Arts on the Plateau: Enumclaw Gallery Attracts Art Lovers

The gallery on Cole Street was filled with art lovers in lively conversation at the April 13th Artist Reception held Saturday evening from 6 -8 p.m. at Arts Alive! Center for the Arts. It was a big hit. Featuring local artists of exceptional talent, Helma Raycher, Lorrie Maras and Sallie Zydek, it was a boost to the Enumclaw art scene. Each artist has a very different style and artistic expression which made their works appealing to see and appreciate. It was a delight to see many people asking the artists about their work, enjoying the wine and food, and socializing with neighbours and friends. 

But, the spotlight was on the three women whose works can be seen at Arts Alive!

Helma Raycher - Realism

Helma, born in Germany, immigrated to the United States in 1962 originally to New York, spent some years in California and Ohio and eventually moved to Enumclaw in 1998. She started water colouring in her childhood and self-taught she read books about art and visited many of the great museums of Europe which gave her the vision she needed to pursue her art. Transitioning to oil and acrylics, Helma paints primarily in the style of realism. Her work is inspired by the Old Masters which is evident with her rich colours and quaint scenes reminiscent of village life. She has also explored the painting of landscapes and wildlife. Helma teaches oil, acrylic and woodcarving classes at Arts Alive!

Lorrie Maras - Watercolorist

Lorrie began her life as a watercolorist in 1999 while still working in her lifelong career as an elementary school teacher. Upon retirement she pursued her art with a passion. Taking pictures of people, houses, flowers, scenery has been her inspiration for many of her watercolours.  Besides her exhibits at Arts Alive! Lorrie’s work has been shown in the Art Walk in Enumclaw, The Juried Art Show at the King County Fair, the Gift Show, at the Cranberry Festival in Wisconsin.  She will be exhibited in the Enumclaw City Gallery in October. Lorrie teaches watercolour classes at Arts Alive! where she serves as the President of the Board of Directors. 

Sallie Zydek - Black & White Stipple Artist

Sallie, a nature artist of long standing repute, has had a distinguished career over the years selling her larger pieces to many state and federal agencies as well as private collectors. Her primary art form is black and white sketches and drawings of wild animals, such as raccoons, birds, bucks, fawns, a Siberian tiger and puppies and cats. Her impeccable work is comprised of minute, detailed, and graceful strokes. Sallie has been an avid hunter and knows the woods. Sallie would whistle a dear out of the underbrush and photograph it so she could later draw it. She is a master of the labor-intensive “stipple” technique, also called dot work, and of “scratch”, using a #2 pencil only. She explained that a 24” x 30” stipple of an animal may take five years from start to finish. Sallie has been featured in the Wildlife Art Magazine. Sallie’s work is on sale at the gallery at Arts Alive!
The next Artist Reception at Arts Alive! is scheduled for Friday, May 3rd at 6 p.m