Walla Faces will display art made by teens from the Community Center for Youth and Walla Walla artist Russ Boetes alongside Candice Johnson’s faces of Walla Faces for the July 6 ArtWalk, which starts at 5pm. Walla Faces has been a long time supporter of Community Center for Youth, providing the space at 226 E. Main St. rent-free for the CCY Bike Shop.

If you are a regular at the Walla Walla Farmer’s Market you have no doubt noticed the addition of a colorful new booth these last two weeks. Johnson, who has been CCY’s executive director since Februbary 2012 as well as the Walla Faces label artist, has been making and selling tiles featuring the art of CCY’s teens and that of Boetes.

All of the proceeds from the sales at the Farmers Market go to the operating budget at CCY, which operates both at St. Patrick’s and the Main Street Bike Shop.

The youth create art at the CCY Center as part of the organization’s regular programming. In addition to providing the teens with an outlet to express their emotions, the art now helps to generate income for their own community center.

The teens have been skeptical that anyone would want to buy their work, believing it to be ugly. To prove to the teens the value and beauty of their art, Johnson began taking photos of customers holding the art that they purchased after a suggestion from a customer this week.

Though many of the youth live mere blocks from the farmer’s market, most have never visited. Later this summer, the CCY staff will bring a group to the market in hopes that they will feel comfortable enough to explore their own community.

The CCY staff is working hard to build the self-esteem of these “at risk” youth. Their new mission statement is: “The Community Center for Youth exists because all kids matter! By investing in our youth today, we are investing in our community's tomorrow. We work to provide our Valley teens with an inspirational, safe and relationship-based environment by offering creative, educational and sports-oriented opportunities that connect youth to their unique and valued self, through positive role modeling and acceptance.”

For the market, Johnson reproduces prints of the teens’ artwork along with pieces made by local artist Russ Boetes. She then transfers them to tiles of various sizes, often combining several tiles into decorative and functional trays and other useful objects.
Boetes makes colorful cards that depict whimsical patterns and stylized animals. Boetes does not produce his art for commercial gain, but as a friend and ardent supporter of CCY, he has gladly lent Johnson his work to benefit the program and the Walla Walla Community.

In his artist statement, Boetes notes that much of his work is born from his experience with “Zen-like mindful mindlessness” and is often inspired by “quotes from assorted sources—from literature to movies.” His overall goal is to “provide, in the words of Willy Wonka, ‘a good deed in a weary world.’”

For the July 6 ArtWalk, the Walla Faces tasting room will showcase these pieces alongside it’s permanent exhibit of Johnson’s work from 5 – 8 p.m. Teens from CCY and Boetes will be in the tasting room for a meet and greet from 5 – 6 p.m. Fork in the Road will also be playing their jazzy tunes from 7 – 9 p.m.

Proceeds from all art sales during the event—Johnson’s own work included—will be donated in full to CCY.

Rick on the Summer Concert Series

September 16, 2011

This summer Walla Faces held a concert series in its tasting room for the benefit of Walla Walla Community College. The musical events included performances by a wide range of musicians.

We started off the series with Randy Hansen, from Seattle. Randy performs a tribute to Jimi Hendrix that is internationally known. What a concert! Note the painting tiles off the back wall! Yeah, they rattled right off!

Randy Hansen - Foxy Lady -- YouTube

Following Randy we had Alice Stuart perform an acoustic blues set. Alice is a Grammy award nominee and a member of the Washington Blues Society Hall of Fame.

Alice Stuart & Pat Tennis -- YouTube

Next up was the Posies performing an acoustic set. The Posies are an internationally known alternative rock band that gained fame in the 1990’s with numerous hit songs.

Posies -- YouTube

Matt Schofield was next to visit Walla Walla. Matt is a blues guitarist from England that has been often compared to Eric Clapton.

Following Matt was Susan Gibson, a Grammy award winning country songwriter. Susan wrote the number one song for the Dixie Chicks, “Wide Open Spaces”.

Susan Gibson - Wide Open Spaces & a Story -- YouTube

Finally our series concluded with a blow-out Pre-Harvest Dance Party with Alice Stuart and the Formerlys and the Union Jack. Both Alice and the Union Jack are from Seattle. Alice and the Formerlys played a great blues set, and the Union Jack performed a tribute to the Rolling Stones.

Union Jack - Rockin' Walla Walla! -- YouTube

So, over the summer we had classic rock, blues, country, and alternative rock musical performances in our tasting room. During these summer performances we ended up doubling the size of our tasting room, building two stages, and creating both a lounge area and a private band room. We moved furniture around a lot and are still moving furnishings to get the right feeling for the rooms. Future improvements are already envisioned and we can see it is a continuing process to get our tasting room to where we want it to be.

Cheers! Rick

Meet the Maker of the Faces

September 12, 2011

I am Candice Johnson. I live in Walla Walla where I create my Tetes, which is
what I have spent my life developing. The faces I paint tell different stories to
different people, just as the story that I will tell will speak differently to everyone
that reads it.

My life began in Seattle, where I lived surrounded by the damp evergreens. I
loved the place that I called home, but the memories that have truly lasted are those
of being away. My family frequently traveled, sometimes internationally. When I
was sixteen, we lived in Cairo, a Mecca of human wonders. Perhaps it was the
ruinous state of those colossal works of mind and body that spoke to me; I was
struck by the antiquity and seeming timelessness of human creation. But it wasn’t
just the marvels that made my trip to Egypt so impactful, but also the sorry state
that so many of my fellow humans were forced into. Poverty and hunger were more
prevalent than anywhere I’d been, and this introduced a new longing inside: the
need to reach out and touch the diversity of the experiences of my fellow humans.
Travel would continue to influence my worldview. I have lived throughout
the United States and Europe, learning and working with design through my various
careers in retail, marketing and Interior Design. In Paris, I decided to devote myself
entirely to Fine Art. I studied for two years at the Beauxs Artes classes that were
sponsored by the Ville de Paris. It was during this time that I began creating my
Tetes.

After living in Paris for over a decade, I moved to Los Angeles, where my
inner voice became stifled perhaps muted by the plastic veneer of La La Land. But
this was sure not to last. Eventually, I stopped to examine where my footsteps had
come from and where they were falling, and I knew I had to let my voice speak
again. When Rick and Debbie decided to use my Tetes for Walla Faces I moved to
Walla Walla in 2009, where I continue to create Tetes.

My Tetes tell different stories to different people, and it is fascinating which
faces people decide to include in their collections. It is great to know that there are
rooms and buildings in this world where Tetes hang from the walls to share their
stories with whoever might pass.

-Candice

www.candicejohnson.com
candicerjohnson@gmail.com

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