says, “Lot’s of girls like being soft and sexy, but also like to find their edge. I like to design my products to that “edge.” That is why I use leather and incorporate WOOD, metal and bone elements into my designs. I also use that same premise when designing my leather cuffs, they aren’t bracelets, that’s just too . . . nice.”

Using her success as a designer in the high pressure world of So Cal fashion, she decided to “go rogue” and develop her own line of high-end handbags, sourced from the best leather available on the free-trade market. Quality of goods, and quality of life of those who provide them, is a high priority for Staci, and she makes sure all of her products are produced with integrity, which is why she is a “small batch” producer, emphasizing quality over volume. Staci found a receptive audience in the Laguna arts community, receiving a commission to design her bags for the cast of "Queer Eye for the straight guy" as well as being a featured artist at the Sawdust Festival and being published in both Newport Coast Magazine and the LA Times as a distinguished artist.

Now located in Sandpoint, Idaho, Staci incorporates the wildness of the nature she thrives in, into her designs. Staci’s unique artistic process combines both new world technology and old world techniques. Contemporary graphics, custom dye process & custom color process are evident in her works. Her leather bag & jewelry lines fuse Old World aesthetics with New World fashion, resulting in breathtakingly unique and relevant, wearable works of art.

Staci is devoted to the development of both her fashion lines: her boho jewelry which includes innovative collections such as LOVE | MIX CULTURE | and FLOWER OF LIFE | Leather Bracelets and Exotic Wood Necklaces, in addition to her fine leather handbag collection.

May 2016 - Kathy Lieggi

Kathy Lieggi is our Guest Artistis for the month of April. Stop by for the reception and meet Kathy and see her work:

FIRST FRIDAY

April 1st, From 5-9 PM

Kathy Lieggi has been repurposing vintage silverplate and glassware since 2003. When Kathy was a young child, her grandmother encouraged her creative spirit and ignited her interest in arts and crafts. Grandma Margaret was a competent artist with an eye for reusing everyday household items, turning them into beautiful and often functional pieces of art. Kathy has followed her lead and now repurposes found items giving them new life. Her beautiful wind chimes are made from vintage silverplate. The utensils are carefully chosen to enhance the featured piece from which they hang. She uses nylon coated steel wire in her work giving them durability to last many years in the outdoors. Each wind chime is a unique creation, with its own sound and personality. Kathy’s wind chimes will surely add character and charm to your home or garden. Likewise, her wire wrapped glass luminaries and vases are created without the aid of jigs or dies. Kathy bends each piece of wire by hand, employing a small pair of needle-nosed pliers as her only aid. She carefully chooses each set of beads to embellish and enhance the glassware. These pieces are designed to bring color, elegance, and whimsy to your homes’ interior. In honor of Kathy’s grandmother mentioned above, she has named her business Maggie May Collection.

April 2016 - Toni Spencer Batiks

Toni Spencer is our Guest Artistis for the month of April. Stop by for the reception and meet Toni and see her work:

Birds and Bikes

FIRST FRIDAY

April 1st, From 5-9 PM

About Toni

Toni has been showing her batiks as Guest Artist at PPP for many years. All her batiks start with her original drawings, which are often inspired by the shapes and colors of nature.

A resident of the Northwest since 1979 and of Idaho since 2001, Toni has taken part in art shows from Alaska to California for more than 30 years.

About Batik

Batik is a "resist" technique. Melted wax is applied to the fabric, then the fabric is dipped in dye (the waxed areas "resist" the dyes). The fabric is allowed to dry before repeating the process again for each color in the design working from the lightest color to the darkest.

Care and planning must be taken with choice of colors because each new color mixes with the previous colors in the unwaxed areas. Mysterious and almost magical changes occur when waxed fabrics are dipped into different color baths.

The crackle or veining that appears in most Batiks is caused when the wax cracks and allows the dye to penetrate to the fabric. After the final color is applied, the wax is removed and the piece is ready for presentation.

See more of her work on her website!

March 2016 - Jan Designs

The Guest Artist Show for the month of March will feature Jan Kruger and her new collection of works...

Letter Play

Artist Jan Kruger combines the art forms of Acrylic painting and the bold marks of Calligraphy to create one of a kind art pieces.

Jan is a regular Visiting Artist in our gallery. We are excited to be showing her special collection for the month of March at the Guest Artist Show. Come and meet her at our First Friday Reception on March 4, 2016 from 5-10 PM

Jan was first introduced to Calligraphy during high school and she has continued to study in many design and calligraphy courses since then including classes at The Spokane Art School,   The Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, and many Calligraphy conventions and workshops including a year long study in Seattle in 1995.

Calligraphic lettering has many other uses than the manuscript writing of the Middle Ages.  It has become an art form all its own.  Calligraphy today combines many other types of art such as handmade paper, paper marbling, collage, watercolor painting, gold leafing, and acrylic painting.  Many of these different art forms can be seen in Jan’s artwork as she combines her love of color and painting with letters to design one-of-a-kind art pieces.

Jan has exhibited at The Spokane Art School, The Corbin Art School, Show of Hands Gallery, Northwest Artist’s, and various banks, libraries and wineries.

She has been a member or guest artist at Pottery Place Plus for many years.

Jan is the owner of    Jan designs, a graphic design firm started in 1979 located in North Spokane.  There she produces one -of-a-kind calligraphic artwork as well as a line of verses and sayings, dream books, canvasses and greeting cards.

She is also the author of a published book.

To see more of Jan's collections visit her website.

GRAND RE-OPENING TONIGHT! OUR REMODEL IS COMPLETE!

We are so excited to be getting a fresh clean look! We have been in our current location for quite a few years and everything was getting worn out and our remodel is complete!

 Come see what our new space looks like at our…

Grand Re-Opening

First Friday, February 5, 2016

We are proud of our Spokane community that believes in the arts and local small business. We are honored by the support that made these changes possible.

Hope to see you there!