By MICHAEL WHITNEY
Published May 9, 2012

Art walk moves outdoors this month
EVERETT - It is that time of the year for the Everett Art Walk to expand outside. The art walk is open year-round every Saturday. The outdoor part is open May through September starting May 19.   
The outdoor part of the walk is located at 2914 Wetmore Ave., near the corner of Hewitt and Wetmore avenues. The art walk is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The regular walk goes through galleries, shops and restaurants. Most of the venues are downtown, with others in the Lowell area and at 3231 Creatives on Broadway east of the downtown core.            
This is the art walk’s second year taking the walk outside and is part of the growth of one of the city’s more unique art events. The Everett Art Walk started five years ago, and it’s now grown to 27 different venues.
Josey Wise, one half of the Wise Designz gallery and framing shop, championed creating the art walk years ago with her husband Marc. Each year the art walk is bigger than the last, Wise said.
“I feel really proud in our town and the support it has for the arts,” Wise said, adding, “Any city that has art is more well-rounded.”
The outdoor part of the art walk will have painters, a pen and ink artist and may have musicians, outdoor expansion manager Claudia Postema said. A Girl Scout troop will have recycled art for sale to raise money for a trip.
Postema hopes for better weather this year. Last year it rained four out of the six weekends, which dissuaded some people to come out.
“We had good turnouts last year, unfortunately the weather was horrible last year,” Postema said.
All of the venues offer something special for the art walk, such as food or drink specials at restaurants, music or featured monthly artists. Wise Designz holds an artists’ reception each month for the art walk.
Balefire at the corner of Hewitt and Rockefeller is a longtime participating art walk venue. Balefire has a rotating selection of featured artists and offers food specials and occasional wine tastings during the art walk.
While people come in to see art, it isn’t bringing in a lot of business, owner Cam Handyside said. Handyside, though, said he still supports the art walk.
“It’s a foundation of something good,” Handyside said.
Zeno Sieler, who runs the recently-opened Feral Gallery at 1804 Hewitt Ave., said 75 to 90 people visited his gallery during April’s art walk. The gallery is eclectic by design. Sieler said he’s trying to bring a New York City art experience to Everett.
The art walk didn’t produce any sales last month, but it got some people interested in what the gallery has to offer, Sieler said.
He cobbled together a wide range of art to make a big show last month for the art walk, he said.
To show and sell your art outdoors at the art walk, e-mail outdoor expansion facilitator Claudia Postema at everettartwalk@gmail.com.
It costs $5 to get a space and $5 more to put up a tent outdoors to participate in the outdoor expansion.
Art walk venues make their own arrangements on which art to show.
To learn more about the Everett Art Walk, visit www.everettartwalk.org.