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Today I stopped by Sean Alexanders house where he was giving away free art since he is moving away. It was cool to meet Sean from the Helm hes so down to earth and generous. I walked away with some amazing free art and I was so stoked to get a Sean Alexander original.

I’ll be honest I’ve been eying his work for awhile I just couldn’t afford most of his work. If you didn’t make it out to see Sean today you definitely missed out but don’t worry he’s planning a final show at his apartment, so keep your ears open. His plans sound really cool hes starting a funky respite program where artists will come and live and work in a converted barn out in longbranch.
Checkout what I walked away with!

Who doesn’t like free stuff? Sounds like one of the Helms owners is moving away to live on a farm…what this means for the Helm I have no idea. The good news is hes offering some sweet free stuff, even some art from their very first show. Here is a quote from his announcement:

i am moving to longbranch, washington in 15 days to live on a farm. this week i will be going through my stuff and getting rid of about 60% of it. if anyone needs frames, free art, books, scrap wood, or a hug then let me know. i have tons of frames (varying quailty) that i don’t want and a lot of left over art from our first show ‘the kindness of strangers’. please let me know you are interested in going through the stuff.

thanks,
sean

Contact him via myspace www.myspace.com/thehelmgallery

Best of luck Sean you will be missed!

Like usual The Helm put out. I am always amazed with the talent they host across their stark white walls. This months rotation is featuring the work of Zachary Marvick and Chris Sharp. Both local I have seen them many times at local coffee spots or bars but had no idea (In Real Life) who they were till tonight.

(Photos after the jump)

This Thursday at The Helm there will be an opening reception featuring the work of local artists Zachary Marvick and Chris Sharp. The show will feature paintings and drawings from both artists as well as a small video installation. Both artists will be in attendance for the the reception which will take place between 5pm and 10pm. There will be hors d’oeuvres and refreshments for all to enjoy.

Urbanaut was a success. Even though it was originally planned for the graffiti garages being moved down the street to Sanford and Sons seemed to work out for the best. Nude painting, music, artists, people, and alcohol always make for the perfect cocktail of fun.

Yesterdays Artwalk was one of the best in awhile. Did I go to the museums? Nope. First I started off by heading over to embellish where I watched the tail end of “The Syrens” performance. I had never seen them perform and it was fun to watch them jam out.

The Syrens – Tacoma – Art Walk from Intacoma on Vimeo.

Patricia was handing out complementary moonpies which then led to an individual running to the front and mooning the band…

I then drove over to The Helm and was really amazed at what I saw, I honestly thought it was going to be lame like the A.O.C. gallery that now moved into where Kulture Lab was. Instead I was greeted by some familiar faces but many more new faces… I met one of the owners Peter and he was quite nice.

Intacoma: So I noticed that much of this work is from all over how did you get in contact with so many artists?
Peter: All via the internet, Flickr, Myspace, email
Intacoma: As of right now how many months out is the gallery booked?
Peter: Right now we are have 5 months filled up

The Helm looks quite promising and many of the Kulturelab crew thought it had a very Kulturelab-ish feel to it. The space is amazing it has small little rooms which make it really fun to navigate and see all of the art. They didn’t skimp on the wine which was nice Peters mother was a joy to talk to and she pours a quite generous amount of wine.

Check it out:

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The-Helm Tacoma from Intacoma on Vimeo.

The Helm – Tacoma – Start Stop from Intacoma on Vimeo.

The after-party was then over at the Tempest where I got my ass kicked in pool by Alan the owner of Sanford & Son. Just to tell you all know hes doing his famous Haunted House this year so if you want to volunteer or be in it go down there and talk to him.

Another good night in Tacoma.