As McMenamins at the Anderson School continues construction, they have also been on the lookout for local artists to grace their walls with scenes from the local area.
McMenamins calls this kind of artwork “Historical Surrealism,” for the research and care that goes into each piece of art – from oral histories to photographs and more. Which is why this kind of labor of love works so well with Bothell artist Michelle Waldele-Dick.
Waldele-Dick’s usual fare encompasses antique toys set up in a way that mimics life and provides a narrative to the subject matter. The toys are not just set up in front of a book, they are communing around it.
“Her artwork is very well thought out and very personal… Every item in her still life is personally picked and arranged, the lighting,” said Liana Bennett, owner of the Arts Umbrella in Bothell.
Waldele-Dick and Bennett met many years ago, when Waldele-Dick was a teacher at a local college. They hit it off and, for a while, Waldele-Dick was a teacher at the Arts Umbrella – leaving to expand her artwork and classes at her in-home studio.
“What she does is kind of difficult in that her still life is full of story,” Bennett said. “Just by looking at it, if you were to walk in a gallery, you very much respond to it.”
Her father, a graphic designer, would sketch in his free time and those renderings helped Waldele-Dick realize that she wanted to be an artist, along with her grandparents’ house, which is full of the toys and tools she uses to create her own unique themes and styles of painting.
“You pull from the stuff from your childhood that made the world exciting or sparked your imagination,” Waldele-Dick said. “And I think people do that in whatever interest they have, whether toys or cars or video games, it’s something about what you choose sparks your imagination.”
While Waldele-Dick’s usual artwork is whimsically painted in oils, the works for McMenamins will be a different theme and in acrylic paints, which dries quicker and is more transparent.
“It’s a nightmare… it is very challenging because they behave completely different,” Waldele-Dick said. “I won’t do both on the same day. If I’m going to do acrylic I have to do acrylic all day, cause I can’t switch my brain that quickly, it’s too different.”
McMenamins is rather specific about what they want, not just in what paints to use, but also in the scenes.
“They’re so different from my still life… I’ve done quite a few portraits with my oil, but not full figure work [with narrative],” Waldele-Dick said. “But I’m having fun with it.”
Waldele-Dicks’ artwork, along with other McMenamin’s artists and McMenamin’s Art Department, too, emphasizes revitalizing the old – whether days of yesteryear, buildings past their prime or the spirit of a city.
“I’ve read a lot about McMenamins and their connection to the community. I think Bothell needs that kind of magnet for people to show up to,” Waldele-Dick said. “With music and good food, and the space they’ve created is so fun and whimsical and very inviting, and I think bothell will benefit from that tremendously.”
Currently, Waldele-Dick spends around 60 hours a week working on the McMenamins pieces, teaching students of all ages, and creating her own works of art from her home-studio in Bothell.
For more information about her lessons, visit www.mwaldelestudio.com.
