ArtSEA: Seattle gains an arts incubator and loses a clay champion

Art by Northwest is a new Cascade PBS video series about how the Pacific Northwest landscape, from coastlines to farmlands, shows up in the art made here. Such evidence might be literal or subliminal, in concert with or in rebuttal to our surroundings. Starting this month, we’ll debut the first four episodes, broadcast on Friday nights (August 2, 9, 16 and 23) and streaming online each following Monday. 

This is something entirely new for me. (Note: I’ll still be writing the weekly arts and culture newsletter!) I’ve been covering Northwest art for more than 20 years, seeing as much as I can in person, interviewing artists, going down research rabbit holes, then tippity-tapping about it on my computer — no video required. 

Embarking on a new medium is nerve-wracking, for sure, but every time I started to freak out during filming I reminded myself that I love digging into the creative process with artists (so pay no attention to those big steadicams hovering around). And that’s what I’ll be doing in this show: talking with artists across the state about their work and asking specifically how place affects the art they make. 

First up (Aug. 2) is Port Townsend sculptor Tininha Silva, whose organic, net-like wall hangings look like they might have washed up with the kelp on a Northwest beach.

In fact, Silva takes huge inspiration from shorelines closeby, often incorporating strands of dried kelp into her work, as well as small shells, silk, wool and raffia — the last sometimes hand-dyed with the beets leftover from the previous night’s dinner. 

“The more organic, the more interesting it is to me,” she says. But Silva emphasizes that she’s not trying to replicate her beach finds; rather, she’s attempting to capture the feeling of them, the emotion she had upon that first glimpse. “It shouldn’t resemble anything specific, but maybe many things,” she says.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Silva — and all the other featured artists —  as much as I did. Happy viewing!