An extraordinary new exhibit is lighting up the Central Library’s Level 8 gallery. “Winter Visions,” on view until March 17, features artists involved with Path with Art, an organization that creates space for individual and community healing and growing through art.
“Winter Visions” features works in a variety of media by Path with Art participants and teaching artists. The exhibit explores art’s ability to offer healing, whether to the creator or appreciator. Through the art and stories that accompany the art, it centers on the life stories of the artists.
It will be on view until Sunday, March 17, and you can check it out during the Central Library’s open hours — just head up to Level 8. Like all Library programs, “Winter Visions” is free and open to the public.
The introduction to the exhibit shares that through their art, the Path with Art artists “seek to foster connection, empathy and understanding, the core qualities of healthy communities.”
The artworks are grouped by the Path with Art program in which they were created, including abstract drawing and painting, hand-building ceramics, documentary mobile photography, costume creation, acrylic painting and “Lines on Spine: Poems by the Book” a Library-inspired program (more on that later).
You’ll find pieces ranging from Diana Balgaard’s acrylic and mixed media work “Scrap Memories” to Roland Paklo Nevarez’s glittery “Spaceman Galore” costume to Roux Noel Conant’s evocative digital photograph of a dahlia against a dark background, made using a scanner bed.
Each artwork’s title card is accompanied by a comment from the artist, which shares a glimpse of the role that art, and Path With Art, has played in their life. A sample of the artists’ words:
- “This is a Christmas present I made for the staff at Path With Art. I put a lot of time and creativity into it because they deserve a beautiful gift.”
- “Ceramics are very therapeutic for my disabilities. I want it to help everyone else, too.”
- “Art is my ‘go to place.’ Art is my therapy! Art saves me daily!”
Spines on a Line: Poems by the Book
Some of the works featured in the exhibit were inspired by The Seattle Public Library’s collection. Teaching artist Raúl Sánchez led a Path with Art class called “Lines on a Spine: Poems by the Book.” Participants composed poems using titles on the spines of books available at the Central Library. To assemble the poems, they mixed the titles in a way that became a poem.
Below are a couple of examples. Try writing a spine-inspired poem yourself next time you’re wandering the Central Library’s collection!
Special thanks to the donors of The Seattle Public Library Foundation for helping make this program possible.
Path with Art would like to thank the generous support of 4Culture, ArtsFund, ArtsWA, Boeing, Cairncross & Hempelmann, Constance Wealth Advisors, The Dale & Leslie Chihuly Foundation, National Endowment of the Arts/ArtWorks, Rivers and Roads Foundation, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and Timberlane Partners.
About Path with Art
Path with Art is a Seattle-based arts nonprofit that fosters the restoration of individuals, groups, and society from the effects of trauma through arts engagement and community building. Since 2008, we have been offering free year-round arts programming, materials, access, and exhibitions to low- to no-income individuals recovering from traumas such as PTSD, mental and physical health challenges, homelessness, domestic violence, and substance use disorder, among others. We help participants deepen their artistic skills while growing in self-confidence and self-expression, serving over 1,500 individuals in 2023. Participants become more resilient through engagement in our programming and connect with a supportive artistic community. Learn more at pathwithart.org.
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