Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 8, Issue 2, February 2004

Copyright 2004 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

Take your Valentine to Ballard's ARTwalk

By JAMES BUSH

It may be a trick of the calendar that set this month's Ballard ARTwalk on Valentine's Day, but coordinator Katy Szekely thinks it all makes sense.

"I still think it's one of the great cheap dates," she says.

Still going strong after more than five years in operation, the monthly Second Saturday event is held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., although some businesses remain open later. Maps are available at participating businesses about one week before the ARTwalk (and, of course, on the day of the event).

The number of participating businesses swells during the summer and the holiday season (there were 42 stops on the December ARTwalk), then drops a bit to start the year, says Szekely, who has been the volunteer coordinator for the event since last March.

Last month, Szekely, who describes her position as "the resident cheerleader for the ARTwalk," was honored by the event's sponsor, the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, with the Director's Award for her dedicated service.

While the walk includes many stops along Ballard Avenue, Szekely points out that many businesses on Market Street, 24th Avenue Northwest, and even further afield have become regular participants (although you really have to be a dedicated walker to hoof it out to Zen Dog Studio at 2015 NW 85th St., the event's most remote participant)

"There are a lot of new vibrant businesses along Ballard Avenue and along Market Street that are really contributing a lot to the ARTwalk," Szekely says.

One business that is planning a special Valentine's Day theme is Art by Fire at 5465 Leary Ave. NW. Owner Renee Pound says her store's Christmas-themed ARTwalk event, which allowed people to make Christmas ornaments, proved such a hit that she's come up with its Valentine counterpart. "We want people to come in make roses for their loved ones in hot glass," says Pound. "It's really beautiful, we do all sorts of different colors."

Remember, though, you're supposed to give your rose as a gift, not keep it for yourself.

Pound says that so many of her Christmas ornament makers seemed so pleased with their creations, she doubts too many got given away.

The cost to participate in making a glass rose at Art by Fire will be $20 per person.

Here's a quick sampler of other ARTwalk highlights planned for Feb. 14:

· Amada Luna, 5317 Ballard Ave. NW: New work by Shannon Bowley, acrylic on canvas.

· Flora Bohemia, 5427 Ballard Ave. NW: Oil paintings by Maya Britan. Her work depicts mystical characters and "is really dramatic work, really sensual, if you will," says manager/florista Teresa Boushay. "I try to bring in things that are seasonal and fit the moment."

· Gallery 63 Eleven, 6311 24th Ave. NW: "A Boatload of Art," a group show by several Ballard artists.

· Mr. Spots Chai House, 5463 Leary Ave. NW: Sculpture, sketches and collage by Brian Prosser, plus music from Blue Light Curtains.

· Portalis Wine Bar, 5310 Ballard Ave. NW: Work by abstract painter Carsten Dan Madsen, a Danish artist who has lived in London, Copenhagen, and Singapore.

Szekely, who burns up the phone lines each month to cajole businesses into participating and to gather the information for her ARTwalk program, jokes that she thinks she knows why it's been a little harder than usual to get proprietors to commit to staying open on Valentine's Day.

"I think everybody's hoping for a hot date that night," she says.

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For more information on the Ballard Second Saturday ARTwalk, go to www.ballardchamber.com.