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Sitting unmarked on Ballard Avenue for the past nine years was at one point the largest distributor of handmade, original greeting cards in the United States. Souvenir, owned and curated by Curtis Steiner  (www.curtissteiner.com) with a friendly sales associate named Liberte, is less of a boutique and more of a decorative art gallery, full of quirky and eccentric surprises from the all original handmade cards (only $6.50 each!) made from vintage photos, match boxes and gold leaf to early 20th century botanical lithographs. Steiner is a real artist and craftsman– his stuff, 1,000 Blocks, is a permanent feature in the Seattle Art Museum–as anyone could probably decipher from the glassine baby doll dresses dangling in the storefront of his shop. This store is more than just retail, it’s a museum of treasures, but here, you’re encourage to touch– and even wear the exhibits. 

5325 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
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Tel 206-297-7116

Hours: Tue-Sat 11-5.30, Sunday 12-4

Looking for something fun to do in Ballard but don’t feel like fighting for parking spots along Market St?  Then head a bit north of Ballard to the Ballard P-Patch Garden (8527 25th Ave NW) for their 8th annual “Art in the Garden” on Saturday July 19th from 9am-6pm.  Stroll through the garden admiring the strawberries, sunflowers, and tomatoes all while listening to local artists, and enjoying refreshments.  Ample parking is available in the lot just south of the garden, near Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church.  Please check their website for more information and directions.

Ballard has opulent resources and programs for the creative arts, even for little brats. That’s right, brats. B.R.A.T., Ballard Resource For Artistic Talent, is a local program specifically geared for art-curious kids, 8-18 years old. BRAT creator, Jason Arne Lien, MFA and long-time educator in the Seattle art community, provides coaching for kids for both drop in studio sessions and week long camps (9-4pm) this summer. Lien considers the best way to foster a young person’s blossoming creative mind is to challenge them by “letting them do their own thing but also working closely with each artist to help them decide what is really important.” 
 
Drop-in sessions are moderately priced but the summer camps are the best bargain. So if you have a brat whose interested in advancing their artistic skill set or preparing a portfolio for college– or if you’re just interested in keeping them out of JUV Hall– BRAT is a positive and productive environment in which to creatively develop.
 
Unfortunately, BRAT is leaving Market Street in September in search of a bigger space, but you can still catch the camps all this summer. Check out www.BratPrograms.com.
(photo from BratPrograms.com)

There will be a barbeque lunch this Saturday with local handmade arts and crafts available for sale. Vegetarian lunch options will be available. Free admission.
 
5429 32nd Ave NW (across from the Ballard Locks in Seattle)
Saturday, June 28, 2008 – 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

 
EtsyRain.com is an independent group of Seattle Metropolitan area craft artists who each run their own shops on Etsy.com. Their mission is to nurture a supportive community of artists that will inspire, educate and promote growth of independent businesses.

One of the best things about Ballard is the Sunday Farmer’s Market. Normally open from 10am to 3pm, it’s a smorgasbord of color, sound, and treats. From the delicious Kolache from the Little Prague Bakery to the mouth-watering samples of smoked salmon, I love spending an hour or two here each week.

It takes up a full block on old Ballard Avenue, sandwiched between the boutiques and music stores. Studies have shown of late that prices for decent organic food at farmer’s markets is now becoming cheaper than the store and the gas it takes to get there. Hop a bus (17, 18, 44, and 46) to get off on Market Street and wander around the corner for the best food and gifts in the area.

The irises are in right now, filling the cheap bouquets from local flower farms with all their blue and purple glory, as well as Icelandic poppies that love this cool weather for their crepe-paper petals. A few early strawflowers add some more searing orange highlights for your foyer or table.

A real treat the last several times I’ve been to the market is the musical stylings of “The Tallboys”. True down-home bluegrass is the preferred genre of this exceedingly talented duo. I know if I tried to play a guitar or mandolin while clogging, it would require an ambulance! Song, dance, clean music, and the CDs are only $10… Now that’s entertainment. And unlike Pike Place Market, it’s easy to hear this and your foot can’t help tapping along.

And the main reason to come to the Market… the food. If you go to their website, you can sign up for “What’s Fresh This Week”, an e-newsletter letting you know the choicest food picks and a recipe for dinner ideas. I managed to score firm green asparagus, these really sweet radishes, huge local onions, leeks, tart apples, and some local apple cider. For less than $20, anyone can eat like a fancy restaurant for the entire week and get all your vitamins the yummy way!

So get yourself and your eco-friendly tote bag over to the Sunday Market and load up on natural foods, personal products, and local hand-made gifts and home goods. Bring your sunglasses and a smile, and we’ll bid you welcome!

I recently posted on Ballardite Blog about some of the exhibits I was drawn to at the second Saturday ArtWalk held last Saturday in Ballard, May 10th. One of my favorite installations of the evening, by Jim Wilkinson, an Edmonds photographer, was at KISS Cafe. The exhibition entitled “Normal Sometimes Naked People” featured large grids of bold, beautiful color photographic portraits on stretched canvas. The photos were striking, especially grouped as they were in the space, which features a high loft-ceiling and bold wall colors that really made the photos pop. Some of the pieces were erotic; there were nudes of women and of men with a couple photos of nude men posing together. In an interesting angle a couple of the photos featured strikingly tatooed KISS co-owner Amanda Whisler

After the show I decided to look for more information on the photographer, who was erroneously referred to in ArtWalk materials as John Wilkenson. I eventually tracked down his Flicker page. Under a picture of one of the pieces from the show he wrote:

The Artist’s Reception Sat May 10th was great. On Sunday, one of the owners of the cafe called me and told me that he had taken down one of my 2 photo pieces, and he wanted me to chop off the bottom third of this piece. All because of the nude guy (bottom right corner). [...] I of course immediately removed the entire show [...]

Wow. I did read in an ad for the show on Craigslist that the nude photos would be taken down after the opening and someone also mentioned that to me during the opening as well … but clearly there was some subsequent dispute over what would remain and what would come down, and why.  I will post with more details when I get them.

Hailing from San Francisco, the Haute Trash art show is visiting Ballard from April 18 to May 10th, at the home of New York Fashion Academy (You know, the place that’s brought in all those well-dressed, aspiring fashionistas, wandering the historic area of Ballard?). The exhibit kicked off its three week residency at NYFA with a couture fashion show, presented by Re Store and twenty-five Washington-based artists and designers “upcycling” waste into art and culture. The sixth annual Recycled Art & Fashion Show returned to honor Seattle’s Zero Waste Resolution Number 30990, and what a party it was! Models rocked actual shower caddies as pretty believable board shorts, and my favorite, a conglomeration of aluminum cans, plastic wrappings and some metal shiny things to create a non-traditional Japanese kimono silhouette. But if you did not get a chance to see the show, well, there’s always next year, but you still have a good couple weeks to check out the gallery. The exhibit doesn’t have a fashion emphasis, rather a wide variety of mixed media art installations (photography, sculpture and other 3-D creations) all celebrating imagination, innovation and irony; art is everywhere, even in a trash can.