The McReavy House membership includes a variety of artists, including musicians, poets, serigraph artists, illustrators, painters, woodcarvers, and more. The museum draws much of its precedent from the Olympus Manor artists colony, which flourished on Hood Canal, in Union, between 1924 and 1952. Aside from housing the history of this era and making its art available, the museum programming revolves around arts and cultural activities. Member artists participate in these programs and in the general development of a local arts and artisan culture. Contact information, links to their websites, and links to websites where their work is available are included with the artists’ profiles.
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Trail Black
Trail Black is a songwriter and member of the band High Ceiling. The band’s albums include Angle of Repose and Illusion. Their music is an eclectic, groove saturated blend of reggae, funk, dub, latin, new world, and trance. To see and hear more visit www.myspace.com/highceiling or www.highceilingmusic.com.
Michael Fredson
After a background in psychology, Michael Fredson received his M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Arizona in 1978. He is the author of four books of history (Shelton’s Boom, Log Towns, Beast-Man: A Historical Account of John Tornow, and Images of America: Hood Canal.) He is also the author of the chapbook Sawamish County Poems. Recent poems can be viewed online at www.locuspoint.org. He lives in Union, Washington with his wife Lindy.
Todd Fredson
Todd Fredson’s poems have appeared in Poetry International, Blackbird, Court Green, 42 Opus, First Intensity, Puerto del Sol, Gulf Coast, RUNES, Pistola, Slush Pile and other journals. He is the director of programming at the McReavy House Museum of Hood Canal. He lives in the Skokomish Valley, with his wife, Sarah Vap, and their sons, Oskar and Mateo.
Chris Gunter
I was born in the uppermost corner of the fat part of Idaho 50 miles from the west entrance to Yellowstone park and 60 miles from Jackson Hole Wyoming, an area surrounded by history. My mother sparked my interest in history with the local stories of Pierre’s Hole, the mountain men, the fur rich upper snake river valley and the local Native Americans. My father worked in the woods and would help with the muscle and movement of wildlife. I was drawing mule deer before I could write. I had a picture of Santa’s sleigh being pulled by mule deer which was submitted by my first grade teacher to the local newspaper and ended up on the front page of the paper.
Every summer of my early childhood my sisters and I would live in an old sheepherders camper in the woods, while my dad sprayed D.D.T. for the rocky mountain timber beetle and logged. In our part of Idaho there were only dirt roads and trails, so we used pack horses to get into the areas where my dad was working. He would put us kids on top of the goup cans (kind of like riding a camel) giving us a bird’s eye view of the wildlife and beauty in this untouched wilderness. Few people had viewed these areas and fewer still could even imagine the untouched and undisturbed quality of the area around Ashton Idaho. The world I create with my art is the world in which I would want to live. It has the sleepiness that life used to have, that we have lost in all the fastness we live in now. For samples or upcoming show information, email lostidahoan@hotmail.com or write Gunter Fine Arts, E 360 Cedar Street/ Belfair, WA 98528.
Timothy Keyzers
Glass Artist Timothy Keyzers has been flameworking since 2002. He is well known for his highly contemporary glass orbs. Timothy’s work has been distributed internationally through Art Glass Galleries. His innovation of design and high quality standards has gainedthe respect of contemporary marble collectors and fellow glass artists alike. Timothy’s work has been published in multiple well-known Art Glass Magazines. He is also the featured artist in two instructional flameworking DVDs.
Howard & Lisa Leggett
We have been imagining and producing collectible silk screen prints and other original art since 1994. We have shown in dozens of locations from Sausalito, California, up the coast to Sydney, British Columbia. We love color, and screen-printing provides incomparable control of color. Leggett Art Studios is proud to be carrying on the skilled craft of the serigraph.
Creating the idea for the image is the first step in the serigraph. A scaled final size is established and an amberlyth is cut using a knife. This is the film positive and one is cut for each color. Then the films are burnt to a screen with a coat of light-sensitive emulsion. The positive blocks out the light, leaving a stencil in the screen. After taping and registration, ink is pushed through the screen with a squeegee by hand. If you are interested in learning more about our hand made, limited edition serigraphs find us on Hood Canal in Washington State. Visit www.leggettartstudios.com for more information.
Carolyn Maddux
A mostly-retired journalist, Carolyn Maddux grew up on Hood Canal. She started her working life as a teacher of English and creative writing, and still teaches creative writing for Olympic College Shelton. She has two books of poetry, Remembering Water and Voluntary on a Flight of Angels, the latter a limited-edition letterpress chapbook printed for Hypatia-in-the-Woods, a resource center and retreat for Women in the Arts in the Arcadia area. Her poetry has been published in literary journals including Alaska Quarterly Review, Salal and Crab Creek Review. She earned her Master of Arts degree in 1998 from the McGregor School of Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She and her husband, Don, live in Shelton.
Matthew Melendez Blegen
Matthew Melendez Blegen used to make his living singing the praises of others. After graduating at the top of his class from the country’s leading communications school, he began a career as ad creative on Madison Avenue. Fifteen years and about three thousand miles later, he found himself in the technology industry as a senior public relations and marketing executive at the height of the 1990s technology boom. Music was never far away though, and Matthew also performed regularly as a professional classical vocalist throughout the majority of his high-tech career with organizations such as the New Jersey State Opera, New York Oratorio Society, William Hall Master Chorale, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Opera Orchestra of Los Angeles, and Portland Pro Musica, and performed as a studio musician on movie soundtracks and dozens of CDs. In 2003 he was given the opportunity to study with world-renowned tenor Vinson Cole as part of the Master of Music program at the University of Washington. Upon completing that degree magna cum laude in 2006, he founded the Anna’s Bay Center for Music, combining his love for music and belief in its power to build community with his business and marketing skills. Today, in addition to leading Anna’s Bay, Matthew continues his vocal study with internationally-acclaimed soprano Jane Eaglen, teaches privately, is a guest soloist for ensembles in both Seattle and Portland, and doesn’t spend nearly enough time with his old dog Tucker.
For more information about Anna’s Bay’s upcoming events, visit www.annasbay.org. Hear Matthew perform “Encantamiento” (Enchanter) by Argentinean composer Carlos Guastavino, adapted from the poetry of Gabriela Mistral.
Brandon Palmer
Brandon Palmer is an outdoor enthusiast and nature photographer of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. He is a life-long resident of Washington State and grew up in a primitive cabin in the woods on the south side of Hood Canal. Brandon has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Western Washington University, an Associate’s degree from Olympic College, and is an Eagle Scout. Brandon lives in a rustic farmhouse on ten acres in the Agate area of Mason County with the love of his life, Mendy, and daughter Allison. Together they enjoy hiking, climbing, sailing, fishing, organic gardening, brewing, winemaking, and the variety of tasks required to maintain an old home and several outbuildings.
Brandon Palmer offers stunning wildlife and landscape photography and is also available for special assignments. Some of Brandon’s photography can be viewed here: www.printroom.com/pro/bop513
Terri A. Thompson
It is my quest in life to always challenge myself, never getting too comfortable with what I know. This keeps my mind alert, alive, and ever growing. I love learning and working with a variety of art mediums and subject matters. I’m a former middle school teacher, with an art and science degree, and continue my love of teaching by teaching both adults and home school students at my home. I have won many awards for my art including best of show and have sold my art throughout the country.
I paint both realistically and abstract but I mostly love to exaggerate colors. Colors in a painting are like spices in food. I do commissioned art…landscapes, florals, etc….including portraits. I do unique photography shoots. I also make jewelry because it gives me a venue to work with the beautiful rocks and stones that I so dearly loved to bust open in my driveway as a child. I am intrigued with the colors and textures of stones. I use sterling silver and plate with gold on most pieces for those with metal allergies.
I grew up locally, in Mason County, and although I love venturing outside the area, I always love returning home. I live near the beautiful Hood Canal with my wonderful husband, have three grown children, and 6 beautiful grandchildren. If you’re interested in purchasing art or prints, jewelry, or taking art classes…please contact me at: 360-898-5428 or email me at mwtat@hctc.com
Sarah Vap
Sarah Vap is the author of two collections of poetry, American Spikenard, which won the 2006 Iowa Poetry Prize, and Dummy Fire, which won the 2006 Saturnalia Poetry Prize. Her third collection, Faulkner’s Rosary, will be published in 2010 with Saturnalia Press, and her fourth, Iris Starless, for 2012. Her poems and essays can be found in American Poetry Review, Field, Colorado Review, Interim, and many other journals. Her work can be found online at Blackbird, Pistola and 42 Opus, where she has been a poetry editor since 2004. She lives in the Skokomish Valley with her love, Todd, and their loves, Oskar and Mateo.
Visit the Recording Room to hear Sarah read her work.
