Arts
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Rachel Denny’s ‘Strange Menagerie’ at Foster White Gallery
Sculptor Rachel Denny imagines a softer side of taxidermy
This article originally appeared in the December 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
There’s something both sweet and foreboding about Rachel Denny’s work—her animal “trophies” bring taxidermy to mind, but instead of fur, fins or feathers, these mounted specimens are clothed in human trappings: cashmere cable-knits, lace tatting, felt, coins and in at least one case, candy wrappers. Her new show, Strange Menagerie, includes a blue-yarn billy goat, a deer head festooned with lamé accents and crystals, and a sequined snake. None of the animals have eyes—the sockets are instead demurely covered in fabric. It’s more palatable that way, which Denny may well understand, having grown up in rural Oregon going hunting with her father and doing embroidery with her mother. She has said she’s interested in how, as a species, we yearn for nature, but are forever domesticating it to our personal tastes. It’s something to consider as you admire the soft curvature and pleasing colors of her work. 12/4–12/31. Times vary. Free. Foster White Gallery, 220 Third Ave. S; 206.622.2833; fosterwhite.com
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Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…
Studio Sessions: Ling Chun
The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.
For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…
The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever
PAX West draws more than 100,000 people to Seattle each year. Co-founder Jerry Holkins reflects on what the gaming convention set out to change, how its community has grown and why gathering face to face still matters.
Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair. I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…
Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026
Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.
Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…