Ever check into one of those hotel rooms where you know from the get-go that it just won’t do, as in, “Where do they expect me to place my stuff ?” Not so at Hotel Murano – or any Provenance Hotel for that matter! With spacious rooms, large closets, floor space for the extras, a desk that goes on forever, we have room to let you – and your pets – really live and breathe. Check it out next time you’re here!

–Dale

Gallery Madera is putting on an exhibition that should cause visitors to rethink the notion of waste and recycling. Dubbed re-ART, the show features artwork made entirely of, well, trash. These “rethinking” waste is almost a given. Still, there’s a lot of work to do. And if you’re not up to it yourself, why not leave some of your castoffs with an artist friend and see whether he or she can spin gold from garbage. As an added benny, 30% of gross sales will be donated to the Tacoma Food Co-op and the Sierra Club Zero Waste Committee. Re-ART runs from October 18 – November 29.  Details at www.gallerymadera.com.

–James

Every city worth its sense of place has a commission to preserve historic buildings. And, over the years, definitions of architectural merit change and evolve as one style displaces a previous trend. Our own hotel was once derided as a Cold War-era eyesore, but very smart designers have re-imagined it into a true landmark. With that it mind, it was fascinating to read Exit 133 ask the question: “Which [Tacoma] building do you want brought down and what’s your justification for such a selection?” The answers they gave were very interesting – and it looks like they’ve left commenting open for you to weigh in with your choice for the swing of the wrecking ball.

–Dale

The Brazilians have a word for it. Saudade. It describes the feeling of longing or sadness for something lost, like one’s homeland in times of war or natural disaster. It’s no wonder that, as a culture that doesn’t naturally cozy up to such dark feelings, we don’t have an English-language equivalent. Saudade is found in Portuguese Fado music, Native American chants, the Brazilian samba along with its jazzed-up nephew bossa nova and, of course, African-American blues. Tacoma artist Lorraine Toler has tapped into that sense of longing. During the Japanese occupation of Korea in the 1940’s, her mother was forced, at age 12, to flee and soon found herself alone in Seoul. She never saw her family again. Some time later, she gave birth to Lorraine, who grew up never knowing the large family her mother had come from. All she had were a handful of memories that her mother retained from her childhood. Lorraine’s series of paintings on show at Tacoma Art Place aims to scrabble together a coherent story from those meager recollections. These works’ poignant drama stems from what is left out as much from what is actually portrayed.

–Dale

The fashionisti at Nordstrom know a lot about retail. Reports are rolling in that they also know a thing or two about how to party. Just a few days ago, Nordstrom reopened at the Tacoma Mall, adding 4,000 square feet to its already-huge retail space. And to celebrate, they threw a gala benefit for the Tacoma Art Museum and the Museum of Glass. Worthy causes, both. And now those two institutions have $85,000 that they didn’t have before. If you weren’t there, you can see how the festivities went by checking out the Weekly Volcano’s Flickr page.

–James

Matthew Scott was one of the first servicemen to join the fight in the War on Terror. Just days after 9/11, as an Air Force Staff Sergeant, he left for Afghanistan and watched the very first B-1 bomber take off on its bombing mission. He served well and later was given an honorable discharge. Still, his battle experiences, like those of so many others, left deep scars on his psyche. In the midst of a particularly dark night of the soul, he took up a paintbrush and began documenting the lineament of his trauma in paint – cataloguing both the regret over having inflicted pain and the gratitude for having found a way out of his own suffering through art. An exhibition of Scott’s paintings at The Lark Gallery, runs through October 12.

–Dale

Mindy Barker just opened a new show called “Slice,” at Fulcrum Gallery.  The show, which ranges from a large painted glass installation to other, smaller, works has been described as having a uniquely archaeological feel, while, in the Weekly Volcano, Alec Clayton suggested something more geological, that the photographic transfers and collage images are sandwiched into “rocklike forms” and “cave like openings.” I like that. The glass paintings remind me, though, of giant microscope slides, bearing images that are like brief (i.e. microscopic) moments in the artist’s life – at once concrete and abstract, revealing a part of the story, but never, ever, the full plot. Fulcrum gallery is at 1308 Martin Luther King Jr. Way and “Slice” runs through September 14.

–Dale

Animal Avenue, the latest addition to the Point Defiance Zoo, has finally opened, with homes occupied by about 19 new neighbors! Here they are:

• Meerkat

• Ring-tailed Lemur

• Black Lemur

• Damaraland Mole Rat

• Golden Orb Weaver spider

• Goliath Bird-eating Spider

• Antilles Pink-toed Tree Spider

• Emerald Tree Boa

• Green Tree Python

• Western Bell’s Hinge-back Tortoise

• Pancake Tortoise

• Ornate Horned Frog

• White’s Tree Frog

• Hour Glass Tree Frog

• Surinam Toad

• Long-legged Desert Ant

• African Emperor Scorpion

• Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

• African Cichlid

Be sure to throw the kids in the welcome wagon and head there for a visit!

–Dale

As the economy tightens, it may be tempting to think about cutting costs. But slashing expenses willy-nilly can cripple your business. There are often less painful ways to stay afloat. The operative word is balance. This superb article from the Microsoft Small Business Center offers eight sensible budgeting tips. Here’s the first:“

Accept the learning curve. Living with a budget is an education. Trimming your expenses, knowing how long a paycheck is going to last or how much of a cash reserve to keep around… working these skillfully will take some time. But you can learn to adjust a budget as you go, and what was once a shot in the dark gradually will become a more predictable and useful practice.”

Being reasonable yet disciplined can even open up paths to success that you may not have discerned before. Go to the full article to read seven more tips on balanced budgeting.

–Dale

Much as we’d like to, The Looking Glass can’t keep you apprised of everything happening in the bustling local arts scene. Fortunately, one of our local news agencies has picked up the ball. The News Tribune now publishes “GO Arts,” a daily arts blog. Artists live frantic, often unpredictable lives. “GO Arts” intends to stay ahead of the game, covering what’s happening, what’s not, who’s in town and who’s getting out of Dodge. As its mission statement says, “GO Arts” will tell you “what’s new on the walls, stage, screen and streets of Tacoma and South Puget Sound.” I, for one, intend to bookmark that one.

–Dale