Jefferson County, Washington
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Past is Prologue
Below are the past posts from most recent news first. We hope you enjoy learning about our efforts and progress.
The Reveal!
Sculpture revealed
To all who couldn't attend, the late afternoon was dynamic and inspiring! It might have been a first to have community be able to park where the cars usually get in line, back up and unload their discards. Solid Waste Manager Al Cairns was there to support our mision. volunteers showed up to help direct parking! Though windy and wild, people seemed to be engaged in the concept of the A.I.R.E. But most exciting was to see artist resident, Carol Rashawnna Williams reveal her dynamic, site specific sculpture donated to the Transfer Station and A.I.R.E! The 50 lb squash and herb garden made a beautiful foreground for the art piece.
We toasted to a very successful first year.
The Process
Artist Residencies
Carol arrives to town and is orientated to the A.I.R.E. office/studio, the facility, saftey protocols and mining protocols, Carol meets the A.I.R.E. team and the staff. She gets to know the space and gets her saftey vest and hardhat!
Bare bones
After having a conversation with Justin Miskell, Jefferson County's Transfer Station site manager, Carol put together a narrative utilizing his vision and one of her own and began creating the armature for the trash steward
finding parts
finding parts
It was pretty warm outside- A picture of the armature getting afixed to the mined metal bench in my driveway. Music, laughter, concentration and elbow grease alchemized!
first steps
finding parts
Cementing
Mixing cement was a big part of the job. The cement was used to contain the armature pieces and create form, while applying other mined materials for the arms, legs, face, crown, etc.
Volunteer Opportunities
A.I.R.E. Team Welcomes Carol!!!
Micah Wallace, Tracy Grisman, Carol Williams and Adrianna Santiago at the Transfer Station, P.T. WA
A view of the A.I.R.E. studio./office All ready to for the summer term.
Artists who are working in large scale can work outside or at their respective studios.
Micah and Adrianna- Garden Preparation May 31st
latest updates and archives
latest updates and archives
June -Sept 2023
Carol had a productive summer. She was able to quickly come up with a concept and plan and worked hard through the last few months to complete her project. She decided to create a site specific piece for the Transfer Station. We will show images of her process after the reveal. The Cascade Connection crew helped us all summer by watering the A.I.R.E. garden which contains Borage, Feverfew, Oregano, a special squash from Puerto Rico, Calendula and more. The whole Transfer Station crew has been fun and helpful all summer and we thank them so much.
Besides creative work and planning, the AIRE team feels like we learned a lot this year and are looking forward to the next call for artists this January 2024
latest updates and archives
latest updates and archives
06/19/23 Orientation Begins!
The team welcomed Carol Rashawnna Williams to the A.I.R.E. Program! We spent some time at the Transfer Station introducing her to the crew, the studio space, the process of mining!! An artist with a well spring of ideas and experience, Carol is very excited about the program and we look forward to supporting her work and some collaborative efforts through August.
6/15/23
The A.I.R.E. Team established some transplants from Shy Acre Farm. A bounty of herb and flower starts including Feverfew, Calendula and Oregano will thrive in this spot.
The Team
05/31/23
The Team happenstanced on the last available load of fertilizer from the County Compost Facility. Their crew moved the load and dropped it right on the spot where just an hour before, a grand pile of useable cardboard appeared on the dumping floor which the team immediately scooped up and placed on the ground as soil preparation for the AIRE garden.
05/24/23
Our planning committee members, Adrianna Santiago and Micah Wallace and Tracy Grisman are proud announce our first artist, Carol Rahawnna Williams June-Aug 2023.
Fresh A.I.R.E. has been invited to join the Jeff-Co Solid Waste Facility Task Force to reimagine our Transfer Station which is bursting at the seams.
Past news:
Dec 19th 2022 Call for Artists!
We are now accepting applications for our debut residency. Please email us if you are interested in applying. tracy@aireatthetransferstation.com
latest updates and archives
latest updates and archives
The new Artist-in-Residence and Educational (A.I.R.E.) Program at the Jefferson County Transfer Station is proud to announce the program’s first: Artist extraordinaire, cultural innovator, art enterprenuer, mentor, and change maker, Carol Rashawanga Williams will begin contemplating, manifesting, mining and creating art from what others have deemed garbage June-August 2023. An award winning artist many times over, Carol hails from Seattle but is very connected to Port Townsend and just completed an artist-in–residence at Centrum. 'A large body of my work deals with environmentalism, PNW conifers, old growth trees, endangered animals and climate change”. Carol comes with a wealth of artistic experience of creation and exhibiting, community engagement, educator, and mentor stating she is excited about the residency as a time for experimentation. As from her artist statement: “Williams contends that the only way to shift race relations and understand climate change is through collective imaginings and re-imaginings of equitable relationships to the land, animals and resources. Williams’ aesthetic forms fall, swim, fly, drip and grow through various layers of reality, spirituality and data analysis.” Please check out more about Carol and her work at
https://www.bipocsustainabletinyarthousecommunity.com/
https://www.rashawnna-at-klove4art.com
Inspired by the AIR program in San Francisco, Recology, Glean in Portland, and the Recycling educational site at Signal Mountain TN, the A.I.R.E. Program aims to provide an artist in residency to a local artist while the artist in turn, will help bring to light our issues of waste through creative processes. A.I.R.E. offers mining privileges for materials at the dumping grounds at the Jefferson Co. Transfer Station from June – August 2023. The artist will earn a $2,000 stipend and can exhibit their work a weekend in September 2023. Artists will be asked to spend 12-20 hours per week (2 of those committed to education) in the small studio/office on site or in their respective studios.
For inquiries and application, please contact AIRE by email. tracy@aire@thetransferstation.com
https://aireatthetransferstation.com/
Our Mission
At Artist in Residence and Education at the Transfer Station, we strive to create a space where artists of all levels can come to learn, grow, and create. Our mission is to inspire creativity and foster a love of the arts in our community.
The wall
Crew in Training
Crew in Training
FInding some colorful remnants sparked Margie's interest.
Crew in Training
Crew in Training
Crew in Training
Helpful transfer station team member, Deborah training on the new equipment, while helping the artist move some some found materials from the wall to the A.I.R.E. studio/office area. THANK YOU!
ANNOUNCING the 2024 A.I.R.E. Artist!!!!!
A.I.R.E. is proud to announce world renowned multi- disciplinary artist extraordinaire and teacher, Margie McDonald to be our 2024 Artist in Residence at the Transfer Station!!!
Margie comes to us with a wealth of experience in using found materials to create the most awesome 3D delights: Whether creating a formal ballroom gown with ass gaskets or a universe of suspended thingamajigs, we look forward to what Margie is going to create and exhibit during her time at Jefferson County Transfer Station.
About Margie McDonald
Deeply informed by the traditional crafts from her native Newfoundland, Margie McDonald received a BFA in Textile Arts (Nova Scotia College of Art, 1987).
Upon arriving in Port Townsend she began an apprenticeship in yacht rigging (1998-2006). This work revealed that wire can be handled like fiber. Combining wire and scrap yard she quickly learned to play with the materials and sculptural forms that could be interpreted as a deep- sea organism came into being.
Winner of multiple awards (Port Townsend Wearable Art 2010-2018) She has exhibited in New Zealand's World of Wearable Art (2013, 2014). Her piece ‘Wired' was retained for museum display.
A large wood mosaic wall ‘Multiverse', and a copper wire railing are permanent installations at Key City Public Theatre.
Margie's solo shows include; an installation at the inaugural exhibition of Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (2013), The Britannia Copper Museum, British Columbia (2012), and the Leady-Volkous Art Center, Kansas City (2008).
She is currently working on her next show at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art fir 2027.
The wall
Playing around on the grounds
Playing around on the grounds
This year is a little different. The regular "floor" takes in the municipal, household and business trash, and now "the wall", down the hill - is the new designated area for contractors to unload their discards. Also the main dumpsters for metal recycling are in that area. Margie found some interesting items to work with.
Playing around on the grounds
Playing around on the grounds
Playing around on the grounds
One of the fun things to do when gleaning with someone else is collaborating in making impromptu assemblages and photographing them. Basically you take turns adding recently found treasures until you deem it done!
Margie's Orientation
Margie's Orientation
Margie's Orientation
Jefferson Co. Solid Waste manager, Al Cairns joins us for orientation to help show Margie "the ropes" Margie is a quick study and we are all excited to be working with her this summer.
orientation begins
Margie's Orientation
Margie's Orientation
Margie 's first time out! Hard hat, safety vest, two way- Ready to roll!
Over seerer
First day on the "floor"
First day on the "floor"
Resident Eagle overseeing the situation
First day on the "floor"
First day on the "floor"
First day on the "floor"
Margie seems pretty excited to be here as well!
Welcome
Micah Wallace, Terianne Stratton, Tracy Grisman, and Adrianna Santiago during the first pilot project September 2021. Please enjoy looking around and contact us if you want.