Studio post · June 11, 2026
Last Thursday marked a major milestone for our fellowship as we officially opened our inaugural exhibition to the public during Seattle’s First Thursday Art Walk. The exhibition, Beautiful Things, was our first opportunity to share the work we’ve been creating over the past several months, and by all accounts, it was a tremendous success. Like most exhibitions, the final hours before opening were a whirlwind. Labels were still being printed, paintings were still being hung, and details were being finalized right up until mid-afternoon. But once everything was in place and we stepped back to see the gallery transformed, there was a real sense of accomplishment. The months of planning and painting had finally materialized on the walls around us. Throughout the evening, a fire hose of visitors filled the second-floor gallery. The response to the artwork was overwhelmingly positive, and it was rewarding to see so many people engage with our work. For all of us in the fellowship, it felt like a validation of why we came to Seattle in the first place—to make meaningful work and share it with the public. With the exhibition now open, our attention turns toward the final stretch of the year. Seattle’s summer is finally arriving, and with it comes a renewed sense of energy and possibility. This afternoon, I’ll be presenting several ideas for end-of-year projects and beginning conversations about what the final months of the fellowship might look like. I’ll be interested to see which concepts resonate most with the other fellows and where I can make the greatest contribution as we bring this inaugural cohort to a close. For now, though, we’re taking a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come. And with a little luck, by the next time I write one of these updates, I’ll be standing in front of a fresh canvas starting something new
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