Discovering local artists and their creations at the Spokane Creators website

Posted on December 4, 2019 at 6:00 am

By Ree West

Moving to a new town means having to learn the who, what, and where of things in an unfamiliar place. It takes a while. I enjoy finding experiences that exercise my creativity. So even after living in Spokane for five years, I still have trouble finding creative opportunities within the arts community.

Fortunately, I’ve gotten to work on a project for the Library District: the Spokane Creators Website. The work on this project has introduced me to many wonderful local artists and their work. As part of this project, I have also learned that some local artists and creators have had a hard time connecting with potential audiences.

As luck would have it, the objective of spokanecreators.org is to help make connections between local artists and those who want to learn more about and be inspired by them. And for me it did just that.

There’s a certain landmark birthday coming up for me (we don’t need to talk about which one). I want to celebrate by learning something new and interesting with some of my friends. I’d rather not go out to a bar or just have dinner. I could do a “paint and sip,” except I’ve already had this experience and know how it will turn out: one terrible painting by yours truly and a hangover.

One of the artists I’ve met while working on the Spokane Creators project is clay artist Jill Smith. She creates stunning pottery and has her own school, ClayFox Clay School, which is “all about having fun in the mud!”

As you can see on Jill’s Facebook page, her workshop pictures show delighted students and their beautiful clay creations. It is cool that in Spokane you’ll find places like the ClayFox Clay School to experience art with your own hands and learn from an artist who enjoys sharing what they know.

In case you haven’t already guessed, my goals for that landmark birthday experience got a lot clearer once I met Jill.

I’m itching to try her Raku Pottery workshop. This firing method results in pottery with wonderful metallic colors. I’m excited to see how a birthday clay workshop goes, and I’ll be officially another year older and one skill wiser.

I’m also looking forward to learning more about all of the artists, artisans, and creators throughout Spokane County as more are featured at spokanecreators.org.

If you’re an artist, artisan, or creator, you can fill out the submission form and the Spokane Creators team will work on getting your profile up on the website with links to your online presence, so people can learn more about your work.

There are some criteria for artist and creator profiles on spokanecreators.org: You need to live and work in the Greater Spokane area, have an online presence for your artwork or creations, and be a professional-level artist, artisan, or creator (more on that on the About webpage).

If you enjoy art and exploring the creativity of others like I do, then you will definitely want to explore Spokane Creators to find local musicians, artists, performers, and creators who you can interact with first-hand.

I know I can’t wait to discover more local artists and creators.

Ree West is the Community Librarian at the Deer Park Library and a member of the Library District’s Business and Career Development team, who loves helping young people prepare to enter the job market. Ree doesn’t sit still very well and has discovered that audiobooks are amazing and knitting or crocheting helps make movies a lot more interesting. When not inside a library, Ree likes to get out in nature via canoe, sailboat, or kayak (or just in her hiking boots)—it’s entirely possible that she just might run away to the sea someday.

Tags: art, artists, creators, dance, design, drawing, literary artists, literature, local, music, musicians, painting, performance, pottery, sculpture, Spokane Creators, visual artists