Sonic Forest at Redmond Town Center - Last Night is December 15!

Play and dance in the Sonic Forest until December 12, at Redmond Town Center!

This is an innovative and exciting interactive sound and light sculpture.  Children love it, too! It was created by internationally known artist/architect, Christopher Janney. This is one of Janneys urban instruments played by people waving their hands over different parts of the sculpture. Brought to Redmond Town Center, December 2009 by the City of Redmond and the Redmond Arts Commission.

Video by Eva Moon
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Artist Christopher Janney's "Sonic Forest" will connect and inspire the public at Redmond Town Center

"The Sonic Forest" is coming to Redmond Town Center

Recently, an arts enthusiast and neighbor told me Christopher Janney’s exciting light and sound “Sonic Forest” art will be installed at Redmond Town Center Dec. 4-12. Perfect timing for Redmond's “Winter Festival of Lights!

Mr. Janey is an architect and jazz musician, world renowned for his "sound and light" art installations found in public spaces throughout the nation. Read my report and opinion  on Janey's May 15 interview with the Redmond Arts Commission and learn more about his installation art!

Paraphrasing Arts Commission Chair John Stilin: 'Art connects people. The purpose of Art in Redmond is to build community. Art brings people together. It's what gets people talking together.'

Last week the Arts Commission pounded out their new Vision Statement: "The community is connected and inspired by arts and culture". Will you connect and be inspired in the Sonic Forest December 4 -12?

Arts Commission is looking for residents to review applications for the Poet Laureate position and help select public art.

Redmond, WA – The Redmond Arts Commission is seeking applications from citizens to participate in two programs. The first is involvement in the selection of public art, while the second is the review of applications for the Poet Laureate position.

Applicants must be Redmond residents though no special experience is necessary. Those selected will participate once or twice a month in public meetings with members of the Redmond Arts Commission.

Interested citizens should first email Mary Yelanjian at RAC@redmond.gov for an application. Mail applications to Mary Yelanjian, Arts Administrator, PO Box 97010, MS: 4NPK, Redmond WA 98073-9710. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

--- Marta Grunland, C.O.R. press release, 7/20

Redmond's Rising Arts and Literary stars

Tom Flynn's poetry

Eva Moon's music

Abbott A. Smith's art and poetry

I know Tom, Eva and Abbott. They are wonderful people who give lots of volunteer hours to the City. I hope you will enjoy their creative works!

Redmond artists and art students are invited to send me your home pages and individual pieces for posting.

Local artists often congregate and perform at "Soulfood Bookstore of Redmond" on Redmond Way - comprehensive website

&

"Oddfellow's Grill" on Leary Way - website

(Tom and Abbott are considering Poet Laureate)

Soulfood Book Store - "the heart and soul of Redmond's rising musical and literary artists".

Commissioner Clint McCune and some elementary kids sang "I am Alive" in Council Chambers at the beginning of a Council meeting last Tuesday. I think this is a first! and a feather in the cap for the City! Scroll down to the next story for details. I'm reposting a video clip of the kids singing with Clint and will post websites of Redmond musicians and poets as I learn of them.

Hey Bob -

I just wanted to thank you for all the work you do for our neighborhood. Also, about the kids, they all go to different schools and some of them aren't even in a music class. However, they all gather at Soulfood and play together. [see clip of kids singing with Clint below]

The song we performed was an original of mine called "I am Alive". We only rehearsed all together once the evening of the performance, but they all knew the song from listening to my bands album TWIRL "hope hum stomp strum" and hearing us live on the first Friday of every month. I would also like to invite you to this month's TWIRL show on July 3rd at 8-10pm. Also, we are streaming live all of our big shows and events through soulfood books.com so check it out and help us spread the word.

--Clint McCune, owner of Soulfood Books, Music, and Organic Coffee
"...the heart and soul of Redmond's rising musicians and literary artists"

Soulfood - Redmond's comprehensive website

"I am Alive" (clip)
..as performed in City Council chambers during this week's council meeting.

Tom Flynn's Poetry: http://mythman.typepad.com/poetry/

Eva Moon's music

Abbott A. Smith's art and poetry

Elementary students sing to 200 during a recent Council Meeting

"I want a sense of community and connection with others." *Community Building is one of six budget priorities of the Marchione Administration and participating public.

Teacher Nancy McKay, The Orchestra and Choir Teacher from Rockwell Elementary School was one of three 2009 Arts Commission Local Artist Awardees. Her students, lead by commissioner & guitarist Clint MCune sang in this recent City Council meeting to honor her. Nancy started teaching orchestra 15 years ago with 14 students. She now has 110 students and her former students recently performed in Carnegie Hall. The other awardees were Digipen Digital Technological Institute and Redwood Theatre.

According to the Mayor, *COMMUNITY BUILDING "budgeting by priority" achievement is measured by tracking attendance during the first 20 minutes of Council Meetings.

2009 Arts Commission Local Artist Awardees: http://www.redmond.gov/arts/localartists.asp
Norman Rockwell School WEBSITE: http://www.lwsd.org/school/rockwell/Pages/default.aspx
Clint McCune's Soulfood Books, Music & Organic Coffee House WEBSITE: http://soulfoodbooks.com/OldRoot/

CONTACT: Mary Yyelanjian, Arts Senior Planner, MYELANJIAN@redmond.gov

The performance was 20 minutes. This particular Council meeting lasted until 11:30pm owing to a complicated closed-record quasi judicial meeting. Jill Richardson (pictured lower left) is the applicant of a Rezone ammendent that has been reviewed for over 2-years so far, with hardly an end in sight. Most Marchione council meetings are shorter than the Ives Administration. Meetings start at 7:30 and most end between 8:45- 10:15 pm.

ATTENTION: Almost one fourth of our Parks & Trails Commissioners are REQUIRED to live outside the city limits AND have a special interest.

PRESS RELEASE
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
CONTACTS
SENT: June 8, 2009
Marta Grunlund
Sharon Sato - secretary
Voice: 425-556-2311
ParksAndTrailsCommission@Redmond.gov

Vacancy on Redmond Parks and Trails Commission

Redmond, WA – The City has one opening on the Parks and Trails Commission that must be filled by a person living outside the city limits but with a Redmond address. Experience as an equestrian is desired. If you fill that criteria and think Redmond’s parks and recreation are high priorities, you are invited to apply.
- Press Release, Marta Grunlund, Communications, City of Redmond, 6/8/09

ONLY COUNTY RESIDENTS WITH EQUESTRIAN INTERESTS NEED APPLY. by
_______________________________________________________________________
OPINION
Updated, 6/9. In sum: if you live in Redmond and don't have equestrian experience you won't fit the Park & Trail Commission's criteria so don't waste your time applying (even if you are a mountain-biker interested in trail connections.)

The Parks & Trails (P&T) Commission is over-regulated! It is composed of 9 commissioners, two (2) of which must NOT live in Redmond. This policy is unpublished by the Commission and cannot be found on the City web site. That's not fair to interested parties. The only way I discovered the Commission's exclusive policy was by attending a few P&T Meetings. (Meetings are not televised and I couldn't find the regulation in P&T summary minutes.)

Yes, Redmond has a rich history of equestrian culture and it's clear the Commission wants to honor the horse culture, rightly so. But, is it fair to the 50,000 tax-paying residents of Redmond to allocate almost 25% of our P&T commissioner representation to one single interest group? Can Redmond & the county's horse culture, equestrian trails, pony clubs, etc. be so valuable as to consume almost 1/4 of our Commission's resources?

Survey results from the recent 6-year Park Planning public meetings would shed light on the interest level of residents wanting more horse trail connections. In review of the meetings, equestrian-specific trails actually seemed well down the list on the survey and barely made the radar at the last commission meeting. Yes, our horse culture and future horse trail connections are important & valuable to Redmond, but a 22% requirement for non-resident commissioners is a bit much, don't you think? A policy recommending equestrian interest would be more empowering to the commission than a requirement.

Other Commissions - full disclosure of commissioner requirements on the city website, RC-TV, or the public media for all commissions is lacking, except for the Planning Commission.

The Arts Commission is composed of nine (9) commissioners and two may be selected from outside the city limits but with a Redmond address. (no requirements, no special interests). Attracting Redmond business owners experienced in the arts, who live outside city limits, is a valid Art Commission policy. For example, look at the value Clint McCune brings to the commission, as owner of Soul Food. Without a non residency requirement the Arts Commission policy is more flexible and empowering for it's commissioners.

The Planning Commission is composed of seven (7) commmissioners. All must reside within the city limits. Staff confirmed this under "comments".

final draft

Urban Musical Instruments - a new art idea for Redmond

Chrisopher Janney - creator of "urban musical instruments"

Opinion: The Arts Commission (left) was LIVE on RC-TV May 14 hosting Christopher Janney, architect, jazz musician, and world renowned "sound and light installation artist". Awesome. Mr. Janney integrates music and lighting with architecture to stimulate social interaction and gathering in public places. The best way to understand the nature of Christopher's creative work is to view this video (2m) highlighting some of his installation art from around the country.

Paraphrasing Arts Commission Chair John Stilin: 'Art connects people. The purpose of Art in Redmond is to build community. Art brings people together. It's what gets people talking together.'

Before the meeting, John Stilin and staff took Mr. Janney on a tour through the city to brainstorm for ideas on Cleveland Avenue and the Downtown Park. Mr. Janney suggested: linear street lighting transformed into 'musical instruments' as pedestrians walk by. Also, "Sonic Trees" in a plaza could "act as a magnet" to citizens by the music they generate from human activity.

Christopher Janney was impressed with Redmond's nature and technology assets. He perceives nature and technology as harmonic. Mr. Janney looks at his installation art as enhancing the work of a landscape architect.

Christopher Janney is an impressive, incredibly creative individual, specializing in "thinking outside of the box." Janney has a B.A. in Architecture from Princeton, 1973 and is a jazz musician, winning the prestigious New York Talent Poll in 1975. He has a Masters in Environmental Art from M.I.T. Janney's thesis was: "SOUNDSTAIR: The nature of environmental / participatory art." The Arts Commission has really done their homework bringing Mr. Janney to Redmond. I hope he will 'enhance' our Downtown someday.

Website: http://www.janney.com/

John Stilin, strong arts advocate runs for Council this fall

Part One of John Stilin's March 16, 2009 Press Release to the print media.

John Stilin announced his campaign for Redmond City Council, Position 6 on March 16. The seat will be vacated when Council President Nancy McCormick retires later this year.

“Local government has the biggest impact on our daily lives,” said Stilin. “I want to work with the citizens of Redmond to ensure that we are making the best decisions when addressing the needs of our community for today and the future. Change is inevitable. However, we need to preserve the uniqueness of Redmond while managing change. I want to make sure that Redmond is a safe, culturally rich, and economically vibrant city that we can proudly call ‘home’. I envision a Redmond where its citizens are actively involved in the community and its governance, and where a tradition of pride in our city makes Redmond a great place to live,” said Stilin.

Stilin has served on the Redmond Arts Commission since 2006, and is currently the Chair. John also serves as Co-Chair of the Viewpoint Citizens Advisory Committee that is formulating neighborhood planning recommendations for inclusion in Redmond’s Comprehensive Plan."

OPINION: Mr. Stilin is a strong and powerful advocate for the arts. He is a leader in empowering the Arts Commission to leverage the Arts towards the economic revitalization of our growing Downtown. Another goal is to develop youth awareness and skills in the Arts which could bring more Art into the neighborhoods. Mayor Marchione and Mr. Stilin appear to have a close working relationship.

John read the following Mission Statement at a 2006 Arts Commission meeting: "diverse arts opportunities are a principle reason why citizens love living here, why artists are attracted to live and work here, and why tourists visit Redmond."
-- Bob Yoder

Comments?

Thoughts on Redmond parks and arts

UPDATED: Opinion: I just came home from a city Parks Public Meeting. The city objective was to get us to "vision" what kind of parks and art our city will have 6-20 years out. Carolyn Hope, the new senior parks planner (of 3 months), led the meeting. I think she is also a Program Manager. I've seen Ms. Hope present four times, including a double presentation to the Planning Commission and an outdoor Dirt Bike public meeting. She was also interviewed for the inauguaral "ON REDMOND" RC-TV series. It appears the Marchione Administration has made an excellent hiring decision.

The city gave an electronic survey to all 25 participants. It was clear Redmond has grown way beyond it's last 6 year plan. For example, "soft surface" trails and "open space" was by far the most desired choice of nine park, rec, and art assets. Multi-use soft surface trails got a lot of interest - for hikers, equestrian, runners, and mountain bikers. A soft surface trail following the Sammamish River on the west bank drew a lot of chatter.

The city was definitely featuring art in their presentation. I found it interesting over 24 pieces of outdoor art rest permanently in Redmond but are not owned by the city. We have so much outdoor art, why can't we loan out some of our collection for others to enjoy? John Stilin, Arts Commission Chair and a city council candidate, brought up a valid argument to improve the enrichment of our youth with art education. Apparently, a clay throwing studio for kids just opened up at the Old Redmond School House; and the Teen Center has some great music programs.

One of the Downtown Park visions appeared as an expansive promenade, with covered seating and tables. Looked good. On my turn, I suggested "micro neighborhood parks" where neighbors could open satellite outdoor markets to sell things like "native plants", "nature photographs", and "home-made art & baked goods". Education Hill has a corner forest where this actually took place at one time.

Finally, the city showed a cool picture of "Redmond West Park" wetlands. Do you know where it is? Click here for slide shows of all our city parks.

SoulFood, Part 2, Poet Laureate

Carlos Warter, MD, PhD was on stage at SoulFood last week giving "lessons in soul awareness" and promoting his two books. Numerous poets and musicians have performed on this stage, including Eva Moon, a city arts commissioner.

I stumbled upon the Soul Food poetry album. An intriguing poem was on the first page, "The Woman Waits", by Jeannine Hall Gaily of Seattle. I don't read alot of poems but liked this one - it starts with a biblical reference.
"The Woman Waits"
Genesis 39:14 - And she put her widow's garments off from her*,

But for how long? Already she is bending
like a wilted acacia stem beneath the Canaan sun.
Ahead of her glance the road stretches,
covered with the footprints of others gone before.
How long will she wait? and is she waiting for
the stranger in painted robes, her father-in-law,
her husband, perhaps, you? But she is thirty.
Already calculating what she should do with the rest
of her day, with the basket of fruit at her feet, figs
and apples, a skin of wine, with her empty womb.
* Can you find the meaning of this poem in the Scripture?

I ran into Abbott Smith in the store today. He's neighbor-friend, past arts commissioner, former associate at Digipen , and guest speaker at the Digital Arts Festival. He mentioned that he had been prodded by his friends and past students to apply for the Poet Laureate position. Some of Abbott's works are here. Abbott, will you apply?

Splish Splash at Grasslawn Park

Our family lives fairly close to Grasslawn Park and we've been waiting with baited breath for it to open its new kid's area. So this week we walked over to see what the hoopla was all about and boy was it worth the wait!

There is a great little water area, a much smaller version of the Waterfront Park in Portland (okay, a much much smaller version), three new climbing walls to keep the older ones happy, two huge swings that kids can lay in to swing and the crème de la crème? A merry go round that is much safer then the traditional ones of days past. Plus to help put my mind at ease, there is a beautifully safe fence next to the area. This great addition is to keep the kiddos out of traffic’s way, something that is missing from other water features in our area.

For adults, I loved that there was plenty of spaces to sit, not that I got much sitting done. I had to chase after one of my girls that has just discovered walking, while running in circles to help my other girl on the merry go around and then go from one climbing rock to the next to watch the third girl. Let's just say that I'm glad I took plenty of water because I had quite the workout by the time we walked home.

As much as we love the new water park in Bellevue at Crossroads, with gas prices soaring through our car roof, we can walk to our newly reconstructed neighborhood park. Not only that, it really felt like we moved our bodies more. Once the playground on the other side of Grasslawn Park finishes getting its facelift, I'll have a hard time convincing the girls to go home at all. Now if the city adds a water feature to Westside Park, we’d just go ahead and pitch a tent.


Koloud 'Kay' Tarapolsi
Co-author, Grasslawn Neighborhood