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

The Blue Mouse Theater, located over on Proctor Street in Tacoma, has a unique claim to fame. Back in the day, world famous glass artist Dale Chihuly created the glass tubing for the blue neon mice that “run” around the perimeter of the theater. Cool stuff. Before it was the Blue Mouse, the theater was called the Bijou and before that? Oddly enough, it was, simply, the Proctor.

–James

If you see visitors staring intently at the ground around here, they probably aren’t looking for spare change. They’re more likely reading one of the multitudes of brass plaques that have been set into the concrete sidewalks around Tacoma. Sometimes they give you a little bit of history about the ground you’re standing on, like this one…

…or this one:

Maybe they’ve got a whole story to tell:

Or maybe they’re even a part of history, like this drinking fountain:

Chambers Bay Golf Course will be hosting the 2015 U.S. Open, but you can be sure that people will be lining up to visit long before that happens. And for good reason. The Scottish-style links and beautiful scenery are a real gem. And, after a round on this walk-only course, you’ll likely want to stop in to the Chambers Bay Grill for a bite. You can go for the Chipotle Turkey or Bourbon Chicken if you’d like. But for my money, there are few ordinary burgers that will beat this one. Hot off the broiler and cooked to order, why is such simple pleasure otherwise so hard to come by? Best part is, lunch or dinner just won’t set you back a whole lot of money. Now THAT’s a Scotch value!

–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

Mention the name Dale Chihuly and it’s hard to avoid hyperbole. Brilliant. Amazing. Original. Miraculous. And, of course, the oft-misapplied (but not in this case) “genius.” And did I mention prolific? Keep going like this and I might start hyperventilating. Chihuly’s glass installations are more than mere art works. They are miniature worlds that seem to have plopped in from either the bottom of the sea or another universe altogether. (To see what I mean, take a stroll across our city’s Bridge of Glass.) Chihuly practically single-handedly brought glass art into the modern era – while also putting Tacoma’s arts scene on the map. So it wouldn’t be right to overlook including his work in our collection at the Hotel Murano. His piece is easy to find, occupying a pride of place on our main floor near the front desk.

–Dale