CHENEY – Nov. 30 is “Small Business Saturday,” a day shoppers are asked to frequent those local proprietors often overlooked in favor of larger corporate organizations on bigger shopping days such as Black Friday.
And when it comes to small businesses, you can’t get much smaller than the artists showcasing their talents and wares this Saturday at West Plains’ locations during the 10th annual Slightly West of Spokane Artists Studio Tour. It’s not an accident that both the tour and Small Business Saturday share the same anniversary as the former was started to help promote local artisans during the latter.
This year’s tour is slightly different than the previous nine, new tour coordinator Dennis Smith said. The 10th edition will not feature any locations in Cheney, partly due to a couple of artists moving to the city and not feeling prepared enough to host people coming by.
“Nobody could do it for a number of reasons,” Smith said. “We will in 2020 have at least one studio.”
Another location in Medical Lake will not be taking part due to the owners vacationing in Mexico, but the studio of Stormy Weathers at 1512 N. Wrangler Drive northwest of Airway Heights will be hosting for the first time.
While scaled back, the four locations — three in Medical Lake — will feature a variety of artistic disciplines and styles. One of those, Smith’s studio at 609 N. Howard St., will host long-time area and tour artisan Vicki Moffat.
Moffat focuses on handmade soaps, lotions and balms, done through a cold process and using all-natural ingredients such as beef tallow — which she says is better for the skin — and goats’ milk, along with scents such as lavender and lemon grass. Moffat got into soap making 10 years ago when she and her daughter took a class in Idaho, attributing her passion to her desire to pursue a career in chemistry when she was a student.
“I just fell in love with it and expanded it from there,” she said.
The formula she uses is her own, she added, used in about 15 different varieties of soaps and scents, along with hand lotion and lip and cuticle balms and air fresheners. Moffat said she uses essential oils, which are purer and stronger than fragrance oils, along with cocoa butter, cocoa oil and beeswax, all balanced and cured for three months instead of a typical three weeks in store-bought soaps – something that helps her soaps last longer in the shower.
“I just basically have fun,” Moffat said.
New to the tour is potter Phillip Johnson, who will be at Fresh Design Gallery & Vintage Rental in downtown Medical Lake. Johnson specializes in traditional North Carolina functional pottery and sculpture.
North Carolina is considered by many in ceramics as the origin of American pottery, thanks to having some of the largest and most accessible clay veins in the country. Johnson said industrial shops mass producing items such as whiskey jugs, jars and other vessels often had potters who would turn out their own ceramics on the side, leading to development of a style that is both functional and artistic.
Johnson began getting into pottery in the 1990s while he was serving at the U.S. Air Force Survival School at Fairchild Air Force Base. After leaving the military, he eventually worked in North Carolina with some of the leading artisans and shops, learning the craft which he described as “wood-fired, utilitarian but artistic.”
“It’s very useable, but very artistic, simple designs,” he added.
Johnson and his family moved to Medical Lake 10 years ago, a time that coincided with his returning to the craft after taking time away in another career field. He said his pottery is very influenced by the Northwest, with brushed wildlife designs incorporated into the pieces.
“It’s a huge part of my life and it’s nice to be working again,” he added.
The Slightly West of Spokane Artists Studio Tour is a self-guided tour taking place from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30. Besides the three studios listed above, artists will be displaying at the Medical Lake Public Library.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)