Area art scene looks ahead to 2022

Kirk Boxleitner | Jan 20, 20220

Area art exhibitors offered their outlook on what lies ahead this year in their world of art.

When asked what she looks forward to in 2022, Belfair Self-Storage owner and manager Barbara Treick expressed hopes of generating a good turnout for the “Keep Music In School” show she has planned for March.

“I am working on a prospectus for a call to artists to celebrate MIOSM (Music In Our Schools Month) by creating art that shows their favorite song or musical instrument,” Treick said. “My art wall only has enough space for 16 pieces, with 12-by-12 outside dimensions. My own favorite musical instrument is the piccolo French horn.”

Beyond that, Treick would love for more “artists, creators and makers” to contact her about showing their works and holding receptions at Belfair Self-Storage, noting that she’s already been approached by those interested in using her studio for classes ranging from fine art to soap making.

“And in this day and age of social media, print-on-demand, NFTs and brick-and-mortar galleries closing, I know I have to engage with the internet,” said Treick, who has sold pieces through her personal website at barbaratreick.com and through sites such as Redbubble and Society6, plus her Facebook page.

Treick added, “Online venues are saturated. The number of pieces I sold through all those virtual venues combined did not equal the number of pieces I sold at my reception last June. There’s still a need for face-to-face interactions between artists and the public, and among fellow artists.”

Treick told the Journal her goal is to unite enough like-minded artists to rent a space dedicated to their shows, receptions and classes.

Elton Busby, co-owner of Crazy Hill Garden & Botanicals in Belfair, said “I see very little change this next year” in his corner of the local art scene because “I fully anticipate sales of outdoor creations to parallel this year, and potentially even exceed those figures.”

Busby harbors a bit less optimism regarding his shop’s prospects for indoor art sales in 2022.

“I am giving the gallery this next year to hopefully perform better than it has this past year,” Busby said, adding that, if he sees no improvements in 2022, then he could be forced to revert his shop’s indoor space to its original concept of a garden shop in 2023, complete with books, gardening tools, indoor plants and a smattering of garden-oriented art.

Busby hastened to point out that Crazy Hill might not be the best indicator for judging the state of the local art scene.

“We are a nursery first and an art gallery second,” he said. “I do know some fine artists and sculptors who have been quite successful and busy this past year, but I can only speak from my own specific experience. Like every other factor of our lives these days, the art business is just as unpredictable, I guess.”

When last she spoke with the Journal, Elizabeth Bennett, operational manager of the Rest-A-While RV Park, was more focused on helping her community bid a mutually supportive farewell to the 2021 winter holidays than nailing down specifics for her annual art and music fair in 2022. She worked with firefighters and food banks serving Hoodsport and Lilliwaup to help families with meals and presents.

As Bennett is concerned, helping others should always be a key part of any area art event, and she’s continued to study the success of farmers markets throughout the region in meeting customers’ needs while bringing folks together.

“As artists, vendors and event organizers, we’ve all made the effort to direct business and foot traffic to each other,” Bennett said. “Even when we’ve been faced with initially conflicting dates on the calendar, we’ve collaborated to make it work. Instead of the pushback I’ve occasionally expected, I’ve been struck by how much we’ve all supported each other in this scene.”

In spite of obstacles ranging from the pandemic to the summer heat wave, Bennett attested to how much all of her partners in the local art scene have told her that they’re eager to do even more in 2022.