Kelly McKnight 
Jeremy Dubow 
Jeremy Bartheld 
Joan Neubauer
Empty storefronts in Downtown Yakima will come alive again on Friday, October 4th when the talents of local artists are put on public display for the latest “Windows Alive!” installment. Six years ago, the Yakima Arts Commission, an advisory group appointed by the Yakima City Council, developed the idea to harness the creativity of Central Washington artists.
Following a submission and evaluation process, outstanding artists from the region were chosen to be part of the latest “Windows Alive!” exhibition, which will run from October 4th until March 2020.
The kickoff for the latest Windows Alive! exhibit will take place at 5:30 pm on October 4th. Art will be displayed in storefront windows located along the north side of Yakima Avenue between 3rd Street and 4th Street.
Artists chosen to display their work will be available to talk about their pieces.
The event will be held in conjunction with “First Friday” activities in Downtown Yakima, which showcase local wineries, restaurants and shops with specials and entertainment.
Artists selected for the latest “Windows Alive!” exhibition, with excerpts from their artist statements, are:
- Joan Neubauer focuses on book arts. “It is a small corner of the art world that many people don’t realize is out there,” Neubauer said. “Each book is like a mini exhibition and offers the opportunity to integrate so many of the crafts I enjoy.”
- Kelly McKnight describes her latest work as including rice paper with encaustic medium. “I love how the medium makes the paper translucent while adding some durability to something so fragile,” McKnight said. “Having light shine through the paper provides a glow that enhances the imagery painted on the paper.”
- Jeremy Dubow has worked as an animator and illustrator. His work is influenced by the classical drawing and painting of the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. He immersed himself in the techniques he learned in Italy, and developed his own voice in still-life and portraiture.
- Janice La Verne Baker is a full-time studio artist whose favorite materials include paper, acrylic ink, and paint boards. “The challenge is to dwell in the art making and not worry about what others think of the finished product,” La Verne Baker said. “The challenge is to tell my truth, my story.”
- Maria Rueda is interested in urban street and graffiti art. “I got this sudden attractiveness to the colors and the abstract concepts of urban modern art and the clever ways these modern artists incorporated historical art pieces into the ‘modern’ ways of art expressionism,” Rueda said.
- Jeremy Bartheld is a glass artist who finds the medium challenging yet meditative. “There is something magical about using fire to change glass from a solid to liquid and back…,” Bartheld said. “All of it is a delicate dance you make with the glass. One small misstep can turn your sculpture from a work of art to a pile of glass in the dustpan.”
Each artist received a $250 stipend.
Additional information about the artists is available at http://www.windowsalive.com/