"Flora/Fauna" at Smith & Vallee Gallery

“FLORA/FAUNA”
August 6 - 28, 2011
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 6th (5-8pm)

As the Skagit opens up its summer blossoms, Smith & Vallee Gallery is proud to present a group exhibition centered around the theme “FLORA/FAUNA.” Moving beyond standard wildlife tableaux, this exhibition also explores the human impact and relationship with nature.

Artists include: Shelley Muzylowski Allen, Carol Berry, Paul Brower, David Eisenhour, Kathryn Glowen, Karen Hackenberg, Todd Horton, Kat Houseman, Peregrine O’Gormley, Ann Reid, Jasmine Valandani, Andrew Vallee.

Kathryn Glowen
"Sea of Magic”
Acrylic, wasp nest paper, dictionary page fragments on canvas, 36”x36”

Karen Hackenberg
“Forbearance"
Oil on canvas, 36”x72”

Ann Reid
"Species"
Cut paper, polymer clay, board and brackets, 42" x 8" x 8"

"The Salish Sea" & "A River Story"

"the salish sea"
06/04/2011 - 06/26/2011
opening reception:
saturday, june 4th (5-8pm)

An exhibition of over 15 Northwest artists focusing on the sea as subject matter.

Robert McCauley, "Moments After Capsizing," 1996, 45"x68"

Special Performance: "A RIVER STORY"
Saturday, June 11th
Light reception: 5:30pm
Performance begins: 6:30pm

"The Salish Sea" also coincides with "A RIVER STORY."

A dramatic reading, adapted by Anna Linzer and Elizabeth Huddle, of Linzerʼs novel “A RIVER STORY,” a new novel that takes place in Fishtown, a creative settlement of artists, poets, and scholars on the Skagit River beginning in the late 1960s. First performed last summer at Western Bridge in Seattle, this will be only the second staging of “A RIVER STORY.” “River Story,” collaborative artwork by Eli Hansen and Oscar Tuazon, will also be on view through the month of June.

Eli Hansen, "Skagit River Delta," 2008

Charles Krafft, "Empty River Series," 1971

Story of a Kitchen - Fahringer & Worman Residence

(before)

Some of our favorite gallery patrons, Susan & Keith, recently got a new kitchen from Smith & Vallee Woodworks. They first thought that they couldn't afford us, but once we did an exploratory bid they realized that we were in their reach.

We don't expect that our clients know about managing a kitchen project so we were happy to help them know when they needed to make decisions, and walked them through the process. The result is a new set of cabinets made out of sustainably harvested cherry in their Ballard home.

PREVIEW! Todd Horton, "From Here to the Horizon"

TODD HORTON "From Here to the Horizon" : May 7 - 29, 2011

Tombstone is Gone - Meet the New Edison Woodshop!

Live Edge Smith & Vallee Woodworks on the side of our new Edison Woodshop at
5719 Gilkey Avenue

Inside the shop - A covert photoshoot on a messy day.

One of our new pieces of equipment - this edgebander makes projects even faster!

Cabinets and a Live Edge Maple Mantle ready to go!

In process: Black Walnut Table with Two Leaves

Woodworks Photography Tour

Often times when we install our cabinetry, the project is not yet complete. There is still lots of sawdust and work to do. This just means that it's even more awesome to visit some of our completed jobs once our clients have already moved in!

Leness Houseboat

We recently completed work on one of our artist's homes! The wonderful Terry & John Leness recently moved to a Seattle houseboat. We worked with them to design and build the perfect interiors for their new tight quarters out of salvaged vertical grain fir.

Built in bookshelf with rolling ladder.

Media cabinet.

Vertical grain fir kitchen flat panel cabinetry and bar top.

Built-in Captain's Bed with built-in shelving storage and dresser.

Built in fir desk in the bedroom.

Burrell Residence

Live edge and frame and panel cabinets and bar top made from Whatcom County maple.

Sustainably Harvested Flat Panel Cherry Cabinet

Starting the New Year Out Right

Happy New Year! We have been very busy, getting lots of projects done at our new Edison shop. Here are just a few...

7 Black Walnut Sofa Tables

This client came to us inquiring about a heap of black walnut, she had kept in her Skagit Valley barn since the 1980s. We worked with her to figure out a furniture piece she could give to each of her seven children. These sofa tables will be sent around the country to where each of her children's families now live.

Sustainably Harvested Cherry Cabinet with Live Edge Accents

Locally Harvested Maple Dresser

Does this dresser look familiar? We had a similar furniture piece in our Edison gallery a few months ago and a young couple decided to commission a piece based off the original. The light tone of this particular maple was of a special interest to them, and luckily we were able to use wood from the same tree as the other dresser.

Smith & Vallee played with a different kind of live edge for this dresser by not grinding the bark all the way down. The result is a leathery accent tone on the edge and the live edge pulls.

Holly Wood Bed Set

This is another example of one of our client's supplying the materials for the project out of their own backyard. We have slowly but surely been making furniture for this client out of several trees, originally from her property, that we milled and dried. The newest furniture pieces are two twin beds made out of Holly Wood.

Sustainably Harvest Cherry Live Edge Cabinet

Our clients commissioned this very specific furniture piece for the perfect spot in their Ballard home. It serves as storage and a nice entry bench. These clients were also considering re-doing their kitchen but weren't sure what we would cost. When we dropped off the cabinet we sketched out their dream kitchen, sent over our bid, and we are now on track to give them brand new kitchen cabinets!

Sustainably Harvested Cherry Buffet

Our client loved an identical cherry buffet we have for sale at our Edison gallery but wanted the piece to be 6" shorter. Good thing we do custom work! They got exactly what they wanted!

Native Shoes Display Letters

We were asked to build these big letters for Native Shoes' display at an exhibition in Berlin. Each letter was made by gluing up many (many) pieces of sustainably harvested maple plywood. Smith & Vallee then CNC routed them into each of the specific shapes.

Coincidentally, Native can also spell out Evan - the name of our right-hand-man at the woodshop. We had a lot of fun with this photo shoot.

Lots of dried wood in the shop waiting for projects!