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As we walk through the streets of Ballard we can see the ghostly remains of leaves making their last impressions on the sidewalks; nature’s way of slowly saying goodbye to embrace the eternal winter’s arms. Okay. Enough of the poetics. Artists, even nature, use unconventional mediums to create beautiful masterpieces. On display at the Ambach & Rice Gallery in Ballard are sculptures produced by the brilliant hand (and scissors) of Armenian artist Karen Sargsyan. Rather than using paper to write sonnets, he uses it as his medium to “sculpt” life-size characters in his exhibit Abroad Understanding. One can interpret the theme as being a broad understanding of a story, where it seems courtly characters are caught in a frozen narrative, battling for power or are fairy tale characters tumbling downward from a castle, but one can’t be certain. Sargsyan’s intentions are to be broad, to increase imagination in the audience who can then create their own story from his work.

Intrigued? I hope so.

The display is up for interpration and admiring through November 28, 2009 every Tuesday through Sunday and best of all, it’s FREE.

Ambach & Rice Gallery

5107 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle (Ballard)
(206) 789-6242

As the days get shorter and the trees lose their leaves, we tend to bundle up with our scarves and take a few extra shots of whiskey to keep warm. If you are like most people where the money is tight but you still want to go out and explore, why not attend a book reading? It is inexpensive, intellectually stimulating and inspiring! I even know of one such book reading that will occur this Monday, October 26th @ 7pm within the Sunset Tavern walls!

Jonathan Lethem, a very hard-working “literary agent man” from Brooklyn will be reading from his most recent book, Chronic City. This book has interesting characters, a great sense of place (set in Manhattan), sociable tendencies and delivers questions about what the truth really means. Vague, I know. But you will just have to pick up the book and discover it for yourself! His other popular books include: You Don’t Love Me Yet, The Fortress of Solitude (a New York Times Bestseller) & Motherless Brooklyn.

A little recap:

Jonathan Lethm book reading

Monday, October 26 @ 7pm; $5-free w/ book purchase

Sunset Tavern

206-784-4880
5433 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle (Ballard)

For those of you who don’t yet have Halloween plans, here are a couple of ideas that shall prove a grand ‘ol time while sporting your sex kitten ensemble, mysterious masked marauder getup or your sparkly, sequined mermaid costume.

As you perouse the plethora of events for October 31st, consider these two hotspots in Ballard.

1. HalloQueen (yes, a Queen tribute band!) w/ 70 Proof at the Tractor Tavern, doors @ 9:30pm

2. Dudley Manlove Quartet at the Sunset Tavern, doors @ 10pm

A few words about the above events: HalloQueen is wild, crazy and outrageous so be prepared to get your freak on. The Dudley Manlove Quartet will swoon you with songs such as Dancing Queen by Abba, Fly me to the Moon by Tony Bennet and Lets Dance by David Bowie. You can’t go wrong with either choice!

I don’t know about you, but my family already did the Holiday draw and I got my sister-in-law once again. I decided on getting her a hand crafted trinket from a shop nestled in downtown Ballard. Velouria: boutique & gallery, a shop filled with artistic Indie creations inspired by vintage prints, hunter’s cabins, mint juleps, bluebirds and much more. Nothing in the store is massed produced (aka one of a kind). If your goal is to keep your money local while buying gifts this Holiday season, keep shops like Velouria in mind.  Jewelry artists Violet Magpie also have their beautiful hand crafted work for sale here, as well as used  leather handbag artist Frocky Jack Morgan, to name a couple. Velouria features new artists for the Ballard artwalk event, which occurs every 2nd Saturday of every month. This month, Seattle designer Run Grady Run has cards, fake mustaches and other fun accessories for sale and fine artist Andie Wurster has his paper-cut illustration work on display.

For holiday shopping ideas, keep reading each month for updated posts about other cool shops!

Velouria boutique and gallery

(206) 788-0330
2205 N.W. Market St.
Seattle, WA 98107

http://shopvelouria.tripod.com/

Hello Ballardinians! Sometimes, finding that perfect cupcake recipe can take far too long & besides, we need an excuse to get out of the house. Take off your aprons and make a trip to Cupcake Royale in downtown Ballard!

Cupcake Royale is currently celebrating their 5th Annual Cupcake Harvest Festival, which is a tell-tale sign that Autumn is here and we must respect the squirrels. Nothing  jump-starts the holiday season better than a sugary confection made by locals, for the locals. From now until November 26th, you can enjoy any of the  follwing 3 special cupcakes, made with ingredients from our local farms: 

Caramel Apple-a delicious golden cake made with chunks of honey crisp apple from Tiny’s Organic Farm plus sweet apple butter from Woodring Farm, topped with homemade caramel frosting; Pumpkin Maple-lightly spiced pumpkin cake made with organic pumpkin from Stahlbush Island Farm, topped with delicious maple cream cheese frosting; Carrot Cake-their classic carrot walnut cake, now made with fresh local carrots from Ralph’s Organics and topped with rich cream cheese frosting.

So, if you’re seeking answers to the great universe, how to heal your migraine with natural herbs, or to research the Dead Sea Scrolls for a research project, stop by the library and sign up for a membership!

To find the library:

2220 NW Market St, L-05

Seattle WA 98107

206-329-1794

www.seattlemetaphysicallibrary.org

Wed 2pm-5:30pm;

Thu 2:30pm-6pm;

Fri 3pm-7pm;

Sat 1pm-5pm;

Sun 1pm-6pm

When the chips are down and you’re low on cash, don’t let that stop you from enjoying pure entertainment. Cash’d Out, “the next best thing to Johnny Cash,” will be performing on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 7:00 PM (Doors @ 6:30 PM) at Ballard’s Tractor Tavern 5213 Ballard Ave NW. Tickets are $15 adv/18 door with a Special Two Show Ticket Offer-only $20 for both shows!

Judging by the lint-to-chip ratio in our metaphorical pockets, it was “accidentally on purpose” that the Tractor tailored these shows back to back at a nifty, economic rate. The other performing artist is Moorea Malatt, a singer/songwriter whose lyrics are of modern perplexity, ranging from her love of soy milk to being jaded. To put it simply, this evening will be filled with musical notes sweeter than cherry pie, stronger than black coffee and much stiffer than a pomade pomp.

 About Cash’d Out:

 -The lead singer (Douglas G. Benson) bears a striking resemblance to the Man in Black himself.

-They are the premier Johnny Cash tribute band in the world and they are endorsed on the official Johnny Cash website.

-Band was born in 2004.

-Some band members enjoy karate, smoking cigarettes and boogie woogie-ing.

Tractor Tavern

5213 Ballard Ave NW | Seattle, WA 98107 | Info line: 206.789.3599  TRACTORTAVERN.COM

 Step one foot inside 20 Twenty clothing and shoe shop and the faint mingling of Aqua Velva and shoe polish recoils your memories of: the male dorm room, grandpa’s closet, your first boyfriend’s bedroom. 20 Twenty is Ballard’s kitschy shop that has a clear vision, offering gently used men’s and women’s  wardrobe and accessories. Curiosity draws your attention to the little embellishments on some of their recycled clothing and trimmings-such as their vintage 1970′s ties in brown, cornflower blue and maize–black silk-screen stencils of old-timey bicycles, gramophones–each one applied as uniquely as the individual sporting it. Lines of men and women’s shoes stretch along the rim of the floor and in the window displays. Their quantity of gold shoes is noteworthy; more gold than Cleopatra’s headdresses that shone and sparkled in her prime!  They also have an abundance of T-shirts (including a New Kids on the Block tee!) in an array of colors and styles, running shorts that are coming back in style and a collection of old Polaroid cameras. Everything in the shop is conveniently priced at around $20, making it affordable to be dressed in style.

Adorning the walls are wonderful and reasonably priced pieces of art from local artists; this month are talented & contemporary artists Laura Kinney and Joey Bates.

 20 Twenty

5208 Ballard Ave NW

(between N 20th Ave & Vernon Pl)

Seattle, WA 98107

(206) 706-0969

Hours:
Mon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Downtown Ballard supplies us with many delights; we can acquire fluffy cupcakes, visit bookstores, coffee shops  and sip suds in bars all in a one-block radius. Yet, if one is craving artistic stimulation or a little creative inspiration, Venue Work Studios + Boutique, an urban loft-style work space for artists who create and display their work, is right around the corner.

Most recently on display from Augusts Art Walk was photographer Lynn Cameron, whose fine art work is sophisticated, elegant and captures a quite stillness like a mysterious trunk in the attic. Her Polaroid transfers displayed on panes of glass in shadow boxes allow light to shine through the wavering and delicate image, revealing luminescence and vibrancy and act as portals to far away lands. Some locations she has travelled to and documented are: Austria, England, Croatia, Portugal and the Netherlands. You can see her work at lynncameronphotography.com

Columbian artist Alison Mackey creates unique jewelry pieces using color photographs which are abstracted and placed under clear resin. At a glance, one might think the colors are from a mineral or stone, but they are actual scenes from nature captured with a camera. For example, a pair of earrings, circular in shape, has a photograph of a blue sky with clouds and a single power line that breaks up the serene. To view her work or to inquire how to purchase personalized jewelry, visit mackeysmark.com.

Other artists include but are not limited to, New Zealander Alex Bixby, whose tarnished copper jewelry and recycled silver pieces still reflect a beautiful purity although they have been through many rough life cycles, and jewelry artist Ashley Paulina, who uses only the most precious stones as a shopper in a market would choose fruit-plucking the ripest ruminated quartzes and green garnet clusters to create her masterpieces  to adorn your neck, ears and wrist.

A center piece for the Venue Work Studios + Boutique is its glorious  Art-O-Mat, a machine that dispenses original works of art, but only in miniature. For an alternative to smoking, now you can push a button and enjoy art, music, writings, concepts and unique ideas for only $5.00 + tax! Examples of the cellophane wrapped wonders are: Key West silks by Janet Whalen, 2×2 paintings (with little easels!) by Sarah Whittington, road warrior hand crafted soap (so you don’t smell like Mad Max), wearable bottle cap artwork, postage stamp earrings and the elusive favorite-the button with a red question mark. For more information about Art-O-Mat, call “Artists in Cellophane” at 1 + 336 774 0717.

 The Venue also offers a variety of classes each month:

9/14 Felted Soap and Rocks

9/17 Needle felting

9/20 Bookbinding: make a journal

Venue Work Studios + Boutique

5408 22nd Avenue NW

Ballard WA 98107

t: 206 789 3335

e: info@venueballard.com

w: www.venueballard.com

Now would you imagine that: a thrift store that donates all of its proceeds to a good cause? Well, I’ll be! Imagine That! is a quaint not-for-profit thrift store located on NW 24th in Ballard. Carol Faucette, owner, and business partner Dianne Riva, recently celebrated their 4th anniversary on July 30th. These two ladies are always excited to meet new people and  have fun while  contributing to the local charities and therefore, to the  supportive Ballard community. Like any thrift store, it is packed full of treasures and trinkets. They have an array of books (mostly paper-back), clothing, jewelry, kitchen ware (i.e. martini glasses, drinking glasses, and any other kind of glass  receptacle), and tons of other items that often times, no one really needs but desperately wants. Sometimes nostalgia tends to push its way through the door and before we know it we are ringing our debit card for a velvet painting of a frowning clown. Now that you are informed about Imagine That!, we have a good reason to pull out our wallets during these tough economic times. Whether we are searching for a new piece of art for our bare wall or a pair of Jordache jeans (yes, they are in style!) or perhaps a faux pearl necklace, there’s no better way to give back to our local community!

Carol’s mission is to reinstate the word GIVE as she spends her free time locating and selling newly acquired old goodies and proceeding that charity directly to others in need.

Imagine That! donates to the following:

The Antioch Bible Church Mission, Medical Relief International, World Vision & Mercy Corps.

Imagine That! Thrift Store

Hours:

M-Sa-10-6pm

Su-closed

Address: 7739 24th N.W.

Ballard, WA 98117

t: 206 783 0975