2008 Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair

The Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair is a staple of the craft community. The ArtsFair first began in 1946 as a regional showcase by Northwest artists, but has increasingly attracted artists from all over the country. The 2008 show spans three days, from July 25 to 27. This year, over one thousand artists mailed in applications, from which three hundred twenty were selected to participate. Hosted by the Bellevue Arts Museum, it is a multi-faceted event, with a children’s section near the museum itself, and live performances near and at the fairgrounds. Spread out between the museum and the nearby mall and parking complex across the street, the ArtsFair has something of a carnival atmosphere. Live music often plays near the fountain situated at the entrance to the shopping complex; and concession stands as well as other entertainment dopple the grounds.

Each year the Bellevue ArtsFair consists of a mixture of new arrivals and veterans, featuring work from a diverse range of media, including fiber, glass, jewelry, ceramics, wearables, mixed media, and metal. For 2008, one hundred seven artists will be exhibiting for the first time. Forty of the participating artists have displayed their work in the show for over ten years; some of these artists include Thomas Mann, Souphom Manikhong and Jim C. Brown. This year’s participants were chosen by a jury consisting of Kiwon Wang, Signe Mayfield, Marla Baggetta, and Michael Monroe, the museum director.

Birgit Kupke Peyla	Damian Velasquez	Lori O'Neill

Held two days before the ArtsFair itself, the Patron Party is the Bellevue Arts Museum’s biggest fundraiser. This event is also where the Carol Duke Artist Awards of Excellence are presented to ten artists from various disciplines. Award winners are invited to return to the ArtsFair the next year. The winners for 2007 (and returning in 2008) were Charles Cobb, Stephan Cox, Alexandra Forsythe, Chris Honeysett, Michael Hughes, Birgit Kupke-Peyla, Hongsock Lee, Lori O’Neill, Taman VanScoy, and Damian Velasquez.

Jewelry artist Hongsock Lee produces geometric designs and abstract shapes which play with light and shadow to deepen their impact. Curves, nicks and bends are used to make simple shapes come alive, some resembling bamboo leaves, others modern architecture. Lee’s work seems to distill objects to their essence, creating strong impressions while utilizing minimalistic forms.

Alexandra Forsythe’s work is richly textured, with gemstones added as embellishment to draw the eye rather than as the focus of the piece. Utilizing silver and gold to good effect, the hues of her metalwork cast an otherworldly light onto Forsythe’s jewelry. Her cuttlebone-cast pieces evoke a more organic feeling than one would expect from as stark a medium as metal. This primal nature subtly imbues her work, making the pieces seem like ossified parts of fantastic animals long deceased.

Michael Hughes	Chris Honeysett

Another award winner from last year, Birgit Kupke-Peyla, is excited to return to the show. Now in her fifth year of attending the fair, Kupke-Peyla explains her readiness for this year’s show: “Much of my 2007 was spent transforming my garage into a beautiful new studio and office with views into my garden and skylights for natural light. So my real effort was put into creating a workspace. When I showed up for last year’s show, I had very little fresh work with me. Since then however, I settled into my new space and have expanded my line of designs.” Kupke-Peyla’s work plays with the contrast between metals, layering golds and silvers to great effect. Precious and semiprecious stones are included as part of the overall design, and often seamlessly meld into the piece’s framework.

Lori O’Neill creates whimsical bag designs, which are to wearable accessories as art jewelry is to more common personal adornment. With bold wooden handles and sublime color coordination, O’Neill’s pieces have a simplicity of form and combination of visual elements which comes together as a unified whole. Regarding the fair, O’Neill comments, “We’ve done the show for around sixteen straight years; it was always one of our top shows, with a lot of community. I think the Museum does a great job. It’s not a commissioned show, which a lot of artists rallied for.”

Alexandra Forsythe

In its residence near the great City of Seattle, the Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair in the City of Bellevue provides a major venue for the appreciation of craft in the Northwest. Now in its sixty-second year, the show is a longstanding member of the arts community. With the economic struggle artists must endure today, it has become even more vital that established shows such as the ArtsFair connect the professional artist to the public at large.For more information contact the Bellevue Arts Museum at http://www.bellevuearts.org .