"A" Procession

Commissioned by the Seattle Opera House with a grant from the Seattle Arts Commission in 1984, this surrealistic celebratory parade represents a free spirited group portrait of regional artists, critics, administrators, and art technicians known to the artist.  This was a period of increased expansion of the arts in the Northwest.  The A in the title presumably stands for Art.  As time marches on, the artist's partial snapshot of some local artists she came in contact with during the mid-eighties, becomes a historical documentation as well as an impressive example of Patti Warashina's aesthetic, working methods and vivid sense of humor.

The reference to the human figure has been a dominant icon in my work since my early interest in art.  I have come to believe that my perpetual fascination is based on my curiosity in trying to understand the subtle differences of behavior that exists among man.  The aberrations of every day are constant fodder for me to absorb and observe.  This endless resource material is always near at hand, engrossing and unpredictable.  I often wonder whether this allurement to my subject matter is also an indirect way of trying to understand an impulsive self. –Artist statement

Patti Warashina is one of the most important sculptors to have lived in Seattle.  She is widely known and respected throughout the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.  She received two National Endowment for the Arts Awards, in 1975 and 1986.  In 1980 she received the Governor’s Award for Special Commendation for the Arts.  Additional awards include the King County Arts Commission Honor Program Award in 1992; World Craft Council Travel Grant, Japan/United States Friendship Committee, and Ford Foundation Grant in 1978; and Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Scholar Award, 1992.

An identification key to the artists represented here accompanies this label. Numbers that correspond to the numbered artist listing identifies the figures on each side of the sculpture piece.
A key to the figures in the case:

1.   Paint Can Man
2.   Jeffery Bishop
3.   Robert Jones
4.   Joyce Moty
5.   Clair Colquitt
6.   Josel Namkung
7.   Margaret Tomkins
8.   Michael Fajans
9.   Francis Celentano
10. Layne Goldsmith
11. Alden Mason
12. Elizabeth Sandvig
13. Lois Graham
14. George Tsutakawa
15. Joan Bloedel
16. Liza Halvorsen
17. Larry Halvorsen
18. Jacob Lawrence
19. Gwendolyn Knight
20. John Koenig
21. Dale Chihuly
22. Bill Wikstrom
23. Cheryl Leo-Gwinn
24. John Marshall
25. Diamond Head
26. Ron Ho
27. Mary Hu
28. Paul Berger
29. Roger Schreiber
30. Karl Krogsted
31. Patti Warashina
32. Robert Sperry
33. Dennis Evans
34. Andrew Keating
35. George Chacona
36. Kristina Nelson
37. Lyn Kariganer
38. Raymond Solberg
39. Fay Jones
40. Sherri Markovitz
41. Peter Millet
42. Dog Noel
43. Randy Hayes
44. Alison Gooding
45. Norman Lundin
46. Karen Mason
47. Hammerhead
48. Karen Guzak
49. Roger Shimomura
50. Howard Kotler
51. Robert Maki
52. Robert Seng
53. Ann Gardner
54. Linda Beaumont
55. Phil Levine
56. Dick Law
57. Lauren Grossman
58. Gerald McGinness
59. Larry Tate
60. John Young
61. Ron Glowen
62. Kathy Glowen
63. Ted Johnson
64. Norie Sato
65. Vicki Scuri
66. Matthew Kangas
67. Gerry Newcomb
68. Reg Reinholdtsen
69. Charles Draney
70. Spencer Mosley
71. Ailleen Moseley