Bet you didn’t know that Tacoma City Ballet director Erin Ceragioli was also an artist. And I bet, unless you have a child learning dance there, you’ve never seen inside the splendid gilt-edged TCB ballroom studio above The Grand Cinema. Well, on Saturday night, you get the chance to see both. Ceragioli’s opening up the studio for a one-night non-commission gallery event, displaying her own work (see left) and that of four other local artists: Fumiko Kimura, Pete Sluka, Kali Raisl and George Takahashi. The event goes from 7-9 p.m., including piano

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Just got back from a Portland weekend, and the Japanese Garden is wearing a kimono in Crayola colors. In honor of the Glass Art Society’s conference there, they have up “Frozen Music: Glass in the Garden.” They’ve done a fantastic job. Most stunning of all are two outside pieces by internationally known artist Jun Kaneko–here’s one of them, “Colorbox.”

Not quite Chihuly, eh?!! And certainly not what you’d think of as restrained, Zen, elegant or any of those other overused Japanese-garden adjectives. But you know what: it works. They’ve put

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Thursday night was absolutely perfect at Lakewold Gardens. Calm, slightly warm, and the rose-and-wisteria-laden Gardens filled with music of passion, stillness and playfulness. It was the opening of the Second City Chamber Series‘ new season, and the first of two such concerts at Lakewold. This one featured out-of-towners Laura Kobayashi on violin and Susan Keith Gray on piano, with Tacoman Cindy Renander on clarinet.

Fine programming too, courtesy of SCCS director Svend Ronning. Pairing music from two different cities in each program this year, Ronning made good choices for Thursday night’s pair of New York and San

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Another show that just opened is at Fulcrum Gallery. Oliver Doriss has assembled some friends (Shannon Eakins, Joseph Miller, Alex Stisser, Conor McClellan and Doriss himself) to mount a group glass show called "Local 253." It’s not particularly themed, but each artist is strong, and for a group show it’s refreshingly minimalist.

The main raison d’etre for "Local 253" (area code, get it?) is to showcase Tacoma glass artists for any glass folks visiting up here from the Glass Art Society’s annual international conference, on this weekend in Portland. And it’s

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If you’d stopped in at the Helm Gallery downtown at ArtWalk last Thursday, you probably would have noticed the huge dead animal thing trapped in a net. Hard not to—it was right bang smack in the middle of the gallery. And just when you’d recovered from the "ewww" factor (it’s really a pile of toupes) you’d have started to notice the more subtle ick on the walls…

No, gallerists Peter Lynn and Sean Alexander haven’t really smeared the Helm’s walls with anything other than paint. They haven’t even hung up crumpled underwear next to detailed photos of vaginas,

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Feriante: Bald, Sexy, and a Great Guitarist

Guitarist Andre Feriante, just named one of MSN’s 12 sexy bald men of the year, is playing tonight in Tacoma for the first time in 10 years. Classical, flamenco, Latin, Celtic, his own compositions, even singing in Italian—Feriante’s hard to beat for a romantic date. 8 p.m. June 20 at Urban Grace church, 902 Market St, Tacoma. Tickets $22. 800-838-3006, www.brownpapertickets.com

Have Porta-potty, Will Travel

It’s won multiple Australian film awards, and was a hit down under. It’s a

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The readers of AmericanStyle magazine have named Tacoma number 17 on its list of top 25 national arts destinations.

We just missed bumping Miami (#16) but got one over on arch nemesis Cincinnati (#18) in the mid-level city category.

I have to admit I’ve never heard of this magazine. But, I’ll take any list that puts us above Honolulu as an arts destination. I’m canceling my vacation to Oahu.

But, I wonder how we would fare on the “Top Ten Destinations for Luaus” list…

Congratulations are in order to Tacoma painter Chris Sharp: he’s the recipient of the first annual “Foundation of Art Award,” set up this year by the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation to honor professional artists living in Pierce County. The award, just announced today, is for $7,500, and also involves a commissioned work of art, to be unveiled at the GTCF’s November annual luncheon.

Sharp’s a well-known painter around town, mostly from his delicate, unique signpainting, such as at the Rosewood Cafe in the North End. But his fine art is even better to look at, referencing

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