Shoes and toes

The past few days, I have been off island, visiting the studios of gallery artists, taking in a few beautiful gardens on Whidbey Island, and getting to the Bellevue Art Musuem to see the show of Shoes by Beth Levine.

The show is presented in the 2nd floor gallery and divided into various grouping. Looking at her shoe designs from the 1950's to the 1970's, her shoes have a beautiful sculptural quality, as in the shoe above created out of paper in the 1960's. Many of her shoe designs are timeless. With her husband, Herbert, they introduced the stiletto heel into the United States. Beth's love and use of varied materials has placed her as one of the most influential show designers. Beth was the predecessor of comfort and high style for your feet, movement. Looking at her works today, there were a few pairs I would love to own!

Over her long career, Beth popularized such styles as mules, stilettos and fashion boots, and her shoes became favorites among designers and celebrities alike, from Halston to Geoffrey Beene, Marilyn Monroe to Cher, as well as four of America’s First Ladies. A true visionary of the fashion world, she was honored in 1967 and 1972 with the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award, and was the only shoe designer ever to win the award twice. 

Featuring ephemera and over 100 pairs of shoes and boots, this first-time retrospective explores the unbridled energy and creativity behind one of the greatest designers. Bellevue Arts Museum is pleased to be the premier US venue for this exhibition.

The show is up till June 6.Beth Levine Show

[Inspired me to go get a pedicure and paint my toes pink!]

The other event I want to make folks aware of, both on island and throughout the area is the Museum of Northwest Art's Annual Auction Fundraiser.

This Museum located in La Conner, does a great job taking on the task of showcasing art created in the Pacific Northwest'.

 The Mission of the Museum of Northwest Art is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art by Northwest artists.

The date for the Auction is June 19,here's the website for more information:

Museum of Northwest Art's Auction 

A few artists represented by waterworks gallery have been generous in their donations to the museum's fundraising auction, including, David Eisenhour, Lisa Gilley, Kathleen Faulkner, Catherine Eaton Skinner, and Cathy Schoenberg. 

Cheers

Ruth