2009 Newsletter

James Washington Sculpture Tour

The James & Janie Washington Foundation has created a walking/driving tour of Public Sculpture by James Washington.  The map covers the Central District in Seattle.  

It starts at the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic and ends at the Washington House.

It can also be found on Google Maps.

The Art and Life of James Washington, Jr: An Evening of Music and Discussion

James Washington, Jr. and Martin Luther King Jr., 1954

On Wednesday, May 20, 7:30 to 9:00 PM, at The Valley School, 309 31^st Ave. East, the life and art of local artist James B. Washington, Jr. will be the subject of an evening of music and conversation.  Tim Detweiler, Director of the James and Janie B. Washington Foundation, will show examples of Washington’s work and discuss his life and activism in our community. 

Seattle jazz saxophonist and composer Steve Griggs will perform original compositions including two of Washington’s poems he has set to music for the occasion. Griggs writes for and performs with Milo Petersen’s Jazz Disciples. 

The public is invited to join the Greater Madison Valley Community at our evening event.  For information about CCC@MLK, please see the website: mlkcommunitycenter.org.

Celebrate Janie Washington

The James & Janie Washington Foundation

cordially invites you to an 

hors d’oeuvres reception.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

5:30 o’clock until 8:00 o’clock p.m.

Mount Zion Baptist Church

1634 19th Avenue

Seattle

rsvp: (206) 709-4241 or

tdetweiler@jameswashington.org

Please read Mary Henry's great article about Mrs. Washington on History Link.

WPA art in the Washington Collection

Henry Louis Freund

1905 – 1999

 

James Washington met Henry Freund in 1943 at Camp Robinson in Little Rock, Arkansas.  They became good friends and exhibited in two art shows together at the base.  

Freund was drafted into WWII and served as a conscientious objector.  He spent his time in the Army painting murals to help illiterate troops understand what they would experience in basic training. 

During the WPA, Freund painted murals in Post Offices in Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri.  He also traveled through the Ozark Mountains capturing the vanishing culture of the rural areas.  He was famous for his American Genre paintings.

Two new Artists

The James & Janie Washington Foundation is happy to have two new Artists in Residence.  Esther Ervin and Romson Bustillo are starting their residencies at the same time.  

            

Esther Ervin is a dedicated working artist who

currently uses the gourd as her primary sculptural

medium. She has recently finished an Artist in Residency and the Pathways Scholarship at Pratt Fine Arts Center, where she has learned to work with metals. Her aesthetic is grounded in the use of multiple media.  

Ms. Ervin has a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from

California State University at Long Beach and a

Bachelors Degree (BS) in Biology from the University of

California at Irvine.

Her work in the local arts community includes

being curator at Festival Sundiata Art Exhibits and serving as an On Site Evaluator for 4Culture. She was the curator for the Art Gallery at South Seattle Community College for four years.

Romson Bustillo returns to the foundation after nearly a year of travel in Central American and Spain.  He will be working with the Foundation staff to develop a Youth Workshop in printmaking and Social Awareness.

Romson Regarde Bustillo was born on the island of Mindanao in Cagayan de Oro City, the Philippines. He moved to the US when he was a young boy.  He grew up in Columbia City in the south part of Seattle. 

His work is represented in private and public collections nationally and internationally, including ArtCol Trust, the Washington State Art Commission, and the Wing Luke Asian Museum. He has been an artist in residence and instructor for Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, the Seattle Art Museum, and an NEA supported Artist in Residence for the Tacoma Art Museum.