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Shelton'Mason County Journal
WHAT%COOKIN'
Harstine artists to open studios on Memorial Day weekend
By NATALIE JOHNSON lot of alder and fir and maple,
natalie@masoncountv.com * Benn said. This really deep
green comes from burning conif-
erous woods.
Nestled in the thick forest ~ati~Ha~#~isl~d:Ar~S~i~T~ Many of Benn's ieces also
: P
of Harstine Island, inspired by have impressions of shells from
the area's natural beauty many nearb beaches Each ot bowl
y • p ,
artists work around the clock to or cup needs to be above the
make unique pieces of all kinds. *Wh~i Kathy R~ ~ ~3D S~ at I0 E B~!i~ ~dl floor of the kiln. Instead of us-
Five of those artists plan to JohnBenn~d~o~iee~Gali~gh~r~Be~hPotterya~32~E in more cla to do this Benn
, g y ,
open their studios to art lovers M~ Lan~ B~b ~d~a~nB~p~e~ ~Ha~st~ !st~ ~ uses the shells to support the
for three days on Memorial Day pottery
weekend for the Harstine Island Benn said the techninue
Ar,t, StudioTour. pioneered by ancient Chinese
We were hoping Memorial FO~or~ potters, works well because the
day would be a good time ,. that shells, made of calcium carbon-
people would be coming to the ate, dissolve in the fire, leaving
island," said John Benn. 18 years, minutes, only their impressions burnt
Benn and Colleen Gallagher Both Benn and Gallagher, "We're in shifts," Gallagher into the pots.
of Benn Pottery plan to show off who have been full time potters said. "We've got somebody stok- Gallagher's signature style
their two home-built, wood-fired since 1979, create vases, bowls, ing all the time." to her pots is slightly different.
kilns, as well as their spacious cups, pots and more using kilns They also use all natural She engraves designs into her
studio to the public during that powered exclusively by wood. glazes which come from the ash pre-fired pots and vases, and
weekend. To fire the clay, the kilnsfrom whichever wood they use. then inserts glazes.
This is the first time Bennreach temperatures of 2,300 de- ,'When it gets that super hot "Whereas my work is kind
and Gallagher have -opened grees for about 100 hours and temperature that's when the
their t!arstine Island studio in have to be stoked e.very five glazes start to form. We burn a See Artists on page B-6
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
John Benn, of Benn Pottery. on
Harstine Island, is one of several
artists opening their studios for the
Harstine Island Art Studio Tour.
NARST NEISLANDNEW5
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
Bluegrass band Wayward Vessel of Portland, Ore., including Josiah Payne, left, Julie Schmidt and Ken
Chapple perform last Sunday at Bluegrass from the Forest at the Shelton High School Student Union Building.
Festival keeps traditional music alive in Mason County
By NATALIE JOHNSON very positive. "[Bluegrass from the Forest] com-
natalie@masonco~,nty.con~"I've not heard one negative com- pares really well in terms ofthe crowd it
ment. I've been so pleased," Miser brings," mandolin player Josiah Payne
said. said. "It's nice to have pockets like this
Bluegrass lovers from near and far Portland band Wayward Vessel that keep the traditional alive."
once again descended on Shelton last won the festival's annual band con- One of the benefits of a small fes-
weekend for the eighth-annual Blue- test in 2011 as a trio with guitar, tival like Shelton's, Chapple said, is
grass from the Forest Festival, sport- fiddle and bass. However, the band the ability to rub shoulders with na-
sored by Kristmas Town Kiwanis. changed members last year, and is tional acts headlining the festival.
The festival drew some of its larg- now a three piece with guitar, fiddle This year, the festival had two na-
est crowds this year, said event orga- and mandolin, tional acts: The Kathy Kallick Band
nizer Greg Linder. "It's something they do at this fes- from California and Frank Solivan
"It has just been phenomenal," he tival every year. They have a hand- and Dirty Kitchen from Virginia.
said. ful of bands," guitarist Ken Chapple Bluegrass music aficionados travel
He said the festival drew a lot of said. "The judges have deep roots in each year from throughout the north-
first-time attendees this year. bluegrass." west to attend the festival, and this
"I'm not bragging but they were The band has been together about year some came from even farther.
blown away," Linder said. three years and plays mostly original "We came to visit with our friends.
Dave Miser, auditorium opera- bluegrass songs and plays festivals We checked the area to see if there
tions manager at Shelton High all around the northwest, and plan to was a good festival," said Paul Mills,
School, where the event took place, soon play in Ashland, Ore., and Tel-
said the response to the festival was luTide, Col0. See Bluegrass on page B-6
Thursday,
May 24,
Come feast
on spaghetti
after art tour
.... " "t seems that as winter brushed
its cold hand across our island we
. settled into a quiet repose and the
pace of life slowed. A large number of
active birds flew south for the warmth
and desert playtime. We that stayed
burrowed in, held close to the Wood
stove. But now as summer approaches,
the quiet island is beginning to get
busy. I was going to say that the sun
was here finally, but as of the morning
of this writing, our friend the rain has
definitely returned. But, I don't think
the rain will hamper next week's active
weekend.
You can start Memorial Day Sat-
urday, Sunday and Monday with the
self-guided island tour of local art-
ists (see above). Kathy Ross, John
Benn, Colleen Gallagher, Bob Bonnett
and Jann Bonnett founded thisnew
event in order to offer an unusual op-
portunity to visit the home studios of
the artists. Tour participants will see
works in progress, raw materials, tools
and the environ-
ment that inspires
these creative people.
Guests will meet the
artists, discuss their
work and learn about
influences affecting
the design of each
piece. Kathy} Ross
By MIKE moved to Harstine
CALLAGHAN Island three years
ago bringing along
many of the parts for
her whimsical sculptures.
"I live among my art process," said
Ross, describing her studio. Her two-
story studio is filled with natural light
and has many workplaces where she
builds her sculptures.
Husband and wife John Benn and
Colleen Gallagher have been mak-
ing their ceramic art work in their
extensive studio for more than thirty
years. They are nationally recognized
for the beautiful and unique glaze col-
ors and forms created in their wood
fired kilns.
Bob and Jann Bonnett retired to
Harstine Island eight years ago. Mr.
Bonnett is a wood turner and uses the
abundant locally available woods in his
work. Mrs. Bonnett makes delightful
fabric bowls and containers using col-
orful fabric and found objects. Within
the theme of bowls, the couple will be
demonstrating the process they use to
make their current work.
I'm sure that on Saturday, you
might get hungry after looking at all
this art. If that is the case, dinner will
be close. It's time for the annual
See Harstine on page B-6
2012 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page B-1