ARTWALK

The child and I created our own art walk over the past few days. We visited galleries and installations in various neighborhoods of Tacoma.

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, TACOMA

Our third stop was at the University of Washington, Tacoma campus. We were specifically stopping by BKB & Company to visit Tacoma's one and only Art-o-mat machine. We just happened upon the UWT Gallery, although it was closed, and enjoyed the art of the hot dog and sausage as well.


(1) UWT Art Gallery.


Left to right: (2) art objects in the left of the gallery; (3) art objects in the right of the gallery.


(4) Art-o-mat neon sign in BKB & Company.


Left to right: (5) Hot Rod Dog sign; (6) the renovated cigarette vending machine that is now Tacoma's Art-o-mat, dispensing small doses of art and joy.

It was disappointing that we could not enter the UWT Gallery, due to it being closed. It was difficult to see most of the pieces. The additional disappointment was that there was no information anywhere that listed gallery days or hours of operation.

Hot Rod Dog delivers the culinary art that is the wiener in a bun. The Child settled for the All-Beef Kosher Dog, while Troy's Work Table indulged in the wonderfully scrumptious Mozzarella Cheese Sausage. The best part of the sausage is that you have to work at it just enough to make it all the more worthwhile. The casing doesn't immediately yield to the teeth, but when it does there is a satisfying "pop" that is followed by spicy meat and cheese goodness.


(7) Our first piece of art from the Art-0-mat machine, as chosen by the child. It is a Banana Fine Art Bag Tag by Laura and William Gentry of The Gentry Joint. The child was excited by the box alone, but was ecstatic when the Banana tag was extracted from the box. The child actually squealed in delight.


(7) Our second piece of art from the Art-0-mat machine, as chosen by the child. It is a small woodblock "canvas" the size of a cigarette pack. It is from a series entitled "Animal People" by Took Gallagher that consists of collages of recycled magazines and hand cut papers. The child was really hoping for a cat-headed person rather than a dog-headed person, and so it was.

Both of our new Art-o-mat artworks now join our Herbert Hoover Cracker in our home "gallery," also known as a bookshelf.

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[Artwalk 1 - Theater District]
[Artwalk 2 - Convention Center/Central Downtown]
[Artwalk 4 - Museum District]
[Artwalk 5 - Antique Row & Hilltop]