Spring, Fall Arts Walk Cover artists selected for 2023 by the Olympia Arts Commission

Olympia's Arts Commission reviewed two arts concepts for the 2023 Arts Walk Cover during a meeting held Thursday, January 12.

The commission selected Jennifer Kuhns and Aimee Schreiber to do the art cover for the semi-annual community events. Schreiber and her work will be featured in the spring event, while Kuhns' will be featured in the fall.

Arts Program specialist Angel Nava presented photos of a garden moth (arctia caja) with a gold leaf halo and delphinium flowers. She said Schreiber would use these photos as references for the cover art painting.

"I plan to paint an 18 x 18-inch painting on wood board of natural elements local to our region, using high-contrast graphic and organic shapes and complimentary colors (blue/orange, purple/yellow) to create visual impact," Shreiber stated.

Meanwhile, Kuhns proposed to create a 2 x 2 foot stained glass mosaic interpretation of a Capitol Building photo, which she took in November 2017.

"I will hand-cut colored glass and piece the image together using hue and value to suggest light and shadow, resulting in a strikingly dimensional image that will render well in print. I look forward to the challenge of contrasting the crisp upper half of the photo with the reflective lower half," Kuhns stated.

Arts commissioner Joe Batt commented that both artists are detailed and realism-oriented. "But at the same time, the way they are putting these together, there's a lot of abstraction going on."

Arts Commission chair Jim Burlingame said the artists have a leeway to come up with "what they feel is right." He said he is excited to see the mosaic interpretation of the Capitol Building.

Olympia Arts Walk is a semi-annual community event celebrating the arts. It is a program of the city's Department of Parks, Arts & Recreation and the Arts Commission.