Spring Art in Storefronts
Please Mind the Mess: Maker’s Making
On View Now – July 2026
Goldberg Building Windows | Capitol Way & 4th Ave, Downtown Olympia
Olympia Artspace Alliance invites you to experience Please Mind the Mess: Maker’s Making—a dynamic window exhibition celebrating the creative process and the spaces where art comes to life.
Featuring four local artists—Susan Aurand, Eunsil Kim, Davey Stevenson, and Robroy Chalmers—this exhibition offers a glimpse into the evolution of ideas, materials, and making. From deeply personal narratives to playful explorations of craft, each window becomes a portal into the artist’s world.
Opening Event: Artist Talk & Reception
Friday, May 24 | 5:00 PM
Goldberg Building, Downtown Olympia
Join us for an evening of conversation, connection, and creativity. Meet the artists, hear about their work, and experience the exhibition together as a community.
This exhibit is a collaboration with the South Sound Studio Tour (May 30–31). We encourage you to visit, meet the artists, and see where the magic happens.
Featured Artists
Susan Aurand
Susan Aurand’s work celebrates the quiet beauty and mystery of the natural world. This installation serves as a mini-retrospective spanning over four decades—from early paper constructions inspired by ritual forms and winged shapes to recent explorations in her “Sky Doors” series.
Recurring themes of birds and gardens weave throughout her work, symbolizing the soul, sanctuary, and the inner self. The installation culminates in a playful re-creation of her studio space, offering insight into her influences, materials, and ongoing creative process.
“Ideas from decades ago still call to be revisited and reimagined—that’s the work I continue today.”
Website:www.susanaurand.com
Eunsil Kim
Title: Tree Burl
Eunsil Kim’s ceramic work is shaped by lived experience, observation, and reflection. Inspired by a walk through the coastal forests of Kalaloch, Tree Burl explores resilience, transformation, and coexistence.
Tree burls—once foreign growths—become integrated into living trees, symbolizing how we carry and grow alongside life’s challenges. Kim draws a powerful parallel between these natural forms and the human experience of illness, struggle, and healing.
“This is my burl, this is our burl. We must fight—and also embrace—as we continue to live and grow together.”
Artist Bio:
Born in Korea and trained in both the U.S. and under Korean master potters, Kim has spent over 30 years creating and teaching ceramics. Her work reflects a deep commitment to community, collaboration, and accessibility across diverse experiences and abilities.
Davey Stevenson
Title: Work/Flow
A leatherworker and instructor at Arbutus Folk School, Davey Stevenson brings a playful and process-driven perspective to his craft. Work/Flow offers a whimsical look inside the workshop, highlighting the techniques and experimentation behind leatherworking.
From hand-stitched bags to sculpted leather roses formed through wet molding, Stevenson’s work reflects both skill and spontaneity—along with the reality of a workbench filled with multiple projects in motion.
Explore More:
Etsy: rowsima.etsy.com
Instagram: @rowsima
TikTok: @rowsima
Arbutus Folk School: artbutusfolkschool.org
Robroy Chalmers
Title: The Sporozoan Swarm
The Sporozoan Swarm is an evolving installation composed of torn intaglio prints arranged in a fluid, organic formation. The work creates a visual tension between light and shadow, structure and chaos, depth and movement.
Pinned directly to the wall, the pieces evoke both natural forms and insect specimens—suggesting themes of transformation, fixation, and the complex relationship between pain and pleasure.
Website:www.robroychalmers.com
Instagram: @robroychalmers
Plan Your Visit
This exhibition is viewable 24/7 from the sidewalks of downtown Olympia—inviting passersby to pause, reflect, and engage with art in an unexpected, accessible way.
Bonus:
Studios featured in this exhibition will also be open during the South Sound Studio Tour (May 30–31). We encourage you to visit, meet the artists, and see where the magic happens.