Art…and Beer

Here in Bellingham, on the first Friday of every month, you’re sure to find gaggles of friends wandering around the downtown streets of Bellingham for the monthly Gallery Walk. From 6-10pm, downtown galleries, boutiques, restaurants, studios and more keep their doors open to showcase a wide array of artwork by local and renowned visiting artists. While our brewery is not an official stop on the Gallery Walk map, we suggest you stop in for a warming pint or two along your way!  We’ve got lots of great food sure to please the whole troop and plenty of hand crafted beverages to choose from.  But, what’s really cool is that we’ve also got art from two incredible artists up on our brewery walls right now, so Boundary Bay Brewery should definitely be a stop on your Walk!

"Cabin Fever" by Solace Wonder. $50, acrylic on wood.

Seattle artist Solace Wonder takes up one side of our Bistro with his urban art images. Solace calls himself an urban artist because his work is influenced by street culture and highly inspired by graffiti.  But, at the same time, his Pacific Northwest surroundings instill a respect for nature that is personified in his work.  Via organic textures, vibrant colors, and a graphic painterly approach, Solace attempts to meld city life with the tranquility of uninhabited lands. He creates with acrylic and aerosol propelled paints and uses a variety of mediums including canvas, large-scale mural production, custom vinyl toys, original plush toys, live painting, graphic design, and t-shirt design.  He debuted this current show at Boundary Bay Brewery for our Oktoberfest celebration and this body of work contains not only images inspired by Oktoberfest, but also fun homages to some of our beers…like the Cabin Fever painting pictured here.

The other side of our Bistro is dedicated to the photography of David Westerlund.  He is an amateur photographer and has published a children’s book titles “Simone Goes to the Market.”  The photographs hanging at our brewery currently are part of his “Connecting Face and Food” exhibit made entirely of photographs taken at the Bellingham Farmers Market.  David really believes in the importance of eating and buying locally and this exhibit is just one more way to help people make those connections between the food they’re eating and the people in this community who grew that food.  Check out his work here at the brewery or visit his website.

So come stroll through the streets of downtown…enjoying art, food and community.  We’ll be keeping a barstool warm for you!  Cheers.

We need RECYCLED art!!

Hey all you artists out there!!  Pay attention now…we need recycled art!  Interested?

Boundary Bay Brewery will be curating a RECYCLED art show where 100% of the commission returns to the artists themselves! The intention of this show is to raise awareness about recycled and sustainable art. All items in the show must be created with some element of recycled material…the more the better!  The art show will be hung November 28th and will be part of “Shop Where Your Heart Is” — a Downtown Renaissance Network event that happens Nov. 28th and 29th as well as the Downtown Gallery Walk, which takes place on Friday, December 5th.  All artists interested in being part of this show should email a photo of artwork being submitted along with the dimensions of the piece(s) and an explanation of the recycled elements within your work.

Please keep in mind that Boundary Bay is a family friendly establishment and will not accept submissions that contain explicit graphic and/or sexual nature. All emails should be sent to amy@bbaybrewery.com by November 10th.

Earlier this year, Boundary Bay partnered up with Sustainable Connections and made a commitment to move Toward Zero Waste.  As part of our efforts toward being the change we’d like to see in the world, we thought an art show exclusively featuring art made from recycled materials would be a great way to raise awareness, have fun, and highlight alternative uses for what might get thrown away.  As we enter into the holiday season, we here at Boundary Bay wanted to encourage supporting local businesses, supporting our community, and most especially, finding ways to celebrate the holidays that do not have adverse effects on our environment.

p.s. ( Ten Thousand Villages is going to participate in our art show as well as lots of great local artists.  We can’t wait!!)