Bloglander

Over the past 20 years, Bill and Kathy Kostelec have captured images of Spokane and other locations in black-and-white with antique large-format cameras. Their exhibit, “Contact Prints: Silver Platinum and Gold,” is on display through May 30 at the Kolva-Sullivan Gallery.

Here, they talk about their work and show why it’s more challenging — and rewarding — than snapping photos with a point-and-shoot.

See other First Friday listings at inlander.com/FirstFriday.

The Kolva-Sullivan Gallery and neighboring Trackside Studio are both debuting new exhibits for First Friday this evening. At the Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, former colleagues Robin Dare and Robert Kraut are showing their art together for the first time in 17 years. At Trackside Studio, the ceramic works of art professors and friends Mardis Nenno and Terry Gieber are on display as a farewell show for Gieber, who is retiring. Both exhibits are open through most of the month.

See a preview video from the Chase Gallery here and browse our full First Friday listings here.

Thank you to everyone who entered our Best Of Coloring Contest. We received quite a few entries (none in blood) and what was most surprising is how many adults still love to color — they gave us more entries than the kids. We dug through our prize closet and came up with:

• $20 in Pizza Rita coupons!
• A ticket to the Shrine Circus!
• A pack of Tiffany Patterson Stickers!

The winner in the 0-4 age group is Scarlett Price, age 4. We loved her addition of eyelashes and Whiskers!

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The Winner in the 5-10 age group is Declan, age 7. We loved how impressionistic his extra watercolor strokes are.

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The winner in the 10-16 was Maddie Speare, age 11. We loved her rainbow background.

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The Winner in the 17+ category was Noralene Harland, age 54. So much effort went into making an amazing piece it was a no-brainer for our staff.

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And one more surprise category was the Artist's Fav, selected by Tiffany Patterson. "I've chosen 9-year-old Daegan — I love the addition of 'awsome' albeit misspelled which I fully can relate to. I also was quite impressed with the striped antlers...such creative vision!"

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Thanks to everyone who participated! You can see a gallery with more of our favorites here, and you can still download the coloring pages for yourself here.

"Very Carefully," a new exhibit featuring the work of Hank Chiappetta, Sarah Fagan, Patty Franklin and Rik Nelson, is on display at the Chase Gallery from April 3 to June 27. The First Friday artist reception on April 4 from 5 to 9 pm.

We'll have our First Friday listings and a map updated by Friday here to plan your route.

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Heidi Groover

INK board members hosted an informational meeting at the space Thursday.

Excitement and the smell of fresh paint filled the air Thursday at a public information meeting to introduce INK, a new organization that will offer writing and visual arts classes to youth in Spokane. Author Jess Walter is one of the founders of the group, which is housed at 224 W. Sprague and modeled after 826, a national nonprofit that offers writing education and mentorship to students ages 6-18.

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Leah Sottile

Beyond writing, INK will take aim at all arts education that's "under-attacked" in Spokane, Walter said, creating the type of vibrant arts community artists his age wish they'd had as kids.

Organizers plan to hold a soft opening in May, a fundraiser in June and offer a full curriculum — ideally, entirely for free to students — by the fall. Each week, the space will offer two writing and two visual arts classes after school for middle and high school students, with additional weekend workshops for younger students and possibly adults.

Eventually, the space is likely to be home to regular readings, First Friday exhibits of student work and one-on-one mentoring. The group may also branch out to teaching classes at community centers or libraries.

"We are so open about what this should be," Walter said. "We don't want any limits."

For now, INK is looking for volunteers, teachers and class or workshop ideas. If you're interested in volunteering, email inkspokane@gmail.com. Keep up with the group on its Facebook page here.

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Clara Wilson

Last summer, at the suggestion of a Spokane Falls Community College instructor, local photographer Clara Wilson applied to an event called Spectrum by RAW. The arts organization puts on one-night showcases that feature young artists in a variety of disciplines — film, fashion, dance, visual arts and more. At the time they were planning a show in the Spokane area that didn’t pan out, but the director of the upcoming Seattle show decided to go through Spokane submissions. Wilson’s photos caught her eye, and she got in touch.

Wilson, who also recently won third place in an international competition hosted by Photographers Forum Magazine, says she thinks it’s of utmost importance that artists support each other. So when she saw the Seattle event putting out a call for additional submissions, she encouraged Heather Biggs, Tyler Bolen and Jessica Flatt — friends and collaborators at SFCC — to also apply.

“I wanted to share this opportunity to show at RAW with others who I knew were great photographers and would appreciate this opportunity as much as I would,” she says.

All four were accepted for the show on April 17 at the Showbox. Artists are responsible for selling tickets to the event, so if you’re going to be in Seattle or feel like supporting them, you can purchase tickets here. More background on the show is here. They answered some of our questions about their art:

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Jessica Flatt

How did you get interested in photography, especially as an art form?

HEATHER: I was born and raised in Cheney, Washington. However, I always thought of Spokane as my home. My family is full of hunters and outdoorsmen, and they taught me to appreciate the land. I spent a good part of my childhood on the backroads of Washington. As a family we'd go for drives looking for wildlife about twice a week. When I was 21 I attended beauty school and fell in love with the magazines more than the art of cosmetology itself. I realized at that point that if I could mix fashion photography and the outdoors, I'd be set. So now, that's what I mainly do.

TYLER: I got interested in photography when I first took it as an art credit in high school. It wasn't until I was going to Spokane Falls Community College that I got into it as an art form.

JESSICA: I've always been interested in art, but photography struck my interest in high school. It wasn't until seven years later when I decided to go to college that I really realized what I could do with my photography and how I can turn something so plain into an amazing work of art.

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Heather Biggs

What themes or messages are in your work? Are you more interested in the technical aspects of photography or in the ideas?

HEATHER: 90 percent of my work has to do with women and their struggles. It's not always obvious at first glance to the viewer, but they all have some sort of underlying theme. I think it’s important as a woman to photograph women being vulnerable, it's only at that point that you're truly your strongest.

Without the technical aspects of photography, it doesn't matter how fabulous your ideas are. I decided that on my own I wasn't able to get consistent results. So I went to SFCC in Spokane, and got the technical stuff down. Now that I know it, I can just focus on the ideas.

TYLER: The themes that are in my photography, as in my fine art work, are to show that there still is beauty in old and decaying things. For example, when I photograph abandoned places that aren't in great shape, I like to photograph it in a way that shows there is still beauty just like when it was first built.

JESSICA: The themes that I normally stick to are either Fantasy or Nature and Landscape. I try to mix the two when finding locations for my fine art pieces of work.

CLARA: My niche or genre in photography is conceptual fine art portraiture. My image making process is therapeutic for me, from beginning to end of the process. ... I love to play with light and draw emotion by setting the mood through different lighting sources and techniques. I love to mesh conceptual, tableau, fine art and portraiture. Doing so has enabled me to create a surreal bond between fiction and nonfiction, love and hate, happiness and sorrow.

Tyler Bolen

What makes Spectrum by RAW a particularly good opportunity?

HEATHER: Raw is an amazing opportunity for someone from such a small town. Artists from all over are showcased in one venue — stylists, musicians, designers, dancers and photographers, all in one spot. You're surrounded by like-minded individuals, and have the opportunity to share your work with a much larger audience than an individual show.

TYLER: I submitted my work knowing that I might not get into the same show [Clara] got into, but at least that I might get into a different one. When I found out I got into the same one I was thrilled. Raw is a good opportunity because they focus on getting exposure for the talent out there.

JESSICA: This is a really great opportunity to get your name out there and be a part of group where artists support other artists. You are also in other cities, so your name gets out in other communities as well.

Do you feel like there's a lot going on in Spokane, or is it a disadvantage to be so far from cities like Seattle?

HEATHER: Spokane has come such a long way since I was a kid. The art scene has really picked up, and it's becoming a more culturally diverse area. Seattle I believe, is just a little bit ahead of Spokane — don't worry, we will catch up!

TYLER: Spokane doesn't have a lot going on as apposed to cities like Seattle, Portland, New York. Cities like those have, from what I have seen, more art galleries, art museums and a lot more art-related jobs.

JESSICA: I feel that there is a lot that goes on in Spokane, but I think there should be more publicity in getting these events out there and into the public eye.

CLARA: I feel Spokane has a lot going on for the art community. Events like Terrain and First Fridays are wonderful opportunities for photographers to try and get their work shown in multiple showcases around Spokane.

Find out more about the the show and their work here.

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Lisa Waananen

An existing mural beneath the train overpass on the east side of Browne Street. The west side, currently blank, is one of the locations that will be painted.

Downtown Mural Project

Spokane Arts, the nonprofit community arts organization, is looking for artists and artist teams to submit proposals for a series of new murals in downtown Spokane.

Painting of the murals is scheduled for this summer, from June to August, and the sites include the cement walls of railroad overpasses crossing Howard, Wall, Maple and Browne streets. Some of the overpasses will be painted on both sides, others only on one side, the request states.

Artists are to be compensated for their work, ranging between $1,500-$1,750 depending on the mural location. Materials, equipment, site prep and other expenses are also being covered by Spokane Arts.

The project is only open to local artists/teams, as its goal is to "provide the area’s visual artists with an opportunity to develop mural projects that will encourage progressive attitudes toward visual communication in public spaces, fostering a sense of ownership and community interactivity in the railroad underpasses."

Details on the application requirements and submission process is can be found here. The deadline to apply is April 8.

Spokane Arena 20th Anniversary Project

In addition, Spokane Arts is looking for qualified artists/teams for a larger, long-term art project to commemorate the Spokane Arena's 20th anniversary next year.

The project, co-organized by the Spokane Public Facilities District (PFD) and Spokane Arts, is to commission a piece of artwork for the interior main entry of the arena. Plans are to reveal the piece, being budgeted for $45,000, at a special event in mid-September 2015.

Specific proposals for the artwork aren't being requested at this time, but interested artists can apply to commission it here. The deadline to apply is July 17, 2014. A pre-proposal workshop for interested artists is planned for next Tuesday, March 18, at 1:30 pm at the arena's northeast entrance.

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Young Kwak

Zuill Bailey at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

The transition from Gunther Schuller to Zuill Bailey was carved into stone Sunday after the final concert in Bailey’s first season as artistic director of the Northwest Bach Festival. Sharing the stage with renowned pianist Lara Downes, they led the St. John’s Cathedral audience on a tour of American musical history, with works from Copland, Bernstein and Foss. All music owes a debt to Bach, and this final concert served notice that the future of this festival will be expansive indeed.

Other highlights from the final week included: Bailey bringing Bach to the homeless at the West Central Episcopal Mission’s free Ash Wednesday lunch; his show at the Bing on Friday night, when he attacked all six of the preludes from Bach’s cello suites — just for fun, he played them out of order; and Saturday night’s “Bach to Brubeck” recital by Downes at Barrister Winery — a performance people were still raving about after Sunday’s show, especially the soulful stamp she put on “Rhapsody in Blue.” (You’ll be kicking yourself for a year if you missed it.)

As torrents of sunlight washed over the musical pilgrims out in the pews Sunday, the two-week festival hit its emotional crescendo during the duo’s powerfully serene version of Copland’s “Simple Gifts,” based on an old American folk song. Copland adapted the tune for Appalachian Spring, but the long-forgotten lyrics are worth remembering. “When we find ourselves in the place just right,” the 1848 original goes, “’twill be in the valley of love and delight.” That describes, perfectly, where the 2014 Bach Festival left us.

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Meghan Kirk

The cast of The Mousetrap at the Civic.

One week into its three-week run, the Spokane Civic Theatre's production of Agatha Christie's classic murder mystery The Mousetrap has completely sold out.

In Spokane starring KXLY meteorologist Kris Crocker in the leading role of Mollie Ralston, The Mousetrap is the longest-running theatrical show of any kind. And at the Civic, it's joining the ranks of other recently sold out shows such as the current season's opener Les Miserables, last season's White Christmas and 2010's Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story.

The Civic's social media and marketing associate Miranda Larson told the Inlander there are no plans to extend the production as the Civic did when Les Mis sold out every performance last fall, including those later-added shows.

But don't despair, the Civic's current season still has several more shows lined up, including The Three Musketeers (April 4-19) and Gypsy (May 16-June 15) on the main stage. In the studio theater, the musical Suds opens next weekend (March 14-April 13), followed by the new comedy Becky's New Car (May 2-June 1).

If you just can't believe you let the opportunity to see The Mousetrap slip past, you can try getting tickets by showing up an hour prior to a performance to get on a waiting list for any tickets that might open up. Find details on the wait list policy on the Civic's site.

And if you were an early ticket buyer and will be attending the show, remember to keep the ending secret.

Google was once just an idea that lived in the minds of two students at Stanford. But Larry Page and Sergey Brin brought their idea to life and changed the world, and now Google is asking kids to share their innovative, world-changing ideas in the 2014 Doodle 4 Google competition.

Google is looking for students grades K-12 to create a doodle about “If I Could Invent One Thing to Make the World a Better Place...”

Not only is this competition an excuse to get creative, but the winner earns some awesome perks. The top doodler gets their creation displayed on Google’s homepage for 24 hours, receives a $30,000 scholarship and earns a $50,000 grant for a tech lab in their school. And the fun doesn’t end there — the winner also gets a trip to go hang out with the doodle team at Google’s headquarters in California as they bring the winning doodle to life.

With a state finalist selected from each state, the Inland Northwest has double the opportunity to have its young talent represented. So, friends, family and teachers — spread the word to the little artists in your life. All submissions are due March 20, so let’s get doodling!

Here’s more information on how to get involved. And if you’re a teacher, here are some lesson plans for bringing Doodle 4 Google to the classroom.

More inspiration here.